Hogwarts: Harry's Path to Witches

Chapter 224 Godfather, you are one of the few relatives I have

Listening to Harley's words, Professor Dumbledore remembered the conversation between Harley and him on the night before Halloween.

He sighed and took out his wand: "Although I want to believe you, I still need more evidence."

"I need to call Severus here and have him give you some Veritaserum."

Upon hearing Professor Snape's name, Sirius's eyes first flashed with disdain, but in the end he nodded dejectedly:

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore. Even if it's Legilimency and the Imperius Curse, I don't mind at all."

"I will not use the Unforgivable Curse on my own students." Professor Dumbledore shook his head, his expression extremely firm.

A silver phoenix flew out from the tip of his wand and then flew in the direction of the castle.

Professor Dumbledore also pointed his wand at Peter Pettigrew:

"Then while waiting for Severus, let us listen to the other person involved."

"Recover quickly."

A bright light flashed, and Peter Pettigrew slowly woke up.

He blinked and shook his head to dispel the drowsiness in his brain, and gradually recalled the memories before his coma.

Then he found himself lying on the table, surrounded by many familiar people, people he was most familiar with and didn't want to see at all.

"Deng...Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Peter stammered as he greeted, "Long time no see, long time no see..."

"Remus, little...Sirius, my friend...my dearest old friend..."

Principal Dumbledore and Professor Lupin responded happily, with smiles on their faces.

Professor McGonagall just snorted lukewarmly and said softly: "It's so ugly!"

Obviously, after considering Peter Pettigrew disguised as a mouse for twelve years, Professor McGonagall has made a certain judgment in her heart.

As for Sirius, he was already roaring:

"Damn traitor! Trash, trash, dead rat! The bastard who killed James and Lily!"

"How...how do you have the nerve to still live in this world and call us old friends..."

In anger, Sirius leaned forward hard and pulled the chair with a clang.

"Sirius, be quiet!" Professor Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, "Let us hear Peter Pettigrew's explanation of what happened back then!"

"This is completely unnecessary, Professor Dumbledore!" Sirius roared angrily,

"I can take Veritaserum, Legilimency, and even the Imperius Curse! And this rat deserves it!"

"There's no need to give this cowardly piece of garbage a chance to pollute our ears!"

"Professor, old friends, look! He is scared!" After hearing Professor Dumbledore's words, Peter Pettigrew also realized that this was his last chance.

He screamed, trying to catch all of Sirius' holes,

"He didn't dare to let me explain! He wanted to cover up the original truth! The truth about the murder of James and Lily!"

"We all know that he is the secret keeper of the Chidan Loyalty Curse, but he is the only one who insists that the secret keeper is me!"

"So it was he who betrayed James and Lily in the first place! It was also he who told the Dark Lord the location of the Potters... the Dark Lord!"

"We should execute him immediately to avenge James!"

But Professor Dumbledore was unmoved:

"Oh, really? In that case, dear Peter, I think you will be willing to accept the test of the Veritaserum that Severus is about to bring."

"Sirius's proposal is also very interesting. Although I refuse to use the Imperius Curse, using Legilimency is not unacceptable."

Peter Pettigrew's voice stopped suddenly. After a while, he muttered and looked at Harley:

"Harry...will you believe me? You will definitely believe me!"

"You and your mother look so much alike...even the eyes are exactly the same..."

"Really... you must believe me... I have protected you silently for twelve years. I don't want to show up in public for fear of Death Eaters..."

No one was interested in listening anymore.

After seeing the performance of Peter Pettigrew and Sirius, even the dullest Hagrid had a judgment in his mind as to who the traitor was.

If Professor Dumbledore hadn't still been here, Hagrid would have stood up and tore Peter to pieces.

But even so, Hagrid still blushed, stared at Peter Pettigrew, and kept breathing heavily.

The door of the hut was knocked, and a slow voice sounded outside:

"Professor Dumbledore? Could you please stand up and open the door?"

"It's me outside, your dear man... no, a wretch worse than a house elf, Severus Snape."

"It's so strange. I didn't know you had such a hobby. You like to wake people up from their beds in the middle of the night with a patronus and tell them to come to Hagrid with veritaserum..."

The door opened automatically, and what Professor Snape wanted to say next was swallowed back in the eyes of the people in the room.

Sirius scoffed unceremoniously.

If it weren't for the fact that Professor Dumbledore and his goddaughter were here, he would have been full of fire and taunting him in all kinds of ways.

Professor Snape also saw the people in the room clearly and saw Sirius Black.

Without hesitation, he pulled out the wand and pointed it at Sirius: "Cruciatonus..."

Before Professor Snape finished reciting the spell, he was easily interrupted by Professor Dumbledore.

"Severus, I don't think anyone can use the Unforgivable Curse while I'm here."

"Also, based on reliable evidence, the traitor who betrayed Lily was most likely Peter Pettigrew on the table."

Professor Snape also saw the man on the table clearly.

He was not a fool. Although anger had filled his brain, the potion master's basic judgment ability was still there.

When he saw that the person who should be dead was still alive, a series of doubts and speculations flashed through Professor Snape's mind.

"I hope you brought Veritaserum, Severus." Professor Dumbledore held out his hand.

Professor Snape snorted coldly, with a look of reluctance on his face, and took out a bottle of Veritaserum from his pocket as quickly as he could:

"The best potion is so effective that a person only needs three drops."

"Of course, I strongly recommend that you use up all one bottle, so that you can save time in killing the prisoner after the interrogation."

"Thank you for the reminder, Severus." Professor Dumbledore took the Veritaserum and personally poured three drops into the mouths of Sirius and Peter Pettigrew.

Professor McGonagall conjured another chair and asked Professor Snape to sit down.

