Wormtail is a Gryffindor, How Could He Lack Courage?

"This is impossible."

Dumbledore immediately doubted the truth of the matter.

As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore had witnessed Peter Pettigrew's behavior. When Pettigrew was at school, he only knew how to follow Potter and his friends.

From any perspective...

Peter Pettigrew lacked the qualifications to become the Dark Lord.

Even if James Potter, Sirius Black, or Severus Snape wanted to become the Dark Lord, it would be more plausible than Peter Pettigrew becoming the Dark Lord...

Peter Pettigrew...

Could at best be considered a passable Wizard.

"I know it's hard for you to believe."

Snape took a deep breath, looked at Dumbledore, and said in a deep voice, "But I saw him with my own eyes, and he even smugly told me just now!"

"Everything in the past is proceeding according to his plan. Pettigrew is the true traitor who betrayed Lily and the others back then. It's all his scheme!"

Snape laid out the information he had obtained concisely: "Because Sirius, that idiot, thought Pettigrew was useless and wouldn't attract Voldemort's attention, he let Pettigrew become the Secret-Keeper of the safe house..."

"..."

Dumbledore's brow furrowed slowly.

This matter could indeed be true.

Because after Voldemort and the Potters died, Sirius went madly after Peter Pettigrew. This reason made sense.

Snape leaned against the wall somewhat powerlessly, closed his eyes, and said, "Pettigrew knew in advance that Lily had learned the charm that could sacrifice herself to counter Voldemort. He told Voldemort the secret of the safe house, leading to their mutual destruction..."

Snape suppressed his pain and anger, and continued in a deep voice, "That despicable bastard... stole Voldemort's knowledge, and now his wandless magic is more proficient than anyone I've ever seen!

To hide himself, he used Black, that idiot, to create the explosion eight years ago and fake his death to escape. Only now that he has gained enough power has he emerged..."

"And he's no longer afraid of being discovered."

"Because he's no longer afraid of your power."

"He's even arranged for what comes next."

"Dumbledore, he's arranged everything."

Snape slowly opened his eyes, looked at Dumbledore, and continued in a deep voice, "That guy told me that the reason Voldemort can live forever is because Voldemort created Horcruxes in advance!"

"...Horcruxes."

Dumbledore's eyes widened involuntarily.

The appearance of this term made everything make sense.

The reason Voldemort didn't die and would eventually return was precisely because he had Horcruxes to preserve his soul, infinitely approaching immortality...

If Voldemort's Horcruxes were not dealt with, it meant that the Wizarding World could never resolve the threat of Voldemort's return.

Indeed.

Pettigrew's design was exquisite.

Even Dumbledore couldn't find a way to break it.

If time was wasted now pursuing Peter Pettigrew, there would be no time to find the Horcruxes, and Voldemort could revive and return at any moment, ultimately leading to a catastrophe for the Wizarding World.

But...

It wasn't entirely foolproof.

Because Dumbledore had a guess.

"If they are indeed Horcruxes..."

Dumbledore fell into thought and continued in a deep voice, "I think I already know the reason. I will find a way to resolve this as soon as possible. As long as I find a clue, I might be able to find it soon..."

"Do you already have a clue?"

Snape felt a slight relief in his heart and asked with some unease, "Voldemort created six Horcruxes, and there's one secret Horcrux that you must know. Seven Horcruxes in total. Is it true that dealing with each Horcrux could be dangerous?"

"Wait... seven?"

Upon hearing the number, Dumbledore suddenly looked at Snape!

Was this a joke?

Generally speaking, creating even one Horcrux was very dangerous. Voldemort actually had seven Horcruxes!

Even excluding the so-called secret Horcrux, there were six completely unknown Horcruxes!

When would he be able to find them all!

And...

Destroying a Horcrux was no simple matter!

"So you're saying..."

Snape's expression gradually turned grim, and he said in a low voice, "You don't know... how many Horcruxes Voldemort created?"

"...Theoretically, creating Horcruxes is extremely dangerous."

Dumbledore, the white-bearded old man, began to explain the trouble with creating Horcruxes: "Every time Voldemort creates a Horcrux, he must split his soul into fragments. Generally, no one dares to split their soul into so many pieces."

"But..."

Snape clenched his fists tightly and slammed them against the wall: "He's a madman! We all know he's a madman!"

A madman like Voldemort!

He would definitely create Horcruxes without restraint!

The number Peter Pettigrew gave was correct. The murderer who had been pretending to be a coward had indeed prepared to use Dumbledore in advance!

"Calm down, Severus."

Dumbledore soothed Snape's emotions, raised his hand, and cast a spell to heal the wound on Snape's fist before continuing: "Perhaps everything is not that bad yet. What Peter Pettigrew said may not be true. We need to investigate first."

"How do we investigate?"

"Azkaban."

Dumbledore uttered a place that struck fear into the hearts of every Wizard. The old man said calmly: "Perhaps there is an innocent person serving their sentence there. We just need to ask him, and we will know if it was Peter who betrayed the Potter family back then..."

Yes.

There was another person involved in Azkaban.

Sirius Black, rumored to be a Death Eater, used magic to cause a shocking explosion, murdering Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggle humans.

Since many people knew that Sirius Black was the Secret-Keeper for the Potter family's safe house, they believed that Black had defected to Voldemort and leaked the secret, leading to the Potters' demise.

Moreover, the one who conducted the trials for the Death Eaters back then was old Barty Crouch. This guy directly threw Death Eaters into Azkaban prison without going through normal trial procedures.

Sirius Black had also not undergone a trial.

Even Sirius himself didn't seem to care; he was still at the scene of the explosion when he was captured.

Ever since Sirius Black was imprisoned in Azkaban, no one had heard any news of him.

"Let's go after Pettigrew first!"

After explaining to Dumbledore, Severus Snape immediately remembered why he had led Dumbledore to the first floor: "Perhaps we can catch Pettigrew right now!"

Unfortunately.

It was too late after all.

Hogwarts experienced a heavy snowfall that night.

From the entrance of Hogwarts Castle all the way to the school gate, a line of footprints in the snow, leading outwards, was clearly visible. Peter Pettigrew had already left Hogwarts.

"I'll go to Azkaban."

Dumbledore patted Snape's shoulder, continuing to comfort the Potions Class Professor: "Don't worry, it's not too late for us. First, let's clarify the truth of the past..."

"It must be him!"

Snape slowly squatted down, looking at the footprints in the snow, and gritted his teeth: "How could someone who ran around with that arrogant bunch of James Potter's always have been a coward? He was pretending all along..."

While saying this, Snape even found another piece of evidence: "Peter Pettigrew... is a Gryffindor!"

Coincidentally.

Gryffindor is the house that lacks courage the least.

Dumbledore felt a bit at a loss for words.

Normally, wouldn't the kind of person who schemes behind the scenes be a student from Slytherin?

Well.

The Sorting Hat might indeed have some issues.

Because the Sorting Hat had assigned a new student, who was capable of pulling the Gryffindor Sword, to Hufflepuff House today.

Continuing to ask for recommendation votes!!!!

Reasonable and convincing.