Chapter 136

The room suddenly quieted down, and the figures on the walls opened their eyes to check what was going on.

Evan and Dumbledore sat silently at the ends of the table, neither of them spoke.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and no one could figure out what he was thinking; Evan looked like he was staring at the curious silver instruments on the table that were emitting little puffs of smoke.

But in fact, he was thinking about Peter Pettigrew. Peter was in Hogwarts. With Harrys father James Potter, Sirius Black, and Professor Lupin, they were a small group of four, just like himself now with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The relationship between the four of them was very good, but due to Peters betrayal, the other threes fate was very tragic.

Dumbledore has just said that that was mainly due to his fault. What did he mean by that?

Was it just simple regret or was there something deeper?

Evan waited a while and saw that Dumbledore was still not talking. He had to try and say, Although I dont know how it all went down, Professor! But I dont think you need to blame yourself for Pettigrew. We all choose our own paths, and we all have to walk down those paths and bear the joy and sorrow that they bring. If one loses his path, hed have only himself to blame!

Though

it is true, but as an elder, before you walk, I should help you as much as possible and guide you to the right direction. That is my duty! Dumbledore opened his eyes and continued, You must know that choosing the right path is much more important than the effort put into walking! Peter Pettigrew initially wanted to find courage, but he eventually lost his way in his pursuit of power.

Evan was startled as what Dumbledore just said was not much different from what he heard from Luna last year.

Evan, when are you and Sirius going to start? Dumbledore asked all of a sudden.

At eight oclock tomorrow evening, he will come to Gryffindors Common Room. I plan with him.

Well, you only need to do what you think you should, and leave the rest up to me! Dumbledore didnt ask Evan for any more details.

Wait a minute, Professor! Evan hurriedly said. I dont understand. Why dont we just proceed directly to catching Peter? Hes in Rons bedroom right now. Ron is still under his control. I think the sooner we act the better!

That is indeed a good suggestion. But sometimes, simple and effective methods are not suitable for dealing with complicated issues. Dumbledore looked at Evan and said calmly, Whats worrying me more than Black and Peter right now is Ron!

Youre worried about Ron?! Evan said. He didnt

didnt understand what Dumbledore meant.

If he was so worried about Ron, why didnt he just interfere when they were in Lupins office? Why didnt he tell Ron that he was under the effect of the Imperius curse?

And now, he doesnt want to go straight to catch Peter and rescue Ron!

As I just said Evan, I made mistakes when dealing with Peter. Some mistakes we commit are one that we never get the opportunity to correct, but they still leave important lessons behind for us so that we never commit them again. Dumbledore said, I dont want Ron to become another Peter.

Professor, you mean

The best way to fight back the Imperius Curse is not finding out about it. It is having the strong will to resist its invasion. Dumbledore looked at Evan, Unlike you and Harry, Ron doesnt have enough willpower. I hope that the two of you can help him.

Help Ron? Evan repeated. What do you need me to do?

You just have to do what you think you should. Dumbledore looked at Evans eyes. Along with Tom, you are the best young wizard Ive ever met. I believe in you.

Okay, Ill try! Evan sighed.

Looking at Dumbledore, he knew that he had been already counting on him. It is no wonder that he focused on Peter Pettigrew and blamed himself for what happened with him. He was waiting for

waiting for Evan here, hoping that this conversion would end up with them talking about saving Ron.

Evan sighed as things seemed to have become more and more troublesome. All he thought he needed to do was catching Peter Pettigrew and clearing Blacks name. Now, in addition to those things, he also must help Ron resist the Imperius curse.

In his opinion, this was making things more risky. It complicates simple issues, and makes accidents more probable.

Although Dumbledore had said that everything else could be left to him, Evan still felt bad about this.

Peter Pettigrew was not a simple opponent. He has to be cautious! However, since its Dumbledore whos asking him, he had no way to refuse.

Besides, what Dumbledore said makes sense. Evan cant just watch Ron become a Dark wizard selling out his best friends to Voldemort just like Peter, and then end up probably dying at the hands of his new master. Yes, maybe he doesnt have much affection for Ron, but for Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys sake, he cannot just watch as Ron continues to fall.

This is the second time that Ron is being controlled, it seemed like there was no guarantee that he wont just be controlled by other Dark wizards.

As an extremely evil Dark Magic, the Imperius Curse definitely leaves its permanent marks on its victims soul. The more times its used on Ron, used on Ron, the less hell be able to resist it in the future. And Ron wasnt becoming an idiot because of the curse; it was actually making him look more like a Dark Wizard!

Judging from the storyline that he knows, with the return of Voldemort, the situation in the next following years should get increasingly grim.

Hold on! Evan thought, Why should I wait for Voldemorts return before thinking of ways to defeat him?

After all, that just seems like the most dangerous way to think. Over two years of experience made Evan convinced that relying on the original storyline to predict whats going to happen is no longer a safe bet.

Yes, he did know how the events developed in the original story, but thats not the case for his life as well. Every word you say, everything you do, has either a good or bad impact on the people around you. They will also react and things will go differently.

Peter Pettigrew is a perfect example: In the original story, he never controlled Ron.

And compared to Voldemort, he is nothing.

Perhaps, after dealing with this years incident, he should face the future less passively.

After all, he was doomed to change the future anyway. He had to catch Peter Pettigrew and clean the name of Sirius Black. So why not go all out and try to prevent Voldemorts return from ever happening?