Professor McGonagall was utterly stunned.
She stared at the watery screen.
At the crazed man, so utterly different from the confident, flamboyant youth she remembered.
Suddenly, she let out a sharp gasp.
Trembling, she covered her mouth, her eyes quickly reddening!
She couldn't even imagine it.
If Sirius hadn't betrayed James and Lily...
What kind of pointless torment had he endured during those more than ten years in prison!
And with what kind of feelings...
Had he willingly remained locked away in Azkaban!
What on earth had the Ministry of Magic actually investigated about the events of that year!
Professor McGonagall gripped her wand tightly.
A furious rage blazed in her reddened eyes.
In the painting...
Facing Sirius's interrogation...
Pettigrew, completely lost in his past memories and thoughts, flinched twice.
He stammered nervously and gloomily, "It's... it's because you were too stupid! You didn't realize I'd already pledged my allegiance to the great Master!"
"That's right! In your eyes, I was always just a timid, cowardly follower!"
Sirius roared, "We always treated you like a brother!"
Boom!!
Sirius hurled a spell with violent force!
The magic collided, exploding fiercely!
The surging blast of air brushed past the observing Ethan, forcing Harry and Ron to stagger back a few steps!
Harry's eyes widened. "So strong..."
No wonder even battle-hardened Aurors were so wary of Sirius.
Ethan glanced at Harry and said:
"Strong, huh?"
"I could take on ten of him."
Harry: ...
Then you're the impressive one.
Ethan's eyes crinkled in amusement.
Through the two dark holes of his grotesque mask, he looked at Harry:
"So, next time you charge out to fight someone, think it through first."
For example...
When you're lured by a noseless freak to 'rescue poor Sirius.'
"This time, I'll let it slide, Gryffindor."
Behind the mask, Ethan's voice came out a bit distorted.
His gentle tone somehow sounded even more eerie and chilling.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down the forehead of the Savior, Harry Potter.
He nodded stiffly.
He felt that next time, he definitely wouldn't be so reckless—nor would he trust others so easily again.
Harry looked up.
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to watch the two men fighting.
Spells flew back and forth.
Like dazzling fireworks in the distant sky.
But here...
It was two people who had once been as close as brothers, now desperately trying to kill each other.
In the bright flashes of magic, Sirius bared a grotesque smile and laughed wildly:
"But you never expected that Lord Voldemort would suddenly die!"
"He was killed by my godson—a newborn baby, Harry Potter!"
"Hahahaha!"
Pettigrew's face twitched, and he snarled in humiliated rage:
"How could the Master, who is so great, be killed by a baby!"
"The Master must be in hibernation, waiting for the day of his return!"
Sirius replied indifferently, "Then you definitely won't live to see that day—Avada Kedavra!"
A terrifying green light burst from the tip of Sirius's wand, held straight and true.
It illuminated his cold, deranged face in that moment.
Harry's heart clenched suddenly.
In his mind, he recalled the lively and clever "spotty dog" from Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class.
On the other side...
Pettigrew, targeted by the most powerful Killing Curse, merely sneered.
The Master had long ago granted him supreme power!
Pettigrew swung his wand with all his might—"Boom!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion instantly engulfed an entire block!!
Countless houses collapsed, unleashing the terrified screams of Muggles!
Flames shot skyward.
The ground trembled.
When the wall-like dust finally began to settle...
All that remained was a deep crater.
Sirius stood alone in the crater.
Staring intently at a severed finger lying on the ground before him!
Pettigrew's "remains"!
Harry suddenly held his breath.
In his mind, he abruptly recalled what he'd overheard in the Three Broomsticks pub:
[That year, the heinous Sirius blasted Pettigrew until only a finger was left!]
[Oh, that terrifying scene still makes me shiver when I think about it now.]
It wasn't Sirius who had blasted him.
It was Pettigrew who had blasted himself to frame Sirius!
At the same time, he had mercilessly killed thirteen Muggles!!
Even though he was prepared...
Harry was too shocked by the scene to speak.
He stared blankly as Hagrid rushed over, scooped up the protected "himself"...
And rode away on the flying motorcycle that often appeared in his dreams, rumbling off into the distance.
Then...
Aurors swarmed in.
Without asking a single question, they directly arrested the madly laughing Sirius.
A complete reversal!!
Whether inside the canvas or outside...
Everyone was stunned.
Their worldviews had been completely upended!
At the Ministry of Magic...
Minister Fudge stood with his mouth agape, staring at Sirius being led away by the Aurors.
He felt his face burning under the countless gazes around him—a stinging, painful sensation.
Even though he hadn't been Minister at the time...
The approval documents had been jointly signed off by him and the other departments!
And now, he was the one in the Minister's seat... No, no! He couldn't just sit idly by!
He absolutely couldn't let those political rivals seize this chance to attack him!
Minister Fudge's eyes hardened with ruthlessness.
Gritting his teeth, he hurried toward his office!
Right now, there was only one pawn he could use—that Auror John Delice, who believed in some notion of justice and was loyal to him!
"Assign him an emergency mission immediately! Tell him to arrest that detestable brat, Ethan Vincent!"
