Chapter 315: Peter Pettigrew is not dead?
"Congratulations," Aaron said, looking at Harry's excited face. "But next, you'll be facing Slytherin, so you'd better be prepared."
Harry was stunned, the joy of victory somewhat diluted. "You're not going to become Seeker again, are you?"
"No, I'm not that free," Aaron shrugged. "This is just a simple reminder."
"That's good."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was eighty percent confident he could get the Golden Snitch if his opponent was Draco, but if it was Aaron, he'd only have a fifty percent chance, even with his firebolt.
This was the last match of the Quidditch season, and it was their graduation gift to Wood, their captain. They absolutely could not afford to lose.
"Harry, if I may be so bold as to ask!" Ron coughed. "Are you interested in Ravenclaw's Seeker?"
At this, Harry's face immediately flushed red.
"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Seeing his face turn crimson, Ron instantly got his answer. "Don't be shy, I promise not to tell anyone else."
"I'm not," Harry said awkwardly. "Wood and the others are preparing a party in the common room, I'm leaving first."
"Is it that serious?" Ron laughed, watching Harry's retreating figure.
"What do you think?"
"Oh dear!" Ron sighed, looking a bit troubled. "You guys, should I tell Ginny that Harry likes someone?"
"My past experience tells me not to meddle," Aaronshrugged, taking Abey and leaving.
"I thought so too," Hermione gave him an eye roll, then walked to the Library with a stack of books.... The next day, Hogwarts was on high alert again, with security measures tightened everywhere.
Aaron looked at the trio in the Great Hall and asked, somewhat exasperated, "I heard something happened in your common room again."
"A big deal, a very, very big deal," Ron said, proudly lifting his neck. "Last night, when I was sleeping, I found Sirius Black. He was holding a knife and pointing it at me."
"You?" Aaron sounded skeptical. "Sirius with a knife, not going to kill Harry Potter, but instead going after Ron Weasley? That's truly ridiculous."
"But it's true," Harry said. "He must have found the wrong person, and it's lucky Ron woke up in time, otherwise I—no, maybe not just me, but several of us in our dormitory might have died."
Ron said triumphantly, "I just screamed, and he got scared and ran away."
"Wait, that's not quite right!"
Aaron was about to say something when an owl flew into the Great Hall and landed steadily in front of Neville Longbottom.
A red envelope, a Howler.
Neville saw it and reacted like Scabbers seeing Crookshanks, bursting into an astonishing sprint to escape.
But before he could run out of the Great Hall, his grandmother's roar came from the letter, the sound incredibly exaggerated, screaming and scolding, completely breaking Neville's fragile mind.
"What did he do?"
"He leaked Gryffindor's password," Hermione said helplessly. "He was worried he wouldn't remember the passwords, so he wrote all of them down on a piece of paper, and then that paper…"
"Got lost?" Aaron's eye twitched slightly. "And coincidentally fell into Sirius Black's hands?"
The trio exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
"Brilliant, only he could pull something like that off.
But why didn't he kill you guys?" Aaron asked, somewhat puzzled.
Entering the Gryffindor common room was an unprecedented opportunity for Sirius Black, an opportunity that wouldn't come twice.
Yet he specifically targeted Ron, and then hastily fled after being discovered. Harry's bed was only a few meters from Ron's; he could have easily killed someone and then escaped.
"Maybe he was worried about wasting time!" Harry mused. "After all, there are too many people in the Gryffindorcommon room. He could kill us, but not everyone, and if he attracted a Professor, it would be a dead end for him."
Aaron nodded silently, then looked at Harry seriously. "A word of advice: don't leave Hogwarts."
"I understand."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Hermione promised. "He absolutely won't go to Hogsmeade until Black is caught."
...Sirius Black seemed to know he wouldn't have another chance anytime soon, so he didn't take further action.
Because of his disappearance, Hogwarts quickly returned to order, though the level of security was significantly increased, especially at the entrance to the Gryffindorcommon room, which was even guarded by Trolls.
That night, Harry was looking through the marauder's mapin bed, but a name on it caught his attention.
Pettigrew Peter.
Seeing this name, Harry immediately recalled what he had overheard at the Three Broomsticks, and promptly put on his shoes and searched the dark corridor.
