Chapter 62: 7-3

It was Ron who showed the most profound agitation at Professor Lupin’s words.

After all, he had truly loved Scabbers. He saw him as family. Even while calling him "useless," he had never once considered letting him go.

"Blimey, does being a werewolf mean your sense of humor is as rubbish as your clothes?"

Sirius, feeling his best friend had been insulted, let out a low, canine growl. In response, I instinctively slapped him upside the head—just as I used to do when he was in his dog form. Sirius blinked in sheer bewilderment, while Hermione, for some reason, let out a small shriek. Oops. Old habits.

"Think carefully; there is a common thread between these three. Can you see it, Harry?"

"—Animagi."

At my question, Harry answered while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the rat.

"W-what… are you saying Scabbers—my rat—was a human all along? But Pettigrew is dead! Everyone knows Sirius Black killed him—"

"Perhaps that was the very first mistake."

It was Professor Lupin who spoke up next to dissent.

"I, too, might have continued to misunderstand and loathe Sirius… if I hadn't seen Peter's name appear on the Marauder’s Map—the name of a dead man—and if I weren't looking at Peter himself right now, in his transformed state."

"That’s impossible, Professor!"

Her voice trembling, Hermione raised her hand just as she would in class.

"Every Animagus must register with the Ministry of Magic without exception. It’s the law. There is a Registry that records what they transform into and their identifying marks. I looked it up for Professor McGonagall’s homework. Peter Pettigrew’s name wasn't there—only Sirius Black’s!"

"Exactly. You are quite right, Hermione. If the circumstances weren't so dire, I’d award fifty points to Gryffindor. Yes… let us start from there. Let us speak of our friendship—foolish, immature, and arrogant as it was. Let us speak of your father, Harry."

Remus Lupin began to tell the tale. He spoke of the "illness" he faced upon entering Hogwarts, and the Shrieking Shack and the Whomping Willow that served as his solution. He spoke of his friends, who were as brilliant as they were foolish—his pride. He spoke of Sirius’s "prank" that had nearly cost a student his life, and of James Potter, who had saved him...

When the talk turned to Harry’s father, Professor Snape writhed in frustration. He looked as though he wanted to scream that their "prank" was far more sinister than Lupin let on.

As I thought, Professor Lupin is a coward. He refuses to touch upon just how much of a bully James Potter really was.

"Now, my story is finished. Sirius, it is your turn to speak—of the truth of that day."

The lead passed to Sirius Black. He answered the questions from Ron, Harry, and the scrutinizing Hermione with great care.

Perhaps because Harry was managing to stay calm, everyone seemed more rational and level-headed than they were "last time."

...Back then, I didn’t know who to believe. My head was filled with nothing but the urge to kill. This version of Harry really is exceptional.

"So—that means Crookshanks was on your side the whole time. Oh, Crookshanks... you wonderful cat..."

Having heard the events following the escape from Azkaban, Hermione moved to hug Crookshanks but instinctively recoiled from the rat trapped beneath him. A wise decision.

Meanwhile, another child was becoming emotionally heated over an entirely different matter—our overprotective "younger brother."

"Maria! I knew it—you were covering for Neville! Honestly, you always do this! Do you have any idea how much I—"

"Harry, Harry, we can talk about that later. I’ll listen to your lecture then."

"You won't listen even if I wait until later!"

As Harry yapped at me and I tried to back away, the previously gloomy Sirius and Professor Lupin looked at each other with incredibly complex expressions—a mix of bewilderment, amusement, and a touch of melancholy.

"Well... it’s just, it brings back memories," Sirius muttered.

"Though the gender and looks are reversed," Lupin added.

"Do we really look that much like Dad?"

"Do we really look that much like Mum?"

We asked in unison, wearing identical expressions. All three adults took a sharp breath at the sight. It was getting a bit awkward.

"...Back to the point. Why Peter chose to disappear, stooping so low as to live as a pet rat..."

The truth continued to unfold. While remaining rational, a deep hatred began to burn in Sirius’s eyes. And in his as well.

"Professor Snape, you’re going to bite through your lip if you clench it any harder."

I spoke softly to the man who was pressing his lips together with agonizing force.

I’m certain Professor Snape knew Sirius wasn't the culprit. However, he hadn't been able to identify the true traitor until now.

He was glaring at the rat with such intensity it felt like he was trying to kill it with his gaze alone. Realizing my voice wasn't reaching him, I gave up quickly. ...My parents were certainly well-loved, in their own way.

"This is your wand, isn't it, Maria? Forgive me, but let’s trade it for the one you’re holding... for Snivelly’s wand."

"Sirius!"

