Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying-Chapter 579 - 189: Named Rock

Vid did not comment much on how Carrel would be punished.

Age was Carrel’s greatest protective talisman.

Just as when he was studying at school, Dumbledore was willing to wait, hoping he’d awaken and turn back; the Ministry of Magic would also refrain from easily throwing someone into Azkaban, considering he was only thirteen.

For a wizard, being expelled from school and having their magic wand broken was already a very severe punishment.

Of course, buying a second-hand magic wand isn’t difficult, but this punishment also means the Ministry of Magic forbids Carrel from using magic in the future and prohibits him from owning a magic wand. If he’s found purchasing a second-hand wand, he’d be punished for that too.

Just like Hagrid, he could easily buy a hundred magic wands with his wealth, but in the past, he could only hide his own wand inside a ridiculous pink broken umbrella.

Vid stopped paying attention to Carrel, tucked away his magic wand, and walked down the stairs. The busy wizards in the hall couldn’t help but look up at him, and some even intentionally came over to shake hands and introduce themselves.

In an instant, Vid had several thin, elongated "pods" in his hand, which were equivalent to "business cards" in the Magic World, recording the wizard’s name and the specific magic signal of their Communication Pea.

Later, Vid just had to place the "pods" together with his Communication Pea for three seconds, and the pea would record the information. From then on, he only needed to hold the Communication Pea and speak the other person’s name to make a call.

He spent more than ten minutes before finally leaving the dimly lit wooden house and coming outside.

Beside some barren vegetable plots, Kingsley was talking to one of his Aurors.

"...Lock them up, bail is not allowed, we need to collect more evidence, and investigate the identity and lair of these vampires..."

Seeing Vid, Kingsley patted his subordinate’s back, instructed him to get to work, and walked over to Vid.

"Hello, Vid." Kingsley showed a faint smile on his originally serious face: "The Sunlight Charm was excellent."

"Thank you." Vid said, "About the escaped vampire..."

"The information you conveyed confirmed that he indeed escaped from Azkaban, Gall Trokka."

Kingsley said: "And the person he took from the storage room, although his appearance has changed a lot compared to before, we can basically confirm that he’s another escapee, Gilderoy Lockhart."

"I didn’t expect the two of them have still not separated." Vid said seriously, "So Peter Pettigrew is likely to be with them... or maintaining some sort of connection."

Kingsley nodded: "That rat disappeared without a trace after escaping. These two are our only clues... But if Peter Pettigrew is cautious enough, he may abandon the two and hide alone."

— No, Peter Pettigrew would go to seek refuge with Voldemort... if he’s still alive.

This thought flashed in Vid’s mind, then he smiled: "If they are confirmed to be of no use, catching them later will still be in time— as long as the Tracking Spell hasn’t failed or been discovered."

"Don’t worry, it can’t be discovered." Kingsley said, "Hestia used a very obscure spell that Lockhart couldn’t possibly know. I asked a few professors who taught him before, and they all said Lockhart’s pursuit of fame far exceeding his studies of magic, focusing only on his favorite part."

After Kingsley left, Vid pressed the Communication Pea in his left ear, and whispered: "Delaine?"

A moment later, he heard a voice: "Vid Gray."

"Mill Town 25, they plan to take me to that place."

"Got it."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me, Mr. Grindelwald is also quite interested in these guys."

Once the call ended, Vid removed the Communication Pea and glanced at the Poppet following him like a shadow.

That face he sees every day in the mirror appeared behind him as an independent entity, it felt somewhat strange.

Vid said: "Change form. Didn’t you notice people’s strange looks towards you?"

The Poppet shrugged: "To me, external views hold no meaning."

Though saying this, subtle changes did occur in its appearance— its stature slightly reduced, its body beneath the robe became stockier, black hair turned to brown, and the gray eyes shifted to deep blue.

After walking a few steps, the Poppet looked just like an ordinary student, completely different from Vid’s appearance.

The road to the village remained as desolate as it was when they arrived, but with no Carrel beside them, Vid and the Poppet could speak freely.

