"Luna Lovegood has given me the Ravenclaw list." Hermione asked curiously, "When did you become acquainted with her?"
"I do not know her. We just have a mutual friend," Draco answered somewhat absentmindedly, still lost in his own thoughts about Peter Pettigrew. "Good thing I got her..."
"I am screening those suspicious students the way you suggested," Hermione said with interest, flipping through the list. "Would you like to take a look and add your thoughts?"
"Ah, that is good, you did a good job—" He rested his chin on his hand, sitting in his usual seat, gazing out the window in a daze.
He did not even glance at them, whether it was the lists or anything else; he was only focused on looking out the window!
What is there to see? Hermione thought resentfully, craning her neck to look outside, but there was nothing there except a snow-covered open space!
"Draco, what have you been up to lately?" She slammed down the parchment, her lips pouting, a hint of displeasure on her face. "Why have you been acting like a different person since Christmas? You always seem so absent-minded."
It was early January, and the students returning to school seemed to have not yet recovered from the pleasant atmosphere of the Christmas holidays. They were dragging their books into the Transfiguration Classroom when they heard her voice and craned their necks to look at the front row.
"Susan, do not go over there," Neville said in a panic, pulling back the Hufflepuff girl who wanted to "mediate." "They are probably going to fight again. They have been at odds since before Christmas... Look at Hermione's face! And look at the cold aura emanating from Malfoy! At this moment, whoever goes over there will die..."
"But what if Hermione gets bullied?" Susan said indignantly. "Why does that Malfoy always make her angry? It was the same in Herbology class last time; he made her so angry that she had to partner with me... and she even defended him before..."
"Oh, Hermione will not be bullied." Neville said in a respectful tone. "Although Malfoy is terrible, Hermione always wins... Usually, she gives him the cold shoulder, and then he gives the cold shoulder to everyone else... like me."
"Wow, Hermione's that amazing?" Susan's face lit up with excitement as she sat down a short distance behind them, observing them furtively. "No wonder she is the leader of our Lockhart fan club..."
At that moment, the leader of Lockhart's fan club was glaring angrily at the boy's platinum blonde hair, hoping for an explanation.
"It is nothing." Draco finally turned to look at her, his expression somewhat innocent. "There is just one problem... I still do not understand it."
"It is rare to see you looking so preoccupied—though I hate to say it—you are much more pleasing to the eye when you are expressionless." Hermione's expression softened, and she said in a worried tone, "What is bothering you? Can you tell me? Maybe I can offer some advice and help you think of a solution."
Draco sighed.
("Look, even Malfoy is sighing," Neville said to Susan, who was craning her neck to see. "He probably got a really bad scolding from Hermione...")
"I am afraid you cannot help me much." Draco glanced at her and noticed the girl's face flush rapidly, as if she was about to get angry. He hurriedly added in a low voice, "Unless you know a way to keep someone silently by another person's side without anyone noticing or suspecting anything..."
("Ah, that is right, Malfoy is frantically explaining something to Hermione. He is probably at a loss for words and has bowed his head in admission of error!" Susan said cheerfully.)
Hearing Draco explain to her earnestly, instead of his previous evasive attitude, Hermione's anger subsided, and she fell into thought.
"The Invisibility Cloak?" she asked amidst the growing clamour of voices. She recalled how Draco had recently led her out of the Slytherin common room.
"No. It has nothing to do with the Invisibility Cloak," he said firmly. If Peter Pettigrew was merely wearing an Invisibility Cloak, things would be much simpler.
"Not Polyjuice Potion either?" she asked again.
"No," he said regretfully.
"I am not sure about that," Hermione said, frowning. "However, I think what you are describing sounds a bit like Thumbelina."
"Thumbelina? What is that?" Draco asked casually.
"A Muggle fairy tale. You can put Thumbelina in your pocket anytime and no one will notice." Hermione shrugged, a look of disapproval flashing across her face. "However, I think the ending is too cliché. Why, after all that running around and effort, escaping those horrible suitors, does she still have to marry a prince to live a happy life? Can she not just stay home on her own?"
"Of course, she can do whatever she wants..." Draco absentmindedly echoed her.
For some inexplicable reason, he was drawn to a certain detail in this Muggle fairy tale.
He could put it in his pocket and no one would notice. Draco felt as if a blurry mist was slowly forming in his mind, about to burst forth.
It was so close. What was it? He rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at Hermione, at her glossy, wavy brown hair, as if trying to find the answer in her hair.
After checking on her study partner, Hermione was about to turn her attention back to the parchment—given that she could not come up with any good solutions for him.
