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After a long pause, Professor Lupin finally regained his composure. His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Are you saying… you saw Peter on this map?"
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore said with certainty. "According to the map, he is currently in the Great Hall, right beside Ron Weasley."
"I think the map might be mistaken," Professor Snape interjected abruptly. "I just checked Weasley's side myself, and aside from that foolish girl and his little pet rat, there was nothing—certainly not Gryffindor's chubby Pettigrew lingering nearby."
"No!" Lupin exclaimed suddenly.
All eyes turned to him, only to see him gripping the edge of a chair, staring intently at the spot on the map where Peter was marked.
"Back then…" Lupin began, his voice heavy, "James and the others, for my sake, practiced to become Animagi. James's Animagus form was a stag, Sirius was a large black dog, and Peter… Peter was a rat…"
At the mention of "a large black dog," a chilling glint flashed through Veratia's eyes.
She recalled the big black dog that had interrupted her plans time and again…
It seemed it was time to track it down in the Forbidden Forest, Veratia thought, her expression dangerously resolute.
Lupin continued to stare at the map, his voice tense. "If Peter is currently in his Animagus form…"
"I remember!" Harry suddenly burst out. "Scabbers! Ron's pet—I recall him saying Scabbers has been with their family for twelve years!"
"Yes," Harry continued, "can a house rat really live for twelve years? I didn't think much of it at the time. And Professor Flitwick mentioned earlier that the explosion caused by Sirius Black obliterated an entire street, leaving Peter's body untraceable—only a finger was found…"
"Ron's Scabbers…" Veratia mused aloud. "His front paw is missing a toe!"
"Professor Dumbledore!" Lupin said urgently. "I suspect there's something amiss here. If Sirius was the one who betrayed Lily and James, why would Peter hide his identity, living as a rat in the Weasley household all this time?"
"Good heavens!" Phineas's portrait suddenly shouted. "I knew it! I knew my great-grandson could never be that kind of person—Dumbledore, please! He may be the disgrace of the Black family, but he's the only heir we have left…"
Dumbledore gave Phineas's portrait a nod.
"Severus," he said, glancing at Snape. "I think you should prepare something suitable for what's about to unfold."
"Veritaserum, is it?" Snape said with a sinister smile. He turned to Harry, pulling a small vial from his robes.
Looking at Veratia and Cassandra seated behind Harry, Snape continued in a chilling tone, "I presume you've heard of this potion, Potter? Just a single drop in your pumpkin juice, and the secrets of whomever you hold dearest will be laid bare for all to see…"
Harry could swear on the light of Lumos that Snape was doing this on purpose.
Just to make the two girls behind him think poorly of him!
Yet Snape merely returned a cold, sly smile and placed the vial of Veritaserum on the table.
"Let's go to the Great Hall," Dumbledore said. "If Ron's rat—Scabbers, correct?—if Scabbers is indeed Peter Pettigrew, then… we may be able to clear an innocent man's name."
They arrived at the Great Hall and approached Ron, who was whispering to Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sternly, "come with us."
Ron looked up, trembling, his eyes widening at the all-star lineup before him—the Headmaster, the four Heads of House, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor…
Merlin's beard, all I did was whisper a few words to Hermione—did they really need to bring this many people to catch me?
What in the world… what crime have I committed?
"Where's your rat?" Dumbledore asked. "It's called Scabbers, isn't it?"
"Right here," Ron said, pulling a soundly sleeping Scabbers from his sleeping bag. "It's asleep. Merlin, it's gotten so old."
"Bring him with us to the Headmaster's office," Dumbledore said. "We have some questions for you. And Hermione, I know you're worried about Ron, so… if you're not in a hurry to sleep, you're welcome to join us."
Hermione's curiosity was practically bursting. Her eyes gleamed like saucers.
At Dumbledore's words, she didn't hesitate for a moment, scrambling out of her sleeping bag.
A chance to witness the drama firsthand? Hermione Granger would never pass that up.
As they reached the Headmaster's office, Scabbers stirred awake.
It seemed groggy, looking around in circles. When it caught sight of Dumbledore and McGonagall, its body gave an involuntary shudder.
When it saw Lupin, it began to struggle violently.
"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak—"
Its cries were like a pig under the butcher's knife, and in its thrashing, it even bit Ron's hand.
"Ow!" Ron yelped in pain, loosening his grip. Scabbers fell to the floor and bolted away.
"It bit me!" Ron said in disbelief. "It actually bit me, Merlin's beard…"
"Accio!" Lupin flicked his wand, summoning the fleeing Scabbers back into his hand.
Held by Lupin, Scabbers stopped struggling, as if resigned to its fate, trembling in his grasp.
They reached the Headmaster's office, and Ron glanced at Lupin several times, noticing he had no intention of returning Scabbers.
"Professor Lupin," Ron ventured cautiously, "could I… have Scabbers back?"
"Oh, my dear boy," Lupin said with a hint of regret. "I'm afraid not. We're dealing with a serious matter, and it's possible this rat—your pet of twelve years, Scabbers—may be the key to it."
Scabbers let out another squeal, like a pig facing slaughter.
"Scabbers?" Ron said, incredulous. "No way! It's just a rat. What could it possibly do to be involved in any case?"
"This is about a case from twelve years ago, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said gravely. "Your pet Scabbers—allow me to clarify—is not a rat. It is a person. An Animagus!"
