Chapter 260. Ron in Despair
"The trial has concluded," Adrian Wesson inclined his head slightly and said. "Peter is about to receive a Dementor's Kiss, while Black—who has now been declared innocent—will have his Ministry warrant formally revoked and his reputation restored. However, he still needs to be observed for one month."
Remus Lupin's shoulders eased; the tightness left his face. The other professors in the office likewise relaxed—the truth had already reached them through Dumbledore.
Oh—save for one person: Snape.
From the moment Wesson stepped into the Headmaster's office, Severus had worn a frozen expression.
To him, this was hardly good news. After James Potter, his greatest enemy was Sirius Black.
"How moving, Lupin," he said in a low voice. "Black is innocent—just what you were hoping for, isn't it? Here's a bit of advice: leave Hogwarts and reunite with your dear old friend. You never should have been here."
"Severus…" Professor McGonagall seemed to want to say something.
However, after dropping that cutting remark, Snape immediately turned on his heel and left the Headmaster's office.
Lupin gave a helpless little smile.
He knew it well enough: Snape had always opposed his holding a teaching post at Hogwarts.
He had even made a point of cramming knowledge of werewolves and the Wolfsbane Potion into his Potions lessons—purely to encourage students to discover Lupin's lycanthropy.
Of course, Snape was now destined to have no chance.
Ever since drinking the second version of the Purification Potion, Lupin had been able to control his transformation freely on the night of the full moon.
Even under a full moon, no one could discover his being a werewolf.
News of Peter spread through the wizarding world with remarkable speed.
On the very next day after the trial, the Daily Prophet carried the story.
That morning, the Great Hall at Hogwarts felt peaceful; most students had no idea anything had happened.
As usual, owls flew in through the windows from outside; parcels and envelopes, mingled with feathers, came fluttering down from above.
A copy of the Daily Prophet dropped onto the table in front of Harry.
"Who subscribes to the paper?" Harry looked around.
"I do," Hermione said around a bite of bread, cradling a hefty Dictionary of Ancient Runes in one hand while clutching a jam-smeared slice in the other.
"Can I have a look?"
"Suit yourself."
Harry opened the paper casually, and the front-page headline leapt out:
"Shock! Peter Pettigrew Alive—The Truth of Twelve Years Ago Laid Bare!"
"The Ministry Officially Revokes the Warrant for Sirius Black"
"—!"
At the sight of familiar names in the paper, Harry's eyes widened, and he began to read closely.
A moment later—
"Ron, get over here!"
Hearing Harry's urgent call, Ron reluctantly put down his sausages and hot dog, leaned in, and glanced over the page.
"The warrant for Sirius Black has been revoked?" He had only seen the headline when he looked at Harry in puzzlement. "Why?"
"Because he was framed… All right, that is surprising, of course—but you need to look at this first!"
Harry pointed to a photograph on the page.
Following his finger, Ron saw a short, fat man he both knew and didn't know, sitting slack-eyed in a chair, mouthing words.
Unfortunately, wizarding photographs don't record sound; they had no way of knowing what the man was saying.
"This is…" Ron's face went instantly chalk-white.
He had already recognised the man's true identity.
Wasn't this the short, fat, bald, ugly middle-aged man Scabbers had turned into?
"He's Peter Pettigrew," Harry explained, tapping the photo. "Twelve years ago, he shifted the blame for his own crimes onto Sirius, then disguised himself as a rat and hid for a full twelve years. But what's even more important—look at his face…"
"Scabbers…"
Ron murmured, wearing the same empty-eyed expression as Peter Pettigrew in the photograph.
He had almost managed to forget this—only to be hit with it again…
Merlin.
Ron buried his face in his hands and slumped over the table in despair.
All these years, he had actually been sleeping alongside a murderer who'd been in hiding!
And a particularly seedy-looking murderer at that!
At this point, Hermione noticed the commotion between the two of them.
"What's happened?" she asked.
Harry handed Hermione the paper and, at the same time, explained about Scabbers turning into Peter Pettigrew.
Before long, Hermione's eyes held a touch of pity when she looked at Ron.
"It's hard to believe—sounds like something absurd," she sighed. "But Animagi are indeed difficult to detect. It's perfectly normal that no one spotted him."
Harry nodded, becoming all the more interested in Animagus magic.
He also remembered Wesson had said he could try this extraordinary magic during the summer holidays.
Hermione continued reading the paper.
When she turned the page, she came across several familiar names.
"…Professor Adrian Wesson of Hogwarts was the first to discover Peter Pettigrew hiding at the school. Notably, Wesson's relationship with Dumbledore is highly unusual. According to the writer's speculation, there appears to be some special connection between the two…"
What followed was a long string of obvious drivel.
Hermione flicked back to the front to check the by-line.
Rita Skeeter.
Well then—no wonder.
She had heard of this Rita Skeeter—how she often fabricated rumours that didn't exist in her articles.
For many readers, however, those rumours were precisely the draw.
Seeing this, Hermione promptly shut the paper and handed it back to Harry.
"This is good news," she concluded. "At the very least, we won't have to worry about Black being a threat, and you can go to Hogsmeade with an easy mind."
"Too right," Harry said, distracted, then glanced sideways at Ron.
Ron had shifted position; he was now staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Harry didn't disturb him.
He looked back at the paper. In the cover photo, Sirius Black stood ramrod straight—gaunt, yes, but sharp-eyed.
What kind of person was he?
Harry knew Black had been his father's friend, and from the professors' fragmentary remarks he had gathered that the two had been very close.
Perhaps he could try getting in touch—he very much wanted to learn more about his parents.
He wondered if Hedwig could get a letter into the man's hands.
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