Dead rat?

"Barty? Brother Regulus?"

Miss Lucretia looked confused as the compartment door slammed shut. The two of them disappeared down the corridor, bickering, leaving her and Luna looking at each other.

She pursed her lips and looked down at the beautifully wrapped gift box Regulus had left.

The light purple wrapping paper was adorned with silver stars. She remembered mentioning once that she really liked stars and moon patterns, and Regulus had taken note.

Miss Lucretia carefully untied the silver ribbon.

Inside the gift box lay a delicate quill set.

Three quills of different thicknesses were neatly arranged, their silver nibs sparkling in the light, and the sky-blue feathers were as soft as clouds.

Her initial "L.C." was engraved on the ebony wood barrel of each pen.

The font was elegant and exquisite, clearly designed by Regulus himself.

A small card was attached to the inside of the pen box, written in neat handwriting: "To my dear sister, I hope this set of pens can accompany you in recording your first semester at Hogwarts."

She sighed softly, her fingers brushing over the exquisite feathers. "It's so beautiful! Isn't it, Luna?"

Luna was interested in the shiny nibs. She carefully touched them with her small pink paw pads, as if testing the quality of these new toys.

Then she nodded her little head in satisfaction, looking at Miss Lucretia with her emerald green eyes.

Little Barty grabbed Regulus's tie and dragged him towards the connecting area between the two carriages without a word.

Regulus stumbled along, adjusting his crooked clothes as he protested, "Hey, hey, hey, no need to be so rough, right? I'm not going to escape."

Only when there were no other students around did Little Barty let go.

Regulus rubbed his neck, but the smile on his face didn't fade at all. "You almost choked my neck off. What, are you afraid your sister will find out about the modified bedtime story and survival guide?"

Little Barty gritted his teeth. "Shut up, Reg. If you dare mention this in front of her..."

Regulus sighed dramatically. "You're going to murder your best friend for the sake of our sister. Alas, Barty, when will I ever get to see such a gentle side of you?"

Little Barty curled the corner of his mouth and looked at Regulus. "I get it, you're just itching for a beating, aren't you?"

Just as he was about to have a good talk with Regulus, he was interrupted by a familiar voice from the other end of the corridor.

"Hey, dear Lily! I just saw you walking with Miss Lucretia. Were you helping her adjust to Hogwarts? Do you need any help?"

It was the voice of that scatterbrained James.

Little Barty turned his head, releasing Regulus's tie. Both of them looked in the direction of the voice.

"No need, Potter."

Lily's voice sounded icy, then as if suddenly realizing something, her tone shot up.

"Wait, how did you know her name was Lucretia?"

James's expression was as if struck by a heavy object: "Uh... isn't she Mr. Crouch's daughter? I found out from... from Reg... from Reg..."

Lily's brow furrowed even tighter: "Potter, I'm warning you, don't get any ideas about her. She just got on the train! I can't believe you guys would joke around with newcomers, it's too much."

Little Barty and Regulus exchanged a glance and quietly moved closer.

James's expression was as if he'd been hit with a Confundus Charm: "What? No, how could I joke about her? We were still during the summer holiday... Ah!"

Sirius stomped hard on James's foot, interrupting his unfinished words with physical force.

Peter Pettigrew suddenly turned to James, interjecting in a sharp voice: "Crouch? As in, family of Mr. Crouch from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? James, do you know them?"

Regulus paused while adjusting his tie, and whispered close to Little Barty's ear: "Pettigrew's reaction is a bit strange. His family has no one in the Ministry of Magic, why would he care about this? And know so much about the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Little Barty nodded slightly, his face cold as he continued to observe the situation in the corridor.

James opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Lupin.

"Oh. We met briefly at The Three Broomsticks during the summer holiday. Sirius was talking to his brother, and we just said a quick hello."

James had a Sudden Realization, stomping his foot that hurt from being stepped on: "Oh, right! It was that time you guys were playing chess, and Moony and I happened to be nearby drinking Butterbeer."

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Little Barty let out a cold laugh and stepped out from the shadows, his footsteps echoing loudly in the narrow corridor.

Regulus followed behind him, shrugging at Sirius.

The atmosphere in the corridor instantly became tense. A few younger students sensed something was wrong and quickly dragged their luggage away.

"You need logic even when you're making up stories, Potter. Are you sure you were drinking Butterbeer and not getting your head bashed in with a Goblet?"

James's expression became even stranger.

How did he feel like he'd stumbled into a scene of catching someone cheating?

Sirius wasn't surprised at all, leaning lazily against the wall, having known they were there for a while.

Peter was startled by Little Barty's sudden appearance and took a few steps back.

He instinctively wanted to hide behind James for protection, but found Sirius's arm blocking his way, like a barrier exposing him to Little Barty's line of sight.

Peter's forehead began to sweat, his gaze darting between the people like a cornered rat.

"I... I just heard that Mr. Crouch has been arresting a lot of people lately..."

Little Barty took another step forward, and Peter's words caught in his throat.

"Arresting a lot of what, Pettigrew? It sounds like you're particularly interested in the progress of my father's work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Peter's voice grew smaller: "I just... heard..."

Little Barty scanned the four of them, his gaze finally landing on Sirius.

"It seems your friends are quite interested in my family, Black."

Sirius shrugged: "Don't mind him, Crouch. Peter's curious about everything, especially other people's business."

Lily looked completely bewildered.

She first sized up Little Barty and Regulus, then turned to look at Sirius, who had James's neck hooked with his arm, James's expression clearly showing some Pain.

"What exactly are you guys talking about?"

Little Barty merely glanced at her coldly.

Regulus politely responded: "Evans, was finding the cat smooth? Luna is a very clever little cat."

"Ah, speaking of which, that white cat was truly magical, she found Annie almost immediately!"

Lily finished speaking, still looking at the boys with suspicion.

"But what are you arguing about here? No fighting between carriages."

Lupin calmly glanced at James: "Just some misunderstandings, Evans. Aren't we still going to the Prefect Compartment? I need to pack some things, can you report me first?"

Lily nodded, but before leaving, she still Glowered at James.

"Alright, then hurry over later. Potter, remember what I said. If I see you bullying or teasing younger students after school starts, I'll tell Professor McGonagall."

After Lily left, Peter tried to slip away, but Little Barty blocked his path with his foot.

Peter looked up in panic, meeting Little Barty's icy gaze.

"What's wrong, Pettigrew?"

Little Barty's voice was dangerously low, each word seeming to be spat out from an ice cellar.

He took another step forward, looking down at Peter.

A cold Arc curved the corner of Little Barty's mouth: "Weren't you just interested in the Crouch family? I'm right here now, why don't you ask me directly? Or is it that you only dare to inquire behind people's backs, and when you meet the person themselves, you shrink your tail like a Dead Mouse and Escape?"

Peter shrunk his neck, his voice trembling: "I really just... just asked casually..."

James almost laughed at the Dead Mouse description, but Sirius's hand on his shoulder tightened, forcing him to hold back the laugh with a red face.

Sirius glanced at Lupin, who nodded slightly, as if confirming something.