Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 242 The Escaped Mouse
Harry returned, but he didn't seem to get the answers he wanted from Professor Lupin. He walked into the common room with a troubled look on his face.

"What did Professor Lupin say?" Ron immediately stepped forward and asked, "The map he gave you must be broken."

“No, Professor Lupin said there’s nothing wrong with the map.” Harry took the Marauder’s Map from his pocket and laid it out on the table.

It was almost nine o'clock by then. Most students were having breakfast in the auditorium or doing homework in the library, and there were far fewer people in the dormitories and common rooms.

This is reflected in the Marauder's Map, where the names are no longer crowded and become clearer.

And in the dormitory area, a small name stood out... Peter Pettigrew, the man who had been killed more than a decade ago, had mysteriously appeared on this map, right in front of Harry.

“No problem? How is that possible?” Ron shouted in a shrill voice, glancing at the Marauder’s Map on the table.

"Look at this location, this is practically our dorm room, but there's no one here at all!"

To prove his point, he angrily dragged Harry and the onlooker Siron upstairs.

Hermione saw this and hesitated for a moment before following behind.

Once upstairs, Ron pushed open the dormitory door.

On the map, their footprints coincided exactly with those of Peter Pettigrew.

“Look, there’s no Peter Pettigrew here!” Ron shouted, picking up Scabbers from the ground and putting it into a box nearby.

"Don't tell me that Peter Pettigrew has returned as a ghost, and a completely invisible one at that."

“There are no ghosts that can completely turn invisible, Ron,” Hermione said. “Most ghosts are pearly white, just like the ones in the castle. Only a very small number are a different color, but they can still be seen.”

“That’s why I said the map was broken.” Ron turned to Harry. “Didn’t you say that the Marauder’s Map was borrowed from a friend? I bet he’s just trying to get you to pay for the loss, so he deliberately said it wasn’t broken.”

“No,” Harry said. “Professor Lupin isn’t that kind of person.”

“That’s hard to say,” Ron said, pursing his lips. “We all know that Professor Lupin doesn’t have much money, and this map looks like a high-end item. He definitely can’t afford to pay for it.”

Ron's words sounded reasonable, but Harry still didn't believe that Professor Lupin was that kind of person... After all, he had been friends with his father and had even saved him from Snape.

Although Professor Lupin was broke, Harry was convinced that he would never cheat him.

Ron wanted to persuade Harry to agree with his point of view, or at least to be more cautious.

While they were talking, Siren's gaze remained fixed on the large box labeled with fudge.

Inside the box, Scabbers was squirming restlessly, especially when Ron mentioned the name "Peter Pettigrew".

For a fleeting moment, Xiren saw an extremely clear look of shock and disbelief on the rat's face.

After that, it suddenly became quiet and remained motionless in the box.

It must have already decided to run away... Xiren thought to himself.

Scabbers, also known as Peter Pettigrew or Wormtail, was one of the creators of the Marauder's Map. He must have known the map's purpose and thus guessed that he had been exposed.

Given his cautious nature, he certainly won't stay here any longer.

That's why it's behaving so quietly now, as if it doesn't exist at all.

But Celen believed that as soon as they left the dormitory, Peter Pettigrew would immediately run away and get far away from the Marauder's Map.

"Should we seize him now?" Xiren hesitated.

Although Ron's complaint just now revealed the existence of the Marauder's Map, it also gave Peter Pettigrew the illusion that he had not been fully exposed yet.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be quietly waiting for an opportunity; it would have run away immediately.

Siren was standing only two feet away from the box, and he could take out his wand at any time and cast a stun spell on Peter Pettigrew, who was huddled inside the box.

At such close range, there was no way the mouse could have escaped. But Xilun didn't do so until the group left the dormitory.

He suddenly realized something: Lupin gave Harry the Marauder's Map and told him to look at it often.

Lupin knew that Scabbers was in Harry's dormitory, but he didn't warn Harry.

This means that Lupin did it on purpose.

From the very beginning, he wanted Harry to see Peter Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map... Scabbers was Ron's pet, and Ron was inseparable from Harry. So, if Harry looked at the Marauder's Map, there was a high probability he would see this name that shouldn't appear.

At the same time, Lupin must have also realized that once Harry took out the Marauder's Map in the dormitory, Peter Pettigrew would recognize him.

But he still didn't remind Harry.

If Sirius had come up with this plan, Sirius wouldn't have hesitated just now; he would have directly taken control of Peter the Pettigrew.

But Lupin is different. First of all, he wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Maybe this was part of his plan.

Since that's the case, there's no need for Xilun to go through all this trouble... It wouldn't be good if he did something wrong and disrupted Lupin's plans.

However, Xilun did not do nothing.

Before everyone left, he made an excuse to go back to his dormitory and snapped his fingers in front of the door.

"Gulu, are you there?"

"I need your help with something."

A few seconds later, a house-elf wearing a tea towel appeared out of thin air in the dormitory. It stood there, its big, tennis ball-sized eyes shining as it looked at Xiren.

"Mr. Ollivander specifically asked Gulu for help, Gulu is truly honored..." The elf's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

“Give me your orders, sir. Gollum is at your service.”

“This might be a little troublesome,” Celen said. “It might also take up some of your time in the kitchen, is that alright?”

Upon hearing that it would disrupt the kitchen work, the house-elf hesitated, but quickly nodded firmly.

"It's alright, sir, Gulu can help."

“Alright then.” Xilun didn’t stand on ceremony any longer and said, “A mouse will sneak out of the boys’ dormitory later. Follow it, but don’t get caught.”

“Mouse, the master really likes keeping pets… would you like Gulu to catch one for him?” the little elf asked.

"No, no need. Just follow along. I need to know its every move."

Gollum didn't quite understand Xilun's request, but since it had been put into practice, it would carry it out.

"Don't worry, sir, Gulu will keep an eye on that mouse!"

"Thank you for your help," Xiren said.

It was just a simple thank you, but it almost made Gulu cry.

“Oh, how wonderful, the gentleman actually thanked Gulu.” Gulu blinked his watery eyes, his hand tightly clutching the tea towel to his chest.

"Sir, you are as great as the great Headmaster Dumbledore!"

"There's no need for such a comparison." Xilun twitched the corner of his mouth and subconsciously took a small step back.

Sometimes he really doesn't feel comfortable dealing with house-elves; they're just too enthusiastic, so enthusiastic that it's hard for a normal person to handle.

……

(End of this chapter)