Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 298 Gathering at the Astronomical Tower

Time reverses, the stars and moon in the sky are stretched out, turning into streaks of silver light, dazzling and beautiful, before finally falling irresistibly into the earth. The dim sunlight rises from the west, and dusk and dawn coincide at this moment.

They returned from night to day.

"What...how is it?"

"Hermione, did you succeed?"

The weightlessness from the time distortion disappeared, and with their senses still a little dulled, Harry and Ron landed back on the ground, shouting and asking questions.

"We've gone back five hours, so there's not enough time, but we can still make it."

Hermione looked at the trail of footprints outside the tree roots, and as she spoke, she put the gold necklace back around her neck.

The footprints are clearly those of an adult male wizard. There are only two or three people in the castle who fit the criteria. If the footprints also have the serpentine markings of Slytherin, then it can only be Snape.

In such deep winter weather, with the speed at which the snow falls, footprints would soon be hidden. The fact that a series of fresh footprints were still left on the ground indicates that Snape had just passed through here not long ago, and they could indeed catch up.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then pinched each other's legs; the grimaces of pain proved they weren't dreaming.

"We don't have time to waste..."

Lu Ping said nervously that there was only one person's footprint on the ground, and he felt uneasy.

The group quickly walked out from the roots of the willow tree that had been hitting people.

The grumpy willow tree seemed to dislike Harry and Ron, who trudged through the snow-covered grounds toward the castle hall, its branches whipping and crackling like long whips.

Things were more complicated than expected. Hogwarts was quiet on Christmas afternoon. In this silent castle, only Snape's snow-covered shoes stepped on the floor, and the ice and mud gradually melted, leaving traces.

Harry and the others stared at the disappearing footprints on the ground, somewhat hesitant: "Snape definitely didn't go back to his office this afternoon, at least not in the next few hours, otherwise Ron and I should remember."

"So he went upstairs?" Ron looked at the stairs leading up to the top.

Hermione was unsure what to do and looked around suspiciously.

There weren't many people in the portraits on the corridor walls. Several nuns were busy inside and outside the church courtyard, wiping the windows and arranging the Christmas fir trees in preparation for the evening's party.

Portrait painters also celebrate Christmas, but the scenery in their paintings is fixed; they can only choose a few specific snow scenes.

The easiest way is to go to Professor Levent, whose magical map can guide them to Snape.

But... do we really want to drag Professor Levent into this mess?
Hermione pursed her lips, leaned closer to the picture frame, and asked, "Hello, Violet."

The witch in the portrait paused for a moment, then asked, "Who are you?"

Hermione also happened to recognize the portrait of this witch. The fat lady was in charge of guarding the portrait cave in Gryffindor Tower, and occasionally friends would visit, such as Violet, who always liked to drink with her.

Because drinking can easily interfere with work, Gryffindor often has rules about abstaining from alcohol. The fat lady both loves and hates this. At the beginning of the month, she is full of determination to abstain from alcohol, but at the end of the month, she drags Violet along to secretly drink the monks' wine.

"I'm……"

Hermione hesitated for a few seconds, then changed her approach: "I'm a Gryffindor student and a friend of the Fat Lady. We'd like to ask when she's going back to the Portrait Cave?"

“Didn’t we already agree that it would be after the Christmas holidays?” Violet looked them up and down suspiciously.

Several Gryffindor students, making small talk, were all acting mysteriously, their expressions hesitant to speak. Who knew if they were breaking school rules or helping Black sneak into the castle?

However, the presence of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor dispelled her doubts; after all, the professor was always reliable.

Hermione thought for a moment, feeling that she had done enough of the small talk, and asked directly, "Violet, have you seen Professor Snape?"

“Oh, sorry, we’ve been busy preparing for the cocktail party and didn’t notice.” Violet prepared to continue her work.

Harry and the others were disappointed. If the portraits didn't provide any clues, they would have to search the entire castle, hundreds of rooms, and there simply wouldn't be enough time.

Hermione felt someone biting her trouser leg. It was Crookshanks, who had somehow found her. Its persimmon-faced creature was near Hermione's feet, tugging at her trouser leg with a slight force.

With a flash of inspiration, Hermione immediately understood its meaning: "You want us to go with you, Crookshanks?"