"...For Snape’s wand. I don't want to defile yours."

Sirius held out my cypress wand to me. I couldn't bring myself to take it. Sirius blinked, looking puzzled.

"What... what are you planning to do?"

It was Hermione who asked. She was always quick on the uptake. So quick, in fact, that in moments like this, she was the first to get hurt.

"Kill him."

Sirius was merciless. His voice itself was like a knife forged from pure murderous intent.

"N-no, you can't—"

"He betrayed everything. Trust, faith... friendship. And as a result, my friend died."

"P-Professor Lupin, please say something... stop him..."

"Is there a need to stop us?" Lupin replied coldly.

Hermione was speechless. Finally, she turned her eyes toward Professor Snape—someone she would usually never dream of relying on—but his face looked more eager to kill Pettigrew than anyone else's.

"Come now, Maria—let’s switch wands. Snivellus’s wand is likely tainted with the Dark Arts anyway—"

"How irresponsible."

My voice rang out with more flatness than I intended.

"If you kill him here, Sirius, you’ll be heading straight back to Azkaban for real this time. You won't be an innocent man anymore; you'll be a genuine criminal."

"Yes, exactly. And I’m fine with that—"

"—WELL, I’M NOT!"

Sirius, Lupin, and Snape all froze in stunned silence.

"You’re our guardian, aren't you?! Dad chose you... so that if anything happened to him, you could protect Harry! He made you a godfather! And yet—you aren't even trying to live for 'me'!"

I slapped the cypress wand out of Sirius's hand. It skidded across the floor and vanished into the shadows, but I didn't have the luxury of looking for it.

"You rushed to the house that Halloween night. You saw the state it was in. And instead of checking to see if we were alive—you chose revenge! You abandoned us!"

"Maria, wait—"

"And this is the result. You were outsmarted by a lackey you looked down on, thrown into Azkaban for twelve years—you’re a massive fool."

And in the end, you just went and disappeared behind the Veil on your own... you never made any effort to live with us.

I’m always the one left longing for you. I’m the one forced to love you unilaterally... even though you only ever see James.

"More than any of that... I just wanted you to live with 'me'."

The wooden floor beneath my feet began to change color, spot by spot. Soon, even the grain of the wood was lost to my sight. My vision was completely blurred with tears.

"—I feel the same as Maria."

I felt a soft pressure as my face was pressed into the shoulder in front of me. Ah, he really has grown into such a sturdy person.

"You must not kill Peter Pettigrew. He must live to atone. And you, Sirius—you have to fulfill your responsibility. You made Maria cry. For me, there is no greater reason than that."

A few seconds of silence dominated the room—and pathetically, only the sound of my sobbing reached my ears. Harry held me tight and refused to let go.

"...I understand. Between everyone here, you two have the most right to decide Peter’s fate. We will do as you say. We’ll take him to the castle—"

"Wait a moment."

It was Ron. Struggling to find the strength in his broken leg, he looked at Pettigrew—at the thing that had been his Scabbers—with a pained expression.

"Let me... let me confirm it. I know. After hearing all this, I know he wasn't Scabbers, he was Pettigrew all along. But still—he was my friend."

Ron’s plea was filled with sorrow. It reminded me once again of just how immeasurable the shock he received must be.

"I thought we were friends... for all this time. So, please. Let me be sure."

Professor Lupin and Sirius nodded solemnly to Ron. Sirius glanced at the floor, searching for the wand I had dropped—

"Then, I shall offer my assistance as well."

Holding the cypress wand, Professor Snape stood tall, having effortlessly dispelled the bindings on himself.

"Professor Snape..."

"Don't show me that pathetic face, Potter."

His voice and tone were as devoid of kindness as ever, yet for some reason, they brought me a sense of relief.

"Which Potter do you mean?"

"Both of them."

At that, even Harry managed a small chuckle.

"Very well, Severus. Shall we do it together? Doesn't this feel like a proper bit of work between colleagues?"

"Hey, Remus!"

"It seems your head is filled with nothing but chocolate," Snape drawled.

"You... Snivelly!"

"Good grief... an ill-bred stray will bark at anything. Your filthy howling makes my skin crawl. It is so unpleasant that—should my hand slip slightly during the process, I trust there will be no complaints?"

As Professor Snape flashed a villainous smirk that suited him far too well, Professor Lupin gave a wry smile. Sirius clenched his fists in frustration, glaring intensely at Snape.

The two of them flicked their wands simultaneously. A flash of blue-white light erupted toward the rat.

It was like watching a tree grow in fast-forward. A head emerged, limbs stretched out, a belly became stout—

And there, a pathetic, filthy little man appeared.