"It's rare that you managed not to kill him." Matthew walked over.
Sirius had only recently escaped from prison, and his mental state was far from stable.
Sirius looked at the rat in his hand with a complicated expression. "During the chase, I calmed down. If I kill him now, I won't be able to clear my name."
"Although being locked up in Azkaban was what I deserved... after seeing Harry... I want to stay by his side... watch him grow up..."
Sirius rambled on.
"He's a lot like James... and he inherited James's talent for Quidditch... but his eyes look like Lily's..."
"He's very brave... He probably thought I had come to kill him... but even so... he still dared to rush forward to stop me... and let his companions escape first..."
"Those companions of his are brave too... that little girl saw me, a criminal who escaped from Azkaban... and still dared to cast a spell at me..."
"Just like... just like we were back then..."
As he spoke, his face gradually twisted into a savage expression. "Isn't that right, Wormtail? You've been staying by Harry's side all this time, haven't you?"
"Stop pretending. I know you're awake!" The hand gripping the rat tightened slightly. Pain forced the rat to abandon its act, and it began struggling.
Before long, the rat's body began to swell, transforming into a short man with dull, messy hair and a somewhat balding head.
He suddenly scrambled to his feet, trying to flee, only to find something tangled around his legs. Looking down, he saw that vines had already bound them.
Peter Pettigrew could only hunch his shoulders and force a fawning smile. "Sirius... my old friend..."
"You've got the nerve to say that? Do you know how I survived those eleven years?"