Chapter 126: Hearing Testimony

When Harry and Lupin returned to the Gryffindor dormitory, Zhang Qiu was still wandering in the corridor on the eighth floor. She looked a bit calmer, but there was still deep worry between her brows.

"We can't alert the enemy, Harry," Lupin said. "You call Luo En out, don't let Peter know."

That's easy, Harry thought.

When Harry walked into the dormitory, he deliberately said loudly: "Luo En, the weather is so nice, let's go for a walk."

He was sure that if Scabbers was Peter in disguise, this wouldn't arouse his suspicion.

Luo En muttered about wanting to eat something, then followed Harry out.

"Mr. Wei Silai, I want to tell you something terrible," Lupin said seriously. "Your pet might be disguised by an illegal Animagus. It is a very dangerous fugitive."

"What? April Fool's Day isn't here yet, is it?" Luo En was stunned.

"It's true, and he very likely betrayed my parents," Harry said seriously.

"But, wasn't it Black who betrayed your parents? How could he be Scabbers?" Luo En was even more confused.

"He's called Scabbers now, is he?" Lupin used a question, but his tone didn't seem to expect Luo En to answer. "Before that, he was a friend of Harry's parents, named Peter Pettigrew. We affectionately called him Wormtail."

"Everyone used to think he was killed by Black, but there is evidence that he is still alive and using Animagus to lurk in the Wei Silai family," Lupin said slowly. "Why would he do this? What makes a normal person have to hide their name, and even give up their human identity?"

"Indeed, Luo En, haven't you noticed? Scabbers has lived far beyond the lifespan a rat should have," Harry added.

"I still find it hard to understand, but since you say so, it means there must be some way to verify it," Luo En said. "I'm willing to trust you once, Harry."

"Then we need to bring Scabbers out now, without him noticing anything, to the Shrieking Shack," Lupin said.

"The Shrieking Shack!" Luo En exclaimed.

"Speaking of which, I have some experience with this," Harry said, running to Zhang Qiu's side. "Zhang Qiu, do you still have that sleeping talisman? The kind you used on Pei Xu before?"

"Now?" She looked at Harry in surprise, then quickly flipped through her divination notes. "You skipped a chapter, skipped a lot."

"What?"

"You discovered the rat isn't a rat, right?" She looked at the little notebook and said.

"You knew all along? But why didn't you tell us?" Harry was stunned for a moment, then reacted. "Oh, so the divination means it's not time to deal with this yet?"

"That's right, the truth should have been revealed in June," she said, distressed, twisting several pages in the notebook. "There are still so many things that haven't happened..."

"Don't dwell on it. Even if we missed it now, I can accompany you to make up for it later," Harry said. "Now we have to let Peter and Sirius confront each other. We must borrow your talisman."

"No," she said calmly. "I'll talk to Professor Lupin."

Zhang Qiu flipped the notebook back to the first page. Harry felt her temperament had changed a lot.

"Remus Lupin," she said. "Harry and Luo En must be at the scene of the confrontation. I will ensure their safety."

"Zhang Qiu?" Lupin frowned. "I know you're a bit older than them and know some magical Eastern spells, but this is really too dangerous."

"I guarantee it in the name of Master Xuanjun," Zhang Qiu showed the mark on the first page of the diary. "Harry and Luo En's safety will be absolutely guaranteed."

"If you're going to do this," Lupin sighed, "then I can't object."

"Now you go back to the dormitory to get Scabbers, and the Invisibility Cloak, then Harry comes out first. You give the Invisibility Cloak to Professor Lupin to use, and we'll use the Disillusionment Charm ourselves," Zhang Qiu commanded. "I'll go back to get my sword and talismans."

"Luo En, don't put Scabbers in your pocket. Use Harry's cauldron to bring him, put some padding for him, pretend you're taking him to the pet shop to see a doctor or buy rat supplements."

Luo En nodded, but Harry suddenly realized something was wrong. He had been using the jumping cauldron disguised by Deng Buliduo, and Zhang Qiu saying this meant she was ready to enter the Realm of Life and Death again.

Soon, they met again in the corridor outside the Gryffindor dormitory. This time Lupin put on the Invisibility Cloak, and Luo En used Harry's jumping cauldron to make a small bed for Scabbers and put a lid on it. They talked very carefully, pretending they were just taking Scabbers to the Hogsmeade pet hospital for a check-up.

"Harry, help me hold Scabbers, I'm tying my shoelaces," Luo En winked.