But following the marauder's map's guidance, he didn't find Pettigrew Peter. Just as he thought the map was wrong, Snape appeared behind him.
"Potter, what are you doing wandering the corridors at night?"
"I'm sleepwalking," Harry casually explained.
"Why are you so much like your father, Potter?
He was just as arrogant, haughty, and strolled around the Castle."
Harry immediately bristled. He couldn't tolerate anyone speaking of his father that way. "My father wasn't haughty, and neither am I.
If you don't mind, please put down the wand in your hand."
Snape looked at him coldly, the wand, which had cast a Lumos spell, slowly lowered, pointing at the marauder's map in Harry's hand. "What is this?"
"A piece of parchment," Harry said nervously, hoping Snapewouldn't discover the marauder's map's secret.
Snape clearly didn't believe him; no one would carry a tattered piece of parchment unless it had some special magic.
"Reveal your secrets," Snape said, tapping the parchment gently with his wand.
Words slowly appeared, but they were not quite what Harryhad seen, and no map appeared on the parchment, which made him sigh with relief.
"You read it."
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs send their compliments to Professor Snape, and… request him not to poke his unduly long nose into other people's business."
This greatly angered Professor Snape. He was about to punish Harry when Professor Lupin walked over and stopped him in time, but a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw the marauder's map.
Lupin still covered for Harry, calling the marauder's map a prank item.
But after sending Snape away, he took Harry to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class classroom, severely criticized him, and confiscated the marauder's map, clearly knowing what the map was.
However, as Harry was leaving, he told him that the map was acting up and had the name of a dead person: PettigrewPeter… Divination Class classroom.
Professor Trelawney had finished teaching palmistry, and now each student had a hazy crystal ball in front of them.
"Open your minds, your vision must be far-reaching.
The trick to crystal ball Divination is to make your inner eye clear…"
In this class, some people were confused and understood nothing, some were struggling against the sandman, and some were seriously looking into their crystal balls.
Hermione and Aaron shared a desk; one looked distressed, the other vibrant.
"You can understand it?" Hermione asked, somewhat taken aback.
"I can barely see some things," Aaron said, looking serene. "I have a talent for Divination, Professor Trelawney herself confirmed it."
Hermione's eye twitched slightly; she couldn't see anything, but her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it.
However, seeing Ron already snoring next to her, and Harryfighting to keep his eyes open, her mood improved considerably.
"Did you see anything?" Professor Trelawney walked over and asked.
"Professor, you might not believe me, but I saw a mouse."
"A mouse?" Ron suddenly woke up. "You saw Scabbers? It's still alive?"
"It's certainly still alive," Hermione said, annoyed.
"That's incredible, to survive the claws of that ugly, vicious cat."
Hermione's face became ineffable. She glared at Ron fiercely and then turned her face away.
"Aaron, where is Scabbers?"
"How should I know?" Aaron said exasperatedly. "Besides, this is about the future; it might not be there now."
"Then it…"
"Quiet," Professor Trelawney interrupted, then looked at Aaron warmly. "What else did you see?"
"I saw the reunion of a pet and its owner, that's all."
"That's very good," Trelawney smiled with satisfaction. "Practice more, and you can get a more precise future.
Divination is the most mysterious magic; your inner eye will become clearer and clearer, until eventually, the world will hold no secrets for you."
Aaron nodded in deep agreement. He had intended to divine his own future, but the sudden appearance of a mouse caught him off guard.
This proved that his Divination skills were not yet very proficient. This mouse might have some connection to his future, but he couldn't really determine what it was.
"Ahem!" Hermione suddenly coughed. "Shouldn't someone apologize to Crookshanks? It's been wrongly accused for too long."
Ron's expression changed slightly, and he said thoughtfully, "This only proves Scabbers isn't dead; it doesn't mean that cat didn't hurt it.
Don't forget, Scabbers still hasn't come back yet. It must have been terrified by that cat."
"You really are…" Hermione laughed in exasperation. "Unreasonable."
"You're the unreasonable one," Ron said, looking indignant. "You didn't control that cat, and you always speak up for it."
"Alright, you two, it's class time now," Professor Trelawneyinterrupted them. "What did you see in your crystal balls? Do you need me to explain?"