Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 213, Section 212: Peter's Accusation and the Public Trial
“Friends? Ha! What a ridiculous word! Friends!” Peter screamed in a mental breakdown. “Do you really consider me a friend? Not someone who can follow you around all day, flattering you and doing whatever you say—Peter, go get that, Peter? Go do this—I don’t want to do those things—those dangerous things!!”

He frantically pounded the snow around him with his fists, as if only by doing so could he unleash all the pain and fear he had hidden in his heart for so many years. Peter didn't care about anything else anymore. Even if he was about to be killed, even if the person he feared most was right in front of him, he had to say these words. He had to say them!

"Why would a normal person want to get close to a werewolf? It's a werewolf—once bitten, a person's life is ruined! I don't want to become a werewolf—but who cares what I say? Sirius, you won't! And James certainly won't!!"

"I have no idea how dangerous Animagus transformation is! You have no idea how scared I am when I transform! What if the transformation fails?! What if I get eaten by other animals after turning into one?!"

"So many dangerous things, so many dangerous pranks—those who have been pranked by us will definitely get their revenge! Just like Snape! I just want to study in peace and quiet, but you guys are always causing trouble! I can't even refuse!!"

“Oh, Peter, you’re part of the bandit quartet, how can you back down at a time like this?” Peter suddenly mimicked a line in a high-pitched voice, “Listen to this! Sirius! That’s all you can say! You have no idea how scared I am! You don’t care how scared I am! You don’t care about me at all! You’ve never considered me a friend!! You’re only thinking about yourself!”

With difficulty, Peter rolled over and lay face down on the ground. His ugly face, which had been beaten bloody and mangled, was covered in ice and snow. He banged his head against the ground again and again.

“Then why don’t you just leave?” Harry said calmly. “It’s obvious that you and my father are not on the same path. Since you’re not on the same path, why don’t you go your separate ways? You can continue to live your peaceful life away from them.”

“…Stay away?” Peter struggled to lift his head, forcing a terrifying smile. “How could I dare? James…Sirius, Remus…they are so powerful…”

“Good boy, Harry, you’re a good boy,” Peter muttered incoherently. “You’re so kind, but you already know what happened back then, don’t you? So you know how James and the others treated Snape—ambushing him, ganging up on him, outnumbering him, hanging poor Snape up in public and letting everyone see his underwear—it was horrific, absolutely horrific.”

“If I say I’m leaving, they’ll hold a grudge against me, Harry,” Peter said with absolute certainty. “I don’t want to be like Snape. I don’t want to be bullied or pranked—so I have to stay. I have to join them and become one of them. Only then will I not be bullied and won’t end up like Snape.”

"...So, from the beginning you've been a worm, despicable, weak, shameless—ha! From the very beginning you've been sucking up to those who are stronger and more powerful than you." Sirius spat fiercely, his eyes red. "I just don't understand why I didn't see you were a spy from the start. You've always liked powerful friends to get their favor, haven't you? Before, it was us, me and Remus, and James—and then Voldemort!"

“He’ll kill me, Sirius.” As if his soul had left his body, Peter knelt on the ground, straightened up and looked at Sirius, and said in a low voice, “I just want to live… Hehe, I must live.”

His mind was in turmoil, and for a moment Peter actually laughed—a satisfied laugh.

The snow-covered field suddenly fell silent, with only the gusts of cold wind blowing past one's ears and the sound of branches swaying, cold and desolate.

Both Sirius and Lupin remained silent, or rather, their hearts were too restless at this moment, waves of thoughts crashing over their minds—they suddenly realized that they might never have truly understood their friend.

They never knew Peter Pettigrew as a person, nor could they see into his heart... just as Peter himself said, they never tried to understand him.

Is it anger? Of course it is anger.

Anger, hatred, contempt—but amidst all this turmoil, there was also an inevitable trace of regret—what if they had cared more about Peter?
Will none of this ever happen?

James and Lily will survive safely, and Sirius will not have to endure twelve years in prison...

But in the end, it was all just a fantasy.

“…You know what, Peter?” Sirius’s throat bobbed; he had to force himself to stay in control. “That day—I didn’t even tell Remus—”

"Because he thought I was a spy," Lupin said calmly, picking up where Sirius left off. "Was that right, Sirius?"

“I’m sorry, Remus,” Sirius took a deep breath, “please forgive me.”

“Not at all, Bigfoot,” Lupin suddenly chuckled. “My old friend, then please forgive me for once thinking you were a spy, okay?”

"of course."

They apologized to each other again, but Sirius and Lupin were much more composed this time than when they had apologized the previous time they met.

it is more than words.

“No matter how good your excuses are, they don’t change the fact that you are Peter,” Lupin said earnestly, half-squatting down in front of Peter and looking into his former friend’s eyes. “Neither James nor Sirius, nor even me—we owe you anything, and have in fact taken good care of you all along.”

"You betrayed us, betrayed our goodwill, betrayed our trust... This is the root cause of why you need to pay the price."

“We would rather die than betray a friend, Peter,” Sirius said gruffly. “Even you, we would do the same for you—but you can’t.”

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Finally realizing something, Peter shuffled backward on the ground, trying to get as far away from Sirius and Lupin as possible. He became agitated again, "You can't—Harry! I want to see James! I know you can! Let me see James one more time! Let me see James's spirit!!"

