Chapter 74

When Evan and Hermione came out with Crookshanks, Ron and Harry had just returned.

"Oh, my goodness, Hermione, how could you buy that monster?" said Ron incredulously.

"Indeed, Evan and I thought it was cute," Hermione replied with a smile.

Seeing Harry and Ron looking at him, Evan quickly shook his head, then his eyes returned to Hermione.

"Hermione, you can't buy it. I mean, what about Scabbers?" Ron said, pointing to his pocket, "He needs rest and relaxation, how can he rest and relax with that monster around?"

"That reminds me, I was going to help you buy the tonic for the rat, but Evan said he could brew the potion. With that, Scabbers will be better in no time."

"Fret not, leave it all in my hands!" Evan said, patting his chest as he thought of a few interesting potions he was going to experiment with on Peter Pettigrew.

"But if it wasn't for your dreadful idea, Hermione would never have bought a cat," Ron said, glaring angrily at Evan.

"It's not my fault, I didn't insist on buying Crookshanks. The witch told Hermione that he had been there for years."

"Other than you, who else..." Ron said sarcastically.

"Well, Ron!" Evan quickly interrupted what he was about to say, "Crookshanks will sleep in Hermione's room, so there's no chance he'll be near Scabbers."

After the debate was concluded, they bought a few more things and returned to the Leaky Cauldron, where the rest of the Weasley family had also returned.

Everyone enjoyed dinner that night; Tom had put together three tables for the seven Weasleys, Evan, Harry, and Hermione to dine together.

As everyone was indulging in a luxurious chocolate pudding, Mr. Weasley informed them all that the Ministry would provide a couple of cars to take them to King's Cross the next day.

They were curious as to why the Ministry would send cars to pick them up, especially Percy, who asked many questions, but Mr. Weasley gave him vague answers.

Evan noticed that Mr. Weasley's ears were red.

It seemed that Sirius Black's disappearance was making the Ministry very nervous; they feared he might attack Harry.

He wondered how many aurors would escort them tomorrow.

After finishing dinner past ten o'clock, everyone was exhausted. They headed to their rooms to ensure they had all their supplies and to prepare for bed.

Evan approached the bar to ask Old Tom for a cup of hot chocolate, but as he passed one of the rooms, he heard two angry voices coming from a small chamber.

He immediately knew it was Mrs. and Mr. Weasley; they were debating whether to tell Harry about Sirius Black, with Mr. Weasley insisting that Harry should know everything and not be treated like a child.

Mrs. Weasley did not want to increase Harry's mental burden.

Evan chuckled a bit; he was the one with the heaviest mental burden.

Mrs. Weasley is right, sometimes knowing too much can be a dreadful fate.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley continued to argue.

"Molly, you must know that Sirius Black is said to be mad but was clever enough to escape from Azkaban. That is not something any ordinary person can do," Mr. Weasley said in a solemn tone, "The Ministry has made no progress in finding him, the only thing we know for certain is what he is after."

"Arthur, Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry!"

"If Black can escape Azkaban, he can find a way into Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley paused, "Children always find a way to sneak around and last semester they even entered the Chamber of Secrets, they..."

"No one can be sure Black is after Harry."

"Molly, how many times must I tell you. This wasn't reported in the paper because Fudge wouldn't allow it; the dementors told him that Black had been muttering in his sleep for a while, he kept saying: 'He's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts,'" said Mr. Weasley nervously, "Black is unhinged, Molly, he wants Harry's death!"

Evan no longer wanted to hear their argument. He tried to discreetly walk away. He had no intention of disturbing the Weasleys because it would be too painful. Then he heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind him.

He hastened and transformed into his animagus form, and upon completing the transformation, he saw that it was Hermione returning for a book she left on the table.

Hermione overheard the Weasleys' discussion but chose to ignore it upon seeing Evan as a black cat.

Evan attempted to feign being a cat to go unnoticed by Hermione.

Before he could react, Hermione reached him and took him into her arms.

Evan's face flushed, his body stiffened; he could feel her warmth and something soft. His thoughts drifted back to the previous year in the Chamber of Secrets when Hermione hugged him for a long time.

He was so nervous; it felt as though Hermione was hugging herself.

It was evident that Hermione did not recognize the black cat in her arms as Evan; she simply felt a sense of familiarity with the cat and instinctively embraced it.

To avoid further listening to the Weasleys' argument, he decided to return to his room; he would look for his book tomorrow.

Evan didn't dare to move; he was being led by Hermione to her room.

In the room, Crookshanks was lying on the bed. When he saw Evan, he jumped up and growled angrily, as if he was about to pounce at any moment.

Evan quickly mewed several times; he didn't want to get into a fight with Crookshanks.

Crookshanks tilted his head and gazed at Evan for a while; due to Evan's meowing, it seemed as though Crookshanks recognized who Evan was.

Crookshanks calmed down and showed a bit of affection.

"Get along with this little one, Crookshanks!" Hermione looked happily at both of them. "I don't know whose pet this is; it's too late now, maybe I'll ask Tom tomorrow."

Hermione stroked Evan's head, then hopped off the bed.

"Crookshanks, you need a bath before bed, and the little one can bathe with you," Hermione said with a smile.

The next moment, Evan opened his eyes and saw Hermione undressing.

"God, should I look or not?" Evan thought, "Wait, she just said she's going to give us a bath, does that mean...?"

Moments later, Evan shook his head; he dared not think about it, hurriedly leaving the room as Hermione entered the bathroom. Crookshanks looked strangely at Evan, wondering why Evan was in such a hurry to leave, as if he was fleeing.

"What a peculiar cat, didn't we agree to bathe together?"