ᴅɪsᴘᴇʟ ᴍʏ ʙᴏʀᴇᴅᴏᴍ | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴅᴇᴜʀs' ᴇʀᴀ

Chapter 20: Peter Pettigrew's choice

Gryffindor common room

Since Beata and Lupin ultimately represented only two people, Remus decided that it'd be nice to hook into the game all those who were awake in common room at the time. At first, there were only two night-birds, but a little later Beata seated on nearby chairs a couple of unfortunate people who weren't lucky enough to go to the bathroom at that very hour.

Of all the six, only Lupin and one other student from fifth year knew how to play preference. Beata didn't listen much when Lupin explained the rules, because of what she played inappropriately and constantly lost.

"When will they return?"

"Relax, Remus, the game is just beginning."

"What game?"

"Gryffindor vs Dumbledore," Beata chuckled. "From now on he'll follow your every step."

"As well as yours?"

Four Gryffindors enthusiastically followed the development of conversation. They didn't understand anything, but the very fact of conversation between Remus Lupin, the most honest and rational representative of Gryffindor, and Beata Sprinkles, the most cunning and unprincipled representative of Slytherin, seemed to them an incredible event.

Beata looked up at Lupin and smirked, "Deal the cards."

Remus glanced at the listeners, realized that he had gone too far in his questions and decided to hush up the topic.

By the end of the second hour of the game Remus was stripped to his pants. Beata Sprinkles not only had been listening to the rules very carefully when he explained them, but also had been trained to play preference since she was eleven years old.

✨ ✨ ✨

Headmaster's office

"Do you know that Miss Evans fraudulently broke into Grenoble police station in order to obtain some information about your parents' case, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore's question fell on two friends like a forty-pound blacksmith's hammer.

"What?!"

"What are you talking about?!"

Dumbledore winced, flicking off a tooth that flew from Black's mouth. Headmaster attached his compresses to Sirius's head, and now the guy looked much better, plus, an extra couple of painkillers did their job, but teeth were holding on for dear life anyway.

"I really hope that your surprise isn't an artfully played pretense."

"I had no idea, sir!" James jumped up excitedly from the couch, hitting the "insect-bird" with the top of his head.

"Mr. Black?"

"Likewise, sir," Sirius was calm, but there was poorly concealed awe in his eyes. "Did anyone help her?"

"Why do you think so?" Dumbledore squinted his eyes.

"It's not easy pull off a stunt like that alone."

"Agreed. It's quite difficult to single-handedly rent a room in luxury hotel, use a dark magic spell to disguise and a forbidden potion to penetrate the mind of civil servant."

"Snape!" James hissed.

"Do you think that any sentence, in which the word 'potion' is present, has something to do with Mr. Snape?" Dumbledore asked ironically.

"No," Potter said grimly. "Rather, he has something to do with each sentence with the name Lily in it."

"Jealousy won't help this business, Mr. Potter. But you're right, Mr. Snape was involved."