Hogwarts: Undercover Death Eater Replaces the Dark Lord

Chapter 186 Do you still have the nerve to come back?

Looking at the rat tonic in Ron's hand, Banban seemed to shrink back a little, as if he was very resistant to it.

But Ron didn't care, he just thought his pet didn't want to take the medicine.

"Hey, be quiet, Scabbers," Ron grabbed Scabbers' chubby neck and squeezed its mouth open. "Don't worry, maybe you'll feel better after drinking this medicine!"

As he said this, Ron poured the potion from the small red bottle into Scabbers' mouth.

Because Lecos couldn't be sure whether Peter Pettigrew, who was an Animagus, would fall into a deep sleep after taking the mouse dose of the Living Hell Potion, he directly prepared the dose for an adult wizard.

Anyway, the Living Hell Decoction will at most make people sleep for a little longer, it won't have a fatal effect...

The potion worked quickly.

Within half a minute, Banban rolled his eyes, his body began to stagger, and the whole mouse felt drowsy.

"Is this also the effect of the potion?" Ron murmured worriedly as he watched the performance of his own mouse.

"I'm not sure..." Harry stared at his toes guiltily.

Seeing that Scabbers fell into a deep sleep in a short time and could not be woken up no matter how much he was called, Ron looked even more worried.

"I don't think this is right," he muttered. "What did the salesperson at the Magical Creatures shop say? Didn't she say this was just a bottle of tonic to slow down your pet's aging? Why does it also have a sleeping effect?"

"Maybe it's because Scabbers is too old and can't be nourished?" Harry began to lie with his eyes open. "Didn't Lekos say he knew Mr. Scamander? Otherwise, ask him to take a look at Scabbers..."

"I'd rather believe the name Scamander," Ron curled his lips. "Hermione has been a huge fan of him ever since she read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them..."

"But, Harry, do you really think Lecus Hayden can be trusted?"

"You must be kidding, Ron! Lycos has saved Hogwarts three times!" Harry retorted. "Fighting Quirrell in first year counts as one, defending against Fiendfyre at the start of second year counts as the second, and fighting against the Heir of Slytherin in the first half of the year counts as the second..."

"But...but that doesn't change the fact that he's a Slytherin." Ron stiffened his neck, still reluctant to admit it, "and he's friends with Malfoy, who's our sworn enemy!"

"Malfoy isn't important." Harry shook his head. "Besides, Scabbers is just a rat. Why would Lycos bother targeting a rat?"

In fact, this is also Harry's doubt.

After much thought, he could only guess that there was something special about the rats that Ron raised, which was why Lecos had to target them...

Harry took out the trap given to him by Lycos - a trap specially made by Scamander, with many magics cast on it, which could automatically change its size according to the magical animals to be caught.

Moreover, the protective magic of this trap is quite complete, and even 5X-level magical animals find it difficult to escape from it.

At this moment, when Harry placed the trap, which was only the size of a walnut in his palm, next to Scabbers, it automatically became the size of a mouse cage and opened the lid to face the mouse in Ron's hand.

"Ron, I think we should bring Scabbers in and let Mr. Scamander take a look," Harry advised. "After all, you can't think of any other way, can you?"

Ron held onto Scabbers, gritted his teeth and thought for a long time, and finally decided to give it a try... What if Lex Hayden really knew Mr. Scamander?

However, just as he was about to put Scabbers into the trap, Percy's voice suddenly rang out from the door.

"What are you two doing?" Percy walked in and asked curiously, "What happened to Scabbers?"

He also wore a badge on his chest, with the words "Head Boy" changed to "Head Big" still flashing on the badge.

It seems that even Percy, the always top student, is helpless against Fred and George's mischievous magic.

"I just gave Scabbers some anti-aging tonic, the kind you get at the Magical Creatures Emporium..." Ron said dryly, "but he passed out right after drinking it. We suspect he's a little too weak to take it."