As long as they sealed Ethan's mouth and insisted it was all Ethan's trickery...
And that Pettigrew had been under the Imperius Curse...
Even if it sparked public dissatisfaction, at least it wouldn't shatter the Ministry of Magic's credibility!
After some time...
No one would remember the truth or falsehood of the matter anymore.
Just like with Sirius.
In the painting...
Under the grotesque mask, Ethan's lips curved upward.
Now...
The Minister for Magic must be scheming how to silence me and claim Pettigrew was Imperiused, right?
Too bad.
I won't give you the chance to turn things around!
"Snap."
A crisp sound rang out.
The surroundings plunged into sudden darkness.
Followed by a "Click."
A cylindrical beam of light shone down, illuminating Peter Pettigrew!
Just like spotlighting the protagonist on a stage.
In that moment, all eyes and attention were locked on him!
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Pettigrew ran desperately.
Glancing back frequently in panic.
As if fleeing from something.
Clutching his right index finger, which was gushing blood, he grimaced in agony.
Finally...
He stopped, slowly calming down.
He winced as he cast a healing spell on himself, then slid down against the wall.
He murmured tremulously:
"I didn't expect the Master to actually fail... What should I do..."
"No! Once Sirius finds out I'm not dead, he'll definitely come to kill me!!"
Suddenly...
Pettigrew's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in surprise:
"That's right! I can transform into my Animagus form and hide until the great Master revives!"
At Hogwarts...
Ron: "Hmm?"
For some reason, looking at the joyful Pettigrew and that familiar severed finger...
He suddenly had a very bad premonition.
And that premonition came true two seconds later.
In the watery screen, Pettigrew's figure suddenly shrank.
Gray whiskers sprouted all over his body.
The next second...
"Squeak!"
He transformed into a fat gray rat!
Ron shrieked, "Scabbers?!!!"
His shrill cry echoed through the Great Hall.
The sound lingered, swirling around in a full 360 degrees.
A few seconds later...
Ron's face flushed bright red!!
In the midst of the serious and solemn atmosphere, a low chuckle inevitably broke out.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow high, shaking her head helplessly.
"Unique taste, mate."
Dean Thomas patted his shoulder, laughing, and cast a pitying glance at him.
"Ah ah ah ah—!!"
Ron squatted down, covering his face, wishing he could burrow into the center of the earth!
He wailed helplessly:
"I... I even slept with it—with 'him'—Ugh!"
Just thinking about how he'd been hugging a stinky... for so many years, Ron felt like he might as well just start over in a new life.
"Wait, wait! I... I won't be seen as an accomplice, will I?!!"
Ron's eyes widened in horror.
He'd become a criminal just from watching a video.
Dean: "Ahem, but this way, the evidence is even clearer."
If Pettigrew had a clear conscience...
As a "hero" who dared to challenge a "murderer"...
Why had he been hiding in such a lowly identity for so many years?
There was only one truth.
And that was that he was the real traitor!!
In the watery screen...
As if preparing to Apparate even farther away, Pettigrew transformed back into human form.
He figured he'd run a long distance.
Only then did he relax, unable to help but laugh nervously!
"Heh, heh heh... Hahahaha!!"
"Stupid, arrogant, naive Potter is finally dead!!"
Pettigrew spread his arms, looking up and laughing loudly!
His eyes were bloodshot.
That face, which had always been seen as cowardly and simple-minded...
Finally, with the help of others, twisted into one of triumph and self-satisfaction.
And in that moment...
Because of his overly excited movements...
He finally revealed the Dark Mark on his left arm!
A terrifying skull spewing a coiled snake!
In an instant...
Almost the entire British wizarding world fell silent.
People stared in shock and fear at the symbol they hadn't seen for years.
Their minds dredging up the dark memories they'd long suppressed.
"The Dark Mark."
The symbol of a Death Eater.
Professor Snape squeezed out those four words through gritted teeth, his voice barely audible.
He couldn't help but cover his left arm, feeling a burning sensation there.
Pettigrew remained oblivious to everything outside.
Still lost in the joy of finally getting revenge on "Potter, who looked down on him."
The next second...
A clear yet cold and indifferent voice rang out:
"The dream... it's time to wake up."
"Snap."
A crisp sound.
As if the curtains around the stage had suddenly dropped.
Pettigrew felt the world spin.
Thump—he fell to the floor.
Orange-yellow light spilled over him, forcing him, accustomed to the dimness, to squint uncomfortably.
Wh-what happened...?
Pettigrew strained to open his eyes.
What met his gaze...
Were faces frozen in dead silence.
Students, professors, Aurors.
All of them staring straight at him, their eyes still filled with lingering shock.
Pettigrew's memories gradually returned.
His eyes widened bit by bit.
He remembered everything.
"Wait, wait, wait!!! I can explain—Crucio!!!"
A hoarse growl erupted from the professors' table!
Professor Snape's black robes billowed, his face contorted like an enraged demon!
A dazzling scarlet light shot from the tip of his wand!
Aiming straight at Peter Pettigrew!!