Professor Dumbledore began to interrogate, and he also got the same answer from Harry's previous statement from the two people.

After listening to what the two said, Professor Dumbledore asked softly:

"Sirius, why were you unwilling to distinguish for yourself in the first place."

Sirius answered mechanically:

"When Fudge led the team to the scene first, I didn't want to resist at all."

"Senior Crouch voted me directly into Azkaban without a jury vote."

"Of course, I don't have any objection. I think this is my punishment."

"This is my punishment for trusting a former friend, a damn traitor, and doubting another friend, Remus, which resulted in the death of my friend."

"I should repent...I am guilty, I am guilty..."

Although he was still disturbed by the Veritaserum and was in an absolutely rational state, Sirius's voice was still trembling a little, and two lines of tears fell from the corners of his eyes.

Professor McGonagall sobbed hard and wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Hermione held Harry's hand and looked at her worriedly.

Professor Dumbledore held out his hand to Professor Snape with a sad look on his face.

Professor Snape snorted coldly and handed over a vial expressionlessly: "Three drops, three drops is enough."

With the help of the antidote to Veritaserum, Sirius quickly returned to normal: "Professor?"

However, Professor Lupine shook his head at him, and Sirius was too wise to say anything.

Professor Dumbledore looked at Peter Pettigrew again: "Peter, why did you betray James and your best friend in the first place?"

"Friends?" Peter replied subconsciously, his eyes blank.

"I didn't betray my friends. They were not my friends at all, and they didn't treat me as a friend!"

"Their nicknames are Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony."

"And me? An insulting Wormtail!"

Professor Snape let out an undisguised sneer, glanced at Professor Lupine and Sirius, and shook his head vigorously.

Peter continued:

"James Potter and Sirius Black are responsible for being in the spotlight, responsible for being glamorous, responsible for letting everyone know that they are standard Gryffindors."

"And Remus Lupine is at least smart enough to advise them both."

"And what about me? I'm not taken seriously, I'm from an ordinary background, my abilities are mediocre, and I'm very cowardly."

"Even my Animagus is a humble mouse. I can only touch the scars of the Whomping Willow for them! I am absolutely useless!"

"They just need a follower, a follower to witness their glorious deeds! They have never regarded me as a friend, a true friend!"

"And after graduation, they dragged me into the Order of the Phoenix without my consent!"

"Don't they know how terrifying the Dark Lord is? They don't care about my life at all. They only have their own glory and Gryffindor's stupid recklessness in their hearts!"

"I just want to take my mother and escape abroad, take care of her and live out her life safely, so that she can be worthy of the hard years she spent raising me alone!"

"But why, why did they mock me when I just expressed my wish to leave, saying that I was as cowardly as my own Animagus, like a humble mouse!"

"Valuing your loved ones and wanting to live, what's wrong with that!"

Although in a state of unconscious numbness, Peter Pettigrew, like Sirius, broke through the restraints of Veritaserum to a certain extent and became increasingly agitated.

"Later, the Dark Lord kidnapped my mother, threatened me to become a spy for him, and promised me greater power and higher status."

"I want my mother to survive, and I also want to become strong so that people can take me seriously instead of trampling on and despising me!"

Peter Pettigrew stopped talking, his eyes were full of longing and hope.

For a moment, the room was very quiet, and everyone's breathing could be heard.

Sirius was still full of anger before, but now he lowered his head unnaturally, obviously remembering some of his past actions.

Professor Snape's eyes continued to be full of hatred, staring at Peter Pettigrew.

If Professor Dumbledore hadn't been here, his Cruciatus Curse would have flown out long ago.

Professor Dumbledore sighed softly and said to himself in a voice that everyone could hear:

"I have always said that love is the most powerful magic and the most mysterious magic."

"When you don't truly love your friends and family, they won't love you back."

"History is a cycle. Too many people have made the same mistakes and can only sadly warn future generations."

"Too many people did not heed the warnings of their elders and ended up making mistakes."

Hermione felt the hand she was holding suddenly tightened, but then relaxed again.

Professor Dumbledore didn't look at the other people's expressions and gave Pettigrew the antidote.

After returning to normal, Peter Pettigrew remembered everything he had said before.

His face was ashen, and his eyes had lost their light.

"Harry," Professor Dumbledore looked at the girl who had not spoken before,

"What you said to me that night was correct. The Code of Hammurabi contains the oldest rule of mankind, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

"As the only child of James and Lily, you have the right to obtain the right to dispose of Pettigrew, and it is up to you to decide his life and death."

Harry let go of Hermione's hand and stood up.

Professor Dumbledore wanted to say something else, but Harry spoke first:

"Peter Pettigrew, you are the important murderer of my parents. I should let you pay with your blood."

"But I can't watch my godfather remain a criminal forever. I want him to return to the sun."

"I'll give you a chance. As long as you fight me with all your strength, no matter whether you win or lose, I will teach you to hand it over to the Ministry of Magic to clear my godfather's name."

"Of course, this is also good for you. At least you can continue to survive in Azkaban."

"Harry, you don't have to do it for me, a sinner..." Before Sirius could finish his words, Lupine pushed him back to the bench.

And Harley shook her head, with a sad smile on her face: "Godfather, you are one of the few relatives I have."

Sirius's heart trembled, and his hands clenched into fists, with veins popping out.

At the same time, Professor Snape's eyes showed murderous intent that was not directed at Pettigrew.

After hearing Harley's words, Peter Pettigrew's eyes instantly lit up.

After being a mouse for so long, living has become an indelible obsession deep in his heart.

"Of course... you can. I will fight you with all my strength." Peter Pettigrew said firmly.

"Then let's go and let's fight in the Forbidden Forest."

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