The cold water made Peter Pettigrew's body jolt. He let out a choked cough, and his eyelids began to flutter, showing he was about to wake up.
Before this, the only reason Peter had dared to face Sirius and Lupin was due to the secret influence of a Vivid Dream Charm cast by me. That spell had blurred his fear and amplified his unrealistic hopes, giving him courage he didn't naturally possess.
Now, with both the cold water and the spell's effects wearing off, Peter's eyelids twitched violently before he opened his eyes. He blinked blankly for a moment, his pupils shrinking in the sudden light. A moment later, his vision focused, and his eyes met Dumbledore's, which seemed to see right through his glasses and into his soul.
A wave of panic hit him, and he instinctively glanced to the side, seeing Sirius Black. Sirius was staring at him, his gaze a sharp knife, as if he wanted to devour him whole. On the other side, Professor Snape wore a cold smirk, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt and disgust. Further away, a young student stood silently, his face emotionless. But when that calm gaze fell on him, Peter felt completely uneasy.
For some reason, an indescribable terror would suddenly rise from the depths of his heart whenever he looked at me, like a cold snake coiling around his spine. It made his hands and feet go numb, and he instinctively wanted to curl up or find a hole to hide in.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a Gryffindor student? He felt like I was more of a Slytherin than Snape!
No matter what he was thinking, he couldn't move. His body still ached from the pain, and the slightest movement felt like his insides were shifting. Madame Pomfrey had only restored his consciousness; trying to escape in this state was a pipe dream. Besides, everyone in the room was watching him, each gaze an invisible chain holding him in place.
Finally, Peter managed to force a smile that was uglier than a frown, his voice as dry as sandpaper. "...H-hello?"
"HAH!"
Before he could finish, Sirius Black let out a roar of rage, his voice filled with an intense hatred. He couldn't hold back any longer and lunged forward, looking as though he wanted to tear the traitor to shreds.
"Ahhh!"
Peter screamed, his soul terrified. He reflexively pulled his head into his shoulders and hugged himself, almost sliding off the chair.
However, the attack he expected never came. Instead, there was a dull thud. Sirius Black had hit an invisible wall. His body jolted, and he was thrown back, stumbling a couple of steps before regaining his footing.
In front of him, a transparent shield was faintly shimmering. It was a Shield Charm I had casually cast.
"Mr. Black, please calm down until the truth is fully revealed, all right?"
My wand remained steady, pointed at the edge of the Shield Charm in front of Sirius. My voice was even, but it had an unyielding firmness. What a joke! If Peter Pettigrew was hurt, I wouldn't have a perfect test subject for soul extraction or body possession.
Sirius Black's chest heaved, his forehead veins bulging. His voice was hoarse with suppressed rage. "Wasn't what I just said clear enough?!"
"I understood what you said, but it was still only your side of the story," I said, tilting my head slightly. With my other hand, I calmly pulled a small glass vial from my bag. It contained Veritaserum, and its surface shimmered under the light. "Given the current situation, the existing evidence only proves that Peter Pettigrew isn't a hero, but it isn't enough to prove your innocence."
"If you were willing to drink this before you spoke, I might believe you more. But you're not willing to do that, are you?"
"Alright, Black, just calm down." Dumbledore's gentle voice broke in. "You'll have all the answers soon enough." He sighed softly, his deep eyes turning to Peter, who was huddled in the chair. His gaze was a mix of complex scrutiny and a hint of sadness. "Peter, we haven't seen each other in a long time. All these years, I thought you were gone."
"Head-Headmaster..." Peter's body shook even more violently. He looked up at Dumbledore, his lips trembling, his voice full of uncontrolled sobs. "It's so good to see you again... You can't possibly believe his nonsense, can you? Why would you believe the lies of a fugitive?"
Peter's voice trembled badly, and his eyes darted around anxiously. He turned to me, trying to force a friendly expression onto his rat-like face. The forced smile was even uglier than a cry.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
"Son... I really didn't mean to hurt you back there. That was just a fake-out." He tried to continue to talk, "You saw it with your own eyes, Lupin and Black were working together. They wanted to kill me... just like they did to James and Lily..."
I didn't say a word, but I gave my wand a slight twist. The tip, which had been pointing at Sirius Black, now aimed steadily at Peter Pettigrew's chest.
"Easy now, brother rat."
Peter was stunned.
"How dare you say their names?!" Sirius Black roared, slamming a fist against the Shield Charm with a thud. A ripple spread across the transparent barrier.
Peter flinched at the sudden sound, pulling his head into his shoulders like a startled rabbit. "He's trying to kill me again! You all saw it!" Peter quickly realized that Sirius couldn't break through the shield, and his courage swelled a bit. He pointed a shaking finger at Sirius, his voice a shrill cry of feigned terror. "If I was the one who got James and them killed, why wouldn't I kill their son, too?! For three years, I was so close to him! I had plenty of chances to do it!"
