Discussions about Peter Pettigrew intensified over the next few days.
Everyone was trying to figure out how he had managed to swagger past the Dementors' tight guard and get to Hogwarts.
In early November, Draco even found one or two wizard detective novels in the Slytherin common room. The author, who went by the pseudonym "Inkyug," had come up with a wildly imaginative summary at the end of the novel, outlining various possible methods by which Peter Pettigrew could infiltrate Hogwarts.
"Polyjuice! They must have used Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as someone to get in..." Gregory Goyle pondered for a long time over the article titled "20 Ways to Secretly Infiltrate Hogwarts," and finally shouted from the sofa in the common room.
"Come on, if he can impersonate someone else, why bother showing his real face?" Pansy Parkinson scoffed.
"Dementors can smell it." Theodore Nott looked up from behind his book and interjected, a rare occurrence. "The scent of a soul does not change because of a change in appearance."
"Can he not turn into a mouse?" Vincent Crabbe scratched his head, looking confused. "Could he make a hole under the Dementor's feet and crawl in? That way, the Dementor will not be able to smell him?"
His words drew a burst of disdainful laughter from the Slytherins around him.
Draco did not laugh. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Crabbe with surprise. He was unusually quick-witted, actually getting close to the truth.
It was not that Peter Pettigrew had actually dug his way in, but when he transformed into an Animagus rat, the Dementors could not notice him.
In a sense, Crabbe did have some sense... he had inadvertently revealed a secret that Sirius Black had spent over a decade in Azkaban discovering.
However, it was clear that his Slytherin classmates had not yet realised this.
Even Crabbe himself did not realise it... he was so engrossed in eating his Fizzing Whizzbee that he wobbled and floated into the air amidst laughter in the common room.
"Oh, Crabbe, your idea is just too 'cute'." Pansy laughed so hard she almost fell over, earning a displeased look from Blaise Zabini beside her.
"What is wrong? Why are you glaring at me?" Pansy asked, puzzled.
"How can you say other boys are cute?" Blaise said in a low voice, his face dark with anger.
"You are the cutest, all right? Are you mad? You are even jealous of Crabbe..." Pansy muttered under her breath.
Merlin, those two are so annoying! Draco rolled his eyes as he overheard their hushed whispers. He should not have sat next to Blaise!
"It could not possibly turn into a flowering bush, nor could it be Apparition, and it certainly could not be coming in on a flying broomstick in broad daylight... the Dementors would know. I vote for the secret passage theory."
After being appeased, Blaise finally stated his opinion triumphantly, "Perhaps there really is a secret passage that Filch has not blocked yet, leading from Hogsmeade or even further into Hogwarts... Draco, what do you think?"
"Yes, perhaps." Draco nodded lazily.
Blaise was right; Hogwarts did indeed have secret passages in and out of the school that Filch had not yet sealed off, and it was feasible.
However, thanks to the help of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Draco, who had been closely monitoring all aspects of Hogwarts' activities with the Marauder's Map, was certain that the secret passage theory was utter nonsense.
Peter Pettigrew's name never appeared on the Marauder's Map... at least, not when Draco checked it.
For several nights in a row, after Quidditch practice, he lay in his private room at the bottom of the Black Lake, meticulously searching every nook and cranny of the Marauder's Map, not only secret passages but even Hogsmeade, but he still could not find Peter Pettigrew's name.
It seemed that, whether or not Peter Pettigrew, that cunning rat, had ever appeared at Hogwarts, he was no longer nearby.
Amidst the endless debates and rebuttals, the Slytherins' fireside chatter drew to a close. The students, yawning, returned to their dormitories to rest, gradually dispersing from the fireplace.
Theodore had not gotten up yet. He turned a page of his book, Strange Magical Puzzles and Their Solutions, and asked Draco casually, "Are you also a proponent of the secret passage theory?"
"I do not lean towards any theory. None of them make sense." Draco leaned back comfortably in the leather sofa, gazing at the transparent dome above the common room. "The question has never been how he got in, but what he is here for."
"That is true. Getting to the root of the problem is the best approach." Theodore's tone held a hint of agreement as he turned his gaze back to the book in his hands.
Draco sighed and continued to drift off into his own thoughts, gazing at the dark, gentle waves of the Black Lake beyond the dome, and the giant squid swimming across them. He still could not understand the mystery behind it all.
A few days later, he abandoned his futile search on the Marauder's Map and focused all his energy on Quidditch... Slytherin would play Gryffindor on the second Saturday of November.
Given that Captain Marcus always wore a death-defying expression, the team members had to use every spare second of their free time to practise extra... Draco was no exception.
In a Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Lupin was explaining the Grindylow to his students in front of the water tank at the front of the classroom. It was a sickly green creature with sharp little horns that liked to hide in the weeds and ambush people. Right now, it was pressing its face against the glass, making all sorts of weird faces and constantly bending and flexing its long, spindly fingers.
"Can anyone tell me the secret to dealing with it?" He glanced around at the students below, and finally said helplessly, "Hermione?"
"The trick is to break its grip. Its fingers are brittle and fragile," Hermione said, a hint of smugness in her voice.
A typical Hermione Granger, always saving the day from professors' perplexing questions. Draco breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the girl in front of him happily sit down.
It seemed that she was no longer affected by Peter Pettigrew or the Dementors, and continued to pursue her academic studies with great enthusiasm, sitting in the most prominent position in the classroom, and being the most prominent student in the eyes of the professors.
However, when he discovered that Neville Longbottom, who knew nothing, was sitting next to her, his mood suddenly soured.
Very good, Draco thought. After class, I might try the Trip Jinx on Longbottom.
"Very good, five points to Gryffindor. I was originally planning to find a pond for you to experience," Lupin said regretfully, "but unfortunately the weather is not very good today."
"Thank Merlin, I do not want to go into any more ponds," Ron said to his good friend Harry, still shaken, across the aisle.
Yes, the weather is terrible. A violent storm is raging outside the window, just like in my past life.
This reminded Draco of the scene in his past life when the Dementors attacked Harry en masse.
Although Harry had already mastered the Patronus Charm in this life, Draco still had many concerns.
"You absolutely must bring your wand to the match, Harry." After class, instead of scolding Longbottom, he stopped Harry in front of the torches and lanterns, trying to appear sincere, though he was extremely annoyed... he felt like a nagging old woman.
"Why are you so concerned about the wand?" Harry asked, puzzled. "This is Quidditch, not a wizarding duel."
Draco could only shrug at him, offering no explanation.
If Draco were to tell Harry now that he would be attacked by Dementors during the match, it would seem almost prophetic; some might even think he was cursing Harry... wizards can be quite superstitious, just look how popular Professor Trelawney is!