Chapter 429: The Sorting Hat's Insightful Judgments
Chapter 429: The Sorting Hat's Insightful Judgments
As they were about to enter the Great Hall, Kyle paused and turned to Fred and George, asking, "Do you have the Marauder's Map with you?"
"Of course," Fred casually pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "We always carry it with us. Why do you ask?"
"No reason, I just wanted to borrow it if that's alright," Kyle said. "I might need it for something."
"Go ahead," Fred shrugged, handing over the map as he made his way towards the Gryffindor table.
"We've got plenty of other ideas too, but it's getting late today, so we'll talk about it next time," George said, hurrying to catch up.
Normally, they might have been curious about Kyle's plans, wondering if he was up for a nighttime adventure. But at that moment, having gone hungry for most of the day, the twins only wanted to fill their stomachs, even if it was with a cold boiled potato.
Kyle carefully tucked away the Marauder's Map and made his way to the Hufflepuff table on the other side of the hall.
...
After dinner, Kyle returned directly to his dormitory and unfurled the Marauder's Map, scrutinizing the names that moved across it.
With less than a week left before the school term ended, he wondered what Sirius Black was planning. If Black intended to capture Peter, this week would be his last chance.
Of course, he could also wait until the holidays to make his move. There were no Dementors in the village of St. Kachipur, nor was Dumbledore or the other professors there. It would undoubtedly be much safer to act there... as long as he took advantage of times when Mrs. Weasley was out.
Or, like Peter, he could disguise himself as an ordinary pet and sneak in.
But Kyle felt he didn't have that kind of patience, and the village of St. Kachipur was not exactly close to Hogwarts. If Black didn't know the way, by the time he found it, Hogwarts would probably have already started its new term.
Kyle studied the map, but as curfew approached, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and Ron remained in the common room.
"Maybe not tonight," Kyle said, rubbing his stiff neck.
Just as he was about to put away the map, he noticed that Professor Lupin had left his office.
Recalling Professor Lupin's strange behavior earlier, Kyle paused, curious about the professor's actions.
On the map, Professor Lupin made his way to the eighth floor and stopped at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. The names Ron, Harry, and Hermione began moving towards him.
A few minutes later, Professor Lupin left, and this time, he was accompanied by another name—Peter Pettigrew, the small, stuttering rat.
Had he met with Black?
"That must be it..." Kyle thought.
He quickly surmised that Professor Lupin's recent frequent trips to Hogsmeade weren't for the reason circulating at school—a pursuit of Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks. He was actually searching for Sirius Black.
As former best friends, Professor Lupin would surely know Black's hiding places if he were in the area.
Hogsmeade wasn't that big, and with the amount of time Lupin had spent searching, he must have found him.
At the same time, he had likely learned from Black that Ron's rat was none other than Peter Pettigrew.
Now, Professor Lupin was probably on his way to confront Black.
With that in mind, Kyle closed the Marauder's Map.
Just as he was wondering how to distract Mickle and Ryan, the two boys happened to be discussing going outside to play a game of Gobstones.
Once they left, Kyle cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and quietly slipped out of the dormitory.
It couldn't be anyone else but Harry, Hermione, and Ron, as the Invisibility Cloak couldn't quite cover all three of them, hence the exposed half an arm.
And so, an interesting scene unfolded outside the castle.
Professor Lupin hurried forward, with the half-arm trailing behind him, and Kyle bringing up the rear...
As Professor Lupin approached the Whomping Willow, a large black dog suddenly burst out from the side, its cold eyes fixed on the struggling rat in the professor's hands.
"You shouldn't be here. Go back!" Professor Lupin shouted sternly.
The dog let out a few growls, and in the next second, its body twisted and transformed into a thin man.
"I couldn't wait any longer..." His voice was hoarse. "...Twelve years, Remus, I waited twelve years in Azkaban..."
"We must..."
"It was you!"
To Kyle's disbelief, the three figures in front of him suddenly emerged from the Invisibility Cloak.
Harry pointed at Professor Lupin and shouted, "It was you who helped Black get into the castle, both times! You're his accomplice!"
"I trusted you so much!" Hermione was also trembling with anger.
Ron, without any regard for the danger, lunged forward. "Give Scabbers back to me!"
"Quite an eye-opener," Kyle muttered.
Knowing full well how dangerous the person was, instead of staying hidden, they chose to confront him head-on... These three truly lived up to their Gryffindor reputation, the Sorting Hat sure knew its business.
This was Sirius Black... If it had been anyone else, like Crabbe or Goyle, or even Bellatrix, the three of them would likely be permanent residents with the Whomping Willow from that day on.
However, Harry and the others' sudden appearance startled Professor Lupin, and in that moment of hesitation, Black snatched the rat from his hands and turned to dart into the hole under the Whomping Willow.
"Sirius, come back!" Professor Lupin reacted and gave chase.
"Scabbers!" Ron was hot on their trail.
"Ron..." Harry and Hermione called out.
In the blink of an eye, Kyle was left alone in the clearing.
"The Sorting Hat sure knows its business..." Kyle muttered once more before stepping up to the Whomping Willow.
The usually violent tree was strangely calm, and Kyle, after a moment's hesitation and a longing glance at the lush branches, suppressed his curiosity and jumped into the hole without a backward glance.
Oh well, now wasn't the time. Maybe another day.
(End of Chapter)
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