Chapter 260: The Nicolas Flamel of rats

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."Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

"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...

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.

Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.

As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:

For $5

Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".The power to vote on which novel I translate next.You Get Ad-free Chapters.

For $10

You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.You get access to Digital art.Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).

For $20

You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).

Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!