The ginger cat nodded and strode upstairs, with Hermione following without looking back, and Harry and the others close behind, their trailing sounds echoing in the distance.

"Thank you so much!"

"Merry Christmas again! Please give our regards to the plump lady!"

The Astronomy Tower was the tallest tower in the entire castle. They climbed the spiral staircase all the way up, following the same route they used to take astronomy classes, going from the first floor all the way to the eighth floor.

After climbing hundreds of steps, Krokshan slowed his pace and lay low on the ground. The corridor was flat and spacious, with no torches or kerosene lamps on either side to avoid any light source affecting the observation.

There are square windows on the outer wall for stargazing. Through a specific angle, you can see a telescope placed outside and two figures, one standing on the terrace and the other lying on the ground.

Harry and the others stared at Snape. For some reason, there was a gloomy aura surrounding him, and just looking at him from a distance made them feel suffocated.

The person lying on the ground seemed to have lost all vitality. Dirty, curly hair covered his face, and his skin was dry, dull, and inelastic due to malnutrition, clinging tightly to his skeleton, making him look like a skeleton.

Fortunately, the skeleton's chest was still rising and falling.

Lu Ping stared at the man on the ground for several seconds, his breathing quickening involuntarily, a secret hope rising in his heart once again.

He unconsciously recalled that night not long ago when Sirius used Neville's list of passwords to break into the school and was scratched by Snape's dark magic. For days afterward, he worried about whether Sirius could heal from the dark magic or die in some freezing snow.

Looking back now, there are too many suspicious points about Sirius Black. It's impossible to be sure he's guilty, nor can we be certain he's innocent. Lupin just wanted to find out the truth of what happened back then, instead of living in a daze, losing all his close friends, and becoming a lonely, wandering werewolf.

At that moment, a monotone voice rang out from outside the terrace, as if a grand feast had begun, with all the guests present and Snape speaking from the head seat.

His voice was calm: "By leaking the address of Potter's old house as a confidant, were you threatened by Voldemort and forced into it, or did you choose to betray your friend for personal gain?"

A somber, chilling atmosphere enveloped the terrace, and hearts grew heavy with unease. They all understood the meaning behind those words: Godric's Hollow, Voldemort, the night the young couple met their tragic deaths…

The figure raised his wand and pointed it at the skeleton on the ground; a murder seemed imminent.

Lupin could no longer sit idly by and stepped forward, shouting in a deep voice, "Stop, Severus! There are still many questions that haven't been answered!"

"No, I've already found out."

Snape said calmly, “Peter Pettigrew came to me a few weeks ago and explained his secret of escaping Azkaban, his tricks for evading the Dementors’ search, his Animagus disguise, and how he had been hiding in the Shrieking Shack ever since. He even brought Potter a new Firebolt broom, which was his weakness. I disguised myself with a potion and easily caught the fool.” “Peter Pettigrew?” Lupin looked puzzled.

Harry stared intently at Sirius, knowing there might be more to the story, but hatred surged within him, and his green eyes seemed ready to burst into flames at any moment.

Hermione examined the wand held out to the side. It was made of birch wood, and the core was unknown. For a Death Eater who was once proficient in dark magic, it could easily be captured if the opponent was not on guard. So why bring it back to the castle?

Crookshank arched his back, his hair standing on end, and slowly paced around, his eyes fixed on Sirius on the ground.

Ron stood motionless at the back, trying to minimize his presence.

"The leaker was Peter Pettigrew. Black cleverly suggested changing the confidant, and the foolish Potter agreed and persuaded Lily."

Snape noticed Hermione looking at his wand, still pointed at Sirius on the ground: "And this fool was fooled by Peter a second time, seeing a severed finger and thinking Peter was dead, so self-righteous, not defending himself even after being arrested, and dragging it out until now."

"..."

Harry felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. His mind was suddenly flooded with too much information, and he couldn't process it all at once. He even felt a little dizzy, as the sounds and images from when he encountered the Dementors kept replaying in his mind.

“Harry…”

Harry felt someone pat his arm. It was Hermione and Ron. Their hands were trembling slightly, but still firm and strong. They conveyed their support with their eyes.

"So...you took him back to the castle..."

