52: Chapter 52 Preparing Alternatives

On a weekend morning, only the dim fire remained in the Slytherin Common Room.

Draco pushed the parchment toward Allen.

"Ron took that rat to the Great Hall this morning, middle of the Gryffindor table, stuffed in his pocket, and even fed it half a piece of toast."

Crabbe sat down, holding a pumpkin pasty.

"It eats quite a lot."

Goyle added.

"The right front paw is missing a bit, and the edge of its ear is torn too."

Allen closed his book.

"That's enough."

Draco frowned.

"When are you planning to make your move?"

"Not now. First, confirm the substitute."

Nott looked up from his spot by the window.

"You're going to swap it out."

Draco looked over.

"Can you stop popping out of the corner every single time?"

Nott closed his book.

"You guys aren't exactly whispering."

Allen stood up and stuffed his book into his bag.

"Weasley can't discover the rat is gone immediately."

Draco's expression changed.

"So you're really going to capture Peter?"

"Prepare a cage first."

"A cage?"

"A fake rat."

Goyle shrank his neck.

"Does it need to be missing a toe, too?"

Allen looked at him.

"Yes."

Draco stared at Allen.

"Where are you going to find a rat that looks exactly the same?"

"The edge of the Forbidden Forest."

"Are you crazy? Going to the Forbidden Forest on the weekend?"

"The edge."

"The edge is still the Forbidden Forest."

Nott interjected.

"Hagrid is checking the southern fence this morning, Filch is patrolling the corridors in the Castle, and Madam Norris had ink spilled on her by Peeves last night."

Draco looked at him.

"You even know the cat's schedule?"

"No information is too small if it's useful."

Allen picked up his robe.

"Draco, you stay in the Common Room. If anyone asks, say I'm sleeping in my dormitory."

Draco sneered.

"One day, you're going to wear out that 'sleeping' excuse."

"Until then, it still works well."

Draco stood up.

"I'm coming with you."

"No."

"I can at least keep watch."

"You'd pull out your wand the moment you saw a branch move."

Nott didn't look up.

"Last week, when you saw Weasley's rat crawling over, you almost spilled pumpkin juice on Goyle."

Goyle nodded.

"It spilled on my shoes."

Draco gritted his teeth.

"Nott, shut up."

Allen looked at Crabbe and Goyle.

"You two stay too. If you see Ron passing by with the rat, make a note of it. Don't make eye contact, don't get close."

Crabbe breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's simple."

Draco folded the parchment.

"You'd better not let this get back to Snape."

Allen walked toward the exit.

"That's why you shouldn't follow."

The door to the Common Room closed, and the cold air of the stone corridor drifted along the floor.

Nott followed him out, book in hand.

Allen looked at him.

"You shouldn't follow either."

"I'm only going to the door. If the real rat is swapped out, Ron might notice its personality is off."

"I'll use a Confundo."

"The Weasley Family has kept it for years. No matter how dim-witted Ron is, he knows it's lazy, greedy, and afraid of cats."

"So the substitute must also be lazy, greedy, and afraid of cats."

Nott handed over a thin booklet.

"A standard Confundo won't last very long. This page has a way to extend it."

Allen took it.

"Payment."

"When you capture Peter, I want to take a look."

"Reason."

"The old case from twelve years ago involves too many families; the Nott family is watching it too."

"Fine."

Nott reminded him.

"Don't kill the rat."

"I need it alive."

Nott nodded and turned back to the Dungeon.

Outside the Castle, the cold wind swept over the grassy slope, and Hagrid's hut was puffing out white smoke.

Allen bypassed the main path and stuck to the stone wall, heading toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Inside the Portable Space, Void looked up, its tail tip resting on the parchment that had 'Scabbers' written on it.

Allen stopped in front of the tree shadows.

"Don't squeak, I know you smelled it."

The fallen leaves stirred slightly, and a grey rat crawled out from under the tree roots, stopping by the damp soil to gnaw on grass seeds.

Allen raised his blackthorn wand.

"Three inches to the left."

The rat darted forward, the space beneath its feet shifted, and it landed back in the same spot.

"Run again."

The dead leaves rustled, and it had already landed at Allen's feet.

Allen leaned down and trapped the rat with an empty ink bottle.

"Don't struggle. It's more useful alive than dead."

Hagrid's voice came from a distance.

"Fang, don't run that way!"

Allen tucked the ink bottle into his sleeve and pressed himself behind a tree.

A black dog ran past a dozen paces away, and Hagrid chased after it, snapping dry branches as he went.

"Can't even have a peaceful weekend."

The footsteps faded.

Allen then emerged from behind the tree.

"The edge of the Forbidden Forest really isn't suitable for Draco."

