Peter's Secret

The little mouse, missing a finger, scurried desperately through the Forbidden Forest.

Unfortunately, it didn't get very far before a strong gust of wind blew over its head...

Peter Pettigrew was forcefully transformed back to his human form, and the wand in his hand was knocked several yards away.

A tall and thin old man appeared before Peter.

"Dumbledore..." Peter stammered, trembling.

"Good evening, Pettigrew!" Albus Dumbledore's voice remained calm, as if he were still speaking to his students from ten years ago.

"Just ten minutes ago, I heard a very intriguing story!" Dumbledore said with a smile. "This story tells me that the secret keeper who betrayed James Potter was not Black, but you?"

"I... I..." Peter stammered, trying to sound brave. "I didn't betray James!"

"Oh?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "So you mean, you're not the secret keeper for James Potter?"

"No... I am the secret keeper for James, and I revealed his location to Black... and to the Dark Lord..." Peter trembled, "But I swear, I didn't betray James!"

If Black were here and heard such a ludicrous argument, he would probably unleash a spell that would shatter Peter to pieces in his anger.

But Dumbledore wouldn't do that. "Is that so? It seems I'm about to hear a new story!"

"James trusted me. We made an unbreakable vow..." Peter's voice grew soft and low. "There are things I swore never to reveal... Especially to Lupin and Black!"

"Just twelve years ago, James and his wife discovered an ancient spell..." Peter's voice unconsciously grew calmer. "If a wizard is willing to sacrifice his life for another, he can cast a protection spell that reflects dark curses..."

"But the spell is not powerful, quite weak in fact... for a dark wizard like the Dark Lord, it wouldn't do much!" Peter's voice suddenly grew intense. "But then there was Trelawney's prophecy... the boy born at the end of July... his parents survived the Dark Lord's attacks three times... possesses a power the Dark Lord knows not... and one must die at the hand of the other..."

"With the weight of this prophecy, that ancient spell would gain terrifying strength!" Peter almost roared the words out. "This was James's plan, the method he devised to defeat Voldemort!"

He exerted much energy before finally uttering the name "Voldemort."

Dumbledore furrowed his brow.

"James was always incredibly brave..." Peter's tone softened again. "He thought of this plan, using Harry as the instrument... so he came to me, the only person who could help him. I was his only friend skilled in Occlumency; the foolish Black couldn't keep such a secret, and the unreliable Lupin was utterly untrustworthy!"

"We set the plan in motion..." Peter's voice began to tremble. "I allowed myself to be captured by the Death Eaters. As an Animagus, a rat, Professor Dumbledore, you know I'm adept at escaping... If I hadn't played an active role, the Death Eaters wouldn't have caught me!"

"I sought refuge with the Dark Lord, becoming a Death Eater... I betrayed the McKinnons and Edgar Bones, earning the complete trust of the Dark Lord!" Peter sighed. "Finally, James suggested to Black that he replace me as the secret keeper... Foolish Black naturally agreed, having no understanding of our true plan!"

"Before James, I wrote down the secret location for the Dark Lord!" Peter continued. "Then, at that final moment, James revealed our secrets and plans to his wife and entrusted me with casting the spell that would protect her, taking her away, hiding her!"

Peter's voice grew angry. "But Evans, that woman, ruined everything!"

"Evans, that fool, that tramp... She was with Snape, and then she got involved with James... She broke my spell, knocked me unconscious, and went back to find her husband... By the time I woke up, everything was over... She was dead, killed by the Dark Lord!"

Peter fell to his knees and said desperately, "Though our plan succeeded and the Dark Lord was defeated by the ancient spell, she died... She was the only one who could prove my innocence!"

"So far, it's a story with no loopholes!" Dumbledore said calmly. "What comes next, Pettigrew?"

Peter covered his mouth, trying to prevent himself from speaking, but he forced his hand away.

"There is another secret, Professor Dumbledore!" he stammered. "James made a grave mistake in his youth. Evans, Black, and Lupin were unaware of it, only I knew... It's also our last hope!"

"Black knows that I'm the true secret keeper; he found me!" Peter hysterically shouted. "But I can't go to Azkaban, I must seek out our last hope... I can only blame him, Black, for being as foolish as he was when he was young. He was easily deceived by me, spending twelve years in Azkaban without suspecting a thing!"

"What is it?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat sternly.

"Sorry, Professor Dumbledore... I swear, I can't say!" Peter hoarsely cried, his throat choked. "James entrusted something incredibly important to him... to the person who guided him and mentored him, Gideon Prewett!"

"That thing... is our hope!" Peter gasped heavily. "But... Prewett passed away the day after James died... With the Dark Lord's fall, the Death Eaters found him and his brother, and they were ambushed... dead!"

"James's possession, along with their remains, ended up in the home of Gideon Prewett's only living relative, his sister Molly Prewett, who is now Molly Weasley... I have to find that possession, so I infiltrated the Weasley household and successfully became a member of their family!"

"The Weasley boys treated me as a pet and brought me to Hogwarts every year... I only had time to search for that possession during the summer holidays... There were many setbacks, but finally, I found it, at the bottom of the basement, buried under a pile of rubbish!"

"I was painstakingly digging a path..." Peter whimpered. "I could have obtained it in the next summer holiday... But that foolish Black escaped from prison. I knew Black was here to find it. My chance... but I didn't leave. I kept waiting, hoping to evade Black's pursuit... But now, Ron already knows who I am... Our last hope is shattered..."

"It's quite a compelling story!" Dumbledore stood up. "At least the logic is consistent throughout."

"Professor Dumbledore..." Peter trembled.

"I believe I can let you go, Pettigrew!" Dumbledore said with a serious expression. "But you must promise me one condition..."