As the afterglow of the setting sun gradually dissipated on the horizon and the night descended like a giant black curtain, Adelaide finally returned from the nearby river valley with the Weasley Twins.
The Weasley Twins had heard that Adelaide wanted to catch some Orbish Fish for experiments, so without a second word, they rummaged through Arthur Weasley's storage shed for several magical nets and led Adelaide to the valley.
They spent a good while busy in the valley, using the magical nets to scoop back and forth in the clear river water, eventually capturing over a dozen Orbish Fish and hundreds of Water Snails to be used as feed.
Adelaide looked at today's harvest with satisfaction—the Orbish Fish shimmered with multicolored light, wriggling restlessly in the net, while the Water Snails curled slowly into their spiral shells, seemingly indifferent to this sudden turn of events.
If she could find a way to make her Flobberworms grow a pair of frog legs and allow them to breathe and live underwater, then some of the tactics she had been considering would come in handy.
Adelaide dragged her weary body back to The Burrow. She had mentally prepared herself to continue enduring the torment of the 'asura field,' but the situation inside The Burrow was beyond her expectations.
In a corner of the living room at The Burrow, her friends were gathered around Ginny. The atmosphere was as harmonious as if they were holding a girls' night, with soft magical light spilling over everyone's faces, reflecting their happy smiles.
Cho Chang sat among the group, her long, silky black hair falling smoothly over her shoulders, her bright eyes like stars twinkling in the night sky. When she noticed Adelaide's return, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly into a playful smile, and she gave Adelaide a wink.
Adelaide felt a warmth in her heart. She could guess that it must have been this high-EQ best friend who helped mediate the relationships between her friends—Cho Chang was her angel!
In another corner of the living room, Harry was being pulled along by Ron to admire his long-accumulated Chocolate Frog cards.
Like a proud collector, Ron carefully took cards out of an old biscuit tin one by one, introducing the origin of each card and the legendary stories of the figures on them as if he were counting his family treasures.
Harry watched in wonder as the famous figures of the Wizarding World moved about on the cards. The people on these cards were lifelike, as if they could step out of the pictures at any moment.
Ron also generously picked out some duplicate cards and solemnly handed them to Harry, saying, "Harry, take these. It's time you started collecting Chocolate Frog cards too."
Harry was deeply moved, his eyes shining with joy, and his fondness for Ron instantly reached its peak.
He gripped Ron's hand tightly and said sincerely, "Ron, you're so great. From now on, you're my best brother!"
Being The Chosen One's best brother gave Ron's vanity immense satisfaction. A simple, honest smile appeared on his face as he patted Harry's shoulder, indicating that Harry was his best brother too.
Percy sat beside Ron, looking worriedly at the small rat in his hands, which was balding all over, missing a toe, and listless.
Scabbers had been acting strange since noon today; even when Percy fed it the celery stalks it usually loved most, it showed no reaction.
"Is this your rat? It looks very old."
Adelaide raised an eyebrow and sat down next to Percy, a dark light flashing in her eyes as she stared at Scabbers in his hands.
She desperately suppressed the urge to cast a spell on Peter Pettigrew to force him into his original form and clear Sirius Black's name—after Hogsmeade was destroyed, the Death Eaters seemed afraid that the Ministry of Magic would use those magic beans in Azkaban. Taking advantage of the Ministry's deployment of Aurors to Hogsmeade for disaster relief, which left the defenses thin, the prisoners of Azkaban had broken through the encirclement and escaped again.
Currently, Sirius's whereabouts were unknown. Adelaide speculated on two possibilities: one was that Sirius had taken advantage of the chaos to transform into a dog and slip away; the other was that Sirius had been coerced by his crazy cousin into retreating with the Death Eaters.
Before getting definitive news about Sirius, Adelaide didn't dare to rashly expose Peter—but that didn't mean she would let Peter live a comfortable life.
Adelaide had already made up her mind to torture Peter Pettigrew to the maximum extent without alerting him, making him pay back bit by bit for the crimes he committed against the Potters and Sirius.
Percy hadn't expected Adelaide to strike up a conversation with him. He answered subconsciously, "Scabbers has been with my family for seven or eight years... He is indeed very old."
Adelaide feigned surprise. "What? This rat has actually lived for seven or eight years? That's truly astonishing! You know, the normal lifespan of an ordinary rat is only about two years."
As a pure-blood Wizard, this was the first time Percy had heard this. He frowned and lifted Scabbers to eye level. Hearing Adelaide's words, Peter Pettigrew was so terrified that his fur stood on end, his beady little eyes wide as he looked around for the best escape route.
Seeing this, Adelaide changed her tone, saying with a mysterious smile, "However, I've also heard that some rats crossbred with magical creatures can live as long as ten years. Perhaps your Scabbers has the blood of a magical creature flowing in him, and it's this special lineage that has led to such longevity."
Upon hearing this, Scabbers's body relaxed, and Percy's furrowed brow smoothed out as he let out a slight sigh of relief.
But before he could fully relax, worry surged in his eyes again.
Percy's lips trembled slightly as he said, "Scabbers was already an adult rat when he came to our house, and now seven or eight years have passed—calculating it this way, his life is coming to an end."
His voice was full of sorrow, as if he could already see the moment of Scabbers's passing.
Looking at Percy's sorrowful face, Adelaide reached out and patted his shoulder, her movements gentle yet carrying a comforting strength.
She said softly, "All living things must eventually die; it's the law of nature. Don't be too sad. However, I know a way to extend Scabbers's life, and it won't cost you a single copper Copper Knut. Do you want Scabbers to try it?"
Hearing there was a way to let Scabbers live longer, Percy's dim eyes instantly lit up, like a sudden glimmer of light in the darkness.
His body unconsciously leaned forward as he asked eagerly, "What method? Please tell me!"
Adelaide looked at Percy's expectant gaze, her face beaming with a gentle smile. She deliberately paused, keeping Percy in suspense before slowly saying:
"You might not know this, but people in the Muggle world usually choose to castrate their pets if they want them to live long and healthy lives—it's said that pets live much longer after being neutered."
Scabbers stiffened in Percy's hands, then began to struggle desperately.
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