Snape and Peter Pettigrew spent a very pleasant night together.
Whether Pettigrew found it pleasant or not, Snape did not know. At the very least, Snape himself was thoroughly satisfied. All those methods he had fantasized about countless times, techniques originally reserved for idiotic students, were now applied to Pettigrew tenfold, a hundredfold.
So much so that the next morning, the students genuinely thought something was wrong with their eyes.
They had actually seen Snape's lips curve upward slightly.
Was that… a smile?
Even the Slytherin students looked at each other in disbelief. Aside from the rare occasions when Snape smiled while deducting points from other Houses, they had never seen him this genuinely pleased.
"Morning, Professor. You're up pretty early."
Tom, who had come to breakfast with Astoria, happened to run into Snape and greeted him casually.
"Very good. Polite, and you take the initiative to greet your professor," Snape nodded slightly. "Slytherin gains ten points."
Tom:
…
It was hard to imagine what Snape had gone through. One night, and the change was this dramatic.
"Professor, about the ingredients…" Tom grabbed Snape and gave him a pointed look. The old bat had avoided giving a clear response last night. Afraid of post-event retaliation, Tom had to make things clear now.
"What ingredients?" Snape said quietly. "Don't waste my time. Dumbledore will be handing Peter over to Fudge soon. I need to seize the opportunity."
Eat first, work later. Snape was clearly here to replenish his energy. As for the ingredients Tom had borrowed, Snape treated it as the Head of House sponsoring an outstanding student.
The only regret was that if Tom had been willing to hand Peter over to him alone, Snape would have gladly paid ten times the amount in ingredients.
Watching Snape hurry into the Great Hall, Tom clicked his tongue.
Peter Pettigrew had fallen into Snape's hands?
He could already imagine just how joyful Peter's night must have been.
...
At the same time, in the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Harry, who had been unconscious all night, angrily blocked Ginny's path.
"Ginny, even pranks have limits," Ron said furiously. "If Neville hadn't carried us back yesterday, we would have slept in the common room all night!"
"And hurry up and give Scabbers back to me. He's my pet, not your toy!"
Harry also looked at her with displeasure. He still remembered how shy Ginny had been when he first met her at the Burrow during the summer. It had not been that long, yet now she had become completely unrecognizable.
Judging by this level of mischief, it had to be Tom's doing.
But he had not offended Tom recently. If someone had to be messed with, shouldn't it be Ron? Why drag him into it too?
Ron suddenly sneezed violently. Ginny deftly dodged aside, her face full of disgust.
"Ron, you got snot all over the wall. That's disgusting."
Ron's face flushed red, but he still argued stubbornly, "Ginny, give Scabbers back. Otherwise I'm telling Mum. She's already in a bad mood."
That struck a nerve.
Ginny was furious. These idiot brothers actually dared to tattle to home, getting her scolded by Mrs. Weasley. Finding a boyfriend was not the issue. Even dating a Slytherin boy was not necessarily a big problem.
But at this age, dating a Slytherin boy who was involved with many other girls?
That was serious.
Ginny had been terrified by Molly's harsh wording in the letter. After reading it, she burned it to ashes on the spot.
No letter meant she had never seen it.
"Scabbers isn't coming back," Ginny said, looking at Ron with a trace of pity.
This time, Ron was truly miserable.
Tom had already explained the general situation to Ginny the night before, satisfying her curiosity while also leaving her deeply shocked.
The captured Sirius Black was actually innocent, while the one awarded the First Class Order of Merlin was the real culprit.
Did the Ministry of Magic not investigate at all before throwing someone into Azkaban? And that Black was an idiot too, thinking this counted as atonement. Leaving aside the fact that Peter Pettigrew had not even died, even if he had, letting a traitor become a hero and turning Harry into a so-called savior without justice…
Was that atonement?
That was committing sin.
Ginny thought Sirius Black had something seriously wrong with his brain. Another ten-plus years locked up would completely ruin him.
"What do you mean?" Ron shouted, jumping up. "What did you do to Scabbers!"
That was the rat he had grown up with!
"Forget it. I'll take you to Tom," Ginny said. She did not explain further. Ron was not exactly quick-witted, and she could not be bothered wasting words. Let Tom deal with the headache.
Human nature loved passing the problem upward.
Once Ginny handed the trouble over to Tom, Tom immediately brought the utterly confused Harry and Ron to the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore looked to be in good spirits. He smiled as he greeted Harry and Ron.
"Harry, Ron. I didn't expect Mr. Riddle to bring you along, but this works out nicely. As the parties involved, I believe you have the right to know."
"Parties involved?"
Ron's legs started shaking. "Professor, I just want Scabbers back. I didn't do anything bad."
"I'm sorry," Dumbledore sighed. "Your pet Scabbers is no longer with us. You will be able to see him one last time later."
"Here is what happened."
Dumbledore patiently explained Scabbers' true identity, Peter Pettigrew's history, and his entanglement with Harry's past, omitting only the prophecy.
When it was over, both Harry and Ron felt as though their minds had shattered, but their reactions could not have been more different.
"My rat… was a man?"
"My parents… were betrayed by a friend, and that's why Voldemort found them?"
"That's impossible!" Ron shouted in panic. "Scabbers is just an ordinary rat, just a bit old. How could he be an Animagus? He's been in my family for eleven years!"
"He's with Snape right now," Dumbledore said calmly, unfazed by Ron's breakdown. He gently reassured him, saying he would bring Peter over shortly.
"By the way, Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore said with interest, turning to Tom. "How did you discover that Scabbers was an Animagus?"
He had wanted to ask this question yesterday, but Snape's emotions had been far too unstable, so he had sent Tom away first.
"Because of this map."
Tom placed the Marauder's Map on the desk. Without avoiding anyone, he activated it directly and zoomed in on the Potions classroom. Snape's name was displayed right next to Peter Pettigrew's.