"Maybe. After all, Scabbers has been my pet since I started school." Percy took Scabbers from Ron and looked at it by its long tail. "So, this mouse must be ten years old..."

"Ten years?!" Harry blurted out. "But the clerk at the Magical Creatures Shop said the normal lifespan for a house mouse is only three years!"

Now he also felt strange.

If Percy hadn't mentioned Scabbers' lifespan, Harry would never have thought that Ron's pet rat actually lived for ten years! More than three times longer than an ordinary rat!

"In the wizarding world, these things are unpredictable!" Percy felt a little guilty about giving a dying old mouse to his brother, so he forced an excuse, "Maybe Scabbers has magical animal blood in his body? Like the Murtala rat?"

"You said the same thing as the clerk," Ron said listlessly, "but we've raised Scabbers for so many years, and we've never discovered any special abilities from him..."

"Who knows? Longevity is a special ability!" Percy said. "Let me see... Eh?"

At this moment, he suddenly let out a soft "Huh".

"What's wrong?" Ron came over curiously.

"This smell is a little familiar, I think I know what it is." Percy lifted Scabbers to his face and sniffed with his nose.

Harry and Ron were staring at him.

Ron was hoping that Percy had a way to save Scabbers, while Harry was nervous, afraid that Percy would find out about the Hell Potion he had just added to the bottle...

"Is that tonic bottle still there? Give it to me."

What Harry was most worried about happened. Percy reached out to Ron and took the small red bottle that contained rat tonic.

Percy put his nose to the bottle and sniffed the contents carefully.

"Strange... Why does this place smell like Hell Potion?" He frowned in confusion. "I only encountered this question on my final exam last school year."

"The Living Hell Potion? What is that?" Ron looked as if he had touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge.

"The Living Hell Potion, also known as the Water of Life and Death, is a powerful sleeping pill that puts the drinker into a deep, death-like sleep." Percy began his textbook recitation, "Its effect is similar to a state of suspended animation."

"However, this potion is a very advanced one. At Hogwarts, only sixth-year students who have passed the Ordinary Wizarding Level Potions Examination and entered the intensive Potions class can learn it."

"But the clerk clearly said this was a rat tonic for delaying aging?" Ron scratched his head, puzzled. "Percy, could it be that you made a mistake?"

"Are you looking down on a student who got straight A's in twelve subjects in the OWLs?" Percy said angrily. "Even Professor Snape couldn't find fault with my Potions skills!"

"Alright, alright, I trust you, alright? I'm getting tired of hearing all this..." Ron curled his lips, "Then why do you say this?"

"If the Living Hell Potion is as advanced as you say, it should be much more expensive than Rat Tonic, right? Why would the clerk in the Magical Creatures Shop add this stuff to it?"

"I don't understand either. We didn't learn about this in Care of Magical Creatures." Percy shook his head. "I only know that the Living Hell Potion appeared in the tonic. This kind of thing is definitely not right..."

"Harry, did you notice anything unusual when you brought the tonic?" Seeing this, Ron no longer relied on Percy and turned to look at Harry.

Harry immediately panicked.

"I...um...I don't think so..." He answered haltingly, "Banban's medicine is in the kitchen. I don't see anyone touching it..."

"Why are you so nervous?" Ron stared at the hesitant Harry suspiciously and took Scabbers back from Percy's hand. "Could it be that you and Hermione are in collusion? The big-faced cat she just bought has been plotting against my Scabbers all day long..."

"No!" Harry said this confidently.

Because the person who colluded with him was not Hermione, but another outsider living in the Weasley family, Lecos Hayden.

Under the scrutiny of Ron and Percy, Harry was just trying to find an excuse to slip away and tell Lecos that the operation had ultimately failed... However, at this moment, Lecos actually came to Ron's room in person.

"It seems quite lively here." Lycos walked in leisurely and smiled at the three people in the room.

