"Thank you for your honesty!"
Dudley praised Dumbledore without a hint of warmth, then turned to his cousin. "Harry, write that name down."
Harry didn't respond verbally but instead pulled out a brand-new black notebook and began writing.
Thanks to his relatively healthy spine and natural height, Dumbledore could clearly see what Harry was writing, even from his seated position:
"Severus Snape: Disgraceful informant, a creep with inappropriate intentions toward Mum. Given his voluntary confession, death penalty waived, but severe punishment required. Priority target for revenge."
"Sigh—"
Dumbledore let out another long sigh, this time filled with sorrow for Snape's future.
"Stop sighing. Where is this Snape now? Is he alive or dead?"
Dudley ignored Dumbledore's melancholy and pressed on with his interrogation.
"He's alive. He's currently the Potions professor at Hogwarts," Dumbledore answered truthfully.
"Your kindness is truly boundless, Professor Dumbledore! Letting a criminal live so comfortably!" Dudley's tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Dumbledore felt a wave of helplessness, which only deepened when he saw Harry, without needing Dudley's prompting, add Snape's location and job title to the notebook.
"Don't waste time worrying about others, Professor Dumbledore. Now, it's your turn!"
Dudley's cold, unfeeling words dragged Dumbledore out of his emotional quagmire and plunged him into an even deeper abyss.
"Explain this: after receiving a tip from your spy and promising to protect them, how did you manage to get my Aunt Lily and Uncle James killed?"
At Dudley's question, Dumbledore's face filled with sorrow. "I suggested the Potters cast the Fidelius Charm on their home in Godric's Hollow, and they agreed. It's a powerful and secretive protective spell.
A building under the Fidelius Charm disappears from sight, undetectable by both wizards and Muggles. As long as the Secret Keeper doesn't reveal the location, even Voldemort wouldn't be able to find the Potters, no matter how close he was."
"So, which idiot did you give the role of Secret Keeper to? Another traitor who sided with Voldemort?" Dudley's question was sharp and accusatory.
"I initially offered to be the Secret Keeper, but Lily and James insisted on choosing their close friend—Sirius Black," Dumbledore replied, his tone tinged with regret.
"So, it was this Sirius Black who led Voldemort to Harry's house?" Dudley's words were as cutting as ever.
"I'm not entirely sure. Sirius Black is a brilliant and powerful wizard. He was very close to the Potters, and logically, he would never have betrayed them.
But the fact remains that Voldemort bypassed the Fidelius Charm and entered the Potters' home."
Dumbledore's confusion was evident as he shared what he knew.
"Is this Sirius Black alive or dead? After the incident, did you even bother to question him?" Dudley was utterly baffled by Dumbledore's lack of action.
"After the incident, Sirius was devastated. He spent a long time at the ruins of the Potters' home, inconsolable and unresponsive to any questions.
Later, he left and caused a massive explosion on a Muggle street, killing thirteen Muggles and another friend of the Potters—Peter Pettigrew.
The Ministry believed Sirius killed Pettigrew during the confrontation, so they sent Sirius to Azkaban and posthumously awarded Pettigrew the Order of Merlin."
Dumbledore recounted the events in detail.
"Alive or dead, you need proof. Did you actually see Pettigrew's body? That Minister of Magic yesterday was adamant that Voldemort was dead, but we know better. Did you find Pettigrew's remains?"
"Only a single finger of Pettigrew's was found at the scene. The explosion was too severe, and no other remains were recovered."
"Do you know how big an explosion would have to be to vaporize a human body completely? Was Pettigrew holding a truckload of TNT when he exploded?"
Dudley's face was a mask of disdain for the ignorant and willfully blind. "I've noticed that you wizards lack even the most basic scientific curiosity—yourself included!
Harry and I saw the effects of the Blasting Curse in Gringotts' vaults yesterday. There's no way it could vaporize a human body completely, leaving only a single finger behind.
Unless Sirius was ten times more powerful than that Quirrell guy, he couldn't have blown Pettigrew to smithereens, leaving only a finger!
And don't you find it suspicious that Pettigrew's entire body was obliterated, yet his finger survived? Did Merlin himself protect that finger?
Were the thirteen Muggles killed in the same way? Only a single finger left? Fine, maybe those Muggles were farther from the blast and didn't suffer as much damage.
But what about the buildings at the center of the explosion? Was the damage assessed? How much energy would it take to cause that level of destruction, and could that energy vaporize a human body?
When lives are at stake, did you wizards even bother to investigate properly?
Rushing to close the case, covering it up—I bet the Muggles on that street had their memories modified afterward, didn't they?
You wizards didn't investigate, and you didn't let the Muggle authorities investigate either. Thirteen innocent lives, gone, just like that. I'm guessing their deaths were blamed on a 'gas explosion,' right? How laughable!"
Dudley's rapid-fire, logically airtight questions left Dumbledore stunned.
This was a line of investigation the century-old wizard had never considered. Muggles had advanced so much that they could uncover truths without magic, while wizards seemed backward, arrogant, and ignorant in comparison.
"Your analysis makes sense, Dudley. It seems Pettigrew faked his death. It wasn't Sirius chasing Pettigrew for betraying the Potters—it was the other way around!
Pettigrew caused the explosion, and he was the one who leaked the Fidelius Charm's secret. Sirius didn't betray the Potters—he was trying to avenge them!"
Dumbledore pieced together the truth, his mind finally catching up.
The great wizard was indeed intelligent, but it was clear he hadn't used his brain this way in the past.
"Really? Really, Professor Dumbledore?
You're only now following my line of reasoning? I read in Advanced Potion-Making that there's a potion called Veritaserum. Ten years! Sirius has been in Azkaban for nearly a decade, and he's not dead. Have you never thought to question him?
If he wouldn't talk, you could've used Veritaserum or other methods to get the truth!
It seems you never really cared about uncovering the truth behind my Aunt Lily and Uncle James' deaths. All these years, have you been solely focused on your grand scheme to have Harry defeat Voldemort?"
Dudley was genuinely exasperated.
In the books and movies, he'd never dwelled on these details, viewing them from an omniscient perspective. But now, immersed in this real world and seeing things from the inside, he couldn't accept Dumbledore's inaction and misguided actions!