The effect of the Veritaserum was gradually wearing off, and the reporters were thrilled to have gotten their hands on such exciting news.
Seeing Peter Pettigrew slowly regaining consciousness, Lupin unhesitatingly cast a Stunning Spell to make Peter fall back into slumber.
As he dragged Wormtail out of the room, the reporters acted as if they hadn't seen anything and continued eagerly exchanging their articles.
Because they came from different countries, their newspapers were not in competition, creating a harmonious and friendly atmosphere among the reporters.
Before taking Peter Pettigrew away, Vid said, "There's one more thing, Mr. Machioni."
"Please, go ahead," Machioni said courteously.
"I hope they temporarily refrain from publishing this report—until the British Government denies their past mistakes," Vid said.
Machioni thought Vid might have misspoken, confusing "deny" with "admit," but upon reconsideration, he understood.
His lips curled into a wicked smile, and he said, "As you wish, Vid."
...
"Are you coming with me?"
Back in the attic, standing before the Disappearing Cabinet, Vid asked Lupin.
Lupin wavered, feeling torn.
Without permission, he shouldn't enter the school.
Furthermore, he knew Vid did not want everyone to know the secret of the Disappearing Cabinet—
If this matter were exposed, for the safety of the students and faculty, the professors might demand Vid hand over the cabinet to the school.
But Lupin was indeed eager to witness the fate of the betrayer being brought to justice.
"Let's go," Vid decided for him, "But could you say you came to the school through a secret passage."
Vid knew that Dumbledore might already be aware of the cabinet's secret—he suspected the headmaster had known for a while but remained silent.
Dumbledore often allowed students too much freedom, such as having first-year Harry confront Voldemort and permitting sixth-year Malfoy's various assassination attempts.
When such freedom was to his advantage, Vid appreciated this aspect of Dumbledore.
However, Vid also knew that the convenience granted by this tacit understanding could only be used but couldn't be spoken of; once announced, the cabinet would no longer belong to him.
After all, only one cabinet was purchased by him, the other belonged to the school.
...
In the Umbrella House, everyone had just finished listening to the parts Percy remembered.
The parts five- or six-year-old Percy remembered were not much, but with his prompt, Hermione recalled reading similar content in a book.
She quickly found "Major Magical Events of the Twentieth Century"—a book she had finished before starting first grade—and saw Peter Pettigrew's name inside.
"...Cruelly killed by the desperate Sirius Black... Corpses strewn everywhere... The Ministry of Magic awarded the sacrificed Peter Pettigrew the Merlin Knight Order First Class Medal..."
Seeing such words, combined with that sly, cowardly face just now, Harry felt it was all very unreal.
"If he was a hero... why did he transform into a rat and hide?" Harry bewilderedly asked, "Hide in Ron's house... as a child's pet?"
"That's exactly the scariest part, Harry," Fred said meaningfully.
"Remember?" George asked him, "When we heard about that last year..."
"Professor Quirrell was the Mysterious Man's puppet... Ronnie Jr.'s pet was a 'hero' who supposedly died in an explosion..." Fred laughed cynically, "We seemed never to have truly known this world."
He glanced at his other brothers—the former and current owners of Scabbers looked terribly upset and couldn't say a word.
They looked as if they wanted to vomit.
The book didn't record the Fidelius Charm and the Secret Keeper's past, so Harry's mindset remained calm, filled more with confusion.
"I just remembered, I actually saw a photo of that person." Harry told his friends, "Remus had hung the photo on the wall; Peter Pettigrew, Remus, and my dad were friends during school."
"A lot must have happened between them..." Hermione said, "Peter Pettigrew pretending to be dead with a hero's reputation, not without reason."
"Yeah... but he never harmed me, right? We've lived in the same dormitory all this time, and other than being greedy and lazy, Scabbers never did anything bad."
Harry looked at everyone's eyes, seeking confirmation, "I think he might not be a bad person, just afraid of reprisals from the Death Eaters, so he always stayed hidden... uh, isn't that right?"
Everyone looked at him as if he were a naive fool.
"If he was just cowardly..." Fred shook his head, "He could have sought help from Dumbledore... But he remained the form of a rat even in school, indicating he wasn't scared of anyone else..."
"...Just Dumbledore, right?" Ron said in a low voice.
Fred nodded.
Harry's mouth opened, unsure of what to say.
Right then, the curtain parted, Vid appeared with Peter Pettigrew, accompanied by another person.
"Remus!" Harry immediately rushed forward, "How did you come to the school?"
Lupin forced a smile and patted Harry's head.
The awakened memories constantly tugged at his heart; seeing Harry's face reminded him of the dear friend who had been killed due to misplaced trust.
Lupin took a deep breath, suppressing the sting in his eyes, and said, "Vid knows I was one of those involved, so he reached me through the secret passage... Let's take Peter to see Dumbledore."
The calm and reliable adult wizard naturally assumed control of the conversation upon appearing. Even Percy said nothing, and they together left the Umbrella House heading for the Headmaster's Tower.
"You all!"
On the way, they encountered Professor McGonagall, who strode over angrily, saying, "I heard you made a mud pit outside the Gryffindor Common Room; the Fat Lady told me..."
Before she finished speaking, seeing Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, she gasped and froze.
"Merlin..." Professor McGonagall said in shock, "What's going on here?"
"Just as you see, Professor," Lupin said as calmly as possible, "Peter Pettigrew is not dead; everything back then was just a lie... We need to meet Dumbledore now."
"Of course... of course..." It took a moment for Professor McGonagall's mind to start working again; her expression stiffened as she said, "Follow me... "
As she spoke, she kept observing Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, even rubbing her eyes, as if suspecting she was seeing an illusion.
Students on the way looked at them in surprise, some secretly asking the Weasley brothers what had happened, but they did not respond.
Soon, they reached the Headmaster's Office.