Chapter 260: Nicolas Flamel in the Rat
Chapter 260: Nicolas Flamel in the Rat
Felix organized the information he had so far—
'From today's events, it seems Sirius Black's primary target is not Harry, but Ron Weasley. Could the Ministry of Magic have been wrong from the start?'
'But that doesn't make sense. When Black was imprisoned twelve years ago, Ron was only one year old. Could it be a personal vendetta, some feud from the previous generation?'
Felix recalled the Arthur and Molly Weasley he had met at the Leaky Cauldron, who seemed very kind and enthusiastic wizards, except for having a bit too many children.
'No, my thinking is off. If Black had a grudge against the Weasleys, he could have gone after them directly. The Weasleys don't have the protection of Dementors and Hogwarts.'
'So, Ron Weasley must be the key!'
Felix tried to remember what made this student stand out. Apart from the Chamber of Secrets incident, where Ron displayed remarkable courage, he seemed quite ordinary. His homework often showed signs of patchwork, suggesting he wasn't very clever...
He was getting sidetracked.
Felix focused on Ron Weasley's life and social circle, considering his friends, parents, brothers, and the sister who had been briefly influenced by Voldemort's Horcrux. Naturally, he thought of Ron's pet, Scabbers.
If Ron wasn't Black's true target, then the only suspicious thing, or living thing, about him was the pet rat, Scabbers.
"Rat, tsk!" Felix sighed. "I wouldn't have suspected it under normal circumstances, but since Black managed to hide the fact that he was an Animagus, could the rat be the same? Or is it a victim of a nasty curse?"
After a moment's consideration, Felix leaned towards the rat being an Animagus, rather than a victim of a forced transformation. This was evident from Black's repeated and dangerous attempts to break into Hogwarts.
"Black must hate that rat to death."
Felix felt a bit stuck. Although his thoughts were based on assumptions and reasoning, the possibility seemed significant.
In fact, if Scabbers was a victim of a malicious transformation, it would be easier to handle. He could be taken to St. Mungo's for treatment. However, if it was an illegal Animagus, that meant it could transform back into a Wizard at any time. The problem was that Felix couldn't determine whether it was friend or foe.
"He might be hiding from enemies, or perhaps he had to go into hiding for some reason. But—" A wave of absurdity washed over Felix. "If he really wanted to hide, he could have chosen to stay away from the wizarding world and live comfortably. Instead, he chose to hide in a Wizard family, disguised as a pet rat. This is not a sign of good intentions."
The only reason Felix could think of was that this Wizard didn't want to sever ties with the wizarding world. Arthur Weasley's job at the Ministry of Magic would perfectly meet his needs.
With this in mind, Felix had a basic idea: the rat was likely not a good person. He decided to start with a Stunning Spell to incapacitate it. Then, depending on its true identity, he could either extract information or use Veritaserum. As for Sirius Black...
"It's hard to say. An enemy of a bad person isn't necessarily good, and reality is much more complex. Besides, Black has escaped from me twice... Although each time had its reasons, being led around by the nose isn't a good feeling."
Felix had always thought Black wasn't very smart. The people involved back then—Snape said he was foolish, Lupin said he was impulsive, Professor Mcgonagall said he was lively, and the Fat Lady didn't offer an opinion but revealed a lot about his 'adventures' and 'great deeds' during his school days. Some of his ideas were truly out of the ordinary.
This time, he was quite clever, taking advantage of the Christmas holiday. If it weren't for Harry's strength, he might have succeeded.
Next, Felix did two things.
The first thing he did was go to the Forbidden Forest to the Acromantula's lair.
The Forbidden Forest was covered in thick snow. Felix, wrapped in a dark cloak, appeared in a sunken clearing, and the sound of crunching snow echoed around him.
The clearing was also white from the snow, but the hemispherical spider web nest in the center stood out prominently.
"Gok, come out and see me", Felix called into the web nest.
Snowflakes fluttered down as several Acromantula slowly emerged from inside.
Gok had become the new king of the spider colony, occupying the best spot in the center, surrounded by a few large spiders, giving him a regal appearance.
"Wizard", Gok said irritably, "What do you want?"
"That's not the way to start a conversation, Gok. Have you forgotten what I said?"
Gok's body stiffened, "I didn't mean anything by it, I was just hibernating."
"Do Acromantula hibernate?" Felix asked curiously. Could someone take advantage of the Acromantula's hibernation to capture a few or extract venom?
"Winter makes us uncomfortable, so we try to stay in our dens and rarely go out", Gok explained. "But we're not completely unaware of the outside world. Here I am, after all."
Felix nodded, "I've heard you can control the spiders in the Forbidden Forest." In his view, there were numerous fist-sized spiders crawling on the white webs, snow, and dead leaves.
"Many of them are hibernating and won't survive the winter. What you see are the Acromantula's young, with thick fur to protect them from the cold", Gok said, waving his large pincers.
"I happen to need some smart helpers", Felix said with a smile. "Listen, Gok, I need you to find the trail of a large black dog or a stranger in the Forbidden Forest. It likely has a fixed resting place, like an abandoned beast's den. Once you find it, don't take any action. Just remember the location and contact me."
Gok thought for a while, "I can only send the young spiders out. Our size is too noticeable and would attract the Centaurs' retaliation."
"Agreed", Felix said. As he was about to leave, he gave Gok a large barrel of sherry—what was left from Trelawney's Christmas gift, which didn't suit his taste.
"Consider it a belated gift, Gok."
The second thing he did was visit the Hospital Wing to get some information about the rat from Ron. Scabbers had actually been inherited from Ron's brother, Percy.
"How long has it been with your family?"
"A few years, I guess", Ron said, puzzled.
"Be more specific", Felix gently prodded. "How old were you when you first noticed it, around five or six, seven or eight?"
Based on his guess, if it was Percy Weasley's pet, seven years seemed reasonable. Considering the Weasleys were a traditional wizard family, it might have been a year or two earlier.
Ron thought hard, "I think Mom mentioned it was around when Percy was five or six. One morning, he found Scabbers and decided to keep it. Mom wasn't keen on it because it looked like an ordinary rat and was missing a toe. But Percy, who rarely showed any temper, threw a tantrum and cried until Mom had to agree. It's one of Percy's dark secrets; he doesn't like to talk about it."
Ron grinned, but the movement pulled at the wound on his leg.
"An ordinary rat, missing a toe..." Felix repeated softly, his face full of admiration. "So, Scabbers has lived for at least eleven or twelve years? I remember ordinary rats usually don't live past three years."
"Scabbers is the rat equivalent of Nicolas Flamel."
(End of Chapter)
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