Chapter 144: Catching the Bug-Tail, Part 1
Chapter 144: Catching the Bug-Tail, Part 1
Voldemort didn't usually pay attention to the names floating above people's heads. It gave him a sense of detachment, as if he were in a video game. So, he had gotten used to treating names as part of people's hair and ignoring them.
However, he glanced at the girl's name floating above her head.
<NAME>.
It was her, as expected.
Unlike her elfin beauty in the movies, her appearance wasn't particularly striking, but her unique aura was quite noticeable.
Luna, wrapped in a blanket, sat up in a daze, looking at Voldemort but not saying anything.
Voldemort walked over and asked, "Are you a first-year student? Why aren't you sleeping in the dormitory at this late hour?"
The blonde girl stared at Voldemort with her protruding eyes, not blinking for a long time, giving off a rather peculiar vibe.
After a while, she slowly said, "I lost my book, so I came to look for it but couldn't find it... The dormitory door is locked."
"Didn't you knock? Or won't your roommates let you in?" Voldemort asked, frowning.
"What does it matter?" Luna replied.
She lay back down and pulled the blanket up to just below her eyes, speaking with a calm and detached air. "The door will open by itself in the morning anyway."
Given her nonchalance, Voldemort felt that intervening would be more trouble than it was worth.
He asked again, "What's your name, and which book did you lose?"
The little girl, her gaze piercing through the darkness, looked at him and asked, "Will you help me look for it?"
"If it's not too much trouble," Voldemort replied.
After a moment, as if deep in thought, she said, "I'm Luna Lovegood. Some people call me Loony. I can't find my 'History of Magic' book."
Voldemort waved his wand and clearly stated, "'Luna's History of Magic,' come here!"
A book suddenly flew out from between the sofa cushions and landed in Voldemort's hand. He placed it next to the little girl.
"Wow—" Luna exclaimed softly, then fell silent for a few seconds before adding, as if she had just remembered, "Thank you."
"If you need help, you can look for me... I'm <NAME>, a second-year student." Voldemort said, and then he picked up his bag and returned to his dormitory.
Although Luna spent the night alone in the common room, Voldemort wasn't worried about her safety.
The house-elves who cleaned the place usually worked at night, and the portraits on the walls and the ghosts drifting through the room were more than just decorations.
...
The next morning, when Voldemort woke up, Luna was no longer on the sofa.
The downpour had lasted all night and showed no signs of stopping. The pitter-patter of raindrops on the windows turned into streams of water flowing down the glass.
The game arena was flooded with a foot of water, and Hagrid's animals were huddled in their sheds.
The students couldn't play their killing games, and many of them were pressed against the windows, gazing longingly at the sky, hoping for the rain to stop.
But the rain continued for several days.
"I wish I knew weather-changing charms," Michael, engrossed in his games, said dejectedly. "I could make it stop raining whenever I wanted."
It was finally the weekend, but the heavy rain confined them to the castle, which was cruel for the young wizards addicted to their games.
While Michael continued to wish, Harry and Hermione had already gone to the library to search for books on weather charms.
During these few days, Voldemort's Veritaserum was finally ready.
The clear, transparent liquid was stored in a crystal vial, resembling pure water.
Voldemort took out the Marauder's Map once more to confirm Peter Pettigrew's location.
As always, the rat was in Ron's dormitory.
Sometimes he would go out for a stroll, wandering around various corners of the castle. The first time Voldemort couldn't find him on the map, he worried that Peter was up to something big.
Later, he realized that the man was simply getting stir-crazy and needed to stretch his legs.
Even in his rat form, Peter always avoided crowds and hid from the students' pet cats and owls, taking his walks in secret.
Recently, whenever Ron went to participate in the escape games, Peter would often follow him, and it was said that he even helped Ron scratch one of his opponents.
During dinner, Ron praised his rat Scabbers highly on the long table, calling him a "meritorious subject."
Voldemort had once considered whether he could exchange this rat for his new wand or Galleons with Ron. But after much deliberation, he abandoned the idea.
Ron's wand wasn't broken, although the unicorn hair was exposed, it could still be used normally. He was indeed short on money, but that didn't mean he would be willing to sell the rat.
Ron was a person with many shortcomings, but he was also stubborn and sentimental. Perhaps he considered the rat as family and wouldn't let him go easily.
Doing so might alert Peter Pettigrew and make him suspicious. If that guy escaped the school and hid in a Muggle city or the wilderness, Voldemort didn't know how he would find him.
The operation to capture Peter Pettigrew must be foolproof.
Perhaps due to the rain, the students stayed in their dormitories and common rooms, and Peter Pettigrew hadn't sneaked out for several days.
Voldemort put away the map and Veritaserum and took out the friend's list, sending messages to several people in a row to communicate about the matters after, and then he left the Room of Requirement.
The corridor was empty, and he went straight down to the fifth floor before he saw the Weasley twins whom he had made an appointment with in advance.
When they saw him coming, the twins immediately covered their ears with their hands and shouted, "Look, it's Weed!"
They covered their ears for a while, then suddenly released their palms, and a large puff of white smoke rose towards the ceiling.
George was also creative, using his fingers to make irregular circular smoke rings that floated out like bubbles in the water.
Recently, even with the heavy rain, Gryffindor's Quidditch team hadn't stopped training.
To avoid catching a cold, they would drink a small mouthful of the Stimulant after training, but the trade-off was that their ears would emit smoke for the next period.
Harry was quite embarrassed because Colin Creevey had taken several photos of him looking like a steam locomotive. But the twins enjoyed it and even developed new smoke ring performances.
"Look, we can also do this!"
Fred covered his ears again for a while and then released a large puff of white smoke. He blew into it, turning it into a hollow smoke ring.
George waved his wand and conjured a bubble, enclosing the smoke ring inside, and finally placed it on top of his head, asking, "Doesn't it look like a papal coronation?"
"Yes, it does! Hahaha..."
Fred burst out laughing.
Voldemort was also infected by their relaxed and happy atmosphere and couldn't help but laugh.
After joking around for a while, Voldemort asked, "Fred, George, have you ever used the Marauder's Map to look at Ron's dormitory?"
(End of Chapter)
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