"Yes," Lupin added, emphasizing the word, "our 'friend'—Peter Pettigrew."
"Animagus?" Hermione blurted, stunned. She racked her brain, trying to defend Ron. "That's impossible, Professor! If there were such an Animagus, people would know! You taught us in Transfiguration class—I did my homework and looked into it. The Ministry monitors wizards and witches who can transform into animals. There are records of what animals they become, their markings, everything… I checked the records, and in this century, there are only seven registered Animagi, and Peter Pettigrew's name isn't on that list!"
McGonagall gave a pleased smile, clearly delighted despite the circumstances.
"If we were in class, I'd award you points, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, nodding approvingly. "But now I must teach you something not found in books: there are illegal Animagi in this world—unregistered ones. Among them are Harry's father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."
"But Scabbers is Scabbers!" Ron protested, still struggling to accept it. "It's my pet rat. It's been with my family for…"
"Twelve years, correct?" Lupin interjected. "Can a normal rat live for twelve years?"
With that, he placed the rat on the floor.
McGonagall drew her wand and aimed it at Scabbers, casting the counter-spell for an Animagus transformation.
A blue-white light shot from her wand, and Scabbers was lifted into the air. Its small black body writhed frantically under the spell's effect.
Ron cried out in distress—after all, this was the rat he'd lived with, slept with, held close for years.
The rat fell to the floor, and with a dazzling flash of light, it was as if they were watching a time-lapse of a tree growing. A human head emerged from the rat's body, followed by limbs stretching out.
Moments later, a man stood where Scabbers had been, nervously wringing his hands.
He was short, barely taller than Professor Flitwick—only about a head taller. His thin, pale hair was disheveled, with a large bald patch on top. He looked like a once-plump man who had lost weight rapidly. His skin was grimy, almost resembling Scabbers' fur, and his pointed nose and watery, beady eyes still carried the rat-like traits.
He looked at everyone, his breathing shallow and rapid.
"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said cheerfully, as if rats turning into old classmates was a regular occurrence. "It's been a while."
Ron, who had been standing, collapsed onto the floor, one hand covering his mouth, the other pointing at Peter Pettigrew, making incoherent "huh-huh" sounds, too shocked to speak.
Anyone would be rattled to discover their pet had turned into a balding, middle-aged, wretched-looking man—especially Ron.
"Remus?" Peter Pettigrew's voice was as shrill as a rat's squeak. "My old friend… and Professors, it's been so long…"
"We need to clear some things up, Peter," Lupin said seriously. "You're in the Headmaster's office now—you know what that means, don't you? We know what you've done. You betrayed James and Lily, didn't you? You sold them out to the Dark Lord?"
"Oh…" Peter's eyes darted nervously. "How could that be? How could it? You all know James and Lily's Secret-Keeper was… was Sirius…"
As he spoke, Peter turned to Harry.
"Harry, Harry, is it? Merlin, you look so much like James, just like your father…"
"You dare mention James!" Lupin snapped coldly. "How dare you speak his name!"
"James was…" Peter's eyes darted around. "He was my friend. Why would I…"
Lupin stared at him coldly, then sighed heavily, as if utterly exhausted.
"Severus," he said.
Without a word, Snape stepped forward, grabbing the vial of Veritaserum from the desk.
"Sniv—" Peter began, but before he could finish the word, Snape's eyes flashed with intense disgust.
Without hesitation, Snape grabbed Peter's jaw and poured the entire vial of Veritaserum down his throat.
Peter coughed violently, taking a moment to recover.
"Tell us," Lupin demanded. "How did you betray James and Lily? Why did you join the Dark Lord?"
"I didn't want to… I didn't want to!" Peter sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "You know how powerful the Dark Lord was… stronger than anyone could imagine. Even you would've been scared, wouldn't you?"
"How did you betray James and Lily?" Lupin pressed.
"Ah, ah…" Peter shrank back. "It wasn't my fault, not really… It was Sirius. Sirius thought he'd be targeted by the Death Eaters, so he suggested I become the Secret-Keeper instead. He thought no one would suspect me because I'm timid, unnoticeable. And James—that fool—he believed our friendship was unbreakable. He agreed to Sirius's plan, and so the Secret-Keeper was secretly changed to me… oh, Merlin…"
Harry's fists clenched tightly, barely restraining himself from flinging a harmless jinx.
Veratia reached out, gently holding Harry's fist, patting it softly to calm him.
"Why didn't he harm Harry?" Hermione asked, frowning. "We know Veritaserum ensures the truth. If he joined You-Know-Who, why has he lived in Gryffindor's common room for nearly three years without harming Harry?"
At her words, everyone turned curiously to Peter.
To their surprise, Peter's face contorted in terror.
"Merlin's beard, silly girl, only someone like you would think that…" Peter stammered, trembling. "Harm Harry? No sane person would even consider it. I saw him face the Dark Lord with my own eyes. In your first year, the moment he saw the Dark Lord, he used the Cruciatus Curse… and the second time he met him, he didn't hesitate to cast Avada Kedavra. How else do you think Quirrell died? Trust me, silly girl, that boy is more terrifying than the Dark Lord himself…"
Hermione shot Harry an "excuse me?" look.
They all knew Harry had defeated the Voldemort-possessed Quirrell in his first year.
But no one knew that Harry had acted with zero hesitation, delivering an Avada Kedavra as a greeting gift to Quirrell… or rather, to Voldemort.
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