Peter Pettigrew looked at Harry with longing, struggling to lunge at him, but Lupin kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling onto his back in the snow.

“Don’t even think about it!” Sirius said with disgust. “You know James’s character! He’s always so kind! How could you possibly beg him?! How could you possibly face him?!” “You’re right, Peter,” Lupin said softly. “You probably thought of that too, didn’t you? You were afraid of Voldemort’s power, afraid that Voldemort would kill you, so you betrayed us—but now, Voldemort won’t kill you, but we will. Farewell, Peter.”

Sirius and Lupin drew their wands from their waists and pointed them at Peter.

"Wait a minute," Harry suddenly said.

"Harry?!" Peter Pettigrew quickly looked at Harry with hopeful eyes. "I knew it, you're the kindest kid in the world—please—"

"You don't want to let him go, do you?! Harry!!" Sirius roared. "This villain is the one who caused your parents' deaths, this groveling scum won't even flinch as you die—you don't actually believe what he just said, do you?! I know you and Snape are close, but he wasn't just forced to join us like he claimed—"

“Calm down, Sirius,” Harry had to calm his agitated godfather down first. He said with a hint of helplessness, “I never said I would forgive him. It is only right to punish a traitor by any means necessary.”

"Then why did you suddenly stop us?" Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

“He was just playing his last role,” Harry tilted his head. “Didn’t Mary Pedrue never believe her child was a traitor? She even thought James lied about her death.”

"I understand!" Sirius's eyes lit up. "Let her see clearly, let that wicked old witch see what kind of person her son is, right?! Fine, I have no objection!"

Although it wasn't mentioned much afterward, Sirius felt disgusted whenever he thought about the words and actions of that wicked old witch in court that day.

In his mind, the Pedro family were all bad seeds.

“Actually, the most important thing is to finally settle your case,” Harry said calmly. “Otherwise, it just feels like something is missing if the criminal keeps running away without being caught.”

"I have no objection," Sirius readily agreed, "but in the end we must not let him go."

"of course."

To prevent Peter Pettigrew from uttering any more abhorrent words and to avoid hearing his disgusting pleas for survival, Harry simply sealed Peter's mouth with magic, and then the group returned to the Great Totem.

There's not much to say about what happened next. After Harry wrote to Rita and handed Peter over to the Aurors at the Ministry of Magic, everything was settled.

It was simply a supplement to the outcome of the trial during the holiday. Maintaining the outcome of the trial of Peter Pettigrew was in Fudge's favor, so he did not object.

Once Peter was finally apprehended, his very existence served as the best evidence—after all, even the most foolish person would find it hard to believe that a war hero who had never done anything wrong would choose to remain anonymous in the magical world for so many years.

It's worth mentioning that after Peter Pettigrew's gag was removed in court, he started shouting that he was innocent and fabricated his pitiful story in front of the jury in hopes of gaining their sympathy. He even accused Sirius of lying about everything he said. Harry was also bewitched by Sirius and lost his mind.

Given the contributions the Potter family made and the controversial nature of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's case in the wizarding world, Peter Pettigrew was given three drops of Truth Potion in his mouth with special permission from Wizengamot.

And that was it. Obviously, Peter Pettigrew wasn't the kind of tough guy with an iron will, strong enough to resist the effects of the truth serum. So after three drops of truth serum went into his mouth, he spilled everything that had happened.

His thoughts at the time, his actions at the time, how he betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and the Potter family, how he framed Sirius Black… he didn’t even hide the fact that he was an illegal Animagus, including how he later turned into a rat and hid in a wizarding family.

Peter Pettigrew also knew that Voldemort had disappeared. Some said Voldemort was dead, while others said he was still alive, albeit half-dead. Therefore, Peter wouldn't kill someone under Dumbledore's nose for the sake of a crippled, disgraced wizard. He would only hide in wizarding families to gather the latest news. As long as Voldemort was still the powerful Voldemort, Peter planned to take Harry to seek refuge...

All I can say is that when Peter, under the influence of the truth serum, revealed his deepest thoughts, the jurors in the stands who had initially felt sorry for him now wished they could give him the death penalty.

Peter's mother, Mary Pedrue, fainted on the spot after hearing her son admit to it, but to be honest, no one cared what would happen to her—Sirius wouldn't, Lupin wouldn't, and Harry certainly wouldn't.

Everything that happened in the courtroom was undoubtedly featured in the Daily Prophet the following day, especially the disgusting things Peter himself had done and his inner thoughts, which disgusted so much that many people couldn't even eat lunch.

Peter's reputation was now completely ruined. He was unanimously sentenced by the many magicians of Wizengamo to be imprisoned in the deepest part of Azkaban for a total of one hundred years.

Of course, while wizards can easily live to be over a hundred years old, to be honest, no one would think Peter could live for a hundred years in a place like Azkaban.

He is already a dead man.

And so, through Peter's despicable testimony, Sirius's reputation as a hero was solidified. All the hardships he had endured had been rewarded, and now he was arguably the most popular person in the entire wizarding world. Some shops even approached him specifically to have him endorse their products.

(End of this chapter)