St. Mungo's Hospital Ward.
Harry and Ron leaned against the bed, looking dazed.
Harry's owl Hedwig stayed quietly in its cage, while Ron's mouse Scabbers scurried back and forth on the table.
It was so lively that it didn't seem like a mouse that had lived for ten years.
After this period of reflection, Mrs. Weasley's emotions had stabilized.
She patiently washed and cleaned Harry and Ron.
Creak!
The ward door was pushed open, and Alan Mitchell walked in with several Aurors.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."
"Good morning, Director Mitchell."
Mrs. Weasley responded calmly, without pausing the towel in her hand.
"Mrs. Weasley, you must know about Azkaban."
"During this time, the Aurors will strengthen their protection of Harry and Ron, so please don't worry."
Alan Mitchell's polite demeanor eased Mrs. Weasley's expression considerably.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Not for now, but to prevent Sirius from sneaking in, I would like to ask for your permission to set up some defensive magic in the ward to protect Harry and Ron from harm."
Mrs. Weasley nodded, without giving it much thought.
After all, Sirius Black was able to escape from Azkaban, which was something that had never happened before.
It was reasonable for the Ministry of Magic to send Aurors to set up some defensive magic in order to protect Harry and Ron.
With Mrs. Weasley's permission, Alan gestured with his eyes to the few Aurors who had followed him.
The group began to move around the ward.
The ward, which was originally quite spacious, suddenly became a bit crowded after a large group of people poured in.
Alan cast defensive spells throughout the room with his wand, and while everyone's attention was focused on setting up the spells, he quietly cast a silent Stunning Spell on the unprepared Peter Pettigrew!
Peter's disguise as a mouse, hiding in the corner, gave Alan the perfect opportunity!
He had nowhere to hide!
He collapsed right there on the spot!
Alan casually reached out and tucked Peter Pettigrew into his sleeve.
They continued to deploy defenses within the ward.
After everyone was settled, he gave Mrs. Weasley a grateful smile.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. Weasley."
"Please be on high alert in the near future, and contact us immediately if anything happens."
"They will remain on high alert at St. Mungo's Hospital."
"I will." Mrs. Weasley assumed that the other party meant well, and her opinion of Alan Mitchell rose even higher.
"The Ministry of Magic will continue its pursuit of Sirius, so I won't stay here any longer."
"Goodbye, Mrs. Weasley."
After saying that, Alan Mitchell left the ward.
...
At the same time.
Unaware that they were being monitored, Lupin and Sirius had already used Apparition to arrive near St. Mungo's Hospital.
As soon as they landed, Lupin's legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
Sirius Black had no wand, and his magic wasn't at the level to Apparate silently and without a wand, so he could only rely on Lupin alone.
His body was already weak, and he hadn't eaten enough for several days.
It consumed a lot of physical and magical energy.
Sirius quickly transformed back into human form and helped Lupin up.
"Are you alright? Should we find a place to rest for a bit?"
Lupin waved his hand weakly: "I'm a little out of shape, but it's nothing."
"Let's hurry to St. Mungo's Hospital and see if there's any way we can sneak in."
"Let's split up and meet up here again at noon!" Sirius had finally recovered somewhat after a night's rest.
One could still see some traces of what he had been like back then.
Before Lupin could respond, he transformed into a black dog and ran toward St. Mungo's Hospital.
Lupin wanted to call out to him, but was worried about attracting the attention of others.
Reluctantly, he had no choice but to follow Sirius's method.
Just as he reached the vicinity of the entrance to St. Mungo's Hospital, a figure he least wanted to see appeared before him.
"Snape? What's he doing here?"
Lupin instinctively ducked into a corner!
He frowned and quietly observed Snape's movements.
...
On the other side.
After capturing Peter Pettigrew, Alan Mitchell immediately returned to the Acolyte Estate and handed him over to Argus.
"Did no one notice?" Argus looked at the motionless mouse on the table with great interest.
"No, I used the excuse of setting up defensive magic to bring a lot of people in. I was thinking about how to do it without attracting attention."
"As a result, it scurried into a corner and hid, saving me a lot of trouble."
Alan wanted to ask Argus what the rat was for, but seeing that Argus didn't seem inclined to speak, he didn't press the matter and tactfully left.
Argus picked up his wand and pointed it at Peter Pettigrew on the table.
"Reparo!"
A pure white light shone on Peter Pettigrew.
Peter Pettigrew twitched, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he realized something was wrong!
Holy crap, am I not in a hospital room?
What have you done to me?!
Is this still St. Mungo's Hospital?!
Seeing Argus's ambiguous smile, Peter Pettigrew felt a chill and turned to run away.
"Immediately imprison him!"
A binding spell instantly froze Peter Pettigrew in place.
"Let me think, what should I call you..."
"Wormtail?"
"Or is it... Peter Pettigrew!"
One sentence was enough to make Peter Pettigrew's hair stand on end!
He tried his best to break free and escape.
But he was now just a toy in Argus's hands, with no power to resist.
Argus raised his hand to release him from his restraints. Peter wanted to run away, but when he saw Argus's indifferent eyes, he felt a chill in his heart.
Don't run! You'll die!
But he was still trying to make a final effort.
Pretend you don't understand!
Try your best to play the role of a frightened mouse!
Argus scoffed, "Should I say you're smart, or should I say you're stupid?"
"To save his life, he cut off his own finger and pretended to be a rat for ten years."
"But don't you know? What kind of rat can live for ten years?"
Peter Pettigrew's legs were trembling.
He couldn't even fool himself now!
The other party clearly already knew his identity and even knew everything about him!
His fear had reached an unbearable level, and he fled desperately, scrambling and crawling away.
He even forgot to revert to human form!
Argus chuckled and shook his head.
"It seems you're not very smart; even at a time like this, you're still thinking about running away."
"Cruciatus Curse!"
A crimson light emanated from Argus's wand and struck Peter Pettigrew directly.
Squeak squeak squeak!!
Even though Peter Pettigrew was in his rat form, the excruciating pain from the Cruciatus Curse still caused him to let out a piercing wail.
The extreme pain made it impossible for him to maintain his Animagus form.
He transformed from a fat rat back into a short, chubby middle-aged man covered in dirt.
However, his body still retained the habitual posture of a rat.
He fell to the ground, rolling around, convulsing, and howling!
"Ah!! Stop! Stop right now!"
"Spare me...please spare me!"
"Ahh!"