He grew more and more agitated, as if he were the victim of a great injustice, but his shifty eyes betrayed his guilt.
"Because you were too afraid! You were too afraid to do anything under Dumbledore's nose! And you were even more afraid to show your true colors again, for a master who had been gone for so long!"
Sirius Black pressed his hands firmly against the barrier, his knuckles white, veins bulging as if they'd embed themselves into the transparent magical wall. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, fixed on Peter. His voice was hoarse with extreme fury, every word pushed through his gritted teeth.
"Enough," a low, powerful voice resonated through the office, instantly cutting off their animalistic snarling.
Professor Dumbledore slowly raised his head, his gaze settling on Peter's face, which was a mix of fear and desperate lies. His thick eyebrows were tightly knitted, and his usually gentle eyes now held a sharp edge.
"Peter," his voice was calm but authoritative, "do I have to force you to drink Veritaserum to get the truth out of you? Believe me, I really don't want to use that method on someone who was once my student." His voice held a hint of disappointment, as if he was pained by his student's fall.
I nodded and took out the bottle of Veritaserum I had added a few other special ingredients to.
"No... you can't... you can't do this to me..."
Faced with Dumbledore's question, Peter just shook his head frantically, like a rattle drum. He gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly that wood shavings dug into his fingers. His body trembled like a leaf in the wind. His face was filled with the desperation of a man backed into a corner, and his lips trembled so much that he couldn't form a coherent sentence.
"Ah..." Dumbledore let out a long sigh of profound disappointment, as if it weighed a thousand pounds. He slowly opened his eyes, held his gaze on Peter for a moment, and then turned to me, giving a slight nod.
"No! You can't—"
Peter's scream was caught in his throat. His look of terror hadn't even fully formed before a spell froze him in place.
"`Petrificus Totalus`," my voice was perfectly calm.
Peter's face instantly went rigid, his eyes wide, his mouth half-open, like a hideous statue. Even the tears of fear that had started to well up in his eyes were now frozen on his cheeks.
I smoothly retracted my wand into my wand holster. Then I picked up the vial of Veritaserum, pulled out the cork, and tilted my wrist. Three clear drops fell precisely into Peter's frozen mouth. After recorking the bottle, I drew my wand again and pointed it at him.
"`Finite Incantatem`."
As the spell landed, Peter's rigid body slowly regained its ability to move. The look of terror on his face faded, replaced by an unsettling calm. He looked almost numb and vacant, his eyes hollow as if half his soul had been taken.
Occasionally, he would make a small motion as if he were about to throw up.
Dumbledore couldn't bear to watch and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze was now only stern. He began to ask Peter about all the details from back then. From the change in the Secret-Keeper to how he betrayed them, every question was clear and direct.
Peter, like a marionette, revealed everything without holding back, his voice flat and emotionless.
When the Veritaserum's effect started to fade and Peter's awareness returned, he saw the varied looks on the faces of those around him. And then he saw Sirius Black's eyes, which were practically on fire. A sense of overwhelming hopelessness instantly consumed him. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. He knew everything was over; there was no way to fix any of this.
Just as expected, Sirius Black, like a enraged lion, lunged at him again. And this time, the Shield Charm that had held him back was gone.
"You were betraying us before that?! You were the one who was feeding information to Voldemort?!"
Sirius Black grabbed Peter by the collar, lifting him clean off the floor. His arm muscles were tense with rage. Every word was forced through his teeth, carrying a searing hatred, as if he wanted to burn a hole right through Peter's disgusting face.
"Sirius... Sirius... I really didn't mean to..." Peter's feet kicked uselessly in the air, his scrawny body trembling like a dead leaf. His beady little eyes filled with tears that rolled down his waxy face, mixing with the dirt, making him look even more pathetic.
"But... what could I do? The Dark Lord... you have no idea how terrifying he is. His methods... I was just so scared, Sirius." He sobbed, his voice breaking, trying to use cowardice as a shield to excuse himself. His shoulders shook as if he were the one who had suffered a great injustice.
"I was never willing... The one who must not be named forced me... If I had dared to refuse, he would have killed me! You just don't understand that fear!"
"But you served him for a whole year, didn't you?" I said, my head tilted slightly, my gaze fixed on Peter's tear-streaked face. "During that year, you had countless chances to ask your friends for help and to confess to Professor Dumbledore."
"I'm sure they would have been willing and able to protect you, just like they fought so hard to protect Harry's parents." Then, I turned to Sirius Black. "You could have even stayed together, protected by the Fidelius Charm. After all, back then, he was willing to make you the Secret-Keeper. With the friendship you two had, I'm sure Harry's father wouldn't have minded having you live with them to face the danger together."
Those words were like a sharp knife, piercing through all of Peter's excuses. He opened his mouth, and a gasping sound came from his throat, but he couldn't say a single word. He could only shake his head hopelessly, his cries growing even more pathetic, no longer earning him a shred of sympathy.