bacchusnovels Chapter 391 A Lion Hides in His Eyes
Chapter 391 A Lion Hides in His Eyes
Chapter 391 A Lion Hides in His Eyes
When Sean suddenly patted him on the shoulder, Harry flinched and instinctively took a step back, still gripping his wand tightly, his eyes fixed on Snape on the ground.
His mind was in complete chaos, and he didn't know how to react.
In other words, this series of bombshell news had been accumulating in Harry's mind, eventually causing an overload and burning out the CPU, which was the rock machine.
Hermione was the first to react.
"Professor Phillips," she stepped forward, asking urgently and somewhat puzzled, "you... what are you doing here?"
"That's a question I should be asking you," Sean said, raising his head and glancing at everyone in the room. His gaze slowly swept over Lupin, Sirius, the unconscious Snape, the bewildered Ron, and Sophia, who had put down her camera. "Can you guys tell me why Gryffindor students are out in the Shrieking Shack in the middle of the night, hanging out with a bunch of adults like this?"
Hermione opened her mouth, as if she wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin.
Ron nervously glanced down at his shoes, while Harry mustered his courage and spoke up: "Professor, it's not our fault. Black—he caught Ron's mouse and called it Peter Pettigrew."
“Yes,” Lupin interjected, struggling to sit up from the ground, though blood still stained his mouth, he tried to look presentable. “Peter Pettigrew, he never died. He was their rat.”
Sean raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Sirius Black and Scabbers, whom he was holding tightly. "Peter Petitrou?"
When Sirius looked at Sean, his eyes darted away, like a child caught sneaking out to play by his parents, looking somewhat bewildered and... guilty.
This guilt might stem from the fact that Sean went to great lengths to arrange for him to be placed in Hogwarts, only for him to be exposed to everyone because he forgot to drink Polyjuice Potion at noon today.
This guilt may stem from his failure to fulfill his promise to Sean, and his failure to proceed with the trial of Peter Pettigrew as planned after receiving Sean's notification.
This guilt may stem from the fact that he has caused such a great impact that it could even affect Sean's teaching career.
This guilt might also be:
But the most likely scenario is that all of the above options are tainted in some way.
Even so, faced with this situation, his hatred and anger towards Peter Pettigrew enabled him to lift Scabbers high, saying, "It was him! He betrayed James and Lily! I've been chasing him for twelve years!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Sean raised a hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
His expression turned serious, as if he knew nothing at all, and he quickly "analyzed" the current situation: "Peter Pettigrew is alive, and you...you intend to use this rat as proof?"
"Yes!" Sirius Black realized what was happening and said through gritted teeth, "Make him turn back into his original form! I know he's afraid of being exposed, but we can force him to show himself!"
Sean's gaze shifted to Lupin. "You agree with him?"
Lupin nodded. "Professor Phillips, I swear on my honor that Peter is indeed an Animagus, and he disguised himself as this rat and hid for twelve years."
At this moment, Ron, who was standing to the side, finally came to his senses after this series of sudden changes.
"Come on—" His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, though his mind struggled to convince himself of the absurdity before him. "You mean he escaped from Azkaban just to catch Scabbard? I mean—"
Ron looked at Harry and Hermione in despair. "Well, even if Pettigrew could turn into a mouse—there are thousands upon thousands of mice in the world. How could he possibly know which one to look for while he's in Azkaban?"
"Yes, Sirius, that's a good question." Lupin frowned thoughtfully, turning to Sirius. "How did you find him?"
Sirius Black pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his robe, slowly unfolded it, and held it up.
It was a photo from last summer's Daily Prophet, showing Ron's family in the picture, with Ron's shoulder perched on his shoulder.
It is indeed spotted.
"How did you get it?" Lupin asked in shock.
"Fudge," Sirius's voice was hoarse and filled with resentment, "He came to Azkaban last year and gave me this newspaper. Peter was on the front page... I recognized him immediately from this boy's shoulder. I've seen him transform so many times, I would never mistake him."
Sirius Black pointed at Scabbers, "The caption under the photo makes it very clear: this boy is going back to Hogwarts—and that mouse..."
It's Peter!
Lupin breathed softly, his gaze shifting between the blemishes and the newspaper. "My God—its forepaws."
"What's wrong?" Ron asked somewhat anxiously.
"It's missing a claw," Sirius said coldly.
"Of course—" Lupin murmured, suddenly understanding everything, "How simple—how clever—he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," Sirius said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with pain and rage. "That day, I caught up with him and cornered him in a dead end. He yelled at the top of his lungs, so everyone on the street could hear, that I had betrayed James and Lily! Before I could even cast the spell, he blew up the street with the wand he'd hidden on his back, killing everyone around—and then he turned into a rat and scurried away into a gutter!"
Lupin slowly turned to Ron: "Ron, you've heard, haven't you? The only 'bones' Peter found back then was just one of his fingers."
"Oh dear, this...this might be...Spotted's paw that broke off in a fight with other mice!" Ron explained frantically, his eyes darting between the group. "It's been with us for years—hasn't it, Spotted?"
"Twelve years." Lupin's usually deep voice took on a meaningful tone at this moment. "Didn't you ever consider how an ordinary rat could possibly live for so long?"
"We're taking good care of him!" Ron almost shouted. From his flustered expression, it was easy to see that he had already lost some of his confidence.
"But it doesn't look too good right now, does it?" Lupin said. "I guess it's been losing weight ever since we heard Sirius came out..."
"It's afraid of that cat and got spayed!" Ron gestured toward Crookshan, where the cat was still meowing in bed.