Lupin suddenly noticed something incredible: the howling north wind had temporarily stopped, and the smell throughout the terrace had stabilized. Behind him were several students, not far ahead were Severus and Sirius, and there was the ginger cat. Besides these, there was also a familiar scent lingering in the air.

Snape gripped his wand tightly, and magic erupted from it.

[Original shape appears]

Snape's voice boomed across the terrace.

All eyes were fixed on the white rainbow light. The spell landed on Sirius's neck and clothes, seemingly hitting the unconscious wizard, but the next moment, the rats were heard squeaking in panic.

"Spotted!?" Ron stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The bald, missing-toed rat was sent flying by the force of the spell, hovering in mid-air. Its gray-black body writhed wildly, flashing with dazzling white light, like a fast-forwarded shot of a tree growing. Ugly limbs and a head grew out of the rat's body.

Finally, he transformed into a short, fat, bald middle-aged male wizard.

Peter Pettigrew is very short, a middle-aged wizard in his thirties, only half a head taller than a third-year student. His thin, light-colored hair is messy and bald, his skin looks dirty, and his short, pointed nose and beady green eyes have a mouse-like appearance.

Crookshan stood nearby, hissing and baring his teeth, the hair on his back standing on end.

"Oh no, no, no..."

Ron was struck dumb, his expression blank, his mind blank.

No wonder pet mice can live for twelve years!
No wonder they were able to find their way back after being chased by the basilisk!
No wonder Crookshan, who has cat-raccoon blood, went on a frenzied pursuit!

This person turned out to be a Death Eater hiding in his own home, and had been pretending to be by his side all along.

Ron's vision was racing.

In other words, the pet that had been with him for twelve years, the one he ate, lived, and even slept with, was actually a lewd and ugly middle-aged male witch.

Peter didn't dare to look them in the eye, glancing around furtively as he wrung his hands together, forcing out what he thought was a friendly smile.

Lupin looked at his old friend and said softly, "Peter, it's been a long time."

“Severus… Remus…” Peter Pettigrew’s voice was high-pitched, his eyes darting around, focusing on the terrace exit, “Long time no see, my old friends.”

Snape examined his severed finger: "You fooled the stupid Potter thirteen years ago, faked your death to fool the stupid Black, and then passed me a message at the Hog's Head. What kind of rat eyes make you think I'm as stupid as them!"

Under Snape's dark and cold gaze, Peter trembled involuntarily. He looked at Lupin and Ron with pleading eyes.

Ron clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together.

"What other excuses do you have?" Lupin asked calmly.

In the depths of winter, Peter's forehead was covered in cold sweat. His mind raced, trying to find a glimmer of hope. This was Hogwarts, and the professor was here. If he could just get through this predicament, there was hope for survival.

“They are all Death Eaters,” Peter said in a deep voice.

Hermione's eyes widened, as if she realized something, and she unconsciously held her breath.

"Who?" Lupin frowned.

“Sirius, Snape,” Peter lowered his voice, “they are all servants of the Dark Lord, they’re in cahoots. Snape is framing me to exonerate Sirius!”

"I'm sorry, Peter, I don't believe you?"

"You're one of them too!"

Peter's eyes widened, and he screamed in panic, "I know, I should have known! Snape is a well-known Death Eater, Sirius betrayed James, they are both henchmen of the Dark Lord, and you, Remus, you can only cover for Snape because of the Wolfsbane Potion."

Ron looked around blankly, then at that.

Harry was still staring at Peter.

Both of them barely passed their potion tests and hadn't even realized what was happening yet.

Only Hermione was taken aback, then fell into thought, as the clues from the past few months seemed to stitch together to point to the truth about the full moon.

Six pairs of eyes were fixed on him from the Astronomy Tower terrace. No one showed any sign of wavering. If this standoff with no stakes continued, he would be torn to pieces and fed to the owls sooner or later.

They have a deep friendship and trust each other. Trying to sow discord will not work, so they must find another way to save their lives!

Peter thinks quickly, while the mouse, though short-sighted, always has flashes of inspiration.

They don't care about Lupin's werewolf identity, but they have to care about Sirius's life!

Peter jumped up under the watchful eyes of six people, drew his wand, grabbed the unconscious Sirius Black on the ground, and pressed the wand against his head: "Back off, or I'll kill him right now!"

(End of this chapter)