But before he could sleep long, he was called up again by Professor Lupin, saying that Dumbledore had caught Black.

Harry's sleepiness disappeared instantly.

He hurriedly got up from the bed, slipped on the sweater Mrs. Weasley had given him, put on a robe, followed Lupin to the kitchen, and used the house-elves to the screaming shack.

But it's not the same as he imagined - although the wanted man with the photo in the newspaper was indeed there, he didn't completely lose his freedom of movement, and even sat up from his chair excitedly when he found himself coming. , want to pounce.

Harry was so frightened that he immediately took out his wand.

Dumbledore stopped him: "Harry, put your wand down, before you make any decisions, I think you have a right to know the ins and outs of the whole thing... Gilderoy, could you please ask Severer again Will you explain it again?"

"I'd love to," Lockhart agreed.

So Lockhart took Snape out into the yard and began to explain to Snape what had happened. Of course, in order for him to listen patiently, Lockhart started with who betrayed the Potters.

When he tirelessly spent 20 minutes explaining all the details, the blackness on Snape's face almost turned into substance. If he hadn't received a formal wizarding education since he was a child, Lockhart would even suspect him. It will immediately erupt into a silent one.

So, I guess Pettigrew, not Blake, really betrayed the family. ' Lockhart finally finished.

"I don't think it makes any difference." Snape turned to the Shouting Shack, his voice cold, "Both of those **** are damned, the biggest mistake in her life was knowing

the four guys. "

"I'm afraid the principal doesn't think so, and neither does Wizengamore." Lockhart shrugged, "In this whole thing, there will only be one person who will be punished in the end, and that is Pettigrew. As for Black In terms of atonement with 12 years in prison

■■■

Two ominous glances from Snape prevented Lockhart from finishing the sentence "Enough is enough". Clearly, in Snape's view, a mere 12 years in Azkaban's imprisonment was nowhere near enough for Black to repay the debt he owed.

Lockhart had to change the subject: "Did you bring Veritaserum? Although the principal has already made a conclusion, he hopes that Harry can hear the real confession."

"Take it." Snape turned and walked towards the door of the house.

"It's really Xun, do you always have this kind of thing ready?"

Snape ignored him.

The two entered the shack one after another, only to see Harry looking at Black and Pettigrew with a bewildered expression, his eyes were also erratic, the remarks from Dumbledore made his brain flooded with too much information at one time, and His brain was struggling to process them.

"Come on, Severus, use Veritaserum," Dumbledore gestured.

I saw Snape took a small green vial from his sleeve, unscrewed it slowly, and stood in front of Sirius Black with a look of disgust.

"Do you want me to come by myself? Snotling?" Sirius sat on the chair and whistled frivolously at him.

Shao has a long mouth. ' Snape suppressed his anger and commanded in a low voice.

Black opened his mouth nonchalantly, allowing Snape to drip three silver drops into his mouth.

"Swallow it," Snape continued.

Black swallowed it, sticking out his tongue on purpose and making faces at Snape.

Snape didn't say much nonsense, he rushed forward roughly and opened Blake's eyelids, stared at the white part of his eyes and observed it carefully for a while, until he confirmed that the Veritaserum really took effect, and then let go angrily. hand.

"You **** avenge your personal revenge, I'll fight you after I'm done." Black shouted.

Snape ignored him and continued to turn to Peter Pettigrew.

"Open your mouth." He said coldly.

Peter took two steps back: "Hey...I said, is this really going to be the case? Severus, I've already said everything! And this matter...has already been decided."

"Open your mouth," Snape repeated.

"You're abusing lynching, it's illegal! The Ministry of Magic doesn't allow..." Pettigrew tried to continue struggling.

But before Peter Pettigrew could finish speaking, Snape rushed over impatiently and pinched Peter's chin.

Under Harry's astonished gaze, Snape squeezed Peter's cheek while using his right hand to force the vial held in his hand into Peter's choked lips, filling the entire bottle of Veritaserum. went in. After pouring it in, Snape raised his neck vigorously again, forcing him to look up and swallow the Veritaserum.

- Time, Snape's normally expressionless face turned a little hideous.

Harry couldn't help but stunned when he saw his rough action. He had never seen him so angry in Potions class, and he thought that if Snape treated him with such an expression, Even if he let himself drink poison, Harry would obey.

After confirming that the potion was poured in, Snape started to ask questions directly:

"Tell me, what the **** did you do?"

The movement of his hands was not light. Peter Pettigrew was choked by him and rolled his eyes, seeing that he could not even breathe smoothly.