Wait, Harry suddenly remembered—Scabbers was already quite sick before he met Crookshanks and got neutered...it was after Ron returned from Egypt, that is, after Black's escape. But then again—
The thought of it made Harry tremble with anger. "Why did he fake his death? Because he knew you were coming to kill him? Just like you did with my parents?"
“No,” Lupin hurriedly explained, “Harry—” “Now it’s your turn to finish him off!” Harry interrupted him angrily.
"Yes." Sirius Black didn't hesitate at all, staring straight at Scabbers, his voice filled with hatred. "He deserves to die."
"I should have let Snape take you away!" Harry shouted angrily, gripping his wand tightly.
"Harry," Lupin said urgently, "Can't you see? We've always thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter was after him, but the truth is exactly the opposite. Peter betrayed your parents, and Sirius is after Peter!"
"This can't be true!" Harry screamed, his face flushed with rage. "He was their Secretkeeper! He's confessed! He said he killed them!"
Harry pointed at Sirius with a trembling finger, and Sirius slowly shook his head.
In his deep-set eyes, the crystalline blackness gradually spread.
"Harry, I practically killed them." Sirius's low, hoarse voice was filled with deep remorse. "At the last minute, I persuaded Lily and James to use Peter—to make him, not me, their Secret Keeper. I thought it would be safer—but I was wrong."
Sirius took a deep breath and continued, "On the night they perished, I went to check if Peter was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, Peter was gone, and there were no signs of a struggle."
"And then?" Harry asked in a trembling voice.
These stories were extremely painful for him, but now he had no choice but to listen to them.
"I had a bad feeling, I got scared, and I went straight to your parents' house." Sirius's voice was even hoarser. "When I got there, all I saw were ruins—and their bodies."
Sirius Black suddenly choked up, his eyes slightly reddening. "It was at that moment that I realized—Peter had betrayed them. And how terribly wrong I had been."
Sirius slowly turned around, his back to the crowd, his shoulders trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his emotions.
A suffocating silence filled the room.
Harry watched his retreating figure, his wand frozen in mid-air.
His heart was being torn apart by anger, doubt, and shock, as if he were trapped in a fog from which he could not extricate himself.
Just then, a cold laugh broke the silence, followed by crisp applause.
"Brilliant, truly brilliant," Sean said lazily as he slowly walked to the front of the group, his gaze shifting back and forth between Sirius, Lupin, and the struggling Scabbers.
“This story is quite moving. If it’s true, I can write a memoir for you,” he continued. “If it’s false, then it would be suitable for Lockhart’s novel. However, perhaps one of you can go to Azkaban and put your own fabricated story into his novel.”
Sean then raised his wand, pointing it at Scabbers in Sirius's hand. "But if you want to know whether this story is true or not, wouldn't it be clear if you just verified it?"
He turned his gaze to Ron and asked, "Mind if I give it a try?"
"He's my pet!" Ron protested instinctively, but under Sean's sharp gaze, he nodded without any objection.
"Very good," Sean waved his wand lightly and whispered the spell: "RevelioForma!"
A blue beam of light struck Banban precisely.
In an instant, the rat froze in mid-air, its body twisting violently, letting out a piercing scream.
"Spotty!" Ron shouted, his face turning ashen.
The mouse's body began to swell, its gray fur seemed to be peeling off, its tail retracted, and its limbs rapidly extended.
With a burst of blinding blue light, a figure gradually appeared.
A moment later, a short, hunched man appeared before them. He sat slumped on the ground, his face pale and his lips trembling. The man was very short, almost as tall as Harry.
His hair was sparse and messy, with a large bald patch on top. His skin was dirty, dry, and wrinkled, like a fat man who had failed to lose weight quickly. His pointed nose and beady green eyes still carried a hint of a rat's appearance.
The man kept wringing his hands, his eyes darting around the room, especially towards the door leading outside, as if something outside was constantly attracting his attention... For a mouse, it might be cheese?
"Hello, Peter," Lupin broke the silence, his tone unusually relaxed, as if he had expected this to happen. "Long time no see."
"Remus—Little Sirius—" Peter Pettigrew's voice was shrill and piercing, his face covered in cold sweat, his eyes darting around like marbles. As he spoke, he glanced at the doorway again, "My friend—my old friend—"
Black suddenly raised his wand, and the moment he saw Peter Pettigrew with his own eyes, his face, which was originally full of anger, became extremely distorted.
"Don't rush." Lupin grabbed his wrist and gave him a warning look.
He then turned to Peter, his tone still relaxed, but his eyes were terrifying. "We were just talking about the night Lily and James died, Peter. I think you might have missed some details—like, when you were moaning in bed."
"Remus!" Peter shrieked, the beads of sweat on his forehead becoming even more noticeable. "You don't believe him, do you? He's lying—he—he wants to kill me!"
"Is that so?" Lupin's voice turned slightly colder, but he maintained a chilling calm. "It seems we've all heard about this, Peter. However, I'd like to clarify a few things with you first, if you don't mind."
"He's coming to kill me again!" Peter suddenly screamed, his voice shrill and his hand pointing at Blake trembling.
Harry noticed that he was using his middle finger—because his index finger was missing.
"He killed Lily and James, and now he's trying to kill me!" Peter's voice was hoarse with fear, and he looked like he'd just been pulled from the water, sweat streaming down his face. "Remus, you have to save me! He's insane! He's a murderer!"
A cold, sinister smile appeared on Blake's face. His face looked particularly sinister because of his haggardness and anger, and his deep-set eyes were filled with a burning gaze, as if a lion might be hiding in them.
The lion depicted on the Gryffindor crest.