The Dark Lord, the most powerful and feared wizard of all time, had risen to power, and had declared war on the Magical Britain. He gathered a group of followers, called the Death Eaters, who shared his vision of a pure-blooded society, and who killed and tortured anyone who opposed him.
On one side, there was the Dark Lord who had plunged the entire wizarding world into turmoil for decades, and on the other, there was Albus Dumbledore, who was old and feeble, and could only hide in Hogwarts without doing anything. It was clear who was stronger and who was weaker. Peter had once rejoiced at his own wisdom, he seemed to see that he would have a life that was admired by everyone, a future that was more brilliant than his father, who died as a hero!
But what the hell happened?
How could the invincible Dark Lord be defeated by a weak infant who couldn't even walk? How could a mere baby, who had no idea of magic or danger, survive the killing curse, the most lethal spell ever invented?
Peter had no time to think about these things, he had to run away quickly, lest he fall into the same fate as his irresponsible father, who left behind a widow and an orphan, and died in disgrace.
Sirius Black had come back from hell to take revenge on him, but this time, no one could protect him!
'What to do? Go back to the Dark Lord's side?'
It was said that the Dark Lord had not died, but was hiding like him, in the forest of Albania. But what could he do by going back to such a weak person?
He had no time to hesitate, he had to make a decision quickly.
Black was relentless and determined, and he had a way to break through the powerful ancient wards and dementors in Hogwarts, and sneak into the castle safely. These fearless and talented people always seemed to be able to do anything.
He would definitely continue to try to kill him, there was no doubt about that.
It was no longer safe to stay with the little boy from the Weasley family, not only because of Black, but also because of another person, a wizard who was much more terrifying than Black, who had returned to the castle.
Bryan Watson–another gifted wizard.
Following the little boy from the Weasley family, Peter heard a lot of valuable information about the young wizard.
Earlier this year, he learned from the mouths of the three little wizards what happened in the Chamber of Secrets of Slytherin–Bryan Watson easily defeated a basilisk that had survived since the Slytherin's era, and personally destroyed the Dark Lord's diary from his student days. At that time, Peter realized that this was a powerful wizard who had no rival except the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore at their peak.
Bryan Watson was summoned back to Hogwarts by Dumbledore, and took the position of Director of Student Safety Office. At the moment, His main task was to catch Sirius Black.
Peter didn't know if Bryan Watson could catch Black or not, but if he did, it would be more troublesome. Bryan Watson's appearance would only make the situation more dangerous.
Peter hoped that Black would die directly in the hands of the dementors or the hit wizards. This was the best situation, because neither of them would listen to Black's nonsense, they would attack him as soon as they saw him, and would not stop until he was dead.
But if Black fell into the hands of Bryan Watson?
Peter knew his former good friend, was a skilled wizard, but he would be powerless against a wizard who was as powerful as the Dark Lord and the young Albus Dumbledore!
Bryan Watson would not kill Black, he was 'loyal' to Dumbledore, he would hand Black over to Dumbledore, and then, the truly terrible thing would happen to Peter. Dumbledore would try to find out the reason why Black 'betrayed' the Potters. The truth would come out, everything would be clear! His life, which he had saved by becoming a traitor and living as a rat for twelve years, would be lost, and along with it, the only thing he left to his mother, that was–her son and husband were both heroes.
Fake death and escape, he had done this once before, and now he had to do it again.
But he couldn't leave Hogwarts, the only place where he could find out what was happening to his former friend, Sirius Black. He had to know Black's fate, as long as Black didn't fall into the hands of Bryan Watson and Dumbledore, then he still had a chance to go back to the Weasley boy. He had to keep waiting, if the Dark Lord was completely finished, and those truly vicious madmen who were locked up in Azkaban would have no chance to turn over, he could find a place where no one knew him and continue to live, or, if the Dark Lord came back, he could snatch Harry Potter and offer him to the Dark Lord as a loyal servant.
Either way, he could live well.
