Brian failed to spot Ron, Hermione, or the twins in the corridor. By the time he gave the password and the Moving Staircase opened, Hagrid's voice was already carrying over from far away.
"Professor Dumbledore, we have to leave as soon as possible-right now!" Overcome with emotion, Hagrid sneezed loudly. "Black, he-ten years-he's now-"
"Rubeus, calm down."
Dumbledore's voice remained calm. Although he did not speak loudly, he still cut off the rest of Hagrid's words and drowned out the strange noises coming from the oversized envelope on the desk.
"All we can do now is trust Black, organize the evidence as quickly as possible, and set off without delay. I'll leave transporting Peter to you."
Brian pushed open the door and entered. The beetle clinging to his robes suddenly flew onto the doorframe.
Harry was gone from the office, but Snape was now there.
A vial of Veritaserum sat beside Snape's hand. His face livid, he stared fixedly at Peter Pettigrew, who lay sprawled on the floor. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, veins bulging on his thin hands. If looks could kill, he definitely intended to cut Peter into a thousand pieces with his eyes.
Peter Pettigrew was like a rat under a venomous snake's gaze, cringing into a ball. His glossy hair had all become like withered vegetation. He kept his eyes tightly shut, as though doing so could give him a clear conscience. It only made him look even more like an eternally cowardly clown who had done something wrong and refused to admit it.
Brian had grown somewhat accustomed to Peter's cowardly appearance, but he did not quite understand Snape's reaction. As he remembered it, during Snape's school years, the hostility between Gryffindor House and Slytherin House students had been far more intense than it was