Seeing his rough action, Black suddenly realized that if Snape continued like this, he might never be able to take revenge again.

"Snotling! Let go of that guy and let me come!" he yelled.

But Snape held it tighter, as if he wanted to kill Peter here.

Dumbledore coughed twice, motioning Snape to let him pay attention, and the child was watching, and Snape slowly released his hand.

But he still lingered in anger, and Peter Pettigrew's retching there but couldn't spit out anything didn't make him feel any guilt. Even if there was, he was probably just guilty of not strangling Peter to death just now.

They are indeed abusing lynching, but no one cares about that at the moment.

%See you are asking, Harry. Lupin patted Harry on the back. "Ask the two of them, what happened in that year... and the past six months?" "

Harry Potter took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When Harry opened his eyes again, his eyes had become extremely sharp.

"Now tell me, who sold my parents to Voldemort? How did all this happen?"

Chapter 226 Qualified Savior

Although Dumbledore and the others had already guessed the outline of the matter, when the truth of the matter was revealed from the parties' mouths, they still had a nameless fire for no reason.

The content of Sirius Black's confession is exactly the same as what he said before. It seems that this arrogant son doesn't even bother to lie, and he even stated his motives for every step clearly.

Although Dumbledore was very annoyed by this guy's self-righteousness and self-assertion, he also marked him with several names such as "No City", "Strong Will", "Ning Chong" and "Sexy Man". class label.

...Speaking of which, isn't this a typical Gryffindor? The old bee has always been very forgiving of true Gryffindors.

The other one couldn't. After listening to Pettigrew's explanation, everyone present, including Harry, except Dumbledore, agreed that the Sorting Hat must have been wrong.

This person can't be Gryffindor!

Under the effect of Veritaserum, Peter Pettigrew had to reveal all his secrets, even his own thoughts.

In fact, his idea is really simple - just to live.

Originally, he was already prepared, and once he was captured, he would immediately surrender to the Death Eaters.

After all, according to Ministry of Magic rules, Aurors do not have the right to kill. So even if he joined the Death Eaters, at least he didn't have to worry about dying. And even if Voldemort was defeated, he could explain that he was forced to be a thief at the juncture of life and death, in order to avoid punishment.

V'J

Although a bit useless, but at least survive.

But Barty Crouch changed the status quo when he took office as the Magical Law Enforcement Division - he gave the Aurors the right to use the Unforgivable Curse, and also allowed them to bypass the trial power and kill the Death Eaters.

Since then, the battle between the Aurors and the Death Eaters has escalated, with Peter discovering that joining the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters, or the Order of the Phoenix is ​​equally dangerous, with the possibility of death.

To this end, he had to seek a guarantee of safety - one that would not have to fight again

guarantee.

Obviously, the Order of the Phoenix could not provide such a guarantee, and not to mention how Dumbledore would view him, the three other robbers alone would not allow him to escape.

And he chose to betray the Potters as a spy for Voldemort, in exchange for the promise of the other party "will not attack you" and "will not let you fight if exposed".

Although Voldemort's credibility was questionable, Pettigrew believed what he said—because he was just a minor character.

So he chose to betray his comrades - this was not a particularly difficult decision for him.

After hearing this, not only Black, Snape and Potter, but even Lupin couldn't help but want to beat Pettigrew.

The traitor's asking price is so low, and what he sells is so noble, the contrast cannot but make anyone in the middle feel resentful.

Back then, when the Order of the Phoenix was constantly being assassinated by Death Eaters, people in the Order of the Phoenix panicked, and more than one person suspected that someone had leaked secrets. For this reason, not only Lupin, who was born a werewolf, was suspected by his peers, but also because Sirius Black was a Slytherin in his family except him, and he was also suspected by many people as a traitor.

In the crowd's rejection, it was James O. Potter who resisted the crowd and said "I absolutely believe in the two of them", which temporarily avoided the Order of the Phoenix's pursuit of the two, which also

Why Lupin said "James would raise his trust in his friends to a level higher than life"

But the person who betrayed in the end was Peter. Black and Lupin were so furious not only because of their suspicions and the death of their best friend, but more importantly, because Peter betrayed James' trust that was higher than life.

"Let me kill him!" Blake stood up again, "I don't care how many years I have to stay in Azkaban, I will tear him down with my own hands today, I will break all his bones one by one. Make firewood, and use the flame of bone marrow to roast his black heart!"

Snape's expression returned to calm, but his right hand gripping his wand betrayed his mind. Lockhart had the slightest doubt that if he let him do it, he would use all the tortured black magic he had learned from the Dark Lord on Peter Pettigrew.

