Chapter 431: Padfoot and Wormtail

Kyle's sudden appearance stunned everyone, even halting Professor Lupin's clenched fist, which was about to land on Black's face.

Only Black seemed unfazed. He continued lunging toward Scabbers, still clutched tightly in Ron's hands, without looking back. But now, wandless, he was quickly repelled by Harry and Hermione working together, sending him flying backward. He crashed into a table with a loud thud.

"K-Kyle?" Professor Lupin stammered in disbelief, snapping back to reality. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Professor," Kyle replied with a grin, gesturing to the corner he had been standing in. "I've actually been here for a while... just standing over there. None of you noticed."

"What? You were here the whole time?" Professor Lupin frowned. He'd been focused on Black, yes, but surely he'd have noticed an extra person in the room. But that wasn't even his primary question.

"I meant, how did you find your way here?" Lupin pressed.

"I followed the map," Kyle explained, pulling out a large piece of parchment. "I was looking at it in the dorm and saw you five leaving the castle right before curfew. I got curious, so I decided to follow."

"The Marauder's Map!" Professor Lupin recognized the parchment immediately. He'd helped create it and knew it well.

"You took it from Filch's office?"

"No, I've never been to Filch's office," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "I borrowed it."

"Wait, Kyle!" Harry interjected, realizing something was off. "Did you say five people left the castle?"

"Yes," Kyle confirmed with a nod.

Harry's eyes narrowed in thought. "But there are only three of us here, plus Professor Lupin—that's four. Could it mean Black's been sneaking in and out of the castle?"

"No," Kyle answered. "The map showed that right next to Professor Lupin was someone named Peter Pettigrew."

"That's impossible!" Ron protested, visibly frustrated. "Why would it say Peter again? It's obviously just Scabbers!"

"Yes," Professor Lupin agreed this time, eyeing the map doubtfully. "We've just confirmed he's not an Animagus. The map must have an error… it's been left unused for a long time, after all."

"There can't be anything wrong with the map!" Kyle hadn't even finished speaking when Black, rising unsteadily from the floor, interrupted him with a loud shout. Black looked electrified, his eyes wide with hope, and started toward Kyle with a frantic urgency. But after only two steps, his body began floating off the ground like a balloon.

"Casting without a wand…" Hermione gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.

"No!" Professor Lupin corrected, his gaze fixed on a fist-sized blue insect buzzing near Black. "It's a Billywig. Anyone stung by it starts to float uncontrollably."

"Sorry," Kyle said with a shrug. "Black seemed a bit too... excited, so I thought this might help calm him down." He reached out and caught the Billywig as it hovered back toward him.

Ron watched with a mix of admiration and envy. If only his Scabbers could do that, maybe no one would have tried to snatch him away.

Meanwhile, Black struggled midair, trying to reach the ground. But Lupin had already grabbed a piece of string and securely tied him up, leaving him bobbing in the air like an oversized balloon.

"Let's go," Professor Lupin said. "It's getting late, and we need to hurry and take Black to Professor... Dumbledore."

He hesitated, clearly refraining from saying what might hand Black over to the Dementors directly. But just as he started toward the door, he noticed Kyle's gaze fixed on the rat in Ron's hand.

Scabbers had gone still, nestled in Ron's grip, his small eyes betraying what almost looked like a smug smile.

"Why are you smiling, Peter?" Kyle asked gently. "Don't you realize yet? You won't be able to change back. Or do you think Professor Lupin and Black are both amateurs who messed up the spell?"

The gleam of satisfaction in the rat's eyes vanished, replaced by a growing horror. Lupin and Black, fools? Hardly. They were both top students in their time, and Scabbers seemed to suddenly remember that fact, terror deepening in his gaze. He began struggling again, even biting Ron's finger.

"Ouch!" Ron cried, loosening his grip in pain.

But instead of fleeing, Scabbers dropped to the floor and started circling frantically, emitting high-pitched squeals.

"Scabbers, what's wrong with you?" Ron asked, worry etched across his face.

"He's just double-checking something," Kyle observed, watching the panicked rat. "Ron, mind if I borrow your wand for a moment?"

Ron clutched his wand tightly, hesitant.

"Use mine," Harry offered, handing his wand over with a tense expression. He was full of questions and didn't want to miss any chance to uncover the truth.

"Thanks." Kyle took Harry's wand and placed it on the floor, addressing the distressed rat with a wry smile. "Go on, try it yourself—see if you can reverse your Animagus transformation."

Scabbers remained frozen, unwilling to expose himself.

Kyle seemed to guess what was running through the rat's mind. "Don't worry," he coaxed. "If you can actually change back, I'll be the one to let you go."

Then, without warning, Kyle pointed his own wand at Hermione and cast, "Expelliarmus!" Catching her wand midair, he pocketed it alongside his own and Professor Lupin's.

"See?" Kyle said, waving his hand dismissively. "There's no one left to threaten you. If you can manage to change back and grab Harry's wand, you're free to escape."

"Kyle, this is..." Professor Lupin began, looking uneasy, but before he could finish, Scabbers darted forward.

To everyone's disbelief, the rat bumped his head against the tip of Harry's wand. Unlike the previous blue glow, the wand now emitted a faint white light.

Under everyone's stunned gaze, Scabbers' body shook... but nothing happened.

Even Ron began to see that something was seriously wrong. Scabbers, as if in a frenzy, kept slamming into the wand again and again, desperate. In the dim room, the white light flickered unsteadily, like a sputtering light bulb.

The scene slowly chipped away at Ron's conviction. His Scabbers was using the wand—using the same spell. But how could an ordinary rat manage that?

Scabbers continued, his frenzied attempts growing more intense, until his fur began to tear. A few drops of blood spattered onto the wand, making Harry feel queasy.

And then Harry understood, at least partly, why Kyle had insisted on borrowing Ron's wand.

"Haha… Peter… Hahaha…" Black's laughter filled the room, raw and victorious, echoing off the walls. One single tear rolled down his cheek, falling silently onto the dusty floor.