Crouched beneath the Gryffindor dormitory cupboard, Peter Pettigrew nibbled pitifully on the food scraps he'd stashed there earlier.
Stockpiling in advance was one of his long-standing habits.
Granted, at this point, that kind of preparation might be a bit excessive.
Plus, every time he came to this "secret base," he had to engage in a long, drawn-out war with the cockroaches...
But fortunately, he always came out on top!
Just like today—he had just been about to crawl out from under the cupboard and go stretch out comfortably on Ron's bed when his ratty sixth sense picked up a familiar and horrifying scent.
Peter immediately leapt off the bed and dove straight under the cupboard without hesitation.
The moment Sirius entered the dorm, he began sniffing the air intensely with his big black dog nose. He definitely knew exactly where Peter was hiding—and he also knew full well that Peter would absolutely not crawl out from his dank little hidey-hole right now.
But still—what if? What if Peter got sloppy, or fell asleep somewhere else, and Sirius could just grab him and bolt? Worst case, Ron would be mad for a couple days.
At most, Sirius could turn back into a human, throw some Galleons at the problem, and get Ron a new pet.
Third-years weren't likely to be too attached to a dirty gray rat anyway. Most kids preferred something flashier... though there were always those with fuckedup—ehm—unique tastes.
Anyway, even though he knew full well that Peter wouldn't show himself, Sirius still couldn't help checking. You never know—what if, right?
"Eh? Scabbers? Where'd he go again? Crookshanks isn't even in here right now…" Ron was on his knees once more, peeking under the bed and the desk, searching for a glimpse of his pet rat.
Ever since the start of this term, Scabbers had developed a habit of hiding in random corners—he was just really hard to find. Especially in the past few days, when Hermione's pet, Crookshanks, kept suddenly popping into the dorm and scaring Scabbers half to death.
The poor rat had basically stopped living like a creature of the living world. Most of the time, he hid in dark, gloomy spots.
He only ventured out late at night for a stroll—like he was in a star-crossed romance with the school's owls.
And so, under the cupboard, Scabbers hugged himself with his three and a half little legs, looking every bit like a weak, pitiful, helpless little rat.
Which, frankly, he was.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the grounds...
"Yo! Hagrid, have you sent Buckbeak off?" Kasenhis knocked on the door of Hagrid's hut. Very soon, Hagrid appeared, clutching two bottles of liquor, his eyes red and puffy.
"I was just about to come find you, actually. Wanted you to drink a couple rounds with me... maybe a couple bottles..." Hagrid said, wiping his tears.
"Heh, that's why I'm here." Kasenhis reached out and patted Hagrid on the shoulder in comfort.
"Buckbeak's gone... she's free. I'm happy for her," Hagrid said as he poured himself a full mug of strong liquor into his giant golden cup.
Clearly, he had no intention of savoring the drink. He just wanted to get drunk—fast—so he could drown out the sorrow of parting with one of his beloved animal friends.
Kasenhis simply shrugged helplessly. "Be happy for Buckbeak. With a personality as proud as hers, living peacefully alongside all humans was never going to happen. Better to let her return to freedom as soon as possible."
"Otherwise, with that wild temper of hers, it was only a matter of time before she seriously hurt someone. And when that day came, it wouldn't just be life imprisonment—she might get a death sentence straightaway."
With a mix of comforting words, half-truths, and a sprinkle of fearmongering, Kasenhis managed to coax glass after glass of strong liquor into Hagrid's stomach.
Half an hour later, the table between them was absolutely packed with an army of empty bottles—each and every one a potent spirit.
Kasenhis, now quite different from his past self, managed to stay semi-sober enough to outdrink Hagrid and still have the strength to haul him back to bed.
All in all… he had finally mastered the art of alcohol!
A far cry from when he'd first arrived at Hogwarts, when he and Hagrid had been evenly matched. Now it was a completely one-sided slaughter.
Granted, Hagrid had clearly been trying to get drunk as fast as possible too.
But that didn't stop Kasenhis from fantasizing, in the depths of his mind, about his new title: Emperor of the Drinking Table.
Jie jie jie...! Hic! ehm..
After tucking Hagrid into bed and stepping outside, Kasenhis happened to spot two figures walking side-by-side out of the Forbidden Forest.
Right now, Kasenhis was genuinely confused. He could've sworn Lupin and Tonks had already gone into the Forbidden Forest quite a while ago—so why were they coming out again?
His alcohol-fogged little brain couldn't quite grasp what was going on.
But he still followed one of his core principles: If you don't get it—ask.
With a flushed face and a slightly wobbly gait, Kasenhis waved at the two of them. "Hellooo~ what naughty business were you two.. hic.. up to in the forest, hmm?"
Tonks gave him a baffled look, glanced at Lupin, and asked, "What's wrong with his brain?"
"Oh? Not gonna tell, huh? Naughty naughty~ hic!" Kasenhis said while making a 'Yeah Bwoi' face.
Lupin let out a sigh as he looked at Kasenhis's current state. "Yup. He's drunk again."
"…With Hagrid… Right, makes sense. He probably needs a good solid hangover right about now," Tonks nodded seriously and pulled out her wand, ready to hit Kasenhis with a Confundus Charm.
Technically, as an Auror, she should've specialized in the Memory Charm instead.
After all, most of an Auror's day job wasn't fighting Dark wizards—it was assisting the Improper Use of Magic Office, which meant casting Memory Charms on Muggles.
Although the Memory Charms used by Aurors weren't quite on Gilderoy Lockhart's level (thank Merlin), they were still a cut above the average back-alley spellwork.
Aurors were trained for this, after all—the goal being to minimize damage to the brain as much as possible.
But for her dear little Hufflepuff junior, Tonks figured it was best to go a little easier on him.
Something like a Confundus Charm would probably have a similar effect—like making Kasenhis completely ignore her presence.
That way, she could just quietly slip out of Hogwarts. And by the time Kasenhis snapped out of the confusion charm, the awkwardness wouldn't be her problem anymore.
If anything went wrong, they could just blame Lupin. Perfect.
Ah… I really am a clever little fox, Tonks thought proudly.
She was just about to draw her wand and give Kasenhis a gentle little Confundus pop when a flicker of malicious intent was picked up by the Thaumaturgic Arts spellbook floating protectively beside Kasenhis.
In the next instant, a beam of red light shot out—ZAP!
Tonks, dear Auror... Went airborne.
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