Family or Justice?

At 1:30 p. m., the atmosphere in Professor McGonagall's study on the second floor of Hogwarts was extremely tense.

"Is this the evil tendency of that brat Dudley Dursley in the previous report? Harry, you don't know?" Sirius looked at Harry with a skeptical look, and said this after being awakened by Harry and the others' words and reading the whole report.

"No! I like girls!" Harry blushed. Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, knew she should leave and give them some space, but now she suddenly felt reluctant to do so.

After all, having plenty of gossip to enjoy is a good thing.

"Which girl is it? Tell me, I was very popular when I was young, I can help you choose." Sirius had a gossipy look on his face. He looked like an old father preparing to meet his daughter-in-law, his kind face giving his somewhat pale skin a rosy glow.

"Not yet." Harry racked his brains, only to realize that he hadn't paid any attention to the women at all. Could it be that he really wasn't—no way!

Ron puffed out his chest confidently. He had a good impression of Hermione Granger, but how long had it been since he had paid attention to Hermione? He suddenly realized with horror that since becoming friends with Harry, his life consisted only of eating, drinking, having fun, and Harry!

Could it be that he really...? Ron tucked his chest in, revealing a skeptical expression.

Of the trio, Draco is the most confident. He is the most mature, he has romantic feelings for Pansy, and he is straight!

Sirius's kind expression vanished. He wasn't blind; he noticed that his godson Harry and Ron Weasley family both looked doubtful. Thankfully, the Malfoy family kids were fairly normal, and he could barely accept Potter and the Weasley. But if it were the Malfoy, it would be a nightmare!

"We're still kids!" Harry suddenly realized, noticing that Sirius's expression was getting increasingly strange.

"A kid? Well, that's barely acceptable." Sirius smacked his lips. "So, all the news about Rita Skeeter is made up? It sounds pretty plausible to me."

Then, Sirius glanced casually at the report that Professor McGonagall had advised him against reading, "I take back what I said earlier! Rita Skeeter is a complete fabricator!"

"Snape wrote to say he was a hero, all for Peter Pettigrew's elderly mother. Peter Pettigrew had no choice but to betray her. The arrogant James Potter suspected his friend Sirius, thinking that he was very unreliable because of his background." Sirius read the report through gritted teeth.

This was a rare occurrence for him, as he hated reading things aloud during class.

"Damn Snape! —'Anonymous enthusiastic reader,' tsk tsk, I can smell that greasy hair!"

"I had no choice! I have a mother too! How could I not be afraid? This is for James!"

"He's just a sycophantic coward! He sneaks around people who are much more powerful and influential than himself! He's always liked friends who are stronger than him so they can take care of him, disgusting rat! It used to be us, Lupin and I, and James, and then it changed to You-Know-Who!"

"James didn't distrust me! It was my suggestion to make the substitution! It was me! I'm such an idiot!" Sirius said regretfully.

"Sirius, why did you choose Peter? He has a clear weakness—his mother," Professor McGonagall interjected.

"He's a member of the Order of the Phoenix! Isn't it normal for him to sacrifice himself for justice? I'm always ready to die!" Sirius said impatiently.

"No! Family is important too! My mother didn't join the Order of the Phoenix because of us!" Ron suddenly stood up. To be honest, he saw himself in Peter Pettigrew. He didn't have a God perspective and didn't know that in the original timeline, Peter Pettigrew's original words were: [Sirius, Sirius, what could I do? That Dark Lord ...you don't know...you can't imagine his weapons...I was scared, Sirius. I've never been as brave as you, Lupin, or James. I never did it on purpose...that person who can't even be named forced me...] This meant that he had surrendered before Voldemort even threatened him with his mother.

Ron felt that Peter Pettigrew was like him, willing to die for his friends, but if it involved family, he might betray them. However, after betraying them, he would be different from Peter Pettigrew; he would choose to die with Harry.

Unlike Peter Pettigrew, who ran away and was eventually killed by Sirius.

"You're still a child!"

"If we're talking about sacrifice, my brother Regulus died, perhaps because of me. My foolish brother, too weak-willed, a stupid idiot—he joined the Death Eaters. He wasn't killed by the Auror, he was killed by Voldemort. Or, more likely, he was killed at Voldemort's behest."

"I know him. He doesn't dare do bad things, but he's already deeply involved, and then he gets scared of what others want him to do and wants to quit. Well, you can't just hand Voldemort a resignation letter and call it a day. It's either life or death." Sirius looked at Ron in surprise. He had thought Ron was just Harry's sidekick, but he hadn't expected him to be so courageous.

Then he spoke casually about his brother's death.

"You're crazy, he's your brother," Ron said indignantly.

"It was his choice. I tried to persuade him to come to us, but before Voldemort revealed his true colors, many people believed that he was right about some things, including my parents and Regulus."

"They all agree on maintaining the purity of the wizarding bloodline, getting rid of Muggle-born people, and letting Pure-blood hold power."

"But in the end they all regretted it. When they discovered that Voldemort would stop at nothing to gain power, they all became cowardly and retreated."

"I think my parents must have thought Regulus was a brave little hero—he joined the Death Eaters right after graduation," Sirius added sarcastically at the end.

"Regulus, could your brother be trying to protect your family?" Harry suddenly interjected. He always tended to think the best of people; Quirrell was like that, and so was Regulus.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure Regulus is a good kid, and what you said is possible."

"But Wormtail, that is, Peter, he wasn't a good guy. Harry, you may criticize my attitude towards the Slytherin, but back then Slytherin had a bad reputation, and almost no one would willingly join them—except for Death Eaters trainees. I often caused them trouble back then, James for your mother, Lupin for us, but Pettigrew seemed to enjoy it—from bullying those weaker than him," Sirius said seriously.

Thank you Taishi Yumi Xu, for the monthly pass! This is the fourth time this month. I'm truly grateful; words cannot express my gratitude.

I also remember the subscriptions and recommendations from other classmates. Thank you.