Hogwarts: Not Even Voldemort Can Stop My Learning

The sky darkened earlier and earlier as October set in. The study was unlit by candles, and even with light filtering in from the window, it remained quite dim.

Wade sat in a chair, pushing off the floor with his feet, tilting the entire chair back at a precarious angle.

As he swayed gently in the chair, he listened to the conversation in the study.

"I was scared… The Dark Lord is so powerful, and the Death Eaters are killing people everywhere. What good would it do to oppose them? James even provoked the Dark Lord several times, making him focus all his hatred on us…"

Peter Pettigrew spoke in a somewhat dazed voice:

"Dumbledore was clearly the one he feared most, but… but they kept hunting us… He has magic we can't even imagine, and he was personally hunting us…"

"The McKinnon couple died… The Prewett brothers died… The Bones family also died…"

"Opposing him… what good is there, other than death…?"

"I thought… even if I betrayed them, Dumbledore wouldn't kill me. James… James would forgive me. He knows I've always been timid… At worst, I'd be locked up in Azkaban, which is better than dying…"

"So, you betrayed them, did you? Betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and James Potter?" Someone asked excitedly, "And then? What happened between you and Sirius?"

After a pause, Peter continued:

"The Dark Lord was hunting James and Lily… He was personally hunting them, and I was terrified…"

"Dumbledore suggested they hide using the Fidelius Charm, with him as the Secret-Keeper. But… James refused. He wanted Sirius to be the Secret-Keeper…"

"Then… then at the last moment, Sirius made a foolish suggestion…"

Peter chuckled, even in his dazed state, he seemed to be relishing the immense surprise and secret mockery of that moment.

"He suggested I be the Secret-Keeper… He would attract the Dark Lord's attention, and I… I'm just a timid rat, I could easily hide… No one would care about me… No one could find me…"

"But he didn't know… I had already joined the Dark Lord a year earlier… They suspected Remus was the one feeding information to the Death Eaters, but they never suspected me…"

The swaying chair suddenly stopped.

Wade watched Lupin emerge from the living room, saw him bury his face in his hands, and only after a long moment did he look up, his eyes still holding deep pain.

"Time proves everything," Wade said softly. "Their not trusting you was absolutely wrong."

Lupin shook his head. "I won't blame James and Sirius for that. At that time… almost all werewolves were Voldemort's soldiers. Their suspicion of me… wasn't without reason…"

"But even so, James and Lily never turned me away…"

"And… and for the past ten years or so, I haven't trusted Sirius either…"

He slumped down beside Wade, no longer hiding his pain and regret.

"Not listening anymore?" Wade asked, looking at the bookshelf in front of them.

Lupin shook his head. "If I stayed in the living room, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself from killing him."

In the living room, Peter Pettigrew recounted how, after the Potter couple's deaths, Sirius found him…

How he had shouted that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily, used an Explosion Charm to kill a dozen people, and then, enduring the pain, cut off one of his own fingers, pretending he had also been killed by Sirius…

He spoke with great pride.

And then, his hiding in the Weasley Family home… for eleven years…

Life as a rat was difficult, but he had no choice.

He couldn't return to the side of light; his lies would be exposed as soon as he showed his face.

Nor could he return to the Death Eaters, because they all considered him a traitor. Because his information had caused the Dark Lord's demise, the Death Eaters wanted him to pay…

His only hope was to wait for the Dark Lord's return… because only the Dark Lord knew he hadn't betrayed him…

Lupin listened silently, his teeth grinding.

The people in the living room were not satisfied; they pressed him with questions, eager to dig up more secrets. Peter Pettigrew answered every question, revealing everything without reservation.

Everyone could tell he had certainly been given Veritaserum.

But what did that matter?

They didn't care at all; they only wanted a sensational scoop that would shock the world.

When the conversation began to lose substance and delve into privacy, Marchioni also came out of the living room, and Lupin went in to monitor, to prevent Peter Pettigrew from breaking free.

"Thank you, Mr. Marchioni," Wade said, standing up. "If not for your help, I wouldn't know where to find so many suitable reporters."

The people questioning Peter Pettigrew in the living room were reporters from five or six countries, including Britain, each one equivalent to a Rita Skeeter.

As long as the news was sensational enough, as long as newspapers sold, they could completely disregard morals, and even less so governments—especially governments of other countries.

"They should be thanking you for getting such high-quality news," Marchioni said with a smile. He sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, drank it in one gulp, and then said,

"Sales of the Softlight Badge have completely surpassed the Book of Friends. Witches are practically going crazy to buy them. Some buy a dozen at a time, even though we've emphasized that they're only valid for one month."

Wade's gaze rested on Marchioni's collar, where a Softlight Badge was also pinned.

"Yes, I use it too," Marchioni said with a smile, fiddling with the badge on his collar.

"A good image makes most things go smoother. That's why our second largest customer group is men over middle age."

"Practically everyone I do business with is a client of mine, and the Softlight Badge is always the first thing we discuss, even before the weather."

He had reaped enormous benefits from the Book of Friends and the badges, so even without knowing why, he was dedicated to fulfilling Wade's requests without any reservations.

"Wade, have you been working on anything new lately?"

Marchioni leaned closer to Wade, lowering his voice as he asked, "Even if it's just a small trinket you don't think much of, I can still sell it for a good price... no matter what it is!"

Wade thought for a moment, then said, "I do have a new creation recently, but the technology isn't quite mature yet, and the cost will be relatively high."

Marchioni's eyes lit up. He asked, "Do you have a finished product? It doesn't matter if the technology isn't mature; we can make money every time we improve it!"

His fervent obsession with money seemed to burn so brightly that Wade instinctively recoiled slightly.

"Next week," Wade said. "Let's meet here next week."

"Great," Marchioni said excitedly. "It's a deal then!"

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