Sorcerer Supreme at Hogwarts (English Versión)

Chapter 78: "Catching the Rat"



Catching the Rat

"Human, when do you think they'll find us? I'm bored of this place," asked a boy lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling of his room.

The room, usually shared with several children, was empty at dawn, as everyone vanished to avoid two of their companions.

"I don't know. Stop bothering me. The old man sent us here because he said it would be easier for them to find us," answered the other boy in the room, surrounded by computers and components that looked like they had been salvaged from the trash.

"Who's supposed to find us? This is your fault for destroying half the castle, and now we're stuck here," said the first boy, getting up from the floor and yelling at the other.

"The old man said our supposed family. And the castle wouldn't have exploded if you hadn't touched what wasn't yours," the other boy retorted as he stood up from his seat, just as angry.

"We're supposed to wait in this disgusting place? I'd rather go back to Nurmengard. I don't care about this so-called family," the boy shouted furiously.

"What? You miss your new dad already? Poor thing," the other mocked, prompting the boy to charge at him, starting their daily fight once again.

As they fought, matching pendants could be seen around their necks, bearing a symbol any wizard would recognize—the Deathly Hallows.

At the same time, they were tools meant to suppress their magic until their "siblings" found them.

After all, the place where they had appeared was difficult to investigate, and the man who found them knew they had to be discovered by their "family" due to a prophecy he had foreseen. That's why he used the destruction of the castle as an excuse to send them to the Muggle world, near a town where a certain red-haired witch and her mother were about to move.

Meanwhile, Stephen, who despised prophecies more than anything, had no idea he was already part of one.

And when he found out, he might just weep tears of blood.

Meanwhile, Stephen and Wanda, after finishing their punishment cleaning bathrooms, were dragged away by the twins.

"Boss, we found what you were looking for!" said Fred, pulling a small box from his pocket.

"It was easy… and disgusting," added George, nodding.

"Hope Ron doesn't cry," Stephen commented as he opened the box, revealing a fat, ugly rat staring at him in fear.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Wanda asked, feeling a bit sorry for the rat.

"Send it to prison," Stephen replied casually, as the rat began trembling even more.

"Scabbers? What did he do, steal Dumbledore's cheese?" the twins asked, confused.

"No. Something worse. He killed several Muggles and framed his best friend for it… Oh, by the way, Scabbers is actually an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew," Stephen explained, dropping the rat to the ground and pulling out his wand.

The rat, realizing what was happening, desperately tried to escape, but Stephen's spell easily caught it, forcing it back into its true form—a short, plump, filthy man with rodent-like teeth.

He looked so disheveled that Wanda took several steps back in disgust.

As everyone stood frozen in shock, Stephen didn't give Peter a chance to speak, binding him with glowing chains.

At that moment, Ron, Harry, and Hermione came running toward them.

"Fred! George! Give me back Scabbers!" Ron shouted upon spotting his brothers, who were still too stunned to notice him.

Seeing they weren't even acknowledging him, Ron grew even angrier.

"Where's Scabbers?!" he yelled again, frustrated.

Finally snapping out of their shock, the twins glanced at Ron, then at each other, before silently pointing at the filthy man writhing on the ground.

"And who's that?" Ron asked, taking a step back in disgust.

"Scabbers," Wanda answered with a grin, standing at a safe distance.

"More precisely, Peter Pettigrew, the Animagus who hid as a rat for twelve years. By the way, did none of you ever question how a rat could live that long?" Stephen added, throwing the question at the three Weasleys, who were still in shock.

"Wait, you mean Percy and Ron…?" Fred couldn't even finish his sentence before bursting into laughter. George took over, laughing as he said, "They slept with a fat, ugly man for years! Hahahaha!"

"He even bathed with them! Hahahaha!" George added, while Fred chimed in, "I once saw Percy kissing the rat while practicing! Hahahaha!"

The more they recalled, the worse it got—especially now that they knew Scabbers had never been a rat at all.

Meanwhile, Ron stood completely frozen, mumbling to himself that this was all just a bad dream.

At that moment, Percy, who was patrolling the halls, was drawn to the commotion caused by the twins and the gathering crowd of students and professors.

"What are you all doing out so late?" Percy asked as he spotted his siblings—and Ron, who remained standing there in shock.

"Come on, Percy. We have something fun to tell you," the twins said, grabbing him by both arms and launching into the story—loudly enough for all the students around to hear.

When Percy heard everything, he, too, fell into the same state of shock as Ron.

"I-is that true, Stephen?" Percy asked, clinging to the hope that it was just one of the twins' pranks.

But as he saw Stephen nod slowly, all hope drained from his face, and he nearly collapsed.

The gathered students were stunned by the revelation that Peter Pettigrew, once thought to be a posthumous recipient of the Order of Merlin, had been living as a rat all these years. Others, however, joined the twins in laughing at the horrifying childhood stories of Percy and Ron unknowingly sharing their beds with a grown man.

"What is going on here… Peter?!" Professor McGonagall gasped as she arrived, staring in shock at Pettigrew, who was supposed to have died twelve years ago.

Right behind her was Snape, who, for a moment, almost pulled out his wand at the sight of the cowering man.

