That evening, a birthday party for Hermione Granger was held in the Hufflepuff common room. In addition to many Hufflepuffs and the birthday girl herself, two other Gryffindors, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, were also present.
Richie ordered a dozen cakes, large ones to be enough for everyone. Arthur Weasley sent them to Hogwarts in smaller versions.
The children eagerly pounced on the sweets, and tea and cocoa flowed freely. The children, many of whom hadn't even met Hermione, heartily congratulated the happy girl on her birthday.
Ron Weasley beamed with happiness and shared the news with anyone who would listen. It eventually reached Rich's unobtrusive ears.
"Richie, I didn't tell you. I was accepted to the Gryffindor team as Seeker! I have the best broom on the team, and I've been flying brooms with my brothers since I was a kid. Wood made the best choice."
"Congratulations, Ron," Richard replied politely. "I hope you'll have the success you've always wanted in the game."
"Richie, you'll come to the first game, right?" Ron asked.
"I probably won't make any promises," Richard replied evasively. "Ron, you know I'm lukewarm about Quidditch, like almost any sport. I'd be happy to attend a fencing competition, though."
"Oh, come on," Ron drawled, wrinkling his nose. "That's just Muggle waving around of metal. What could possibly be interesting about that?!"
Richie could have said the same about Quidditch: it's suicide, flying around on broomsticks chasing some ball, what's so interesting about it? But his upbringing wouldn't allow it. So he just smiled politely and tried to change the subject.
- Ron, how are your observations of Lockhart?
"That's..." Ron was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. "He's too suspicious! Lockhart talks like a real tough guy, but when it comes down to it... We've never seen him cast a single spell. Strange..."
"Hmm..." Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So you've noticed that too... The more I watch Lockhart, the more convinced I become that he's a mediocrity, or worse, an ordinary person with no magical abilities. But! That can't be. I've made inquiries-Lockhart was a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Afterward, he worked for a while at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as a memory eraser. So, he must absolutely have some magical skills. Which suggests that he's pretending, putting on a show. The question is, why? Why would a grown man pretend to be a clown?! Sure, teenage girls fall for his act and accept it at face value, but the rest of us won't be fooled..."
"My mum idolizes Lockhart," Ron muttered, scowling. "You should have seen the crowd of witches the day Lockhart signed autographs, there were tons of them! So a lot of people believe him. I don't understand why he says one thing and does the opposite..."
When Ron once again snatched a piece of cake and tried to stuff it into his full stomach, Harry called Richard aside.
"Richie," he whispered, "rat!"
"Who's the rat?" Richard frowned.
- Pettigrew is a rat!
- Harry, you talked about this on the train.
"I did, but..." Harry looked like a conspiratorial underworld figure. He leaned toward Richard's ear and whispered loudly, "Percy Weasley has a rat!"
"Original, but nothing more," Richard shrugged.
"I thought so too, but I asked Ron just in case. He told me this rat has been living with the family for twelve years as Percy's pet! Rats don't live that long. At first, I thought it was some kind of magical breed of rat, but Ron said it was a normal one. I even got a good look at our prefect's rat: it's missing a toe!"
Deep lines formed between Richard's brows as he pondered the information he had just received.
"So..." he drawled. "Let's recap. Twelve years ago, Pettigrew cut off his finger during a battle with Black and turned into a rat. At the same time, Percy Weasley got a pet rat-a rat missing a finger on one paw. A front paw?!"
"Yes!" Potter nodded.
"So, his pet's front paw is missing a toe," Richard continued quietly, "and this seemingly ordinary pet lives an unusually long time, a full four life cycles of a rodent like this..."
"It's Peter Pettigrew!" Potter whispered with confidence.
"Okay, but then why did he live in an animal's body all this time? Harry, that's stupid. He's a wizard. He could have easily moved to another country, changed his name, documents, appearance. But he stayed in the body of a rodent and moved in with a wizarding family. It's completely irrational."
"Maybe he's just gone crazy," Harry suggested.
"I have no doubt about it. It's unlikely that anyone would benefit from being in an animal's body for so many years. But still, Harry, why did he choose to live in a wizarding family?"
Harry scratched his lightning-shaped scar thoughtfully.
"I don't know," he replied. "But if you think back to last year and the spirit..."
Richard's face lit up.
- Wait, Harry, you don't think Pettigrew was motivated by fear of Riddle?
"Why not?" Potter shrugged. "If Peter knew Riddle was wandering the earth as a ghost and had a chance of being resurrected, then Pettigrew could have deliberately lived with a wizarding family to stay informed and await Riddle's return."