Harry took the cauldron, waited for a while, and handed it to Lupin. This way, Scabbers would think it was back in Luo En's hands, not knowing that the person holding it had become Lupin.

Along the way, Harry and Luo En kept talking about Quidditch, because it would be very abnormal for them to be silent given their relationship, and they were worried about being discovered if they talked about anything else.

Lupin actually knew how to pass through the Whomping Willow's secret passage; just hitting a knot on the trunk would make the tree quiet down. After they went down into the secret passage, they twisted and turned to the Shrieking Shack. Harry felt that this explained everything; the rumors about the Shrieking Shack being haunted were perhaps just the Marauders being active in their secret base.

After coming out of the exit, they arrived at the basement of the Shrieking Shack. Sirius was on the second floor, so it was time to start becoming invisible.

Zhang Qiu gave each of them three Disillusionment Charms and whispered to them to hide in dark places, so they would be less likely to be discovered.

Stepping on the decaying stairs, the four of them walked slowly to the upper floor. Lupin deliberately exposed a bit of his heel so Harry could follow. They went straight into a bedroom, where Sirius, dirty and looking like a corpse, was leaning against a bed.

Sirius's ears were very sharp. When he caught the sound of footsteps, he sat up from the bed at once, staring fixedly at the doorway, his expression looking very nervous.

"Relax, Sirius, it's me, Lupin," Lupin took off the Invisibility Cloak, still holding the cauldron in his hand.

At this moment, the cauldron suddenly shook violently, but Lupin pressed the lid down hard, and Scabbers inside stopped moving after a struggle.

Sirius's eyes lit up at once. Harry saw it clearly from the corner of the wall; he almost pounced on him.

"But don't be hasty," Lupin pointed his wand at him. "I'm still not quite sure. I only know that one of you two must be lying."

Sirius smiled helplessly and sat back down.

Lupin opened the lid and said softly: "Return to your true form, Peter. If you've forgotten, then I'll help you."

Scabbers climbed out of the cauldron nimbly. A dazzling light flashed, and then, as if watching a sped-up movie, like a tree growing taller section by section, a head slowly grew from the ground, and then, limbs slowly stretched out like sprouting. The next moment, a man appeared where Scabbers had been, rubbing his hands together.

He was a short man, shorter than Luo En in his third year. His sparse, pale hair was messy, and a patch on the top of his head was bald. He looked like a bloated person who had suddenly shrunk, becoming thin all at once. His dirty skin was almost the same color as Scabbers' fur, and his pointed nose made people involuntarily think of a rat.

Peter's small, watery eyes looked around at them. His breathing was hurried and short. Harry saw his eyes dart toward the door and then turn away.

"You have to protect me, Lupin," he said, almost wailing. "I knew this devil wouldn't give up. I knew it."

"Don't be hasty, Peter, let me hear your thoughts," Lupin stood beside him, his wand also pointing at him vigilantly.

"I really want to know, what prompted a person to live as a rat for thirteen years, not even willing to come forward to claim the Order of Merlin?" Lupin said slowly. "If you were really as heroic as reported in the news."

"This is all Sirius's conspiracy. That night, he rushed to my residence, wanting to kill me," Peter looked terrified. "I tried hard to run away, but was pushed into a dead end by him. Perhaps because the plan was about to succeed, he proudly stated his thoughts."

"After Voldemort fell, he was afraid of being liquidated, so he prepared to lie that James secretly changed the Secret-Keeper to me, and as long as he killed me, relying on the Black family's wealth and influence, he could escape liquidation safely. This scared me. At that time, my wand was knocked down by him, and I had no choice but to use Animagus to escape."

Lupin looked hesitant, but then he asked: "If Sirius intended to use his family background to reverse black and white, just like Lucius..."

"You know I never cared..." Sirius interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me, Black," Lupin continued to stare at Peter and said. "Then why did he have to kill you?"

"Because he was afraid of me confronting him. As long as the matter was discovered by Deng Buliduo, he could easily distinguish who was lying," Peter said. "He had to ensure there was no proof of death, and now it's still not too late; the statute of limitations hasn't passed yet."

"You stayed in the Wei Silai family as Scabbers, and every child in their family goes to Hogwarts," Lupin continued to ask. "You had countless opportunities to ask Deng Buliduo for help, why didn't you do that?"

"Because, because..." Peter rubbed his hands uneasily, his body twisting back and forth, and he didn't say the next sentence for a long time. ===== CHAPTER 127 =====