He could see immediately that Harry had failed.

The trap in Harry's hand returned to the size of a walnut, and Scabbers lay quietly in Ron's hand, motionless. It must be because the Living Hell Potion had taken effect.

Lycos's brain was working rapidly, thinking about corresponding countermeasures.

Now that Peter Pettigrew has drunk the potion of the living hell, it means that there is no time to delay... When he wakes up from the effects of the drug, he will easily find out that he has been drugged.

For this reason, Peter Pettigrew, who has always been vigilant, is very likely to find that he has been targeted, and the probability of his escape will be infinitely magnified.

If he really escaped in the body of a mouse, finding this mouse with one of its front toes broken would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So now there is only one choice left -

Robbery!

"Give me the cage." Lycos held out his left hand to Harry.

His right hand quietly hid in his sleeve and touched the hidden button in the wide cuff, allowing him to slide his wand out at any time.

"Ah...oh." Harry was a little dazed, and after a while he hurriedly handed over the walnut-sized cage.

"What are you doing here, Hayden?" Ron looked at Lycos dissatisfiedly. "Don't blame me for suspecting you. We're looking for the murderer who drugged Scabbers, and you, the only Slytherin, just happened to show up..."

"I did it." Lycos's face was calm.

"What?" This time it was Ron who couldn't believe it.

In fact, he never thought that someone was targeting Banban, because it was just a tiny mouse!

"I said, it was me." Seeing that Ron didn't react, Lycos repeated calmly, "I was going to catch your pet mouse, so I gave it some sleeping pills."

"Are you crazy? You're going through all this trouble just to catch a mouse?" Ron yelled angrily, "Do I have a grudge against you? Is it worth it for you to target my pet like this?"

"I have no grudge against you." Lycos's expression remained calm. "But I still have some unresolved grievances with this rat... so you'd better hand it over to me to avoid any damage to the relationship."

"It's inexplicable." Ron hugged Scabbers tightly. "What if I refuse?"

"Then I'll have to get it myself." Lycos sighed softly and turned back to wink at Harry.

next moment--

"Imperio."

Lycos's Imperius Curse instantly took control of Ron's body. Ron uncontrollably let go of the hand holding Scabbers and handed it to Lycos.

The trap in Lycos's hand also pointed the lid at the mouse, and at the same time it became the size of a mouse trap, just enough to fit Banban in.

At the same time, Percy's expression changed drastically.

"This is... an Unforgivable Curse?!" he shouted in shock. "Hayden, do you know what you are doing?"

Given his cooperation in stopping Fiery Flame, Percy still had some affection for Lycos, but he just held his wand and didn't take action.

"Don't worry, all I need is this mouse. Your brother will recover in a few minutes," Lycos soothed. "I used this spell because I was afraid of complications."

"But wizards who use the Unforgivable Curses will all be sent to Azkaban!" Percy lowered his voice. "Do you want to be locked up in that prison full of Dementors?"

"Of course I don't want to." Lycos shook his head casually, "So I prepared a way out early..."

As he said this, he suddenly flicked his wand and sent a green spark out of the window.

Almost the next moment the green sparks lit up, two masked wizards appeared outside the door of the Burrow with a bang.

Before Percy could react, Lycos quickly took two steps back, pushed off the ground with his feet, and then jumped out of the third-floor window in a backward position... When he was about to land, the gray mist quietly supported Lycos's back, allowing him to land lightly on the ground.

"How is it? Have you caught Peter?" One of the masked men was very anxious. As soon as Lycos came out of the house, he grabbed his shoulder and asked hurriedly.

"We caught it." Lycos shook the trap in his hand, and the mouse, still sleeping soundly, rolled around in the cage. "But we have to leave now. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will soon realize it."

Sirius and Regulus nodded, each holding one of Lycos's shoulders, and prepared to Apparate away.

However, just as they were about to leave, the thing that Lycos was most worried about happened -