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Chapter 146: Catching the Bug-Tail, Part 3
Chapter 146: Catching the Bug-Tail, Part 3
Before receiving Wade's message, Harry had been in the library with Hermione, studying weather-related spells. It was an incredibly complex branch of magic, and Harry's head was spinning after just a few minutes.
However, Hermione was engrossed in her studies, so Harry forced himself to continue reading the challenging text.
He found that after reading just two sentences, the words would quickly fade from his mind, and he'd have to go back and read them again...
After more than half an hour, Hermione had filled several pages with notes, while Harry was still stuck on the first page.
Wade's message felt like a lifeline. Eagerly, Harry jumped up, gathered his things, and hurried off to meet his friend.
Hermione, who had returned the books, rushed to catch up with him, a step behind.
As they approached the Gryffindor common room, they saw Wade leaning against the wall, staring at a folded piece of parchment. He seemed to be studying something intently.
"Wade, you said you had something important to tell me?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, just a moment..."
Wade raised his hand to signal for quiet and, after a moment, pointed his wand forward. Suddenly, a large, viscous puddle of mud appeared in the corridor.
"You wretched boy! What are you doing? Get rid of them this instant!"
Mrs. Norris shrieked.
"Wade, what are you doing?" Hermione screamed, covering her face. "You'll be docked points by Professor McGonagall!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it later," Wade said. "Harry, what's the password?"
Harry was perplexed. He hesitated but ultimately decided to trust his friend.
After all, a simple Cleaning Charm could fix things if anyone stepped into the mud.
Perhaps Wade was planning a prank? It seemed like he was taking it a bit too seriously, though...
Harry's thoughts were in disarray as he stood by the mud puddle and said to Mrs. Norris, "Fire Lizard."
"Make him get rid of these filthy things! Get rid of them, I say!" Mrs. Norris continued to shriek.
"I've given the password, Mrs. Norris!" Harry said, raising his voice. "You have to open the door now."
The portrait swung open, and Mrs. Norris tried to edge herself to the side, as if afraid the mud would splatter on her.
The next second, a blurry shadow darted out from the door and landed directly in the mud puddle. It struggled and squeaked in distress.
"Scabbers?" Harry said in surprise.
Just as he was about to fish Ron's rat out of the mud, he heard a series of spells being cast by his side—
"Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Incarcerous!"
Hit by the successive spells, Scabbers went rigid and fell unconscious, his body bound by ropes. Wade had just levitated him out of the mud when several people burst out of the common room—
Fred and George, Percy, and Ron.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock, unsure how all these people had squeezed out of the portrait hole in such a short time.
Ron, the last to emerge, was tripped up by Percy, then collided with Fred before tumbling into the mud. He scrambled to his feet, furious. "What in blazes is going on?"
"Where did this mud come from?" Percy yelled. "I'm putting you all in detention!"
"He escaped! Wade... oh, you caught him?" Fred exclaimed.
"Really?" George tried to lift his head from under his brother's backside. "Be careful, he's as slippery as a Gremlin!"
Ginny brought up the rear, lucky to have avoided the mud.
Ginny was peeking out from the entrance, giggling at the unfortunate state of her brothers.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, perplexed.
Upon noticing him, Ginny let out a squeal and quickly scurried back inside, disappearing from view.
Wade had finished dealing with the rat. He stuffed the jar into his bag and sighed heavily at the sight of the Weasley brothers, tangled up and covered in mud, struggling to untangle themselves.
Well... this is Gryffindor for you...
Wade banished the mud puddle and used a Cleaning Charm to remove the mud from the Weasley brothers, who finally managed to untangle themselves and get to their feet.
Percy, his face flushed with anger, pulled his robe back on and glared icily at the group. "You had better have a good explanation for this!" he said through gritted teeth.
"Never mind that! Where's Scabbers? What did you do with him?" Ron demanded.
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, equally bewildered.
Fred and George, on the other hand, shared a look with Wade. "Are you sure it's him?"
"Yes." Wade nodded and then addressed the others. "This isn't the place to talk. Let's head to the Owlery and explain everything."
"Okay." Harry and Hermione, the ever-curious bystanders, were the first to agree.
In fact, a crowd of curious students had already begun to gather.
With a stony expression, Percy allowed himself to be pushed along by the twins.
"After you hear us out, if you still think we're in the wrong, go ahead and tell Mom," Fred said smugly. "But I assure you, you... and little Ronnie here, will be thanking us."
The rat had originally been Percy's pet before he passed it on to Ron when he started school.
Percy had actually wanted to give the aging rat to his youngest sister, Ginny, but she had refused to accept such an ancient rodent as a pet, so it had gone to Ron instead.
This thought sent a shiver down Fred and George's spines.
The Ministry of Magic strictly controlled Animagi and required all Animagi to register their animal forms with the Ministry.
They considered it a serious offense to conceal one's Animagus identity and live among other wizards in animal form, due to the numerous malicious incidents that had occurred in the past.
As they made their way to the Owlery, with a little pushing and shoving along the way, Ron continued to protest angrily. "Regardless of what you have to say, give Scabbers back to me first!"
"No, Ron," Fred refused flatly. "He'll run away."
"He won't run if you don't chase him!" Ron yelled. "You scared him!"
"We're the ones who were scared, you know?" George snapped impatiently. "Just hear us out before arguing, will you? Stop shouting like a child."
Ron's face turned pale with anger.
Suddenly, a sharp meow startled the Weasley twins, causing them to cry out in unison, "Filch!"
Sure enough, Filch came rushing out, breathless, and glared at them. He gave the students a chilly once-over, not spotting any contraband, and asked, "Fighting?"
"No!" Fred wrapped an arm around Percy's neck and ruffled Ron's hair with his other hand. "Just a friendly exchange between brothers!"
The two still-angry Weasley brothers turned their heads away, refusing to comment.
(End of Chapter)
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