Chapter 247: The Drama's Cast Takes the Stage
How to describe it.
This farce-like revelation of truth.
Harry's trio, acting like something out of a melodrama, practically had "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I don't believe it, you must be lying to me" written across their faces in bold, enlarged font with glittering special effects.
Meanwhile, Sirius Black kept clamouring to directly kill Peter Pettigrew, while Lupin kept preventing him from doing so, insisting on explaining everything clearly to the "I'm not listening" trio, causing the situation to fall into an incredibly chaotic and endless loop.
Never mind Snape. After watching these people struggle for nearly ten minutes, even Sean wanted to throw off the Invisibility Cloak, draw his wand, use Avada Kedavra to finish off Peter Pettigrew, hit Lupin and Sirius with a couple of Stunning Spells, and finally use a Silencing Charm to shut up the cackling "I'm not listening" trio so they could calm down!
Finally, under Snape's shocked gaze, Lupin pulled Peter Pettigrew from Ron's arms and cast magic to force Peter Pettigrew back to human form, leaving Ron looking shocked and disgusted.
The revealed Peter Pettigrew kept playing weak. He didn't admit to Sirius's accusations at all, only continuously using words to confuse Harry's trio and Lupin.
Compared to Peter Pettigrew, Lupin was more inclined to believe Sirius, but Harry and the others were very hesitant, especially Hermione. It was clear that Lupin's werewolf identity already didn't sit well with her, and adding Sirius, whom she had always thought was a wanted criminal and Death Eater, made Hermione instinctively lean toward Peter Pettigrew.
Though Hermione also found Peter Pettigrew's transformation into a rat to stay by Ron's side extremely disgusting.
At this moment, Snape's emotions were very complex.
On one hand, Snape's heart was already very clear that Peter Pettigrew's survival proved Sirius's innocence. All the previous evidence had pointed to Sirius based on Peter Pettigrew's supposed death. Now that Peter Pettigrew was alive, that evidence instead proved Sirius's innocence and became evidence of Peter Pettigrew's guilt.
On the other hand, Snape's hatred for Sirius made him unwilling to admit this. He wanted to stand on the other side and prove Sirius's evil, but after thinking it over repeatedly, Snape would ultimately reach a conclusion he didn't want to acknowledge. That Sirius was innocent.
Taking a deep breath, Snape threw off the Invisibility Cloak, waved his wand, cast Expelliarmus, and disarmed everyone present. This time, Sean wanted to stop Snape but could no longer do so.
Sighing, Sean also threw off the Invisibility Cloak and came to Snape's side.
"Sean?"
"Sean?"
"Sean!" This was Harry. For some reason, when Harry saw Sean arrive, he immediately felt like he had a pillar of support and relaxed.
Sean looked at the trio and nodded lightly: "Hi, Harry, Ron, Hermione."
After greeting them, Sean turned to look at Peter Pettigrew. This rat-like, wretched and filthy appearance. Sean had seen it countless times before.
From the moment Peter Pettigrew saw Sean arrive, he inexplicably felt a chill. Now seeing Sean look at him, especially when he saw those grey eyes, he immediately felt an inexplicable terror and fear, involuntarily stepping back and beginning to tremble.
Seeing Peter Pettigrew's state, Sirius immediately shouted out.
"Aha! Peter, what's wrong with you? Seeing more people makes you feel guilty? It's too late!"
"Guilty? How could I possibly feel guilty? I'm just afraid. Afraid that you and Lupin will disregard the truth and deceive the children and Severus into killing me! I, I'm innocent, innocent from the very beginning. It's you instead. You're the escaped prisoner from Azkaban, you're the most evil one, you're that person's subordinate, you've come to kill us, to kill Harry Potter!"
It had to be said that at crucial moments, Peter Pettigrew could really say the most opportune words. For Snape, he utterly despised James Potter's child but was also willing to sacrifice everything to protect Lily Potter's child. These strange and conflicting emotions coexisted within Snape.
Now hearing Peter Pettigrew's words, Snape didn't dare take risks. His wand shifted slightly, his face showing incomparable disgust: "Black, this really is a good opportunity for revenge, isn't it?"
"You really can't tell right from wrong, Snivellus!"
"Snivellus?" A cold smile slowly appeared on Snape's face. This childhood bullying nickname completely brought out the hatred in Snape's heart. He stepped forward, his wand pointing at Sirius's face, his voice as cold as winter: "What a familiar nickname. But don't forget. As soon as I walk out of here, out from under that willow, I can immediately summon a large number of Dementors to give you a kiss. I think you're very eager for that, aren't you?"
Hearing this, the smile on Sirius's face immediately became panicked. He kept backing away, trembling as if recalling some bad memories. But with Peter Pettigrew right in front of him, he maintained basic rationality and kept staring fixedly at Peter Pettigrew.
"Professor, perhaps, perhaps what Sirius Black and the others are saying is true. Someone transforming into a rat to stay by Ron's side is really too suspicious."
Snape turned to look at Hermione with a mocking smile: "Miss Know-It-All, I think you're already on the verge of expulsion. Consorting with escaped prisoners from Azkaban and werewolves. You no longer have the qualifications to continue staying at Hogwarts."
Hearing this, Hermione's face immediately turned pale, her eyes reddening, and she dared not say anything more.
Harry looked around. He didn't know who to believe anymore. Soon he looked at Sean. Usually, whenever he had doubts, Sean could provide answers. Harry believed that at this moment, Sean was the only one who could point him in the right direction.
"Sean, do you, do you have a way?"
Harry's words immediately drew everyone's attention to Sean.
Hermione and Ron showed understanding and expectation, Snape showed frowning and acknowledgement, and Lupin showed agreement.
Sirius looked completely bewildered. Who was this little Slytherin snake named Sean? Why did Harry seem to trust him so much?
Snape looked at the calm Sean. He pressed his lips together and, though not entirely willing, still asked: "Do you have a way, Sean?"
Nodding lightly, Sean said: "There is indeed a way, Professor!"