Chapter 27: Making Someone a Scapegoat, Does it Matter if the Scapegoat Knows?

"Phoenix!"

Hearing Wilson's introduction, Hagrid took a sharp breath in disbelief: "Ma goodness! Whaur did it come fae?"

"Mr. Crouch gave it to me."

Wilson, as usual, shifted the blame casually and said nonchalantly, "It's been with me since I was four years old. I originally wanted Mr. Crouch to take care of it..."

At this point, Wilson patted the beak of the ice bird and sighed, "But I don't know why, maybe it found out I wasn't home tonight and came to the school on its own to find me..."

"How smart..."

Hagrid didn't hold back his praise.

Wilson nodded indifferently and continued calmly, "Luckily, I was punished and had to come to the Forbidden Forest to help you patrol tonight..."

"That's great!"

Hagrid quickly interrupted Wilson, then realizing something was off, hurriedly explained, "Ah mean, it's great that we found it..."

Hagrid spoke while occasionally glancing at the ice phoenix beside him, "Honestly, Ah've never seen sic a bonnie phoenix afore..."

"..."

That must be Hagrid's exaggerated compliment.

The magical world is full of countless fantastic creatures, some of them stunningly beautiful, and the ice phoenix was more of a breathtaking presence.

Of course, it could also be that Hagrid's aesthetic sense is different. For a half-giant, perhaps the sheer size of an animal is a form of beauty.

"I want to find a place to settle it temporarily."

Wilson glanced at the still-enamored Hagrid and introduced his pet, "Anivia is very smart and won't cause any trouble. As long as it retracts its magic and falls asleep, it won't affect the surroundings..."

"Sleep?"

"Similar to hibernation."

Wilson stroked the ice crystals on Anivia's head and whispered softly, "For Anivia, winter is the most suitable season. In other seasons, it can stay in a place it likes and sleep until winter..."

"That's fascinatin'!"

Hagrid stroked his beard and quickly made a suggestion, "Ye can pit it next tae ma hut. Ah can build a nest for it right noo, e'en if it wakes up, Ah dinnae mind the cauld weather..."

"..."

Hagrid really loves animals!

Wilson patted Anivia on the head and said to his pet, "Actually, it doesn't need to be that troublesome. Anivia can handle it on its own, right?"

"Chirp~"

The ice phoenix affectionately rubbed against Wilson's arm.

The next second, under Hagrid's gaze, the ice phoenix suddenly spread its wings, and the snowflakes in the sky once again swirled in the cold wind!

Suddenly, ice walls began to rise from the ground!

Wilson slowly stepped back a few steps, watching his ice phoenix build a nest. With the powerful ice magic, a large enclosed ice house rose from the ground!

Anivia stood inside the ice house, slowly retracting its wings, its head gradually tucking under its wings, and its entire body slowly curling up.

This ice phoenix...

It looked like it had been frozen in place, falling into a deep sleep.

Wilson slowly walked to the side of the ice house, silently stroking the ice walls, watching the ice bird inside like a statue.

Of course.

If someone thought it was really asleep and tried to mess with or steal it, they could only pray the thief had many lives to spare...

With the ice phoenix falling asleep.

The snowstorm at Hogwarts also came to a halt.

Hagrid stood beside the ice house, involuntarily marveling at the ice bird inside, "Amazin', nature always creates some great beings..."

"Maybe..."

Wilson nodded noncommittally, suddenly changing the subject, "Hagrid, are we patrolling now? I'm a bit sleepy..."

"Then ye should gae rest quickly."

Hagrid said without turning his head, emphasizing, "The Forbidden Forest has been quiet recently, so gae back an' rest, Wilson..."

"..."

Wilson was silent for a moment.

However, the gray-haired boy glanced again at his pet.

Noticing the lack of activity beside him, Hagrid turned to see the somewhat reluctant Wilson, and couldn't help but laugh, "Dinnae worry, Ah'll tak good care of it. If ye hae time, ye can come tae ma hut..."

"Thank you."

Wilson nodded solemnly in thanks.

Because Hagrid was indeed a warm-hearted good person.

Wilson wasn't in a hurry. He just slowly walked through the snow into the gates of Hogwarts, leaving a long trail of footprints in the snow.

Standing at the gate, Wilson watched the footprints in the snow, then slowly took out the Polyjuice Potion he had made, and calmly drank a mouthful.

That mouthful of Polyjuice Potion...

Was enough to sustain an hour of transformation.

As soon as the potion entered his mouth, it started to take effect almost instantly. Accompanied by the extremely unpleasant taste, Wilson's body began to change rapidly!

His handsome gray hair turned a tawny brown...

The slightly loose wizard's robe was instantly stretched tight by the transformed, fatter body, making his figure appear even more bloated!

Wilson slowly touched his transformed face, feeling how bad it looked, because the owner of this face indeed looked terrible...

Peter Pettigrew.

That was the name of the owner of this face.

This was the true identity of Percy Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers.

Peter Pettigrew was an unregistered illegal Animagus. Like his animal form, a rat, he had a sharp, rat-like face...

Peter Pettigrew wasn't a good person.

During his time at Hogwarts, he had a few close friends who always trusted him.

Originally, Peter Pettigrew should have been part of the righteous side, but he was captured by Voldemort and surrendered, becoming a spy. He directly leaked secrets to Voldemort, leading to the death of Harry Potter's parents...

Of course.

This also led to the destruction of Voldemort and his Death Eater army.

When Voldemort tried to use magic to kill the infant Harry Potter, the ancient spell on Harry's body rebounded, costing Voldemort most of his life...

From then on...

Voldemort vanished, barely surviving, waiting for an opportunity to return.

Both the righteous and the evil sides suffered great losses due to Peter Pettigrew's betrayal.

Such a spy...

Is really hard to describe.

Of course.

Peter Pettigrew wasn't entirely useless.

At least he hid himself very well. Except for Sirius Black, who knew the truth, no one else ever suspected Peter Pettigrew.

This also led to Sirius Black chasing Peter Pettigrew everywhere.

Eventually, Pettigrew had to fake his death in a big explosion to escape. To avoid further pursuit by Black, he turned into his Animagus form—a rat—and hid in the Weasley household.

This hiding...

Lasted for about seven or eight years.

Wilson sighed softly, flipping his school uniform over his shoulders.

Then Wilson, with Peter Pettigrew's face, re-entered the snow, running swiftly, leaving deep footprints until he stopped at the school gates...

To avoid being discovered...

Wilson had pre-made the footprints of Peter Pettigrew fleeing from Hogwarts to ensure everything was foolproof.

Everything was interconnected, and this sudden snowfall was part of Wilson's plan.

As for what comes next, naturally, it was time for Peter Pettigrew to cause chaos at Hogwarts and oppose the entire magical world!

"Apparate!"

Wilson's figure instantly disappeared from the school gates.

The entire Hogwarts school forbids anyone from using Apparition unless permitted by the headmaster, or if their magic is powerful enough. Wilson's control over the Apparition spell allowed him to use it freely anywhere!

Tonight, no matter what...

He must obtain the Marauder's Map!

Because the map is in the office of Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch!

Who knows if the Weasley twins will get caught by Filch tomorrow, and once the Marauder's Map falls into their hands, it won't be easy to get it back!

If the opportunity arises...

Wilson wouldn't mind doing a few more tasks.

After all, it wasn't his face, and someone else was taking the blame.

Even if the scapegoat knows nothing, does it really matter?