Hogwarts: Not Even Voldemort Can Stop My Learning

Professor McGonagall must have used Apparition to find the Weasleys, as they arrived very quickly.

Wade stood by the window, watching them brave the heavy rain and muddy grounds to enter the castle.

Filch is probably going to throw a fit again.

Wade suddenly thought.

These past few days, whenever students went outside, they'd track mud into the school, making everything dirty.

Filch absolutely detested this, as he was always the one who had to clean up (House-elves only cleaned the castle at night).

Under Filch's shouts and threats of detention, far fewer students ran out into the rain.

A short while later, another group approached across the lawn, led by Hagrid. They held their wands aloft, as if holding an invisible umbrella, deflecting all the rain.

"Wade…" Ron stammered, "Do you know, they said Scabbers… Peter was the Secret-Keeper. What's going on?"

"Peter faked his death eleven years ago, and Sirius Black was imprisoned," Wade said. "During that time, a major event that the entire wizarding world knew about also occurred…"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named failed… Harry's parents died…" Ron mumbled. "So… the betrayal they're talking about is…"

"You two, come in," Lupin said, opening the door. "The interrogation is over, and the Ministry of Magic will be here soon."

Wade and Ron entered, seeing Peter Pettigrew securely tied to a chair, looking somewhat dazed.

Clearly, he had been given Veritaserum again.

Snape stared intently at Peter Pettigrew, his gaze as cold as a venomous snake, filled with deep-seated hatred.

Ron only glanced once before quickly looking away.

When they entered, Snape turned his gaze to Lupin, his expression still full of disgust.

Wade sighed inwardly.

The grievances and animosities of over a decade or two in the original story could not be fully captured in a few brief sentences. Regarding the rights and wrongs of that year, Wade was not a direct participant, so he could only guess and could not make a judgment.

When catching Peter Pettigrew, Wade had considered whether to enlist Snape's help, but ultimately decided against it.

The reason was simple.

Given Snape's hatred for the Marauders, if he had caught the true betrayer, Peter Pettigrew, he would have simply sent him to his death with an Avada Kedavra, making it impossible to clear Sirius's name from Azkaban.

Clear an enemy's name? What a joke!

In his opinion, Sirius deserved his fate. He even wished he could send Lupin to Azkaban too, so they could be reunited there and live happily ever after with the Dementors until they died.

Led by Professor McGonagall, the Weasleys and several Ministry of Magic officials entered the Headmaster's office one after another.

Leading the way was a short, stout middle-aged man with messy gray hair. He wore a dark green coat and purple pointed boots, his face a mix of anxiety and seriousness.

"That's Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic," Ron whispered to Wade. "I've seen him before."

Ron and Wade weren't in the same house, so they had previously only been nodding acquaintances.

But now, with many adults present, he seemed to subconsciously believe that the only two Young Wizards were part of the same group, and he appeared much closer to Wade than usual.

"His fashion sense is a bit peculiar."

Wade didn't push him away, whispering back.

Complaining about his father's boss together made Ron feel like they were on the same side. He saw an Auror glance their way, so he self-consciously closed his mouth and moved closer to Wade.

"Ronnie!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly rushed over, hugging her son tightly, then pulling him back to look him over.

"I never imagined… I never imagined the stray rat we took in was an Animagus… Did he do anything to you?"

Her enthusiasm made Ron feel a bit awkward. He struggled to break free from his mother's embrace, loudly saying, "No, Mom, I'm fine!"

"Good evening, Cornelius, Arthur, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I imagine Minerva has already told you what happened."

"Yes… I've heard it all…"

Fudge did not approach Peter; he stood at a distance, looking at him, and frowned at the dusty man.

"Unbelievable… Truly unbelievable…" Fudge shook his head. "Peter is actually alive! I once felt great sorrow over his death… And he's alive! Yet, he wasn't there when his mother passed away…"

"He's Scabbers?" Arthur Weasley looked pale, appearing to be in disbelief. "Did he say anything? Why was he hiding in our house… What did he want?"

"Rest assured, Arthur," Dumbledore said. "Peter only wanted to gain some information about the wizarding world from your family; he didn't do anything to harm the children."

The Weasleys felt a little relieved then.

An Auror stepped forward, examined Peter Pettigrew, confirmed he wasn't someone disguised through magic, and nodded to Fudge.

