Peter let out a cry of agony and pain as he was knocked to the ground. Few of his teeth had been shattered, and vomited his shattered teeth mixed with his own blood.
He forced his body as he tried to move and sit on the ground. Even before he could manoeuvre much, he felt a sharp pain coursing through his right leg as he let out a miserable shriek which cut through the silence of the alley.
Harry had stomped his boot on Peter's leg and had crushed the bones inside.
"Harrryy… please… forgive me," Peter tried to beg for mercy, but his words fell on Harry's deaf ears.
With another stomp of his foot, Harry crushed Peter's other leg as the rat shrieked and writhed on the ground miserably.
Harry pointed his finger towards the rat, and a greyish spell left his index finger, striking Peter squarely on the chest. He slumped on the ground in an unconscious state.
With this, Harry turned towards Bertha, who had now recovered from her fear and the shock of Harry Potter's sudden arrival. Harry Potter was a legend in the wizarding world, and even a forgetful person like Bertha Jorkins was able to recognize him in a moment.
"Miss Jorkins," Harry smiled. "Hopefully, I was on time and saved you from any discomfort."
Perhaps it was Harry's overly polite words, or perhaps it was her own nature, but Bertha Jorkins stepped back in fear. A fearful expression formed on her face, and her eyes turned anxious.
She took a few moments before composing herself.
"No…" she stammered as tried to calm her nerves. "Thank you for saving me."
"How did you know about this, Mr. Potter?" she asked with a lot of courage. "What are you doing here… in Albania?"
"I have my ways," he answered mysteriously.
"Or maybe it was pure coincidence," he added with a chuckle.
"But is it really important?" Harry asked after a moment of pause.
"The important thing is… now what?" Harry said. "I hope that you understand the significance of my act."
Bertha kept quiet for a moment but ultimately sighed in defeat, "I owe you a life debt… and I accept it."
As these words left Bertha's lips, a white magical light flashed momentarily around both her and Harry's body. The white flash of light denoted the acceptance of the life debt by Bertha Jorkins.
Life debt was a very unique and vague concept in the magical world. As the name suggested, when one person saved the life of another person, a magical debt was formed between the two.
But was it really so simple? NO… Why? Because who could classify if the act performed by the first person was really life-saving or not? For instance, the second person might simply refuse to accept the debt and say he would have kept himself safe anyway… or that the incident or the accident from which he was saved was not really life-threatening.
So, in scenarios involving life debt, until the second person explicitly accepted the debt, it remained non-confirmed.
But then why would anyone accept the debt and bear its consequences? Because denying a life debt was not as easy as merely saying so. Two major factors affected if one could deny the debt or not.
The first and more important factor was the severity of the act. If the first person performed an act, say, blocking a killing curse, which was certainly life-saving, denying the debt would be harder compared to a less severe act, say, saving someone from falling off a broom.
The second factor was the magical capability of the person who owed the debt. In the same incident, denying a debt would be easier for a powerful wizard compared to a less powerful wizard.
Now, the question arises: what are the consequences of a life debt? It was not like surrendering one's life to the other person. It would not mean turning oneself into the other's slave.
At the basic level, the person owing the life debt could not harm the person to whom he owed the debt in any way. Harry, for instance, could ask something from Bertha as repayment of the life debt. But it could not be like turning her into a slave or anything like this. The demand should be reasonable and should be within the capabilities of Bertha.
In all ways, Life Debts were thus very vague concept and everything seemed to work on 'magic.'
Bertha Jorkins was unsure of what awaited her in the future and what she would have to do to clear the debt. She might have had a chance of refusing the debt, as Harry did not save her directly, but her magical capabilities to bear the backlash were not enough. To deny a debt was like a taboo, and magic itself would punish you for it, and she was not powerful enough to shrug off the unknown punishment.
A frown formed on her face as her mind raced through these thoughts.
Seeing her expression of anxiety and defeat, Harry chuckled.
"Worry not, Miss Jorkins. It is not as if I am going to make a slave out of you."
"I promise that your life will definitely be better than it was in the past if you follow my advice," he added.
"But first, I need to deal with this rat, as someone is waiting for him," Harry said, pointing towards Peter Pettigrew.
Now that her thoughts were free from other things, she wanted to question how this person was alive? Why did he want to kill her? And judging by Harry's behaviour, it seemed to her that he knew it all.
Even so, she decided to remain quiet and wait for the correct opportunity to ask these questions.
Bertha thought that whatever Harry Potter was about to do with Peter, which she guessed would be to hand Peter Pettigrew over to the ministry, would happen quietly and in front of her. But her guess was all wrong.
Harry approached near her and took a small piece of wooden stick from his robes.
"This is portkey," said Harry as he handed the stick to her. "It will take you close to your house."
"Your family name is the activation key," he added. "I will meet you shortly at your house."
Bertha took the stick with hesitation. She was about to activate it when Harry whispered in a menacing voice, "Whatever has happened here… do not mention it to anyone."
She gulped subconsciously as she nodded in fear. Moments later, she muttered, "Jorkins" and vanished from the spot.
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