But she felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him with that probing gaze.
She peeked at him through the gaps in his hair and found that his grey eyes were staring at her intently.
"What is wrong?" she asked him, like a cat in a good mood hiding behind the curtains.
"It is nothing," Draco said softly, staring into those brown eyes, his tone somewhat dazed.
"What are you thinking about again?" she asked him again, putting on a proud air, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
"I was not thinking about anything." He was a little confused, his mind blank, unsure whether it was because he was too tired from thinking about Peter Pettigrew's question, or because her smiling eyes were too bright.
The school bell rang. Professor McGonagall did not seem to have appeared yet. A moment later, Harry and Ron rushed in, panting.
"Oh, thank goodness Professor McGonagall has not arrived yet, or we would be in deep trouble," Ron said thankfully.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tabby cat on the podium suddenly leaped off and transformed into Professor McGonagall the instant it landed.
"Wow, that is so cool!" Ron exclaimed, speechless with admiration.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr Weasley. But I still need an explanation for why you are late," Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"We misread the watch," Harry said, somewhat ashamed.
"Perhaps I should turn you and Mr Weasley into a watch, so you might be a little more punctual?" Professor McGonagall glared at them and waved for them to find seats.
Professor McGonagall was clearly still fuming—especially after she saw Ron casually pull his pet rat out of his pocket and place it on his desk.
The listless rat seemed to elicit a pang of pity from Professor McGonagall. She strongly suspected that Ron was mistreating the poor animal.
She frowned and said, "I must remind you, Mr Weasley, transforming a rat into a cup with a rat tail, like you did in the last lesson, is unacceptable. Please spend more time learning about Transfiguration and stop torturing that rat for no reason."
Ron glanced at Scabbers with concern, then nodded with his head drooping.
"Professor McGonagall is absolutely amazing. I can never get enough of watching her Animagus transformation," Hermione whispered to Draco, excited after witnessing Professor McGonagall's entire transformation. "I have heard there are only seven registered Animagi in the wizarding world right now, she is truly—"
"Yes, Animagus!" Draco's confusion finally took shape, and he could not help but raise his voice, "Why did I not think of that?"
The students around him looked at him blankly. Professor McGonagall on the stage also glared at him fiercely.
"Mr Malfoy, what opinion would you like to express?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply, looking offended.
"It is nothing, Professor, I was just amazed by your superb skills." Draco then realised how rude he had been. He recovered and praised her in the characteristic Malfoy accent.
"Mr Malfoy, if you had used the time you would spend flattering me on research into Transfiguration, perhaps you would be the next successful Animagus." Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a better mood and did not pursue the matter further.
Draco sat down, looking with delight at the rat that was fast asleep not far away.
Since Rita Skeeter, this gossipy woman, can turn into a beetle and pry into other people's private lives, who can say for sure that Peter Pettigrew might be another unregistered Animagus?
Perhaps—he was that sickly rat?
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked curiously.
The boy suddenly became very happy, as smug as a cat that had caught the tip of its own tail.
"It has never been better. In fact, I have made a major discovery." Draco's voice was filled with barely concealed joy.
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"Shh..." The boy in front of her pressed his pale finger to his light-coloured lips, and blinked his light grey eyes at her. "The time is not right, I cannot say more. I need some evidence to prove my conjecture."
"So secretive again," Hermione muttered to herself, not pressing for more details—Professor McGonagall did not like students whispering in her class.
Draco gave her a lazy smile and continued to stare intently at the rat.
It was not that Draco intentionally kept things a secret from Hermione. Of course, he could not reveal his guess in Transfiguration class; who knew if that rat's ears were even sharp?
Moreover, after making bold assumptions, careful verification is still needed. Not just anyone can transform into an Animagus; it requires extremely high magical talent. And as far as Draco knows, Peter Pettigrew has never been a highly skilled wizard.
He was cowardly, weak, and mediocre. The most earth-shattering thing he ever did was to side with the Dark Lord and betray Harry's parents. Transforming into an Animagus—forgive Draco's bluntness—was not an easy task, nor was it a skill that could be acquired simply by having the Dark Mark imprinted on one's arm.
To become an Animagus, one must possess talent in both Transfiguration and Potions. The preparation is intricate and the steps extremely complex; even the slightest mistake in any step requires the caster to start all over again. This is the main reason why Animagi are so rare in the world.
Peter Pettigrew does not seem like a wizard with that kind of talent. It would have been more believable if someone had told him that Severus Snape was an Animagus.
However, when all other options are impossible, the remaining explanation, though bizarre, is very likely the truth.