My School Life At Hogwarts Chapter 796: Bewilderment - Novel Cool

Chapter 796: Bewilderment

Chapter 796: Bewilderment

At this moment, not only was Fudge's head in a muddle, but everyone else wore identical expressions of disbelief.

Peter Pettigrew was still alive?

How was that possible! Hadn't Peter died twelve years ago? How could he still be alive?

Everyone stared at the cage in Dumbledore's hand. If the rat in the cage was indeed Pettigrew, then Sirius Black had been innocent all along?

What a mess! "No, this is impossible. Peter Pettigrew is dead. I was there... There's no way he's still alive!" Fudge was agitated. If it was confirmed that Pettigrew was alive, the Ministry of Magic would become a complete joke.

Look at what the Ministry had been doing for the past year.

Pursuing Sirius Black.

If Pettigrew was indeed alive, it basically meant that Black was innocent. Even if a socalled thorough investigation was needed, the truth would always remain the truth.

The few Aurors around Fudge were startled by his words, their gazes involuntarily falling on the metal cage in Dumbledore's hand before stealing glances at Albert, who stood by quietly.

Scrimgeour had realized earlier that tonight, the man named Albert Anderson had thoroughly trampled on the Ministry's dignity.

What frustrated them the most was that Fudge had actually taken the initiative to offer his face to be slapped. After having his face swollen by Albert, they even had to thank him for helping the Ministry capture Black and unraveling the truth from those years.

However, who had betrayed the Potters back then was truly unimportant to the Ministry. They had no intention of reinvestigating the case because if Sirius Black was innocent, Scrimgeour could even guess the immense pressure the Ministry would face. They would rather use Black's death to bury the truth, regardless of whether he was truly guilty or not.

Dumbledore took the rat out of the metal cage and placed it on the grass in front of him. He gently tapped the rat with his wand, and a blue-white glow instantly enveloped Scabbers' body.

The next moment, Scabbers' body slowly floated up, hovering in mid-air as its tiny body writhed wildly, as if something was trying to burst out of it.

Hermione widened her eyes in disbelief and hid behind Albert, anxiously watching the rat floating in mid-air.

After a dazzling flash of light, a head suddenly emerged from the ground, followed by limbs, and a middle-aged wizard appeared where Scabbers had been.

Peter Pettigrew appeared out of thin air in front of everyone.

Not just Fudge, but even the two Aurors behind him stared dumbfounded at the middle-aged wizard who had suddenly appeared.

"Peter Pettigrew is actually still alive," Fudge muttered, staring at the wizard on the ground. He knew it was all over.

Those four Aurors were useless. Fudge had asked them to take the Dementors first to investigate the situation, giving them time to handle this matter, but they had messed it up and made the Ministry a laughingstock.

"It seems that Mr. Anderson wasn't lying," Dumbledore said, looking at the unconscious Peter and smiling at Fudge.

"No, it was Professor Lupin who discovered that Pettigrew was still alive," Albert corrected, shaking his head.

"Anyway, since Pettigrew is still alive, that incident from back then will probably have to be reinvestigated. I recall that Black was thrown into Azkaban prison without a trial," Dumbledore said, ignoring Fudge's unsightly expression and continuing, "I think we got it wrong with Black. He probably didn't collude with Voldemort."

"Don't mention that name!" Fudge roared.

"It was him. It was that bastard who killed James and Lily!" Hagrid's entire body trembled as if he wanted to rush forward and beat Peter up to avenge the Potter family.

"Calm down, Hagrid. Once the news of Peter being alive gets out, his fate will definitely be worse than what you can imagine," Albert consoled.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look at Albert, seemingly waiting for him to continue.

"I think Peter has been disguising himself as a rat and hiding in the Weasley household for the past twelve years, not to escape Black's pursuit, but to hide from the supporters of the mysterious man," Albert glanced at the unconscious Peter and said softly, "The mysterious man went to the Potter's based on Peter's intelligence but failed. Most of his supporters ended up in Azkaban, but quite a few escaped and went into hiding, waiting for an opportunity. Imagine what they would do if they knew Peter Pettigrew was still alive."

"That group of people would definitely not let Peter off easily," Hagrid's mood improved a lot as Albert described the tragic fate Peter was about to face, but he felt no sympathy for this bastard.

"Wake him up. I think Professor Snape has a Veritaserum. We can feed some to Peter and find out the truth," Albert suggested.

"Let's head back to the castle. Harry and the others need to be taken care of. Severus, get your strong Veritaserum and bring it to my office. Mr. Anderson, come with me. As for the rest of you, go back and rest!" Dumbledore suggested.

