He Begged Me to Hit Him!

According to the map, Harry's location is in the fifth-floor restroom.

William and Hermione found him quickly.

Strangely, only Harry was there; Ron... that is, Peter, was not Peter!

"What's wrong, you two?"

Harry seemed nervous and looked suspicious.

"You weren't spying on the women's restroom, were you?" William asked, squinting.

"No... no..." Harry stammered, which seemed to further confirm the accusation.

"Where's Ron, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He's got an upset stomach and went into the restroom. I'm waiting for him at the door," Harry said quickly.

William frowned.

Harry asked anxiously, "What happened? Is something wrong with Peter?"

"Ron is Peter, he's impersonating him using Polyjuice Potion," Hermione replied.

"This... how is this possible..." Harry trembled, swallowing hard. "Impossible... you two must have made a mistake..."

His face was terribly pale, almost bloodless. He seemed to have been frightened by the news that Ron was Peter.

"Where is the real Ron...?"

William glanced at Harry, said nothing, and kicked open the door to the men's restroom.

He carried his wand and searched each cubicle, but there was no Ron, and certainly no Peter.

William walked outside and shook his head at Hermione.

Hermione glanced at the women's restroom. William understood and pushed open the wooden door. Hermione, wand in hand, followed him inside.

"Hey, that's the girls' restroom, William," Harry couldn't help but remind him.

William ignored him and continued to search each cubicle carefully.

"Looks like he's turned into a rat and run out of the toilet," Hermione sighed in disappointment.

Rats are very good at crawling into toilets; they can swim out of the sewer and down the toilet bowl.

Peter really went all out to escape!

William had anticipated this outcome and was not particularly surprised.

The only strange thing is that Peter couldn't possibly leave Hogwarts empty-handed.

They should have secretly taken Harry away.

Are you afraid of being discovered?

"What are you doing?" Professor Lupin's voice suddenly came from afar.

Standing at the top of the stairs, watching William and Hermione emerge from the girls' restroom, he wore a strange expression.

"Professor, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked immediately, sounding anxious.

"What happened in Professor McGonagall's office?!"

"No... I felt a little uneasy, so I came to escort you back to the common room," Lupin said gently.

"Sirius and Professor Snape are in the office; they'll keep an eye on Peter, nothing will happen."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud explosion came from the second floor.

Lupin: "..."

William and Hermione exchanged a glance.

Something's happened!

"Professor Lupin, you need to escort Harry back to the common room now and stay by his side at all times tonight," William said immediately.

"Peter used Polyjuice Potion to transform into Ron. He's probably escaped, but the possibility of him coming back to capture Harry cannot be ruled out."

I need you to protect him, understand?

Lupin paused for a moment, staring at the serious-looking William. At that moment, he felt as if Dumbledore were giving an order.

For some reason, Lupin couldn't muster even the slightest objection, even though he was... the professor and the adult wizard.

Lupin looked at William, who was only fifteen years old, nodded obediently, and said earnestly, "Yes, I understand."

William said no more and turned to walk quickly upstairs. Hermione followed closely behind him.

"Let's go, Harry." Lupin pulled out his wand.

Harry's face was deathly pale, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Only after William had completely walked away did he suddenly say with difficulty:

"Professor, I might... know... where Ron... Peter... is hiding!"

When William and Hermione arrived at Professor McGonagall's office, the room was once again filled with people.

Sirius was lying on the ground, blood streaming from his nose. He had been knocked unconscious.

Two Auror grabbed Snape, but the professor was still not satisfied and kicked Sirius several times.

"Severus, what are you doing?" Dumbledore's blue eyes peered through his Half-moon Spectacles as he stared sternly at Snape.

Snape's expression was a mixture of anger and disgust.

He roared:

"He begged me to hit him... How arrogant... I've never heard such a shameless request before... I'll beat you to a pulp... Hah!"

Snape spat, but in his excitement, he spat it onto his own shoe.

Enraged, he charged forward again, intending to kick Sirius in the groin a few times.

Wow, that's ruthless!

What kind of deep-seated hatred must there be?

And Sirius, you're way too weak... You got wiped out by Professor Snape in a second?

That's it.

That's it?

Well, it's normal that he couldn't win. Professor Snape, after all, was a tough guy who kept applying for the Defence Against Dark Magic position, wanting to physically withstand Voldemort's curse.

And what about Sirius?

He was imprisoned in Azkaban in his early twenties. Over the years, the gap in his magical abilities has widened to an unbridgeable chasm.

"Severus!" Dumbledore emphasized.

"Hmph!" Snape glared at Dumbledore, but ultimately didn't use his gruesome kick.

Dumbledore also regretted putting the two together.

What about Lupin? Even with him there, they can't afford to fight!

"Professor Dumbledore, I need to speak with you alone... about Peter and Ron," William suddenly interrupted them.

Ron was still wearing Peter's face and tied to the chair. So the effects of the Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off yet.

But Peter had disappeared again, and he planned to send Sirius away first.

"Yes, let's go to my office," Dumbledore said.

Hermione suddenly grabbed William's hand, her face showing a look of horror.

William followed her gaze and saw Ron, who was tied to the chair, suddenly begin to Transfiguration.

His hair was turning red, his nose was slowly growing longer, his skin was becoming smooth, and he was developing a lot of freckles.

"Weasley!" Snape stood frozen in place.

"Merlin!" Professor McGonagall opened her mouth wide and let out a shrill sound.

Minister Fudge stared in shock at the scene before him; he was completely stunned.

"What... is going on...?"

He slapped the Dawlish next to him, seemingly to make sure he wasn't asleep.

"I must be sleeping... that must be it. When I wake up, I'll see Umbridge's face," Fudge murmured to himself.

Dumbledore glanced at William, William helplessly shrugged, indicating that it was indeed the matter.

The principal walked over sternly.

"The Polyjuice Potion... There's no doubt that Mr. Weasley was given the Polyjuice Potion to become Peter."

Look at Ron's hair, it's been cut many times, the length is inconsistent. Peter use Polyjuice Potion to turn him into Ron?

Dumbledore only glanced at it, yet he understood the whole truth.

Upon hearing the principal's words, Fudge felt dizzy and grabbed Kingsley's arm to keep himself from falling.

They thought that capturing Peter was the perfect opportunity to bring down Crouch.

Back then, Crouch imprisoned Black in Azkaban without any trial.

If Black is innocent, Crouch's political career will be completely over.

He'll be scrambling home from the Ministry of Magic in a sorry state, and will have to undergo further investigation!

But now they're telling Fudge that this so-called Peter... is just a Hogwarts junior wizard in disguise?

If this were taken to trial, Fudge's political career would be ruined!

This is definitely a trap!

Fudge flew into a rage. Black had orchestrated this whole thing to clear his name.

Perhaps... Dumbledore was involved too?

It was all just to remove him from his position as minister!

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

Thanks to the "Hello a\u518dSee You" guy for the tip.)