Lupin stopped Black first, even though his eyes were burning.

"Calm down, Sirius...the people who are most qualified to decide his fate are not us now," Lupin said.

After everyone heard the words, they all looked at the pale Harry Potter.

As a wizard who is about to turn 14, Harry can guarantee that he has never experienced the emotional explosion he has today in more than a dozen years.

When Sirius recounted his "crime", Harry finally knew who the person who sent his Firebolt was. Funny he also assured Hermione and Professor McGonagall that it could never be the broom that Black gave him.

The nostalgia and sadness for the parents, the joy of finding the godfather, the anger at the traitor, the expectation that the great revenge may be repaid immediately, and the embarrassment when there is a conflict between rational values ​​and simple feelings... These kinds of emotions are intertwined and make Harry felt at a loss.

Lockhart noticed that Dumbledore was getting nervous.

When the identities of Pettigrew and Black were revealed, Dumbledore was not worried

Zhang; Dumbledore was not nervous when they explained their experiences and mental journeys.

But when Harry was about to make a choice that was so painful for him, Dumbledore got nervous.

If Harry was the "answer" Dumbledore wanted, how much he wished that "answer" was the one he imagined.

"I..." Harry breathed out his plan slowly, "Petit's crimes...we have no right to judge, none of us have the right to decide the life or death of another person, so...I hope he Can be sent to court for a public trial."

"What?!" Blake was startled. "You're crazy!"

Among all the answers, the only answer that Sirius didn't expect was this, and he was even ready for Harry to ask to kill the enemy himself - if it was Harry who killed Pettigrew, Black felt he could accept it.

Lockhart looked around and found that not only Blake, but even Lupin and Snape were stunned, almost no one thought that Harry would do such a "repaying hatred with virtue".

Fortunately, everyone was shocked at this time, so no one noticed Snape's expression: otherwise, this Iceman might not be able to maintain his ruthless image after today.

Unlike several others, only Dumbledore had a look of relief or relief on his face, as if he was very satisfied with Harry being able to make this choice.

"Yes, whether it's a dementor's kiss or a life sentence, the decision should be about justice rather than individuals." Harry explained his thoughts, "Vengeance is not evil, but I also believe that Justice would give a more reasonable solution

Blake, Lupin, and Snape were all dumbfounded - they stared blankly at Harry,

It was as if he had only met him for the first time today.

Lockhart also sighed, and he didn't know whether Harry was naive, or whether his mental state had risen to the level of Dumbledore.

According to his understanding, Harry may be right, but the problem is... the Ministry of Magic, and other government organizations, they do not represent all justice! Sometimes it doesn't even fully represent public power.

In any case, it was Harry's choice, and he couldn't intervene.

With a relieved expression, Dumbledore began to preside over the situation.

"In that case, send Pettigrew to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! I'll inform Scrimgeour. Black... Be happy, think about it differently, you'll be free from today."

Blake's facial features that were about to be squeezed together suddenly froze after Dumbledore spoke, as if he had just thought of this problem.

Yes, if Peter Pettigrew is arrested, his reputation will be restored.

Buying a new motorcycle, traveling the world, enjoying the lost life, adopting Harry, and waiting for him to come home for the holidays... all of a sudden flood of thoughts flooded his mind.

Lupin also reacted: "Yeah, Sirius, don't take your own life for such a dirty guy, it's not worth it."

Seeing that the misunderstanding cleared up, Lupin finally began to call Black by his first name instead of his last name.

Just like before.

Chapter 227 Fudge's Little Conspiracy

Lockhart saw that everyone was starting to become lively again, and only after Snape remained there, in order not to make him feel too cold, he took the initiative to ask him aloud.

"Severus, is there any solid evidence of Peter's guilt? You know, despite the fact that we have a few witnesses, the Ministry still needs physical evidence..."

Only then did Snape move: "Yes... Even if it is a traitor, he must have a Dark Mark on his body, which cannot be washed off. Even if it fades, a developing potion can make it reappear."

"Excellent...Poor Mr. Crouch, I hope he can hold on, he's a good director..." Lockhart said pretendingly.

He was the one who wronged Sirius back then. After this incident broke out, he would definitely take responsibility for it. Even if he didn't step down, it would hurt his vitality. This is obvious.

Dumbledore gave him a meaningful look, but said nothing.

Only Snape sneered: "Don't worry about Crouch's side: if you think purebloods only have this energy..."

"Hold and owe, I'm also pure blood." Blake immediately put up with it.