Snape's expression was ugly. He realized that Black had escaped, but he couldn't change this outcome. He could only watch as Black was acquitted with his help, which was even more painful than killing him.

"Using Veritaserum is illegal..." Fudge muttered, his face reddening.

"I think everyone is eager to know the truth," Dumbledore said.

"It's best to tie up Professor Lupin. I'm not sure if the Human Form Spell will restore him to his senses." Albert waved his wand and conjured a rope to securely bind Lupin, even gagging him to prevent him from biting.

Then, Albert summoned a stretcher, and Hagrid placed the group on it.

The two Aurors beside Fudge once again sized up Albert, their gazes conveying that his magic level was far beyond that of a fifth-year student.

In this manner, they returned to the castle. Harry, Ron, and Lupin were sent to the hospital wing by George, while Black and Peter were carried into the Headmaster's office by Hagrid. As they entered, the paintings on the walls all had their eyes closed, eavesdropping on their conversation.

When Phineas saw Black being carried into the office by Hagrid, his heart tightened, but he soon spotted Peter being carried in as well and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He shot a complicated glance at Albert, who was the last to enter the room.

Phineas had never believed that Albert could truly capture Peter and exonerate Black.

Yet, he had done it.

Soon, a knock sounded on the door, and Snape entered with a vial in hand. He handed it to Dumbledore and instructed, "Three drops will be enough."

Dumbledore pried open Peter's mouth and poured in three drops of the Veritaserum. Then, he pointed his wand at Peter's chest and said, "Ennervate!"

Wormtail's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't open his eyes immediately.

It didn't work?

Dumbledore was taken aback and turned to Albert.

"Feed him this, and he'll wake up," Albert said, taking out a bottle of pills from his pocket and handing it to Dumbledore.

"What is this?" Dumbledore asked, examining the pill in his hand.

"It's a strong restorative potion of my own making. It can wake up an unconscious wizard and invigorate them. It's harmless and can even be consumed by Muggles. It will make one feel energized, refreshed, and clear-headed, as long as it's not taken in excessive amounts at once, there won't be any side effects."

"What happens if one takes too much?" Snape suddenly asked.

"They'll have an excess of energy with nowhere to channel it, and they'll feel extremely fatigued afterward," Albert explained.

Dumbledore stuffed the pill into Peter's mouth, followed by some water, and then gently cast a spell on his throat, "Anck suh koe!"

After swallowing the potion, Peter soon regained consciousness, but his eyes were vacant, and his cheeks were slack, as if he were under a trance.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Yes," Peter replied in a low voice.

"I want you to tell us if you had anything to do with the deaths of the Potter family," Dumbledore said peacefully.

"I leaked the information to the Dark Lord," Peter confessed.

"It seems the truth has been revealed," Dumbledore said happily, but beside him, Minister Fudge's expression was ugly.

"Were you also responsible for the deaths of the Muggles on that street?" Albert continued, ignoring the gazes of the others.

"Yes. I needed to fake my death to escape the retaliation of the Dark Lord's followers. When Black blocked my path, it was the perfect opportunity," Peter replied.

"What was your purpose in disguising yourself as a rat and hiding in the Weasley household?"

"To gather information."

"And what were your intentions in getting close to Harry?"

"I was waiting for an opportunity. If the Dark Lord truly rose again, I would hand over the last member of the Potter family to him. As long as I delivered Harry to them, no one would dare say that I had ever betrayed the Dark Lord," Peter finished, and his face was immediately met with a punch, sending him crashing to the ground.

"How dare you! James and Lily were your friends. How could you do this to their son?" Hagrid roared angrily, restrained by the Aurors from charging at Peter.

"They never treated me as a true friend. I was just a lackey, to be called upon and cast aside as they pleased!" Peter retorted.

"Why did you betray them?" Albert stopped Hagrid's violence and continued his questioning.

"The Dark Lord threatened me with my mother's life. I had no choice," Peter said, "I didn't want to join the Order of the Phoenix. I told them I still had my mother..."

"Enough! Take him away. I think Azkaban will be his best destination," Fudge gritted his teeth and glared at Albert. If he hadn't realized by now that he had been played by this man named Anderson, he truly was a fool.

Fudge was certain that Anderson had known about Wormtail's survival from the very beginning. Everything that had transpired was orchestrated by him, and Fudge had fallen right into his trap, acting out the part of a puppet and even promising to give him the bounty for Black's capture.

