Chapter 124: Back to Hogwarts

Flitwick approved six of Edward's silver discs after testing them himself and rejected four. 

The rejected pieces looked identical to the others. That was precisely the problem. Two overheated after repeated activation, one opened its barrier at an angle, and one cracked along the edge during a basic impact test. Edward marked all four with a file before melting them down. 

"No student gets an object because it worked once," Flitwick told him through the Floo. "And no student gets one without knowing that running is usually wiser than standing behind it." 

Edward added the sentence to the instruction card. 

On the evening before the Hogwarts Express, Sirius checked Edward's trunk with the concentration of a man preparing someone for a siege. Most of what he found was ordinary: robes, books, parchment, spare quills, and far too many notes according to Sirius. 

The Two-way Mirror went into a padded inner pocket. The six approved discs remained in their labeled pouch until Flitwick could inspect them again at school. 

"You are not distributing those on the train," Sirius said. 

"I know." 

"You are not testing one for entertainment." 

"I know." 

"You are not using the mirror to report every suspicious sneeze from Gryffindor." 

Edward closed the trunk. "That rule was your idea as much as mine." 

"I reserve the right to become wiser after hearing myself speak." 

His humor did not hide the strain beneath it. Sirius wanted to go to King's Cross. He could not risk being recognized, and his dog form was known to Peter. The safest choice was for Kreacher to escort Edward while Sirius remained behind the wards. 

Before bed, Sirius gave Edward a folded page containing the agreed emergency contacts. 

"If Peter is identified, Dumbledore first. Remus second if Dumbledore cannot be reached. Me only after an adult at Hogwarts knows." 

Edward read it. "You put yourself third." 

"I noticed. It was horrible." 

The next morning, Kreacher carried Edward's smaller case through King's Cross and complained about every Muggle who came within three feet of it. At the barrier, he pressed a wrapped packet of food into Edward's hands. 

"Young Master will eat before practicing spells." 

"That sounds like Sirius." 

"Master Sirius stole the instruction from Kreacher." 

Edward chose not to investigate the claim. 

The train was already steaming when he reached the platform. Draco waved from a compartment near the front, where Daphne, Tracey, Theodore, and two other Slytherins had gathered. Their summer correspondence lay open across the seats. 

Edward noticed something immediately. 

Nobody had a copy of the Chamber notebook. 

They had only the defensive material Hogwarts had cleared for student use: ordinary spell notes, historical comments, and Edward's own source warnings. The dangerous originals remained sealed at Hogwarts. No instructions for soul magic, hidden Chamber mechanisms, or Horcrux creation had entered the Alliance's collection. 

Draco lifted one notebook. "Your annotations ruined half the interesting parts." 

"Then they worked." 

"You wrote 'do not attempt without a professor' six times." 

"Seven. You missed one." 

Daphne laughed. 

The mood stayed lighter than Edward expected. He explained that Flitwick was reviewing a limited defensive object for supervised use but did not hand anything out. Draco complained that summer letters had made the project sound more exciting. 

"It stops one ordinary spell long enough to move," Edward said. "If that disappoints you, learn a better Shield Charm." 

"You really have changed." 

Edward looked at him. "Because I described a limit?" 

"Because you described it before showing us the shiny thing." 

That was fair. 

Once the train left London, Edward excused himself. He did not say he was searching for Peter. He had no authority to search compartments, and he did not intend to manufacture evidence by acting strangely around Ron's pet. 

He did have a legitimate reason to speak with Harry before term. Dumbledore had authorized only a narrow message: the Ministry's case against Sirius Black was being reviewed, and Harry should report any attempted contact rather than confronting Sirius himself. 

Edward found Harry, Ron, and Hermione sharing a compartment with Professor Lupin asleep beneath a worn travelling cloak. 

Harry looked surprised to see him. 

"Can I speak to you for a minute?" 

Ron immediately looked suspicious. Hermione lowered her book. 

Edward kept the conversation inside the compartment. There was no reason to create secrecy around a safety warning. 

"Dumbledore asked me to pass on something because it concerns my family too," Edward said. "The official account of Sirius Black's case is being reviewed. That does not mean you should trust him if he appears. It means there are questions the old investigation did not answer. If you see him, or a large black dog behaving strangely, tell a professor. Do not go after him yourself." 

Harry's expression changed from confusion to anger and then to wary attention. 

"Why are you involved?" 

"He is my uncle. I also learned he was sent to Azkaban without a trial. That is not proof he is innocent. It is a reason to check the evidence properly." 

Harry stared at him. "Do you think he betrayed my parents?" 

"I think I do not know yet." 

The answer was harder than taking a side. 

Harry seemed to hear that. 

Ron shifted the wire cage on his lap. "The whole Ministry says he did it." 

"The Ministry can be right and still need evidence," Hermione said before Edward could answer. 

The movement exposed Scabbers more clearly. 

Edward had heard Sirius describe Peter's rat form and knew the Weasley pet was unusually old. He did not reach for the cage. Instead he asked Ron the simplest question available. 

"How long has Scabbers been in your family?" 

Ron shrugged. "Ages. Percy had him before me." 

"More than ten years?" 

"Probably. Why?" 

"Sirius said Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus who became a rat. Peter also lost a finger on the day of the explosion. Dumbledore is checking the claim. Does Scabbers have all his toes?" 

Ron gave him a look halfway between offense and disbelief. "He's a rat, Edward." 

Hermione was already leaning toward the cage. 

"Ron, just look." 

Ron muttered but lifted Scabbers. The rat twisted sharply in his hands. On one forepaw, a toe was missing. 

The compartment went quiet. 

Edward's pulse quickened, but he kept his hands away from the animal. 

The missing toe matched Sirius's account. The age was abnormal. Neither fact, alone or together, transformed suspicion into a legal identification. 

"Put him back and latch the cage," Edward said. 

Ron did so at once. 

"You think Scabbers is a murderer?" 

"I think two details match. Professor Lupin and Dumbledore are verifying stronger evidence. Do not confront the rat, do not release him, and do not try to force a transformation." 

Harry glanced at the sleeping professor. "Does Lupin know?" 

"He knows the case is being reviewed." 

Edward would not tell them about the Map before Dumbledore decided how much Harry and Ron needed to know. 

Scabbers pressed himself into the far corner of the cage. 

Edward noticed the movement and nothing more. Fear could mean Peter had understood every word. It could also mean a rat disliked being held up by three children while a stranger discussed murder. 

He left the compartment with the suspicion strengthened but not confirmed. 

Halfway down the corridor, the train began to slow. 

The lamps flickered. 

Cold spread through the carriage with unnatural speed, and every conversation around Edward faltered at once. 

His hand went to his walnut wand. 

Not to the silver discs. Not to an untested piece of cleverness. 

Whatever had boarded the train deserved a response they actually understood.