"Squeak, squeak?"
Peter Pettigrew thrashed about in panic, letting out a jumble of squeaks. Every movement he made resembled that of a real rat, even though he was now in human form.
Pretend. I have to keep pretending. Dumbledore came personally—I absolutely can't...
"It wasn't Sirius who betrayed James and Lily. It was you, Peter Pettigrew."
Dumbledore's voice rang out like a judgment delivered in court.
Yet Peter Pettigrew remained unmoved. His eyes darted wildly as he looked toward Ron, even twisting his body as though trying to crawl closer to him.
"W-What exactly is going on!?"
Arthur was the first to recover. He immediately pulled Molly close and led the children far away, staring fixedly at Peter Pettigrew's face, his voice trembling.
A man who had clearly died had now reappeared before them—and he had lived with them for more than a decade as a pet rat!?
Arthur was so shocked that his mind went numb. Molly struggled to steady herself, while Ron and Percy, Scabbers's former owners, had both gone pale with fright.
Dumbledore pointed once more. Invisible magic seemed to form ropes around Peter Pettigrew, binding him even tighter and leaving him no possibility of resistance.
"I used certain means to uncover what happened in the past.
"When James cast the Fidelius Charm, I offered to serve as Secret Keeper. But he refused. He trusted his friend, Sirius.
"Yet in the public eye, Sirius ultimately betrayed James and Lily. As a member of a pure-blood family, he became Voldemort's servant.
"And you, Peter Pettigrew, dueled the traitor Sirius in order to protect James and Lily, and in the end, only half a finger was left behind.
"If all of that were true, Peter Pettigrew should have been a hero—a martyr awarded a First Class Order of Merlin.