The Portable Space opened, and a corner of the stone surface spread out.

The grey rat was dumped into a temporary glass box and immediately began scurrying along the edges.

Void slithered to the outside of the box, its silver slit pupils pressing close.

The rat shrank into a corner.

Allen tapped on the glass.

"Afraid of snakes, acceptable."

He took out the notes Draco had handed him.

"Scabbers, grey fur, fat, missing a piece of the right front paw, torn left ear, old patches on its back fur, slow reaction, greedy, habit of hiding in sleeves or pockets."

Allen looked at the glass box.

"You're a bit thin, and this isn't a negotiation."

He put a small piece of treacle tart inside.

"Rats raised by the Weasleys are picky eaters; you have to be one too."

The rat sniffed it and began to gnaw.

Allen opened the booklet Nott had given him.

"Remember a few actions: eat, sleep, hide from cats, don't run when you hear the name Ron."

Void looked up.

"Don't look at me; snakes can't teach rats how to play dumb."

A grey-white light fell into the glass box.

The rat paused for half a beat, then continued gnawing the tart.

Allen moved his wand toward the right front paw.

"Need to be missing a toe."

The rat squeaked while holding the treacle tart.

"Bear with it."

The light of Transfiguration converged along the tip of the paw, and a piece of the right front paw vanished, with an old scar covering the edge.

"Don't bleed; there can't be the scent of a fresh wound."

He continued to adjust the left ear, the back fur, the abdomen, and the end of the tail, then sealed old dirt into the crevices of its claws.

"The Weasley Family wouldn't give their rat a bath; reasonable."

The rat in the glass box finished the treacle tart and lay down to nap.

Allen tossed in a knut.

The rat was startled awake and immediately tried to burrow into a corner.

"Reaction is too fast."

He added a spell.

"When you hear metallic sounds, be half a beat slower."

The rat only looked up after a moment.

Void's tail tip tapped lightly on the stone surface.

Allen took out a ball of red hair yarn and placed it outside the box.

"Weasley."

The rat didn't move.

"Ron, pocket, food."

The rat's nose twitched, and it inched half an inch toward the yarn.

Allen repeated this several times, and the rat finally approached the box wall when it heard 'Ron'.

"Good enough."

He folded up the notes.

"Can't be too smart. Being too smart will give it away. The real Scabbers has been playing dumb for twelve years; it has few flaws."

Void's tail tip rested on the words 'Peter Pettigrew'.

Allen glanced at it.

"The real one will go into another cage."

In the afternoon, Allen returned to the Dungeon.

Draco immediately rose from the sofa.

"Where have you been for so long?"

Allen hung up his robe.

"Overslept."

"Sleeping in the Forbidden Forest?"

Crabbe looked up.

"Can you sleep in the Forbidden Forest?"

Goyle shook his head.

"There are bugs."

Nott was flipping through a book without looking up.

"Doesn't matter as long as you're back."

Draco walked closer.

"Where is the thing?"

"Where it should be."

"Did it succeed?"

"It can fool Ron."

"Only fool Ron?"

"First fool Ron, then Harry, and finally Hermione."

Nott looked up.

"Hermione is the hardest."

"So the fake one cannot be held in her hands for long."

Draco asked.

"Toes, ears, fur color, what about eating?"

Allen sat down.

"Everything matches."

Goyle was relieved.

"Then it is Scabbers."

Draco looked at Allen.

"You turned a normal rat into Scabbers?"

"More or less."

"'More or less' will get people killed."

Allen raised his eyes.

"That's why I said it can fool Ron."

Nott closed his book.

"When are you moving on the real Peter?"

Allen picked up a quill and wrote 'Christmas' on the parchment.

"When there are fewer people."

Draco's expression changed.

"You're going to enter Gryffindor Tower?"

Crabbe opened his eyes wide.

"The Fat Lady won't let you in."

Goyle added.

"She'll ask for the password."

Allen folded the parchment.

"I won't ask her."

Draco sat back in his chair.

"If something goes wrong, I'll say you've been sleeping in the dormitory the whole time."

"You're already good at answering ahead."

Draco opened his book.

"I'm being dragged into this by you."

Nott looked at Allen.

"Where are you keeping the fake rat?"

"Carrying it with me."

Draco glanced at his empty bookbag.

"Where on earth did you hide it?"

"In a safe place."

Sparks fell in the fireplace.

Draco picked up his quill again.

"Potter, after you catch Peter, don't let him run."

Allen closed his eyes.

"I prepared the substitute precisely for this reason."

Inside the Portable Space, the grey rat lay in the glass box, a piece of its right front paw missing, old dust sticking to the torn edge of its ear.

Void coiled outside the box, its tail tip pressing down on the notes for Scabbers.