The spiral staircase leading to the headmaster's office seemed to stretch endlessly up. Ron's footsteps became increasingly hesitant with each step.
"Is Professor Dumbledore looking for me?" He asked somewhat uneasily. "Have I done something wrong?"
His mind raced through the events of the past few weeks like a frantic bookkeeper auditing his actions.
Had he been caught sneaking snacks from the kitchens?
Had his latest Transfiguration essay been so terrible that it made a meeting with the headmaster?
He mentally catalogued every minor wrongdoing, every moment of daydreaming in class, every time he'd arrived late to breakfast because he'd overslept.
But no matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn't find anything that would justify this level of attention.
"I don't know," Remus said, shaking his head with uncertainty. "Just as class ended, a note appeared in my pocket with only your name and the password to the headmaster's office written on it. It must have been sent by Dumbledore."
"By the way," Remus said suddenly, his tone shifting to something more casual, "what did you just hand to Harry?"
"My pet rat," Ron answered automatically, his thoughts still tangled in worry. The words came out flat and distracted, as if he were barely aware of what he was saying.
Remus paused mid-step, his foot hovering over the next stone as if the simple answer had somehow thrown him off balance.
"Having a rat as a pet is quite unusual," He said. "I thought you'd prefer owls."
"That was my brother's pet," Ron pursed his lips. "Now it's in my hands."
In fact, he had also wanted an owl initially, but his family's financial situation was indeed problematic. For now, he felt having Scabbers for company wasn't bad either.
Dumbledore was wearing his glasses, reading a letter Fudge had sent him, while Adrian was beside him, absently playing with Fawkes.
"Can I leave now?" Adrian asked, turning to Dumbledore after smoothing down a feather from Fawkes. "I have other important matters to attend to."
Dumbledore looked up and smiled at Adrian. "I suggest you stay to witness this, Adrian. After all, you discovered the clue."
"Really troublesome..." Adrian muttered quietly, then reached toward Fawkes again.
Perhaps he could collect more feathers that Fawkes didn't need.
Dumbledore and Adrian looked toward the door—Ron and Remus had appeared at the entrance.
"I've brought him, Professor Dumbledore," Remus said.
Ron stood at the doorway, looking at Dumbledore and Westeros in the office, feeling somewhat nervous.
Because everyone present was focusing their attention on him.
"Is there something wrong?" he said, his voice inevitably trembling slightly.
Seeing this, Dumbledore stood up from his chair, slowly walked to Ron, and said gently, "Relax, Ron. You haven't done anything wrong. In fact, I just have a simple matter to ask you about. Do you keep a pet rat?"
"Scabbers?" Ron was obviously relieved, but then became nervous again. "Has... has something happened to him? Scabbers hasn't been feeling well lately..."
Adrian listened from the side, casually plucking another golden-red tail feather from Fawkes. The phoenix pecked his finger in displeasure.
"Hmm," Adrian murmured, examining the small wound with amusement. "Touchy about your appearance, aren't you?"
Dumbledore patted Ron's shoulder, signaling him to relax. "So, Ron, how long have you had this rat... Scabbers?"
"Um... about ten years or so," Ron said, scratching his head in confusion. "He was originally my brother Percy's pet, then passed to me. This lifespan is indeed very long for a rat. He's already quite old, so Hermione thinks he might have some magical creature bloodline."
"Ten years..." Remus repeated. The color drained from his face as if someone had cast a sickening hex on him, and his hands began to tremble slightly. His eyes had gone wide with a mixture of horror and disbelief.
His gaze drifted involuntarily to Adrian, who continued his casual examination of phoenix feathers as if the conversation held no particular interest for him.
Dumbledore nodded slowly, his expression turning serious with this confirmation. "Where is Scabbers now? We need to see him."
The request sent a fresh wave of anxiety through Ron. "Why do you want to see Scabbers?" He asked, his voice rising with nervousness. "He's in the dormitory now. I had Harry take him back."
