Peter Pettigrew had not had a peaceful time lately.
In fact, it could be said he was on high alert, jumping at every shadow.
Especially after overhearing Ron and his friends talk about that mysterious alchemy professor's office — and the big black dog that guarded it — he hadn't had a single decent night's sleep.
Thankfully, his current "owner" Ron's friend Hermione, had recently adopted a cat that seemed like the type to tailgate someone's car bumper. So Peter's anxious, paranoid behavior hadn't raised any suspicions.
After all, rats and mice being afraid of cats was pure instinct. All he needed to do was wait out the semester—or wait until Hogwarts allowed the third years to visit Hogsmeade.
As long as his owner Ron had one careless moment—maybe decided to slip him into his pocket for a walk — Peter could fly the coop and live free, no more fear and trembling.
Let that mad dog Sirius keep wandering around Hogwarts Castle chasing a rat like a headless fly.
But the very next moment, Peter saw a terrifying sight that logically should not have existed.
A four-propeller flying puppet slowly hovered up outside the dorm window. Attached to the front of the puppet was a tiny clip, dutifully gripping a sealed envelope—one that still had a warm blob of wax sealing it in the center.
Just as he was still processing this magical marvel and marveling at the wizarding world's progress, he saw… a big black dog.
Hanging off the puppet's landing gear!
Paratrooper No. 1, Sirius Black—ready for deployment!!!
'..…What the fuck is going on—?!' That was Peter Pettigrew's only coherent thought. The next second, his tiny, stubby legs kicked into action, moving with lightning-speed frequency, even if the stride length wasn't much.
He shot off the top of Ron's nightstand like a bullet, zipped across the room, and vanished behind a cupboard in the corner of the dorm faster than The Flash watching in silence, Quicksilver tearing up, and Sonic bowing his head in awe.
That spot—behind the cupboard—was one Peter had secretly dug out whenever the dorm was empty, ever since he learned Sirius had broken out of Azkaban.
"Did… did a big black rat just run past?" Harry asked, chewing mid-bite, and looking utterly confused.
"...Huh?" Ron looked equally baffled.
Meanwhile, Sirius—who had crashed through the window alongside the flying puppet—stood there with his mouth open, glancing around in utter confusion.
After spending so much time cultivating patience in the alchemy professor's office, he no longer acted purely on impulse like before. He had learned to think things through.
For instance, here was a very simple question: he had just seen Peter Pettigrew scurry into that cupboard with his own eyes. But—was there a rat hole inside that cupboard? And if there was, did it connect to other rooms, giving Peter a way to escape?
That… he didn't know.
And if he revealed his identity here and now over a rat he might not even catch—whether he succeeded or not, one thing was certain: he wasn't walking out of Hogwarts again.
Still, it wasn't like this trip had been a total loss.
At least now he knew which dorm Harry and Ron stayed in. All that was left was to stroll out slowly and casually.
Sure, he had probably just scared the rat into hiding… but hey, you never know.
He knew Peter Pettigrew all too well. Sometimes, the rat was so lazy he'd risk his life just to avoid moving.
...
And on the other side of the castle, Professor Kasenhis… "Damn, that sounds interesting!"
At that moment, he was roaming around Hogwarts with Lupin, exploring all sorts of rarely visited corners of the castle.
"So this Boggart you mentioned… is it some kind of rule-based lifeform? I heard you say they usually appear inside closets in closed-off spaces where people don't often go."
"Yes, that's correct," Lupin said.
"Hmm, but this Boggart doesn't sound like it moved into those places, it sounds more like… it spawned there," Kasenhis asked curiously.
"That's actually a question I don't know how to answer," Lupin replied. "Just like nobody knows what a Boggart's true form really looks like, no one's researched how exactly they suddenly appear in a cupboard… or maybe I just don't know enough," he added, tossing on a disclaimer at the end.
"Alright then, how do we confirm whether what we're seeing is a Boggart, or just some terrifying something-else?" A glowing fluorite crystal floated beside Kasenhis, casting light on the area around him.
"If there's something scary in a cabinet that clearly shouldn't be there—like, say, the moon inside a cabinet — then it's a Boggart," Lupin explained.
"You're still afraid of the moon?"
"No, it's just been a while since I last saw a Boggart," Lupin said as he opened cabinet after cabinet, looking for one—but clearly, he wasn't finding anything.
On the other hand, Kasenhis had a very different experience. He opened an entire row of cabinets, and when he opened the very last one…
He saw someone who looked exactly like himself.
The figure's eyes had no pupils—only a blinding golden glow.
On the other side, Lupin also heard the commotion and looked over curiously.
Then he saw Kasenhis move with zero delay—grabbing the Boggart by the collar, yanking it downward, and smashing a knee into its chin.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Kasenhis, stop! Don't beat it to death! We finally managed to find one!"
Lupin rushed over, quickly flicked his wand, and threw the Boggart back into the cabinet. Then he bound it tightly with chains.
"Looks like you were really startled… But why would you be afraid of a glowing-eyed version of yourself?"
Kasenhis shrugged helplessly. "Forgot… or maybe it's something else. Childhood trauma?"
"Childhood trauma… your childhood trauma is being afraid of a glowing-eyed you?" Lupin asked, a bit confused.
"My childhood trauma was a glowing-eyed other guy, not really me—but it still hit my fragile little heart like a truckload of critical damage," Kasenhis explained.
"Oh… alright then." Lupin nodded and said nothing more. Asking any further would've been impolite. He waved his wand to levitate the cabinet containing the Boggart, and the two of them began heading toward the exit.
Before long, the two returned to Lupin's office. Lupin gave the cabinet chains another reinforcing charm, while Kasenhis sat leisurely on the sofa, glancing around to see if the office had a liquor cabinet or anything similar.
Unfortunately, Lupin's lifestyle was annoyingly… disciplined.
So disciplined, in fact, it was kind of excessive.
In short—no booze.
"Here, try this. I picked up this green tea from Diagon Alley," Lupin said, walking over with a tea canister in his arms.
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