A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 260: The Nicolas Flamel of rats

Felix Harp sifted through the currently known information—

"Based on today's events, it's clear that Sirius Black's primary target isn't Harry, but Ron Weasley. Could it be that the Ministry of Magic got it wrong from the beginning?"

"But that doesn't make sense. Twelve years ago when Black was imprisoned, Ron was just one year old... Is this some kind of personal grudge, a feud from a previous generation?"

Felix Harp recalled the impression he had of Arthur and Molly Weasley when he saw them at the Leaky Cauldron. They seemed very friendly, warm wizards, despite having quite a few children.

"No, my thinking is off track. If Black and the Weasley couple had a feud, he could have easily found them. The Weasley house doesn't have the double protection of Dementors and Hogwarts."

"So, Ron Weasley is the key!"

Felix Harp attempted to recall what made this student stand out. Apart from the remarkable courage displayed during the Chamber of Secrets incident, he seemed quite ordinary afterward, with homework that showed clear signs of patchwork and a seeming lack of intelligence...

Getting off track.

He shifted his focus to Ron Weasley's life and circle of friends—his friends, parents, brothers, and even the sister who had been briefly bewitched by Voldemort's Horcrux. Naturally, his thoughts led to Ron's pet rat, Scabbers.

If Ron wasn't Black's true target, the only suspicious point about him, or rather the living being, was his pet rat, Scabbers.

"A rat, hm!" Felix Harp sighed. "Normally, I wouldn't suspect, but since Black managed to hide the fact that he was Animagus, could the same be true for this rat? Or is it a victim of a curse?"

Felix Harp pondered for a moment and inclined toward the possibility that the rat was Animagus, not under some malicious forced transformation. This could be inferred from Black's multiple daring assaults on Hogwarts despite the risks.

"Black certainly despises that rat."

Felix Harp sensed a prickly situation. Though all these thoughts were built upon assumptions and reasoning, they seemed highly likely.

In fact, if Scabbers were a victim of malicious transformation, it wouldn't be too difficult—Felix could find it, send it to St. Mungo's for treatment, and be done with it. However, if it were an illegal Animagus, that would mean it could turn back into a wizard at any time. The problem was that Felix couldn't determine whether it was friend or foe.

"He might be evading enemies or maybe due to some circumstances, he's forced into hiding. But—" A sense of absurdity surged within Felix Harp. "Yes, indeed. If he truly wanted to disappear, he could easily choose to avoid the wizarding world altogether. A wizard can live quite comfortably elsewhere. Yet, he chose not to, instead subjecting himself to this charade of being a pet rat. This is definitely not a benign gesture."

The only reason Felix could think of was that this wizard didn't want to sever ties with the magical world; Mr. Weasley worked in the Ministry of Magic, which conveniently fulfilled his requirement.

By this point, Felix had a general understanding. The rat was likely not a good person. He decided that when they met, a Stupefy charm would be the first thing he'd cast. Whether it was to extract information or to administer Veritaserum, it would depend on the rat's true identity. As for Sirius Black...

"It's hard to say. The enemy of one bad person isn't necessarily a good person. Reality can be far too complicated. Besides, Black escaped from his hands twice... though there were reasons each time, it's still an uncomfortable feeling of being led by the nose."

Felix had always thought that Black wasn't particularly clever. Those involved back then—Snape called him foolish, Lupin said he was impulsive, McGonagall mentioned his liveliness, the Fat Lady hadn't offered an opinion, instead revealing quite a bit about his "adventures" and "achievements" during school. Some of those ideas were beyond the realm of ordinary thinking.

"But this time, he's been quite clever, seizing the opportunity of the Christmas break. If it weren't for Harry's considerable strength, he might have succeeded."

Next, Felix Harp did two things.

The first thing: He went to the nest of the Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest.

The forest was covered in thick snow. Felix Harp wore a dark cloak as his figure appeared in a sunken clearing, and around him, there were clicking and clacking sounds.

This clearing was also blanketed in snow, with the central hemisphere-shaped spiderweb nest being quite conspicuous.

"Gok, come out to see me." Felix Harp projected his voice into the spiderweb nest.

Snowflakes gently fell, and a few eight-eyed Acromantula emerged from inside.

Gok had become the new king of this group of spiders. He occupied the best spot in the colony's center, surrounded by several large spiders, bearing the air of a monarch.

"Wizard." Gok growled impatiently, "Is there something you want?"

"That's not the right tone for a conversation, Gok. Have you forgotten what I said?" Felix Harp inquired.

Gok's body stiffened. "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just resting."

"Do Acromantulas hibernate?" Felix Harp asked curiously, considering whether someone might capture a few during their hibernation or extract venom.

"Winter makes us uncomfortable. We prefer to stay in the caves, rarely venturing out," Gok explained, "but that doesn't mean we're oblivious to the outside world. After all, I'm out here now."

Felix Harp nodded. "I've heard you can control the spiders in the Forbidden Forest." From his vantage point, he could see quite a few fist-sized spiders crawling about on the white webs, snow, and fallen leaves.

"They're hibernating. Many won't survive this winter. What you're seeing are the younglings of the Acromantulas. Their thick fur helps them withstand the cold." Gok waved his large pincers.

"Actually, I need some clever assistants." Felix Harp smirked. "Listen, Gok, I need you to look for a big black dog or traces of a stranger in the Forbidden Forest. There's a good chance it has a designated spot, like an abandoned beast den. Once you find it, no need to take action, just remember the location and contact me."

Gok pondered for a while. "I can send the younglings out. Our size is too conspicuous; it might provoke a centaur retaliation."

"Agreed," Felix Harp consented. Just before parting ways, he gave Gok a large bucket of firewhisky—a leftover from the Christmas gift for Hagrid, not particularly to his taste.

"A belated gift, Gok."

The second thing he did was visit the infirmary. He extracted some information about the rat from Ron. Scabbers, it turned out, had been passed down to him from his brother Percy.

"How long has it been at your home?"

"For quite a few years," Ron said, scratching his head in confusion.

"Could you be more specific?" Felix Harp coaxed gently. "Around what age were you when you first became aware of its presence? Five or six, or maybe seven or eight?"

According to his assumptions, since it was Percy Weasley's pet, seven years seemed reasonable, given that the Weasley family were pureblood wizards—it might even have been a year or two earlier.

Ron thought hard. "I think Mum mentioned it. It was when Percy was about five or six. One morning, he found Scabbers and decided to keep it. Mum wasn't too keen on the idea because it looked like a regular rat, and it was missing a toe. But Percy had an unusual fit, crying and throwing a tantrum, and Mum had to give in. It's one of Percy's secret embarrassments; he won't talk about it."

Ron grinned, then winced as he touched his injured leg.

"A regular rat, missing a toe…" Felix Harp repeated softly. He looked impressed. "So, you're saying Scabbers has been around for at least eleven or twelve years? I recall regular rats usually don't live more than three years."

"This is like the Nicolas Flamel of rats," Ron laughed.

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