Along the way, the three Slytherin boys were very alert. They chose secluded routes and tried their best to avoid the occasional young wizards passing by. They finally arrived at the Owlery, and hurriedly entered the dark and crowded room.
Bryan stood on the windy corridor, bathed in the cold moonlight, with a calm and serene expression.
'Unexpected, but reasonable.'
It was dinner time now, and also the peak time for returning to school. No young wizard would choose this time to send a letter, but the wizard controlling them was very vigilant. He supposedly instructed the large figures of Crabbe and Goyle to block the entrance, leaving only Draco inside the shed.
Seeing this, Bryan slowly raised his floating height. He took a step out of the corridor and floated in the air thousands of feet high, letting the gusts of wind swirl his robes, standing still. His gaze, deep and unfathomable, fell on the Owlery, which was covered with a lattice-like pattern of owl feathers and droppings on the ground.
Finally, besides the excited hooting of the owls due to the arrival of the night, there was a faint rustling sound coming from the Owlery. A rat crawled out from the darkness under the shelves and appeared in Bryan's line of sight.
The rat was extremely cautious. Instead of approaching Draco in a hurry, it swiftly scurried past him like a normal startled rat and disappeared into a pile of brooms on the left side of the entrance, vanishing from sight.
After a few more minutes, the rat cautiously poked its head out from the pile. Its whiskers trembled slightly in the air, and its small black eyes darted around. As soon as it sensed any movement, it would scurry back into the hole it had made behind the broom pile.
Bryan quietly watched all of this, feeling a sense of sadness and admiration in his heart.
It was sad that this guy named Peter Pettigrew had pushed Harry's parents into the abyss for his own safety, but in the end, he found himself in this situation. So, when he made up his mind to betray his friends and join Voldemort, what did he gain? Nothing but fear and misery, and a life of hiding and running.
But Bryan admired Peter Pettigrew's will to survive.
In order to stay alive, not only did he successfully hide his true identity as a rat by Ron's side for so long, but now he was hiding in this Owlery, filled with owl feathers and droppings, just to survive.
Compared to the Sirius Black before the misunderstanding was clarified, Bryan believed that Peter was the more dangerous one.
He was like a highly tolerant venomous snake hiding in a dark cave, an excellent hunter. He patiently waited for unsuspecting prey to pass by, and when the prey let their guard down, he delivered a fatal blow.
Bryan didn't know what fate Peter had in the original timeline, but if he had to evaluate, without the protagonist's plot armor, a young wizard like Harry, even with the impulsive Sirius and Remus who always performed a bit unsatisfactory in critical moments, would most likely be defeated by someone like Peter.
Of course, that's if Dumbledore didn't secretly intervene.
The revered Hogwarts headmaster indeed had noble beliefs, but he was also a true schemer.
After all the commotion, it seemed that Peter had finally confirmed that tonight was safe, just like the past two months. It squeaked eagerly a few times, and then Draco took out shepherd's pie and golden-brown pork chops from the package wrapped in a napkin. They were still hot and juicy, and they smelled delicious.
"Today, my father visited Professor Watson through Professor Snape," Draco 'faithfully' fulfilled his role as an informant, telling the rat everything that happened today.
"They talked when I wasn't present, but later Professor Watson told Professor Snape that my father was hoping Professor Watson could help solve a little trouble–"
'Lucius came to ask for help from Bryan Watson through Lupin. How did this happen?'
The rat, named Scabbers, stopped eating and quickly turned its small eyes, but soon it realized that it didn't need to guess.
Squeak! (Translation: Tell me everything you know!)
"--At the end of last July, Greyback and a few werewolves broke into my house, threatening my father with me and my mother's lives. I eavesdropped on my parent's conversation, Greyback threatened my father with the safety of me and my mother, hoping my father could help him find a wizard named Golden Viper."
Squeak! Scabbers' small eyes lit up with sudden realization.
Although it had been a long time since it was active in the magical world, when it was still in the Weasley family, it could hear some valuable information from Arthur Weasley's mouth.
Arthur Weasley wouldn't discuss the underground world in front of a few children, but when he was alone with his wife, he would occasionally share some information about the underground world as a topic of conversation. He had indeed heard the name 'Golden Viper' from their conversations and knew about the conflict between him and the werewolves!
'But why did Lucius seek out Bryan Watson?' Scabbers held the warm and savory shepherd's pie in his little paw, nibbling on it while desperately pondering this question. The rich aroma of the meat and cheese filled his nostrils, but he could not enjoy it. He had been racking his brain, but he still couldn't figure out the answer.
As he reached for the juicy pork chop, Scabbers suddenly froze in his tracks.
Why was he wasting his energy thinking about this? It didn't matter how much hatred there was between that Golden Viper and Fenrir Greyback, or why Lucius Malfoy sought out Bryan Watson. None of this had anything to do with him.
Right now, Sirius was still lurking in the shadows, watching him. What he should be worried about was how to get rid of Sirius as soon as possible!