'If I could kill him-'
He thought bitterly, as he disguised himself well, and slipped out of the dormitory through the gap in the window bars. When the pale and cold moonlight fell on him, Peter Pettigrew looked at the dark Forbidden Forest, and his eyes showed endless resentment!
The temperature in early November was already quite cold, and no one wanted to stay in the windy corridor for long. After the banquet, under the escort of the prefects, the little wizards squeezed out of the hall like a flood. Slytherin and Hufflepuff went to the basement, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor ran to the tower, they all went to their own common rooms. They were eager to get to their warm beds, or to chat with their friends, or to finish their homework for tomorrow.
Although discussing Professor Watson and his new title was indeed an interesting thing, for some young wizards, the more urgent thing was to catch up with their studies.
"I'll go and help Scabbers take his medicine today, Harry, and then Snape, that old bat's Confusing Concoction essay–"
Ron stood in front of the dormitory stairs and gave Harry a look. Harry hesitated for a moment, but still slowly walked towards Hermione, who was alone on a table after returning to the common room without stopping, and was busy with her homework.
Ahem– Because of the conflict between Scabbers and Crookshanks, Harry had never felt that finding Hermione to borrow homework was such an embarrassing thing. He stood beside Hermione, who was buried in calculations, and coughed twice, hoping to get her attention.
"Oh, what's the matter?"
Hermione, who looked haggard and had a bit of a dazed look in her eyes, came to her senses, as if she had just woken up from a dream. She glanced at Harry, and then at the pile of books and papers on the table. She seemed to realize something, and quickly put on a smile.
"I wanted to persuade you–"
Seeing her condition, Harry really couldn't say his true request. He pulled a stool and stuffed it under his butt, looked at the messy table, and looked at the arithmetic divination paper with fresh ink on it. He hesitated for a moment, picked up Hermione's paper, and studied the complex numerical charts on it. He had no idea what they meant, or how they could be useful in the future. He wondered why Hermione would waste her time on such a useless subject.
"Why don't you give up this and let yourself rest for a while?"
Harry, who was also a little dizzy, put down the chart and frowned. He was worried about Hermione, she looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. He knew she was smart, but he also knew she was taking too many courses, more than any other student in their year. He didn't understand why she would do that to herself, when she could easily ace any exam with less effort.
"This thing doesn't seem to be very useful?"
"Not very useful, you mean arithmancy?!"
Hermione seemed very indignant. She snatched the paper from Harry's hand, and looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
"This subject is very wonderful, and more useful than you think, Harry. If you want to become an alchemist like Professor Dumbledore, or a curse-breaker like Ron's brother Bill, then you have to be good at this course!"
She said passionately, as if she was trying to convince Harry to join her in her enthusiasm.
"Anyway, you have to let yourself rest, Hermione,"
Harry said softly, trying to calm her down.
"You can't handle so many courses at the same time, Hermione. Even Malfoy took the time to go to Professor Watson today, but you were busy with these papers during dinner. If you can't bear to give up arithmancy, I think giving up Professor Babbling's Muggle Studies is also a good choice, after all, you grew up in a Muggle family."
He suggested, hoping to make her see reason. He thought Muggle Studies was a waste of time for Hermione, who knew everything about Muggles already.
"You don't understand, Harry," Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "I think Professor Babbling's course is very interesting, I never thought that studying Muggles from a wizard's perspective would be so fun, it–"
Where was the fun in Professor Babbling's Muggle Studies, Harry was afraid he would never know, because at that moment, a choked scream came from the stairs of the boys' dormitory, and the eyes of the whole common room gathered on Ron, who was dragging a bloody sheet.
He looked pale and furious, as he stumbled towards Hermione, who was still sitting at the table. He shouted at her, with tears in his eyes and anger in his voice.
"Are you happy now?!!"
Seeing the blood-stained sheet, and Ron pinching a tuft of ginger-cat hair, Hermione, who was puzzled, began to tremble all over her body.
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