"Yes, it seems so, but it's not true," Harry said, beaming. "We found Remus Lupin. It turns out he's the same werewolf Uncle Scott spoke to when he was looking for a bodyguard for you."
"It's a small world," Richard stated. "But do they teach werewolves at wizarding school? Or did he become a werewolf as an adult?"
"He's been a werewolf since he was a baby," Harry said, shaking his head. "Lupin carefully hid the fact that he was a werewolf from everyone. But Uncle Scott managed to crack that wizard!"
"Harry, you look so happy, like you've mastered the secrets of the universe," Richard said, looking at his friend's satisfied face. "Come on, tell me what you've come up with."
Potter didn't want to keep his friend in suspense and continued:
"Lupin told us that my father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew learned to transform into animals back in school. They did it so they could be in Mr. Lupin's company during the full moons, when he transformed into a werewolf. Apparently, a werewolf isn't dangerous to the Animagi they consider their own."
"Now that's interesting," Richard perked up. "So Black and Pettigrew are animagi?"
"Yes!" A wide smile adorned Potter's face. "Black has a second form in the form of a large black dog. And Pettigrew can turn into a gray rat. Uncle Scott concluded that Pettigrew wasn't so straightforward. Most likely, when Black cast the Exploding Hex at him, Peter actually cut off his finger, but instead of Apparating, he transformed into a rat and escaped!"
"Wow!" Richard was stunned. "What a turn of events! You really didn't take a break, you worked all summer, and very productively at that. I didn't expect that from you. Well done, Harry. I take it you didn't find Black?"
"Unfortunately, no," Potter shook his head. "But Uncle Scott believes that sooner or later, word of the amnesty will reach Black, and he'll relax and show himself in public. Uncle Scott said there's a high probability Mr. Black went mad during his time in Azkaban. That's why he can still run around Britain as a dog."
"Did you tell the Aurors?" Richard asked.
"No," Harry replied. "Only to the Minister. Uncle Scott said there's something fishy going on here. Maybe someone's helping Black."
Ron Weasley peeked into the compartment. Seeing the boys, he was delighted and said affably:
- Hi, Richie, Harry.
"Ron, hi," Potter waved his hand.
"Good morning, Ron," Richard nodded affably. "It's good to see you."
As soon as Ron entered the compartment, threw his bag under the seat, and sat down next to Harry, Richard's scar on the back of his left hand began to itch slightly. He noticed that Harry was scratching his scar. This immediately aroused Rich Jr.'s suspicions. The boy decided to verify that it was indeed the sixth Weasley who had come to them, and not another wizard under Polyjuice Potion.
"Ron, how's your flying Opel?" he asked.
"An Opel?" Ron frowned, looking at Richard in confusion. "Richie, we have a Ford. At least, if you mean an old car. Dad brought a TV over the summer. We couldn't stop watching Muggle movies. One of them was called Back to the Future. Dad was so impressed by the flying car in that movie that he bought himself a DeLorean and now he's enchanting it."
Richard realized it was the same Ronald. His facial expressions, motor skills, and speech patterns were identical. He'd also passed the lice test. Many knew Arthur had enchanted the car, but aside from the Weasleys themselves and a handful of others, no wizard knew what make they had. And most wizards, in general, weren't very knowledgeable about car brands.
"Ron, isn't your sister supposed to be going to Hogwarts this year?" Richard asked.
"She's coming," Weasley replied. "Ginny's in the last carriage with her friend, Loony Lovegood. She said she'd come see us when the train leaves. Oh, right!" Ron said, suddenly remembering. "Richie, Dad asked me to give you the shopping."
Ron reached for his suitcase and began quickly unloading books, parchments, ink, quills, and potion-making ingredients. Richie was just as quick in transferring everything into his suitcase. The last item Ron placed on the table was a nondescript, thick notebook with a black leather cover.
"Guys," Ron switched to a mysterious whisper, "just look at this!"
Ron pointed to the notebook, which piqued Richie and Harry's curiosity.
"What's this?" Harry asked. "It looks like a notebook. Ron, have you decided to move on to more advanced note-taking techniques?"
"No!" Weasley exclaimed. "It's You-Know-Who's diary!"
Harry looked at Ron in confusion. He couldn't tell if Weasley was joking or being serious.
"Ron, what makes you think this is his diary?" Potter asked.
"Yes, I'm also interested to know," Richard nodded.
"It's signed and enchanted," Weasley replied.
Ron opened the notebook. On the title page, written in beautiful calligraphy, was:
Diary of T. M. Riddle
The diary pages turned out to be pristine.
"You can write anything you want," Richie said. "Ron, if you were sold this notebook as Tom Riddle's diary, I have bad news for you - you've been tricked."
"Oh, no!" Ron objected. "Ginny found this diary among her textbooks. When she was looking at it, I saw the signature and immediately knew whose it was."