After hiding in the Owlery for so long, Scabbers was no longer as scared as he was at the beginning. He had grown accustomed to the smell of the owls, the sound of their wings, and the sight of their feathers. He had found a cozy spot under a shelf, where he could stash his food and sleep.
In recent times, he had been pondering this question. Why did he have to wait for Sirius to come knocking on his door? Why did he have to fall into the hands of the Ministry of Magic or Dumbledore, instead of killing Sirius, as long as he could silence Sirius forever, he could live a safe and comfortable life again!
'But how to do it?'
Just like Sirius couldn't pinpoint his location, Scabbers couldn't figure out Sirius's location either. The two of them were like two hunters in the Forbidden Forest, lurking in the dark, waiting for the other to reveal their position. If either of them made a mistake, death would embrace them first.
Draco was still standing there dumbfounded, while Scabbers scurried back under the shelf, ignoring Draco. After a moment, he pulled out a folded parchment from his hiding place.
Scabbers spread the hard-earned parchment on the ground and jumped onto it, carefully examining the names walking back and forth on the paper under the bright moonlight.
Bryan, who was hanging outside the window, blinked and immediately knew what this thing was.
The Marauder's Map - this was exactly what Sirius and Remus had said, the marauders created when they were in school. Later, before they left school, this magical parchment was confiscated by Filch. Bryan had ordered Filch to find this map, but he found nothing.
Unexpectedly, the map had fallen into the hands of rat Peter.
'What a talent—' Bryan thought to himself, with a hint of admiration and contempt. If it weren't for a twist of fate, it would probably not be so easy to catch this cunning little guy.
Seeing this, Bryan lost interest in continuing to look at it. He had seen enough. He raised his wand, ready to control Peter, who was looking for something on the Marauder's Map, and the next step was to call Dumbledore back to the school to explain everything, so that the Ministry could publicly announce and completely resolve this matter.
However, in the moment when the wand was raised, Bryan froze. He turned his back to the moonlight, his eyes hesitated for a few seconds, and then became weird.
'This old man--'
Scabbers was still concentrating on looking for something on the map, unaware of the peril that was approaching him. With a little thought, Bryan knew that Peter was probably trying to find Sirius Black.
In the high sky, the strong wind carried the broken clouds, and the bright moonlight gradually became gentle. It cast a soft glow on the castle, the lake, and the forest.
A drop of black ink-like liquid appeared on the tip of Bryan's slowly lowered wand, the liquid slowly detached from the wand under the influence of gravity, but it didn't fall to the ground thousands of feet below, but turned into a black tadpole in mid-air.
The tadpole's tail swayed in the air, creating faint ripples, it swam silently into the window, and appeared behind Scabbers under the cover of the weeds and feathers on the ground, and then, merged with Scabbers' tail.
And Scabbers only felt a coolness on his tail, he turned his head and shook his tail in confusion, and after seeing nothing wrong, he ignored it.
Late at night, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had already been sent back to their dormitory by Scabbers. He himself was still squatting in a hidden corner of the Owlery, staring intently at the map. The darkness was the best cover, and if Sirius wanted to sneak into Hogwarts, he would definitely choose to act at night.
Since obtaining the map, he had been resting during the day and monitoring Hogwarts through the Marauder's Map at night.
But the Marauder's Map was not omnipotent, just like Bryan, Scabbers knew that he had returned to the school, but couldn't find his name on the map. He wondered how Bryan had managed to conceal himself from the map's detection.
'These talented wizards always seemed to be able to do things that ordinary people like him couldn't imagine.' Peter thought to himself, feeling a surge of envy and resentment. Fortunately, Sirius didn't have such abilities, or else he would have been dead by now.
'What should I do now?'
In the deep night, Scabbers no longer made such an effort to disguise himself. He lay on the Marauder's Map, his limbs spread out, facing the hazy moonlight that filtered through the window. His black and green eyes flickered with light, reflecting his restless thoughts.
He needed to find Sirius and then find a way to kill him.
And these two things were not that simple at the moment.
Because even if he found Sirius, he couldn't have a grand showdown with him. If that happened, it would be hard to say who would kill who. He certainly couldn't write a report to the Ministry himself, or shout in front of those terrifying Dementors at the school gate that he had found Black. He knew that no one would believe him, and he would be captured and executed instead.
He had to use someone else's hand to kill Black, but it definitely wouldn't be Albus Dumbledore or Bryan Watson. He couldn't control either of them. They were too powerful and too smart for him. He needed someone who was weaker, more gullible, and more hateful towards Sirius.
'Hmm, the best scenario would be…' Suddenly, Peter, lying on the ground, shivered and jumped up, as if he had an idea. He quickly darted towards the window sill, where he could see the whole view of the castle and the grounds. He skillfully slipped through the window, his small body barely fitting through the gap. His gaze penetrated Bryan, who was less than ten feet away from him, floating in the air and looked towards the dark forest with a pensive expression.
He already had another plan, and Bryan was no longer in a hurry. He crossed his arms and waited patiently, wanting to see what kind of trick Peter Pettigrew was going to play.
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