Until now, Sirius Black's bounty was still active, and with this capture, the bounty had been fulfilled. Even if the Ministry wanted to go back on their word, it was too late.

Fudge didn't dare to do that either. Once he did, who knew what would happen?

"Let's leave it at that for Black."

Fudge absently ran his fingers through his hair as he walked to the fireplace and said to Dumbledore, "The Ministry may summon Black at any time to cooperate with further investigations."

With that, the Aurors carrying Pettigrew stepped into the green flames and disappeared from the Headmaster's office.

"Mr. Anderson, you've successfully saved an innocent life." Dumbledore said gently.

"You're welcome. It was just a transaction, a service provided for a fee, nothing more." Albert looked up at the portrait of Phineas and said, "When Black wakes up, remember to have him transfer five thousand galleons to my vault at Gringotts."

"Five thousand galleons?!" Hagrid stared at Albert, his mouth agape.

"Mr. Phineas offered five thousand galleons to have me capture Pettigrew and clear Black's name." Albert explained.

"I'll convince him." Phineas's expression was complicated.

"No one can welch on my galleons." Albert said calmly.

"When did you start suspecting Peter's identity?" Dumbledore asked, as if he hadn't heard Albert's conversation with Phineas.

"A long time ago, I suspected that the rat called Scabbers, which used to be Percy's pet and later became Ron's, was unusual. A rat living for more than five or six years is very abnormal. Later, I accidentally saw the name 'Peter Pettigrew' on the map using the Human-Presence-Revealing Charm. Then, when Hermione's cat kept chasing after Ron's Scabbers, I began to suspect that he might be Pettigrew in disguise. Well, don't look at me like that. If I hadn't suspected that Pettigrew was still alive, I would have captured Black and claimed the bounty long ago." Albert shrugged.

"However, you've really offended the Ministry this time. I dare say they definitely won't give you the bounty for Black." Phineas reminded him with a hint of schadenfreude. "Fudge looks like he wants to tear you to pieces."

"It doesn't matter. Fudge will be ousted by the people soon enough." Albert said nonchalantly, "And the next one is a short-timer who will die in a few years."

"As for the bounty, it's not Fudge's money anyway. The Ministry will have to pay up eventually." Albert said indifferently, "No one can welch on my galleons, not even the Ministry. By the way, Hagrid, before you take Black to the hospital wing, give him this."

After Hagrid left with Black on his shoulder, Albert turned to Dumbledore and said, "Could you please give this letter to Fudge?"

"Is it about the bounty?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and asked.

"No." Albert smiled, "It's a fair transaction. He won't lose out."

"What do you mean 'ousted'?" Dumbledore took the letter from Albert and asked.

"I'm not sure, but Fudge will be forced out of his position in a few years, and his successor will be Scrimgeour. However, that guy is a short-timer too; he'll die soon after taking office." Albert thought for a moment and added, "If Scrimgeour wants to know how he dies, he can come to me for a prophecy, for a thousand galleons."

"You'll certainly become an excellent businessman." Dumbledore sigated.

"No, it's just a transaction. I provide a prophecy for him, and he pays in galleons." Albert shrugged, "Just like I tell you the outcome of the prophecy, and you deliver the letter for me."

"That's reasonable." Dumbledore nodded and walked towards the fireplace, disappearing into the blazing flames.

Ministry of Magic, Minister's Office.

Fudge looked at Dumbledore, who had just entered his office, and asked through gritted teeth, "What brings you here?"

"A letter from Mr. Anderson. He said he wants to make a deal with you." Dumbledore placed the letter Albert had given him on Fudge's desk.

"A letter?"

Hearing Dumbledore mention Albert's name, Fudge's expression darkened further, but he still opened the letter and quickly scanned its contents. His expression turned dull as he read; he had just returned from Hogwarts, and Fudge was certain that Albert hadn't had time to write this letter.

In other words, the letter had been prepared beforehand, and the sender had anticipated that the Ministry had no intention of paying the bounty.

"Is... is he really a Seer?" Fudge asked, his expression uncertain as he watched the letter burn to ashes in the fireplace.

"It's said that Mr. Anderson can peer into the future through a crystal ball, which is how he easily captured Black." Dumbledore said.

"I agree."

Fudge squeezed out a few words before slumping back into his armchair, all the energy seemingly drained from him. After reading the letter, Fudge felt like a fool, manipulated and played by the other party, but he knew he had no choice and couldn't refuse Albert's proposal.

The frustration of it all made him want to hit something.

(End of Chapter)

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