Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 19: The True Colors Revealed

Saturday morning.

Some of the new students were strolling around the castle, while others were sunbathing by the lake. They were not yet burdened by heavy academic pressure.

The Gryffindor freshmen gathered together to discuss and summarize the patterns in the staircases. Hermione talked the most, while Neville wrote down almost every word in his notebook. He also had a list of passwords for the common room.

Loren and his roommates had gotten into a habit: if they didn't see Neville before going to bed, they would go to the lounge door and open it, and Neville would most likely be waiting outside.

Ron put Banban in his pocket. Banban had been sleeping more and more these past few days, almost all day except when it was eating. Ron thought it might be a little unaccustomed to it.

Harry listened intently to the discussion about how to get to the classrooms quickly, recalling what Professor McGonagall had said to him and Ron that day when they were late.

"Perhaps if we turned you two into pocket watches, you would be more punctual."

"If I turn you into a map, you shouldn't get lost, right?"

How could someone with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius say such cold words? He never wants to experience that again.

Just then, Percy, Fred, and George returned from outside and headed straight for Ron.

Ron saw them too and greeted them happily, "Hey! I thought you guys all went to Hogsmeade. I was hoping you could bring me some candy."

Percy was pale and didn't say anything. George and Fred each lifted Ron up on one side and carried him out.

The two of them spoke in turns, each as if Ron had suffered a great calamity:

"Oh! Poor little Ronnie."

"He still doesn't know what happened."

Ron was still a bit dazed. The two men carried him for a while before he started yelling, "Let me go! Or I'll tell Mom, and you'll be sorry!"

Percy, following behind, beckoned Loren and Harry to follow, but didn't say anything. Harry and Loren exchanged a glance; Loren had a guess in mind, but remained silent.

The people in the lounge, seeing this, thought the Weasley brothers were joking and watched the group walk out with smiles.

Outside the lounge, Professor McGonagall was waiting with a glass jar. The twins put Ron down and said in unison, "Report, mission accomplished."

Professor McGonagall waved her wand toward Ron's pocket, and Scabbers floated up and landed in the jar, which then quickly transformed into a completely sealed sphere with only one vent.

Ron stared in disbelief for a moment: "Merlin's beard, you guys just wanted to catch a mouse?"

The twins patted Ron: "Mom and Dad are already waiting for us in the principal's office, let's go!"

Harry and Ron, filled with questions, followed the group to the headmaster's office.

As Loren entered, he noticed that the portraits in the Headmaster's office were all turned inside out, not showing their faces. Snape was standing in the corner, while Headmaster Dumbledore was comforting the Weasleys.

This was the first time Loren and Harry met Ron's parents; they both had the Weasley family's signature red hair.

Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, was tall and thin, wore glasses, and kept saying, "I should have realized something was wrong sooner, it's all my fault..."

Ron's mother, Molly Weasley, a somewhat overweight woman, was sobbing uncontrollably, muttering, "My poor Ronnie, that damned dark wizard."

Seeing the group enter, Molly stood up and rushed to Ron, hugging him tightly. "Thank goodness my Ronnie is alright! Thank goodness! All thanks to Dumbledore!"

Ron could feel his mother's excitement; her body was still trembling uncontrollably. Ron felt somewhat lost and had many questions, but he didn't ask. He quietly hugged his mother, trying to comfort her.

Arthur also came over. Even though Dumbledore kept saying that everything was fine, he only showed a relaxed smile after seeing that all the children were alright.

Arthur noticed Harry and the scar on his forehead. "You must be Harry. You've grown so much."

Upon hearing this, Molly looked at Harry, reached out to touch his face, but ultimately didn't. Instead, she hugged Harry tightly, saying, "Poor child!"

Harry felt a sense of closeness. He didn't resist, silently basking in the warmth. He wished his mother were here too.

Dumbledore came over and said to them, "This is Loren. He has a keen eye for detail. Thanks to him, we would still be in the dark."

Except for Ron, the Weasleys all gave Loren grateful smiles, which Loren returned.

Snape, somewhat disgusted by the affected scene, interrupted, "Now, let's see what this rat in the gutter really looks like."

Professor McGonagall poured out Scabbers the rat and placed it on the floor. Dumbledore, holding an ancient wand, activated the four-pointed star, and yellow light gradually spread throughout the rat.

Ron thought to himself: It's yellow now.

The rat gradually swelled and stretched, eventually transforming into a short, stout man with graying hair as the yellow light faded.

Harry's scar throbbed slightly again, but only briefly, so much so that he almost thought it was his imagination.

Loren looked at the man and felt a strange sense of familiarity. He thought it might be because he had seen the movie, so he didn't think much of it.

Ron and Percy watched this scene with identical pale and pained expressions.

Ron also felt intense nausea. He used to love this pet mouse very much, kissed it, and even slept with it in his arms. It turned out to be a greasy, bald, middle-aged man.

Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise, "Peter Pettigrew?" She recognized her former student.

Professor Snape's somber voice rang out: "Incredible! Ten years ago, Peter Pettigrew was blown up by his best friend and only had one finger left. I never imagined that he would be hiding in the Weasleys' house for over a decade."

Upon hearing this, Loren's mind conjured up images: blown-up rooftops, torn-open streets, and a sky-blue dress? They were blurry and indistinct.

"There must be something interesting going on here. We need a little magic potion to uncover the truth."

"Freshly prepared truth spray, only a few drops are needed."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, but ultimately disagreed: "Peter was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class. Everyone considers him a hero. We can't do that. Professor McGonagall, inform the Ministry of Magic. Someone else is involved in what happened back then."

From the moment Loren told him about the Animagus lurking in the Weasley household for over a decade, Dumbledore had been plotting something. First, he planted a small star on the rat, preventing it from escaping and making it unable to do anything desperate.

Write to the Arthurs and his wife, asking Professor McGonagall to contact Percy and the twins to confirm that the Weasleys are all safe.

Today, I started this whole thing. I had planned to give Harry a lesson on dark wizardry, and I even prepared Snape's potion. But things have gotten complicated. There might be some hidden details about what happened back then that he doesn't know.

Dumbledore said that he and the professors would handle the rest, and that the Weasleys should wait for news and he would give them an answer.

Arthur and Molly trusted Dumbledore completely and didn't say much. The children were still children after all, and they were still stunned when they left the office.

Professor McGonagall gave the Weasley brothers two days off to calm down, and they only needed to return on Monday.

Molly invited Harry and Loren to spend the weekend at the Burrow, but the two agreed that it would be better not to disturb the family reunion.

Harry was even more confused. He wanted to ask Dumbledore about the things Hagrid hadn't finished telling him about his parents.

Do Ron's parents know his parents? What's the deal with that dark wizard? Did Loren already know?

Harry was going to have a serious talk with Loren...

This is where the plot starts to get messed up. I keep feeling like there's something wrong with what I've written, but when I read it myself, I can't figure out what's wrong.

A friend said I laid the foreshadowing too dryly, so I went back and revised it. If you're reading this, please feel free to leave your comments.

(End of this chapter)