The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Chapter 236 Snape Provides a Seat for the Gossip

"It's alright, Minerva."

Seeing that Peter was falling into a drowsy state, Snape turned and glanced at Professor McGonagall.

"I just want to ask, why did our hero, Little Petr, willingly spend 12 years as a mouse?"

"What are you doubting?" Professor McGonagall asked, somewhat annoyed.

She really had a lot of opinions about Snape's actions.

Before she could explode, Snape looked down at Peter again.

He asked him directly, "Tell me, Peter Pettigrew, tell me why you didn't die back then, and why you hid."

Professor McGonagall said loudly, "I already said..."

Just then, Peter spoke in a vacant tone.

"Back then, Sirius Black had me cornered, so I yelled until the whole street could hear me."

"I said he betrayed James and Lily."

Professor McGonagall immediately became excited. "Listen to this, Peter has always been a good boy!"

Snape smiled dismissively.

Peter continued speaking.

"Then, before he could even make a move, I blew up the entire street with the wand I had hidden behind my back, killing everyone within twenty feet of him."

"Then I turned into a rat, and escaped into a gutter with the other rats..."

Professor McGonagall froze.

Her eyes widened, and she placed her hand on her chest.

Peter's question was not yet answered, and this time no one would disturb him.

"I have been avoiding Voldemort's former supporters."

"They all thought I was dead, otherwise I would have to give them an explanation..."

“They thought I had lied to them. The mysterious man went to the Potters’ house based on the information I provided, and then failed there.”

"They believe the Mystic's failure was my fault."

"If they find out I'm still alive, they won't let me go."

At this moment, the principal's office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Do not……"

Professor McGonagall was unable to accept the result and slumped into her chair, clutching her chest.

"The Potter family."

Snape’s tone was extremely complex when he said those words.

He took a deep breath and asked Peter again, "Why was it you who provided the intelligence? Why did you betray them?"

"Yes, I became their confidant, Lily and James."

Peter answered calmly.

Sirius persuaded Lily and James to replace him with me at the last minute, and to convince them to use me as the secret agent instead of him.

"Why?" Snape asked in an icy tone.

“He thinks I’m the one who doesn’t matter,” Peter replied. “He’s famous. When people think of Lily and James’s secret agent, he’s the first person they think of, not me or Lupin.”

“Little Pettigrew,” Snape’s voice grew colder, “tell me, why are you on Mystic’s side?”

In his daze, Peter revealed his truest thoughts: "A year before that incident, a mysterious man found me. He threatened me, and I obeyed him and became his servant."

He muttered, "The Dark Lord is too powerful. What good would it do to refuse him?"

"I can't believe it!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "I simply can't believe it!"

With trembling hands, she took off her square-framed glasses and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

“Dumbledore…” she looked at the headmaster, “This is unbelievable, poor Sirius, I wonder how he is…”

She seemed to be unable to continue speaking, unsure how to face Peter, her former student.

So she turned around, sat facing the other side, and silently shed tears.

At that moment, Snape, who was closest to Peter, had already taken out his wand.

"So it was you."

He raised his wand and pointed it at Peter.

"Let me do it, let me end this shameful traitor's life right here!"

His tone was urgent, as if he couldn't wait any longer.

At this moment, Dumbledore finally spoke, "Wait, Severus!"

But Snape still waved his wand and began chanting the Killing Curse.

At the critical moment, a red light flashed and struck Snape.

Snape stumbled, and his wand flew from his hand.

"Forgive me, Severus."

In a moment of desperation, Dumbledore caught Snape's wand.

“Albus!” Snape turned around, his face grim and his expression fierce. “Do you intend to protect this despicable traitor?”

Dumbledore sighed. "You know perfectly well that things aren't as you say."

"I know! Of course I know!"

Snape paced back and forth forcefully, his leather shoes thumping loudly on the floor.

"You want to get that murderer Blake out of Azkaban, don't you?" he said menacingly.

Dumbledore did not deny it. "Don't say that. Now that we all know Sirius is innocent, he shouldn't continue to suffer in Azkaban."

“He deserved it!” Snape waved his arms excitedly. “That villain! That savage murderer! That megalomaniac! He deserved to spend his whole life in Azkaban with the Dementors!”

“You have too much prejudice against him,” Dumbledore said with a hint of helplessness.

"That's not prejudice!"

Snape stepped forward and somewhat rudely snatched his wand back from Dumbledore's hand.

"I saw through their true nature long ago!"

He was clearly furious, breathing heavily through his large nose.

“Ever since we were in school, they have never cared about other people’s lives, so I’m not surprised at all no matter what they do later!”

Dumbledore sighed again. "Calm down, Severus. Sirius and James were indeed quite naive when they were young, but they later risked their lives to fight against the Mystic."

"That's just them being attention-seeking!" Snape scoffed. "They want to be heroes, to be fawned over!"

“They fought to save most wizards!” Professor McGonagall suddenly stood up and retorted seriously to Snape, “They saved many people!”

Snape frowned. "Say what you will..."

He suddenly smiled.

"I'm just glad I saw what happened to them. None of the four of them turned out well!"

After saying that, he turned around with his head held high and walked towards the office door.

"Do as you please, Dumbledore. I will no longer interfere," he said with a cold laugh. "But you should understand that getting the Ministry of Magic to overturn the verdict won't be so easy!"

He walked to the door and glanced at Scott, who was pasted on the wall next to the door.

He then pushed open the door with one hand, grabbed Scott by the collar with the other, and dragged him outside.

Scott, who had just finished eating melons, let him pull him along, following his force to walk outside without any resistance.

He silently thanked Professor Snape for providing him with a seat to watch the drama unfold.

Although leaving now would mean losing the opportunity to continue observing the drama, Scott felt that leaving with the Potions Professor was the best option.

……

Chapter 237 Scott Surrounded

Outside the principal's office, Snape released his grip on Scott's collar and silently climbed the stairs.

The automatically running staircase began to carry him down.

Scott followed silently.

Snape did not speak, nor did he speak rashly.

For a moment, all I could hear was the sound of the stairs running.

The two quickly reached the third floor and returned to the corridor through an opening in the wall.

Snape glanced back at Scott.

He said coldly, "You should know how to shut your mouth, Mr. Trollope."

“Of course, Professor Snape.” Scott nodded to indicate that he understood.

Snape glanced at him again, snorted, and turned to leave.

Scott watched as his black robes billowed and drifted away like a thick black mist.

It seems Snape's mood wasn't completely terrible; at least he didn't pursue the matter of his "acting on his own initiative."

However, Scott remained quite self-righteous.

He thought that if he hadn't "taken the liberty" of inviting him, Snape wouldn't have been able to personally savor the sweet taste of revenge.

Although Snape's attempt to kill Peter was stopped by Dumbledore.