"Lockhart and Gall Trocar have finally appeared, it’s time for you, Peter Pettigrew, to be resurrected as well." Vid said in a low voice, "As long as the three of you are together, no one will suspect that one of you is fake."

In fact, it was a poppet of Peter the Second who nodded, saying, "I will find the right opportunity to join them."

"Did you bring the mouse?" Vid asked.

Peter the Second nodded, his hand reached into his pocket, actually directly into his stomach, and then he pulled out a balding gray mouse missing a toe.

The mouse looked around keenly, pressing its ears down, lying still in Peter the Second’s palm.

This mouse was naturally also one of Vid’s Alchemy Works, a small body with great wisdom, as clever as the real Peter Pettigrew.

Peter Pettigrew is a well-known Animagus, but Peter the Second cannot truly become a mouse because the magic materials Vid used on it far exceeded a mouse’s size.

Peter the Second can change his appearance, can become more robust—turn from solid to hollow state. But it can only be compressed to the size of a seven or eight-year-old child, unable to become as small as a mouse that can be held in the palm.

So when it needs to become an Animagus, this mouse takes the stage, and Peter the Second hides or uses the Invisibility Spell.

"This method can only fool those two guys, Lockhart, but not truly powerful wizards. Use it cautiously." Vid advised.

"Yes." Peter the Second said.

"And—" Vid opened his palm to reveal two black, dull eyes: "These are some eyes I recently made for you. They cannot change color, but might be useful in critical moments."

Peter the Second took those eyes and lowered his head to scoop out his original eyes, replacing them with the new ones.

These eyes, just like Moody’s Magic Eye, spun around a few times in different directions in the eye sockets before settling in place.

Peter the Second looked up at Vid, his gaze seemed much dimmer, lacking the previous sharpness despite their icy nature.

The bustling street was right ahead, beyond this alley, bustling with the movement of many students.

Vid stopped in his tracks, looking at Peter the Second, said: "Go on, I hope everything goes well for you."

Peter the Second did not leave immediately, he said in a low voice: "Master, I have a request."

Vid was somewhat surprised, then said: "Speak."

"I would like to ask you to give me a new name." The poppet said: "Peter Pettigrew is a despicable, cowardly person, I don’t want to be called Peter the Second anymore. Even if no one knows forever, I want a name of my own, a real one."

Vid was momentarily stunned, then suddenly asked: "Is this a thought you’ve always had, or just a recent idea?"

The poppet didn’t quite understand why he asked, but honestly replied: "I never liked being called Peter the Second, but it was indeed just before leaving that I gathered the courage to make this request."

Vid looked at those eyes made of non-living material, yet revealing a sincerity, and smiled: "Indeed... the name Peter the Second is somewhat arbitrary, let me think..."

His gaze swept over the poppet, looking at the distant mountains and forest, then saw the grayish-white rocks and land.

"...Lock, how about it? It means rock, symbolizing resilience and toughness." Vid asked.

"Lock?" A smile appeared on the poppet’s ordinary face: "I like it very much."

...

Number 25 Mill Town, actually, is an abandoned villa in the suburbs with no residents. Because all the villa’s owners died over ten years ago, with no wounds or fatal diseases found, the mystery of the deaths became bizarre folklore.

Rumor has it that discontented ghosts still wander inside the villa, hence the locals never go near.

However, in recent days, strange figures have been sighted in the area, appearing and disappearing suddenly inside the villa, sometimes accompanied by bats swirling around, leading to the spread of ghost stories among the town residents.

The protagonists of the ghost stories took advantage of the night to install bombs and set up heavy weaponry inside and outside the building, aiming at the blazing fireplace, waiting for an entire day.

"What’s up with that Byrd fellow?" someone asked impatiently, "The operation didn’t fail, did it?"

The leader looked at his watch and said, "Wait five more minutes, if they don’t show up, we’ll leave immediately!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the villa’s door suddenly exploded, and several figures stood at the entrance. Before anyone could discern their features, they all shouted together:

"Akayas-Tomio!"