Peter Pettigrew hadn't been having a good time lately; in fact, he was so paranoid that he hadn't slept a wink since hearing about the big black dog in the mysterious Alchemy Professor's office, as told by his master Ron and his friends.
Fortunately, his current master's friend had adopted a cat that looked like it had been rear-ended, so his recent anxiety and paranoia hadn't aroused any suspicion.
After all, it was a cat's nature to be afraid of a mouse. He just needed to wait until the end of this semester, or until Hogwarts opened Hogsmeade Village to third-year Little Wizards.
If his current master, Ron, ever carelessly remembered to casually tuck him into his pocket and take him out, then he would be free as a bird, never to worry again.
Let Sirius continue to run around Hogwarts Castle like a headless chicken, chasing mice.
The next moment, Peter Pettigrew saw a terrifying sight that, by all accounts, shouldn't have appeared.
A four-propeller flying puppet slowly flew to the dormitory window, and in front of the puppet was a small clip loyally holding an envelope, with a still-warm wax seal in the center of the envelope.
Just as he was in a daze, marveling at the rapid progress of the magic world, he saw a large black dog biting onto the landing gear of the drone below.
Paratrooper One Sirius, ready to go!!!
"...What the f***?" This was Peter Pettigrew's only thought at that moment. The next instant, he moved his small but incredibly fast legs, darting from Ron's bedside table and scurrying into a cabinet in the corner of the dormitory with the speed that would make Flash silent, Quicksilver weep, and Sonic bow in reverence.
He had secretly dug that spot every day when no one was in the dormitory, ever since he learned of Sirius's escape.
"Did a big black mouse just go by?" Harry, munching on something, looked up blankly and asked.
"....Huh?" Ron looked utterly confused.
Meanwhile, Sirius, who had crashed through the window with the flying puppet, opened his mouth and looked around in confusion.
After spending so much time cultivating himself in the alchemy office, he no longer acted without thinking as he did before; instead, he had his own little considerations.
For example, a very simple question: Peter Pettigrew had burrowed into the cabinet, which he had seen with his own eyes. But whether there was a mouse hole in the cabinet, and whether the mouse hole connected to other rooms allowing Peter Pettigrew to escape directly, that was something he didn't know.
And to expose his identity here for a small mouse that he wasn't sure he could catch, never mind whether he could catch it, he definitely wouldn't be able to leave Hogwarts.
However, his trip here wasn't without any gain; at least he knew Harry and Ron's dormitory. Now, he just needed to slowly make his way out.
Although it was already considered disturbing the grass and startling the snake, what if?
He understood Peter Pettigrew well; sometimes, for the sake of laziness, he would even disregard his life.
On the other side, Kayson...
At this moment, he was wandering with Lupin through various secluded corners of Hogwarts.
"So, is the Boggart you mentioned some kind of rule-based life form? I heard you say they appear in cabinets in enclosed spaces that are rarely visited by humans."
"This Boggart doesn't sound like it migrates; it sounds more like... it just spawns there."
Kayson asked curiously.
"I don't know how to answer that question. Just like no one knows the Boggart's true form yet, and no one has studied how it suddenly appears in cabinets... Of course, it might just be that my knowledge is insufficient."
Lupin didn't forget to add a disclaimer at the end.
"Alright, then how should we confirm that what we're seeing is a Boggart and not something else very scary?" fluorite floated beside Kayson, illuminating his surroundings.
"Any terrifying thing that shouldn't be in a cabinet is a Boggart, like the moon in a cabinet," Lupin explained.
"Are you still afraid of the moon?"
"No, it's just that I haven't seen a Boggart in a while," Lupin said, opening one cabinet after another, searching for a Boggart, but he clearly found nothing.
Kayson, on the other hand, was different. He opened a row of cabinets until he opened the last one, and he saw a person who looked exactly like him.
His eyes had no pupils but emitted dazzling white light.
Lupin, on the other side, also heard the commotion and looked over curiously.
Then he saw Kayson, with zero-frame initiation, grab the Boggart by the collar, yank it down, and deliver a knee strike to the Boggart's chin.
"Woah woah woah! Kayson, stop, stop! Don't kill it! It's so hard to find one," Lupin quickly jogged over, casually flicked his wand, and threw the Boggart back into the cabinet, then bound it with chains.
"It seems you were really scared... But why are you afraid of yourself with white eyes?"
Kayson shrugged helplessly: "I forgot... Of course, it could be something else, a childhood trauma?"
"Childhood trauma... Is your childhood trauma being afraid of a version of yourself with glowing eyes?" Lupin was a bit puzzled.
"My childhood trauma is another one with glowing eyes, it's not very related to me, but it still caused tons of critical damage to my young mind," Kayson explained.
"Oh... alright." Lupin nodded and closed his mouth; asking further would probably be impolite. He immediately waved his wand, lifted the cabinet containing the Boggart, and the two walked towards the exit.
Soon, the two returned to Lupin's office. Lupin used his wand to tighten the chains on the cabinet, while Kayson leisurely sat on the sofa, looking around Lupin's office, wondering if there was a liquor cabinet or anything similar.
Unfortunately, Lupin's life seemed to be damnably disciplined.
Even excessively disciplined.
In short, no alcohol.
"Try this, it's green tea I picked up from Diagon Alley," Lupin said, walking over with a tea caddy.
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