Chapter 63: 7-4

Professor Lupin smiled cheerfully at the fidgeting man.

"Hello, Peter."

It was a casualness as if he were greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time. —Therefore, it was terrifying.

"Si-Sirius—Remus—"

The man looked around at the faces surrounding him, trembling. Crookshanks, who had taken refuge in Hermione's arms, hissed fiercely in intimidation.

"D-don't believe him. It's all a lie, nonsense. You know that, don't you? This man is mad!"

"Don't say those words in front of Maria."

Harry's voice was cold.

"Remus, Remus, surely you don't—you don't believe him, do you? My sweet friend. You were the kindest of all."

"Peter... I—I thought I had been protecting you all this time. Sirius too, of course—and James. But you—"

"—Then protect me this time too!!"

It was a pathetic sight, casting aside all flattery and shame. —I realized that this, right here, was his true feeling.

"What could I possibly do all by myself?! Peter the coward! Peter the tagalong! It's true—I'm not strong like you guys. So, I had no choice!"

And then Peter—with the words that followed, stripped everyone of their anger and fear.

"Because—I never thought James would die!"

"..................Huh?"

Who said it? Perhaps everyone did. Utter incomprehension—bewilderment filled the room.

"It's that James! Our hero, James Potter! A genius, brilliant, the James everyone admired! The hero James who escaped 'You-Know-Who' twice! A man like that—you just wouldn't think he could be killed, would you?"

"You... what are you... what are you talking about...?"

"I thought James wouldn't die, so, so—rather than me facing death, if it was James—"

"But James died. He was killed so easily. That means—it means He is just that terrifying. He is someone with enough power to easily kill that James. How could... how could a failure like Peter Pettigrew ever stand up to someone like that?"

Utterly unable to comprehend this, Sirius flushed his unhealthy skin with anger—while Professor Lupin and Professor Snape, though dumbfounded, had their eyes trembling as if chewing over his heartfelt scream.

"You're the one who is mad, Peter. James was human, too—and as long as one is human, people die! You're telling me—you didn't understand that—?"

"—I get it. That feeling."

The one who answered Sirius's snarl was neither Peter nor the remaining adults—it was Ron.

"Because I can't imagine Harry dying either. Harry's been dragged into some pretty dangerous problems since our first year—well, since he was born, really—and even though he faced 'You-Know-Who' twice at Hogwarts, he's still alive like this. Even if he gets badly hurt, he always comes back to us. So, I always think—he will next time, too."

"—I understand."

Hermione picked up from Ron's monologue.

"I also—feel like I believe somewhere in my heart that Harry will be fine. But there's no logical reason for it. No, Harry is the reason. Because it's Harry... he'll be fine—Oh, this is an incredibly terrifying way to think."

All eyes focused intently on Harry. And Harry—

"I get it."

Even Harry affirmed the danger of Pettigrew's mindset.

"I, too—until what happened last year, thought Maria would never die."

"Eh—"

At the name I hadn't expected to come up, I looked up at my counterpart beside me.

"But Maria almost died. It wouldn't have been strange if she had. I felt Maria growing cold with my own hands. Maria's blood was warm. And then, I realized. —Even Maria can die. Because Maria is—alive."

Silence—It was a heavy, oppressive silence.

...I recalled having that feeling too. I, too—had firmly believed that Dumbledore would never die.

It's dangerous. Idolizing someone as a hero—can sometimes lead them straight to their death.

'I'—have always been—such a...

"Peter."

Harry dropped to his knees before Pettigrew, meeting his eyes straight on.

"—James is dead. James Potter—your hero is dead."

"Ah—"

At the 'death' spoken by someone with James's face and Lily's eyes, Pettigrew widened his hollow eyes as if hearing it for the very first time.

"Ah... ahh... dead... You're dead...? James... ahh..."

Tears spilled out in large drops. Even as a compliment, his appearance couldn't be called decent, but seeing him like that, I just couldn't bring myself to hurl insults at him for being filthy.

They were friends. Dad and Peter—were definitely friends.

"...Let's go back to the castle. Officials from the Ministry of Magic happen to be there right now. We'll hand him over directly."

Hermione stood up resolutely. The gazes that had been gathered on Pettigrew moved worriedly to Ron, and it was Ron himself who was the first to twist Pettigrew's arm up behind his back.

"Let's go."

"Ron... Yes, let's go."

Hermione supported Ron as he tethered Pettigrew while hobbling on his injured leg. Professor Lupin seized Pettigrew's other arm. I returned the wand to Professor Snape, retrieved my Cypress wand, and followed them as they made their way through the tunnel.

Just as we finally saw the light, Harry, who was holding my hand, looked back.

"—Um, Maria? Are you..."

Sirius, who had been bringing up the rear, began to speak haltingly.

"Am I—I mean—"

He must have a mountain of questions he wanted to ask. If I were Sirius, Lupin, Snape—or Harry, I wouldn't trust such a suspicious person either.

After agonizing over it for a few seconds, Sirius asked timidly.

"...Do you know that you must never feed onions to a dog?"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. What—what a clumsy way of confirming things this man has! Even Harry next to me looked bewildered.

Honestly—you really are—

"—Of course I do, Mr. Black Dog!"

My amused laughter echoed through the tunnel.

The castle was right before our eyes. But that's when the incident occurred. —The Dementors were lying in wait.

"Why—!"

The chaos bred the worst possible outcome. The moon appeared at an unbelievable timing, and Professor Lupin—whose body transformed despite retaining his reason—turned into a terrifying wolf and bounded back towards the Whomping Willow. In the ensuing panic, Pettigrew knocked Ron down, transformed into a rat, and made his escape.

Surely Pettigrew would have completely resigned himself if the Dementors hadn't shown up. His words as he fled were, "I don't want to die." There was just too much overlapping bad luck.

"No, if we let him get away—"

"Maria, don't leave my side!"

"We have to hand him over to the Ministry—or Sirius...!"

"We'll testify to Sirius's false accusation ourselves!"

"That won't be enough!"

I shook off Ron's arm.

In the past, Hermione's and my testimonies were completely ignored just because we were children. Fudge—is a rotten man who refuses to admit inconvenient truths unless the incident happens right before his very eyes!

"Maria—"

Harry squeezed my hand. —He was trembling.

"Please—stay with me."

"...."

Harry pointed his wand at the Dementors. There were well over a hundred of them. It seemed as though every Dementor that had been prowling outside the castle under the guise of guard duty had converged on us.

"Expecto—"

Three wands lit up against the darkness.

"""Expecto Patronum!"""

It was a magical, ethereal sight. Two does and two stags—two pairs of mates ran past, nestling harmoniously close to each other. They split the darkness with their silver radiance, gently melting away the freezing temperature of death.

"Beautiful..."

Hermione murmured instinctively, and I nodded in agreement—Wait. Two stags...?

I grabbed Hermione's hand and started running. The others, entranced by the two pairs of deer, hadn't noticed us breaking away. —Now. Now is the only chance.

I pulled Hermione into a spot completely in their blind spot—and I pleaded with her.

"Hermione—let me use your Time-Turner."