Ron's mind raced through possibilities.
Had Dumbledore called him here just for Scabbers? It seemed impossible that an ordinary rat could warrant such attention from the headmaster of Hogwarts. But then again, this was the wizarding world, where ordinary things often turned out to be extraordinary.
Could it be that Scabbers had something special about him? Some unusual bloodline, as Hermione had said? Perhaps he was descendant from some legendary magical creature, or maybe he had accidentally ingested something that had given him unusual lifespan.
Ron's imagination began to run wild with possibilities.
"There are just some things that need to be confirmed," Dumbledore said with tactful vagueness. "Could you take us to your dormitory?"
"Of course." Ron nodded eagerly, though his mind continued to buzz with unanswered questions.
Leaving the headmaster's office, the four walked toward Gryffindor Tower.
Along the way, Ron couldn't help but turn back to look at Adrian. "Professor... Scabbers really is just an ordinary rat, right? He's not some dangerous creature, is he?"
Adrian played with the phoenix feather and smiled at him. "You'll find out soon enough."
Somehow, he seemed to see a trace of... pity in Adrian's eyes?
He looked at the others.
He looked at the others, searching for reassurance. Dumbledore's face revealed nothing. But Remus... Remus's expression had became more serious.
Finally, Remus's composure cracked completely. He moved closer to Adrian and couldn't help but ask Adrian in a low voice. "You know what's happening, don't you?"
"That rat is probably an Animagus," Adrian whispered back equally quietly. "Don't make a scene. Ron doesn't know about this yet."
Upon hearing Adrian's words, Remus stopped in his tracks.
As far as Remus knew, there was only one person whose Animagus form was a rat. One person who had once been his friend, who had shared countless full moons with him, who had supposedly died twelve years ago in a spectacular act of heroism and betrayal.
At this moment, Dumbledore also noticed Remus's abnormal behavior. He turned around and said calmly, "Let's confirm everything first, Remus. Things might not be what you think."
When they arrived at the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Harry was sitting on the bed.
He looked surprised at the sudden appearance of the headmaster and professors. "What's happening?"
"Where's Scabbers?" Ron asked directly, his anxiety finally boiling over into action. All the worry and confusion of the past hour seemed to focus on this single, crucial question.
Though Harry found the entire situation bewildering, he obediently pointed toward Ron's bed. "Over there. I made him a cushion using one of your old socks and just fed him some Rat Tonic."
Remus moved with the sudden urgency of someone whose worst fears were about to be confirmed. He rushed to the bedside in a few quick strides. His hands trembled as he searched through the makeshift bedding, his movements becoming increasingly frantic.
"He's not here," Remus said, turning around with a face that had gone gray with shock.
"That's strange." Harry joined the search, his brow furrowed with confusion. He was absolutely certain he had left Scabbers in the sock-cushion, weak and barely moving from the Rat Tonic, he had fed him.
Remus was right—only a few gray rat hairs remained on the old sock, and Scabbers had disappeared.
"I definitely put him here." Harry said resolutely scratching the back of his head.
"Scabbers—!" Ron's voice cracked with desperation as he began calling his pet's name. In the past, this call had always brought immediate results. Scabbers would emerge from whatever hiding place he had found.
But this time was different. This time, the only response was silence. Scabbers didn't appear for a long time.
At this point, Adrian noticed something was wrong.
"Stop looking," He said, his voice cutting through Ron's increasingly desperate calls. "Accio Scabbers!"
With a wave of his wand, the dormitory door was suddenly knocked open, and a plump gray rat flew in as if pulled by an invisible hand grabbing its tail, struggling desperately in midair.
"This little guy was trying to escape!" Adrian said with a shrug.
"Scabbers!" Ron's face lit up with joy and relief as he reached out to catch his beloved pet, but was stopped by Remus.
"Wait, Ron." Remus's voice was unusually serious.
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