"If it isn't none other than Mr. Pettigrew. What is a corpse doing so far from its grave?" she asked venomously and sarcastically, gripping her wand tightly as her mind rapidly processed what she was seeing.

"Peter?!" Lupin shouted upon seeing his supposedly dead former friend lying on the floor. He didn't know what to feel at that moment.

"Can you explain what is happening, Mr. Flamel?" Professor McGonagall quickly asked, eager to understand the situation.

"Of course, but it would be best to go to the Headmaster's office," Stephen replied. The professors nodded while he dragged Peter Pettigrew along. The twins continued telling embarrassing stories about their brothers as they left.

Stephen stopped near Harry, making sure he would also hear what was about to happen. Wanda followed closely, determined not to miss anything.

"I see. So Peter was the one who betrayed James and Lily Potter," Dumbledore said with regret after hearing the full story, once Stephen and the others arrived with the man who was supposed to be dead.

Everyone was completely shocked upon hearing the full story.

Harry, after a moment of shock, quickly recovered and exploded with fury.

"You bastard! You betrayed them! They were your friends!" he shouted, pulling out his wand and pointing it directly at Peter's neck.

The others reacted to Harry's outburst and quickly moved to calm him down.

"Wait, Harry," Stephen said, swiftly disarming him with a flick of his wand.

However, Harry summoned a sword, determined not to stop.

This time, Wanda intervened, blocking the attack with one hand.

This surprised the professors present.

"He killed my parents!" Harry yelled furiously, struggling against his siblings, who were trying to stop him.

"We know, Harry. But that doesn't mean we'll let you do something you'll regret. After all, you have a weak conscience. We can kill him for you without feeling guilty if you want," Wanda said, trying to calm her younger brother, though her words unsettled the professors, who preferred not to comment.

"If you kill him, Black will still be guilty of a crime he didn't commit. He's supposed to be your godfather. Don't you want to help an innocent man?" Stephen added, helping to soothe Harry.

Slowly, Stephen's words took effect, and Harry, though still hurt, calmed down. He collapsed to the floor as tears flowed uncontrollably.

Wanda approached and hugged him while motioning for Stephen to comfort him as well.

Stephen, slightly uncomfortable, simply patted Harry's head, making Wanda roll her eyes.

Meanwhile, the adults faced a similar situation with Snape, who seemed on the verge of casting an Unforgivable Curse on Pettigrew. Only Dumbledore's firm gaze stopped him, though the veins in his hand gripping his wand made it clear how much effort it took to restrain himself.

Lupin, on the other hand, was in shock, sitting in a chair with his face completely pale. The day James and Lily died had been the day he lost all his friends, leaving him completely alone in the world. Now he learned that the real culprit had been alive all this time while another had been unjustly imprisoned for 12 years. The impact of this revelation was devastating.

"Albus, what will happen to Black?" McGonagall asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Yes, Minerva. I will send a letter to the Ministry immediately," Dumbledore replied as he began writing on a parchment.

Although the wizarding world already knew about telephones, the Ministry still used letters due to restrictions imposed by Minister Fudge, who preferred to maintain the traditional system.

Stephen, however, decided to send a direct message to Amelia Bones, knowing that as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had the power to act faster than any letter.

Dumbledore used a phoenix feather quill to speed up the process, aware that Black was still considered a dangerous criminal with an active arrest warrant.

The message was quickly answered, and before they could react, Minister Fudge appeared through the fireplace, accompanied by several Aurors and a Dementor.

The Dementor, upon seeing Pettigrew bound on the floor, lunged at him, but Stephen stopped it, grabbing it by the head with inhuman strength.

"What are you doing, Fudge?!" McGonagall exclaimed, alarmed by the Dementor's attack.

"Obviously, Peter Pettigrew died twelve years ago! That man must be Sirius Black in disguise!" Fudge shouted, trying to justify his actions while ordering his Aurors to attack.

"If you attempt to attack the suspect again, you will be charged with obstruction and evidence tampering," a firm voice called from the fireplace.

It was Amelia Bones, who had just arrived with a group of elite Aurors. Her presence filled the room with authority, making Fudge take a step back.

"Amelia, what are you doing here?" Fudge asked, clearly annoyed.

"As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, it is my duty to be here," Amelia calmly replied, motioning for her Aurors to take custody of Pettigrew.

"This is a deception! That man is Sirius Black in disguise! He must be executed immediately!" Fudge insisted, losing his composure.

"We will determine that," Amelia replied firmly. "For now, we will suspend Black's sentence until this case is resolved."

The Aurors apprehended Pettigrew while Amelia discreetly nodded at Stephen, silently thanking him for his quick action.

Fudge, furious, stormed out of the room with his Aurors, unaware that his Dementor had vanished.

"See? You take your 'Dementor Extinguisher' title too seriously," Wanda joked as she watched the remnants of dark energy dissipate from Stephen's hand.

"You know, all of this would be much easier if you just did your job properly," Stephen replied, visibly annoyed.

"Anyway, it worked," Wanda said with a triumphant smile as she led Harry away, letting him rest after the intense events.

The professors were still somewhat bewildered by what had happened, but Stephen had no time to waste.

"I have another matter to attend to. I'm leaving," he said as Dumbledore gave him an approving nod.

Now, Stephen had a new mission: to find the fugitive witness who could change his own destiny.

End of the Chapter.

—-

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