"Then I'll take this man with me, Dumbledore," Fudge said. "And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and also young Mr. Weasley, I believe you'll need to provide some information about Peter Pettigrew."

"Of course, Minister," Arthur Weasley readily agreed, waving his hand to signal Ron to come to his side.

Fudge noticed Wade standing nearby and asked, "This child is…"

"This is Wade Gray, a Ravenclaw student. He caught Peter Pettigrew when he was in his rat form," Professor McGonagall introduced.

"Oh?" Fudge's gaze sharpened slightly. "Why were you catching a rat?"

"I asked him to," Lupin said. "Peter and I were once friends, and I'm very familiar with his Animagus form."

"If you'd like to know more about the capture process, I'd be happy to provide the details," Wade said politely.

That's why he had stayed.

"Oh, oh, we can discuss that later." Fudge didn't seem very interested. He stared at Lupin and asked, "You're not an illegal Animagus yourself, are you?"

Snape suddenly let out a cold laugh.

Lupin's face twitched slightly, and he mumbled, "No… I am not."

Dumbledore nodded. "I can vouch for that."

Snape's expression immediately turned grim, and he glared fiercely at Lupin.

"Alright, if you say so…" Fudge twirled his wand, then asked, "Why is Peter in this condition? He looks like he's been through some… well… rather unorthodox interrogation…"

"Given the severity of this incident, we had no choice but to administer Veritaserum to get the truth from him."

Dumbledore took the blame for Lupin as well, saying, "Peter confessed that he was the true Secret-Keeper for the Potter family, and that he was the one who revealed James and Lily's address to Voldemort…"

Fudge suddenly shivered.

Dumbledore seemed to ignore his fear and continued calmly, "After Voldemort disappeared, Peter became a true pariah. He framed Sirius, used a Spell to kill a dozen Muggles in broad daylight, and faked his own death to escape…"

"Hmm, we'll investigate this matter thoroughly," Fudge said smoothly. "The Ministry of Magic also has its responsibilities; we can't just… believe everything you say, right?"

"After all, you yourself once assured the Ministry that Sirius was the Secret-Keeper for the Potter couple…" he added. "Now, to suddenly overturn that… the public might not accept it. We need… well, more substantial evidence."

Wade could tell that Fudge wasn't saying this because he doubted Dumbledore's words, but simply because he didn't want to appear like the Headmaster's puppet.

However, a re-investigation by the Ministry of Magic was also appropriate, and Dumbledore naturally wouldn't object.

"Minister, if you just ask Peter, you'll know Sirius is innocent…" Lupin couldn't help but interject.

"Hmph!" Snape suddenly sneered:

"I can also vouch that Sirius Black showed homicidal tendencies when he was sixteen! He once tried to kill me! This person might have joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named along with Peter Pettigrew, and the later conflict was just infighting among accomplices…"

He gave Lupin a harsh glare, but because Dumbledore was nearby, he didn't expose Lupin's status as a Werewolf.

"Severus!" Lupin said angrily, "Imprisoning an innocent person in Azkaban is not an act of justice!"

"Innocent?" A mocking smile played on Snape's lips. "Sirius Black is far from innocent…"

"Alright, alright, gentlemen." Fudge played peacemaker. "There's no need to argue. I assure you, the Ministry of Magic will conduct a detailed and thorough investigation. We will not wrong any good person, nor will we let any evildoer escape…"

His demeanor caused both of them to quiet down.

"Thank you, Minister," Snape's voice was like the hiss of a snake's tongue. "I will await the results of the trial…"

It was as if he was saying—if the Ministry of Magic couldn't give Peter and Sirius enough punishment, he would send them both to hell.

"Severus…"

Dumbledore sighed.

Snape didn't respond. He pulled open the door and strode out of the Headmaster's office.

Fudge then also bid his farewells. They left with Peter Pettigrew, the Weasley couple, and Lupin. Only two Aurors remained to take statements from Wade and Ron.

With Lupin now nominally in charge, Wade's responsibilities as a "tool" were very limited, and his involvement seemed less significant.

He briefly recounted how he had caught the rat and his relationship with Lupin, and the female Auror then indicated that he was free to leave.

Presumably, in their eyes, a second-year student wouldn't know anything.

Ron's questioning took much longer.

Standing in the corridor, Wade used the light from the window to examine his palm.

In his hand was a very small rectangular piece of parchment, and a tiny dot was slowly moving across it.

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