Hermione couldn't contain herself, and tears welled up at the corners of her eyes like broken beads. It seemed to her that Crookshanks was a strong suspect. He had always had an enigmatic interest in Scabbers and had just appeared near the Gryffindor Tower, so maybe Scabbers had been genuinely killed by him.
Neville, standing beside her, also wore a complicated expression. He, too, thought that Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, might have hunted and killed Scabbers.
Hermione tried to apologize through her sobs: "I'm sorry, Crookshanks... he..."
"Crookshanks is innocent," Tom interrupted.
"Don't you have a brain? Or is it filled with flour?" Tom took a step forward, almost in front of Ron. "Crookshanks is the killer? Are you saying he left the Ravenclaw common room, then entered Gryffindor Tower, and finally sneaked into your dorm to catch and kill Scabbers? Don't you think that logic is a bit flawed?"
Crookshanks also meowed twice, as if saying, Exactly!
Ron was bewildered. Indeed, the distance between the two places was too great. A single cat, crossing that distance... even a first-year student would get lost, let alone a cat.
Was all of this to catch a mouse? Really?
"We have a simple way to verify this, Sir Cadogan," Tom said as he walked over to the portrait of Sir Cadogan with his little horse.
"Aha!" At the mention of his name, Sir Cadogan instantly filled with energy. "I heard my name mentioned. The brave Sir Cadogan is always ready to serve people like you!"
Tom: Oh, this.
Tom thought: Why do I feel like Sir Cadogan holds me in high esteem? Tom pondered his situation for a moment and realized that from Sir Cadogan's perspective, he was clearly part of the disadvantaged group: there was a dispute at another house's entrance, and he had to protect a crying girl... this perfectly fit Sir Cadogan's knightly spirit. If he didn't help in this situation, could he still call himself "Sir"?
"Did you see this cat enter Gryffindor common room last night?" Tom brought Crookshanks closer to the portrait of Sir Cadogan so he could see better.
Sir Cadogan didn't even look at it, poking his head out and saying that no creature, not even a cat, could pass through his guarded doors without a password.
Tom raised his hands. "See, the problem is solved. Crookshanks wasn't responsible. I admit Crookshanks has a history of attacking Scabbers in Diagon Alley, but he's just a cat. Isn't it normal for cats to catch mice?"
Crookshanks: Meow! (Yes, of course.)
Ron suddenly deflated and found himself in a very uncomfortable situation.
"Don't blame Hermione for your mistake," Tom emphasized his tone, speaking seriously.
"My mistake?" Ron raised his head again.
"Yes, your mistake. You didn't take good care of him, did you? Maybe if you had kept him in a cage, none of this would have happened. Mice's brains are so small that they're not as smart as other animals; it's likely he got lost on his own," Tom said.
"No, no, Scabbers is very smart. He's been with me for twelve years and has never gotten lost," Ron repeatedly denied, with a regretful expression. "It was my fault... I always thought keeping him in a cage was too restrictive, but now I realize he just sleeps all day..."
"Perhaps it was a castle mouse that attacked Scabbers, but I think Scabbers is still alive," Tom quickly invented a possibility.
When those words came out of his mouth, Ron lifted his head, and his eyes shone. "Yes, Scabbers could be alive! If it was the work of a mouse, there should be other clues at the scene. Tom, do you have any ideas?"
Tom had simply shot the arrow and then drawn the target. He knew that Peter Pettigrew wouldn't be so easily killed. How could an adult wizard be killed by a rat or a cat? He had staged this whole show just to ensure that "Peter Pettigrew" could escape.
Sirius's sudden attack had startled him, so he sought an opportunity and escaped. However, this time, the false evidence wasn't as convincing. If he had left some cat hairs along with his own blood, it would have been more persuasive. But unfortunately, there were no students in Gryffindor who had cats, so the "crime scene" fabricated by Peter Pettigrew wasn't as realistic.
Too many changes had occurred. If Crookshanks had lived in Gryffindor and had a history of attacking Scabbers, if he could obtain Crookshanks' fur, and if there weren't someone like Tom who could analyze the situation calmly, then the blame would have fallen on him, and he would carry the title of "killer" for a long time. Hermione would also live with guilt for a long time.
Fortunately, none of those things had happened.
"Well, stop crying," Tom said as he approached Hermione and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the tears from her eyes and cheeks.
"Hmm," Hermione took Crookshanks from Tom's hands and hugged him sadly, silently awaiting the end of the situation.
However, Tom had no intentions of leaving for the moment. After all, Sirius Black was still lurking somewhere in the school, which was very dangerous. It would be better to bring Scabbers back to his owner.
Tom was a willing helper, and now he decided to help Ron find his little rat.
When Ron heard Tom's idea, he was stunned and stammered, "Tom, why... I mean, thanks, but how will you do it? I have no idea."
"We can use Divination," Tom replied with his method.
The others present: ...
Of the four present, only Tom truly believed in Divination. Ron and Neville thought Divination was unreliable, and Hermione outright considered it a trick taught by a fraudster. She was about to say, "I'm not pointing fingers, but all Divination teachers are fraudsters."
In Hermione's eyes, all Divination was charlatanism. Except for Arithmancy Divination, that class had some interest.
"So, what are we going to do?" Ron raised his eyebrows, choosing to try something desperate.
"Before, Professor Trelawney taught us about Divination. I think we could give it a try. It's mentioned in the book we have," Tom suggested.
This book was supplementary material for the Divination class, mentioned by Professor Trelawney in class. Tom, of course, had never read it.
But that didn't stop him from using it to deceive people.