Chapter 39 — Taking Action
I held the rat in my hands and keep staring at him. My fingers move slowly over his rough fur, but my mind is working much faster. I tried to think of a way to take this rat away from the Burrow without anyone noticing. I need a plan that is fast, clean, and believable. I need something that will not bring suspicion to me, and most importantly, something that will not give Peter Pettigrew even one chance to escape.
I first thought about borrowing the rat. Maybe I could say I want to study him, or show him to my brothers, or compare him to other pets. But that plan died as soon as it entered my mind. If I borrowed Scabbers now, the Weasleys will expect me to return it later. When it disappears after that, they will know something is strange. That will start asking questions I cannot answer.
I removed that idea.
Then I thought about replacing it. I could take Scabbers and leave another rat as a replacement in its place. The Weasleys might not notice the difference at first. But they have lived together for years. They know their pets. Even Ron, as careless as he is, would eventually see something odd. And when the truth comes out, everything will point back to me.
So I threw that idea away as well.
Another idea flashes in my mind. I could simply slip Scabbers into my pocket while no one is watching. I could take advantage of the chaos in this house. There are so many voices, so many children, so much noise. Maybe no one would even look at my hands. But the more I think about it, the more impossible it feels. Every Weasley will be there to say goodbye when I use the floor to depart. They will notice my bulging pocket.
So that plan also dies.
I go through idea after idea. I imagine different approaches. I imagine different excuses. I imagine different lies. But every plan ends the same way. It ends in suspicion. It ends with someone asking where the rat went. It ends with someone remembering that I was the last one to hold him.
Then a final thought enters my mind. What if I mix all the ideas together? Not borrow him. Not replace him. Not pocket him. But a plan that uses parts of all of them. That might work. I keep thinking about it and shaping it in my head.
Then the perfect opportunity appears.
Molly claps her hands and says everyone should go outside to play in the garden. The Weasleys jump from their seats and run out one by one. Fred and George race each other to the door. Ron shouts that he wants to be the Seeker. Ginny wants to be Chaser. Even Percy walked out with a rare smile. I was still holding Scabbers. No one asks for him back.
I stay near the end of the group. When we reached the garden, I turned to Ron and spoke in a soft voice.
"Ron, can you show me the washroom?"
Ron nods without thinking. "Yeah, it's inside. I'll show you."
He takes me back into the house and points to the door. Then he runs outside again to play.
I step inside the washroom and close the door behind me. I make sure the latch clicks. Then I take out my wand. Scabbers looked up at me with his lazy, sleepy eyes. He thinks I am only holding him. He does not know what is coming.
I move my wand quickly. "Stupefy."
A red flash hits him. His body becomes still in an instant. His limbs freeze, his tail goes stiff, and his eyes closed halfway. I exhaled slowly. That part of the plan worked.
I place him on the sink for a moment and then raise my wand again. I speak another spell. The rat's body twists into a sharp shape and changes colour. His fur turns into a rough brown surface. His legs shrink. His ears disappear. In a second, Scabbers is not a rat anymore. He is a small rock. A harmless, heavy rock.
I pick him up and put him carefully into my pocket. I feel the weight. He is safe. He cannot move. He cannot transform. He cannot run. He is mine now.
Then I take out a small rock from my other pocket. I picked it up earlier from outside while pretending to tie my shoe. I place it on my palm and point my wand at it. I breathe deeply and focus. I imagine Scabbers' shape, Scabbers' size, Scabbers' colour, Scabbers' tiny scars.
"Transfigure," I whisper.
The rock shivers for a moment. It stretches. It grows fur. A tail forms. Front paws appear. Within a few seconds, the rock is no longer a rock. It looked exactly like Scabbers. Almost perfect. Anyone from our year at Hogwarts would not be able to do this, but I am way ahead of them.
This looks like Scabbers. This behaves like a normal, lazy rat. It is the perfect replacement.
I put my wand away, straightened my shirt, and stepped out of the washroom. I walked outside to the garden. The children were already running around in the afternoon sun. The grass is long and green. The garden stretches out in a messy but beautiful way. It matches the house. It is full of life.
Ron runs up to me. "Arthur! Come play!"
I smiled and handed him the transfigured rat. "Here. I don't want to carry him while playing."
Ron takes him without looking. He drops the rat near a flower pot and immediately runs off to chase a ball. He does not check if the rat is real or not. He does not question why the rat was calm in my hands. He is too excited to think.
Typical Ron. He is exactly the kind of person I need for this plan. He is friendly, careless, and always excited about games. He does not question anything.
The fake Scabbers slowly crawls away. The twins yell and laugh. Ginny chases after a butterfly. Percy sits on a chair and reads a book. No one watches the rat. No one cares that he is wandering off. This is perfect.
I move it to the other side of the garden and point my wand subtly at the fake rat. With a tiny bit of magic, I make him run farther away. He disappears behind a stack of garden tools. Then I cancel the magic. Once my spell ended, the transfigured rat slowly returned to the shape of a rock. The Weasleys will think he simply escaped. Pets running off, hiding and then reappearing later. That is normal here. No one will link it to me.
We played outside for nearly an hour. When the sun starts lowering, I tell them politely that I have to go home. Percy walks inside to get his notes. He gives me the thick stack of carefully written pages. I thank him and put them in my bag. Then I check my pocket again. It is still heavy. The rock is still there, still safe.
I stepped into the fireplace and turned to all of them to wave goodbye. Then I took a pinch of Floo powder and throw it into the fire. Green flames rise. I speak clearly, "The Leaky Cauldron."
I spin fast and land in the pub. The smell of smoke and old wood hits my nose. Without wasting time, I walk out to Diagon Alley. The street is bright and crowded. I go straight to the apothecary and buy a few vials of strong Sleeping Draught. I need them. I cannot risk Pettigrew waking up at home. I cannot use magic there because the Trace will detect it. But I can use it here as like in the Burrow. I wanted to use potions for extra safety.
I walk back to the Leaky Cauldron and enter the washroom again. I closed the door and lock it. Then I take out the rock from my pocket. I raised my wand and cancelled the transfiguration. Scabbers appears again, stunned and motionless. He looks weak and old.
I gently open his mouth and pour an entire vial of the sleeping potion inside. The liquid goes down his throat. His body does not react because he is still stunned. I stunned him once more just to be safe. I use almost all my magic. I cannot let him wake up before I deliver him.
Then I transfigured him again into a rock. This will keep him silent and harmless for more than a day.
I quickly left the pub because it is already evening. Once I reached home, I took out a piece of parchment and wrote a note to Madam Tonks. I tell her I have the animal, and that I will arrive at her house tomorrow morning.
I gave the note to Drein and sent him off. Then I wrapped the rock carefully and place it inside my enchanted trunk.
That night, I got to sleep with a steady heart. Tomorrow will be the most important day. Tomorrow, at last, we will have the evidence that Sirius Black is innocent. Harry will finally have someone who knows his parents more intimately. After all he was one of the Marauders with James. Also, he was his godfather.
End of Chapter 39 — Taking Action