"What did you think of?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"When Lupin and I were exploring before, Lupin told me a cold fact about Werewolves: Werewolves don't attack wild beasts when they're not hungry. And Lupin also knew Sirius's Animagus form, which means Lupin and Sirius had a very good relationship back then," Kayson said in a rush.
Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction: "Go on."
"So, Sirius might have learned Animagus to accompany Lupin so he wouldn't be too lonely in his Werewolf form. But back then, did Lupin only have Sirius as a good friend? This is a question I'm asking you, because I don't know much about their past."
Dumbledore nodded: "Back then, the four of them were very good friends. You already know Lupin and Sirius. The other two were James Potter, Harry's father, and the late Peter Pettigrew."
"That's right. Back then, it shouldn't have been just Sirius who learned Animagus. Although I don't understand those three, I do understand the mindset of Little Wizardss their age. They almost never want to fall behind anyone in anything they do. So, the other two should have also learned Animagus," Kayson whispered.
"Why are you so serious about this? James Potter and Peter Pettigrew have been dead for a long time," Dumbledore said softly.
"How did they die?"
"James Potter was found and killed by Lord Voldemort at home. Peter Pettigrew was found and blown up by Sirius on a Muggle street. Sirius was also sent to Azkaban because of this incident," Dumbledore replied.
"Why did Sirius kill Peter Pettigrew, who was his friend?"
Dumbledore stood up from his seat and began pacing around the office: "At that time, I cast a protective magic on Harry's house, and that magic required a Secret-Keeper for it to take effect. As long as that Secret-Keeper didn't betray them, Lord Voldemort would never find Harry's family."
"Let me guess, the Secret-Keeper was Sirius?" Kayson asked.
"I thought so too... but the truth might be different from what I thought. Initially, I wanted to be the Secret-Keeper, but James Potter, Harry's father, refused. He said at the time that he wanted Sirius to be the Secret-Keeper. But if it really was Sirius who was the Secret-Keeper... it can't explain why he would kill Peter Pettigrew in such a cruel way, when an Killing Curse would have sufficed."
"The cruelty you mentioned was..."
"Blowing up Peter Pettigrew until only three fingers were left."
Kayson stroked his chin: "You said if it was Sirius... Oh, right, if Sirius was the traitor, he wouldn't have needed to use such cruel methods on Peter Pettigrew. It was completely unnecessary, unless there was a huge hatred between him and Peter Pettigrew."
"That's what I wanted to say." Dumbledore nodded.
"Are you trying to say that the real traitor was Peter Pettigrew, and the real Secret-Keeper was also Peter Pettigrew?" Kayson asked.
"I'm afraid so."
"If it's not like that, it's fine. But if it really is like that, then Sirius is a war hero, and you let him stay in Azkaban for so long... I despise you." Kayson gave a middle finger.
"That would give him peace of mind."
"Heh heh, wait a moment, I'll go ask Lupin what's going on, after all, he's a party to it."
"Not yet. Although it's not good to say this, Lord Voldemort's policies at the time were to treat Werewolves favorably. So, during that period, James Potter and the others didn't particularly trust Lupin. This was also one reason why he wasn't a candidate for Secret-Keeper."
"So?"
"It's a sad memory for him. Don't tell him," Dumbledore explained.
Kayson shook his head: "So, more than ten years ago, his best friends discussed things without him, and now, more than ten years later, even though I'm not necessarily his best friend, just like more than ten years ago, I'm doing things without him?"
"...Then bring him over," Dumbledore said.
"Alright."
Soon, Kayson led Lupin into the Headmaster's office. Lupin had listened to Kayson's analysis all the way, and already had a general idea of how the current clues were progressing.
"What I knew and what I didn't know has been mostly deduced by Kayson. However, I can talk about their Animagus forms. You all know Sirius's. The others are James's Animagus, a stag, and Peter's is a small rat."
Kayson and Dumbledore nodded: "A small rat..."
Suddenly, Kayson remembered something: "Dumbledore, do you have a newspaper here? The Daily Prophet! The issue where the Weasley family won the Galleon Grand Prize!"
Dumbledore waved his hand, and a newspaper floated out of a clip on the bookshelf.
After Kayson caught it, he spread out the Weasley family's group photo in Egypt on the table.
"Lupin, come and see if this is the little rat," Kayson said, pointing to a small rat lying on Ron.
Lupin leaned his head over. He seemed to be somewhat unable to accept it, unable to accept that his brother, whom he had misunderstood for more than ten years, might have been framed, and also unable to accept that his other good friend was very likely the real traitor, who had also faked his death for so many years. But in the end, he just nodded helplessly: "... Yes."
"But his fingers..."
Dumbledore reminded: "Remember those fingers Peter Pettigrew had left... They match up perfectly."
"Now almost everything matches up. Sirius came to Hogwarts to find Peter Pettigrew and kill him... I was wondering why he was holding Ron like a perverted dog back then... So that's how it is..."
Kayson then remembered how Sirius had suddenly hugged Ron and almost gnawed on him before. At the time, he was puzzled. Sirius usually liked Harry the most, so why did he suddenly hug Ron that time? It turned out to be because of Peter Pettigrew...
"The case was perfectly solved by you just like that? It seems that living next to a detective also gives you some skills," Lupin said, looking at Kayson.
"Although I can't compare to that pervert, I do have a bit of talent," Kayson said with a smile.
"So, what should we do with Sirius and Peter Pettigrew now?" Lupin then asked.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 20 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!