Betrayal and Redemption: The Tale of Peter Pettigrew

In the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, a short middle-aged man stood stiffly in the center of the room, surrounded by a group of people.

"Alright, Peter, tell me what exactly happened back then?" Minister Bones posed her question.

Peter trembled, took a deep breath, and then spoke in an emotionless and flat tone.

"Because Sirius gave me the secret keeper role for the Potters for safety reasons, pretending to be the decoy secret keeper himself. As soon as I became the secret keeper, I immediately found Voldemort and told him about the Potter family's secret. I could have gained unprecedented rewards for it, but Voldemort made a mistake. Later, after Black found out that I betrayed the Potters, he has been hunting me."

Upon hearing this, Lupin appeared visibly agitated, as if he wanted to rush forward and attack Peter. However, Mr. Weasley beside him held him back. Ryan turned his gaze to Professor Snape and noticed that although he seemed calm, his tightly clenched fists and slightly trembling body revealed his inner anger.

At this moment, Peter took another deep breath and continued in a flat voice.

"I couldn't escape when I was chased to a Muggle street that day, so I had to blow up half the street and transform into a rat to escape through the blasted sewer. After that, I became a pet in a wizarding family until today."

Upon hearing this statement, Mr. Weasley covered his face in regret, saying, "Oh, my goodness, when I found him in the yard, I really thought he was just a rat. I swear I won't bring home these messy things anymore." Mrs. Weasley patted his back to comfort him.

"Since you sided with the Dark Lord, why didn't you harm Harry all these years while living in the same house?" Minister Bones asked a crucial point that everyone was concerned about. The people in the room fell silent and listened.

"Because after Voldemort failed to kill Harry that day, he heard that the situation was dire. So, if I had harmed Harry at that time, it would have implicated myself. So I had to quietly stay in a wizarding family and gather information. Only when I was certain that Voldemort truly returned would I offer Harry to him. After all, my previous mistake made many Death Eaters hold a grudge against me. I can only secure my position before Voldemort by achieving enough merits."

"Why did you betray the Potters and Lily? They treated you as a friend," Lupin finally couldn't hold back and asked. Director Bones frowned at this interruption but didn't say anything.

"Friends? Do you really consider me your friend?" Peter's tone fluctuated at this point, showing that it greatly affected him. "Potter and Black both come from noble pure-blood families, and you excelled in your studies at school. I'm nothing compared to you, just a little lackey trailing behind. You always say I'm too cowardly, even though I tried so hard to blend into the small group, but you always ignored me. No matter what I said, you would simply dismiss it."

"But that's not a reason to sacrifice the lives of the Potters," Lupin said, somewhat puzzled.

"Why not? After we graduated, you took me and Voldemort's followers straight into battle without asking for my opinion. The first time we fought, Voldemort arrived instantly, and with a wave of his hand, two Aurors fell. Fortunately, he didn't continue to chase us, and we managed to escape. You all seemed excited after the battle, but I was truly terrified. I don't want to experience that near-death feeling again, so I had to find a way to survive."

"So you chose to become a lackey for the Dark Lord?" Minister Bones asked sternly.

"What else could I do? I just wanted to stay alive. Not to mention that he granted me power as well," Peter replied, his voice twisting into a distorted smile.

"Don't you know that the fight against the most evil dark wizard in history is about saving innocent lives, Peter! It's far more important than power and personal survival," Lupin said, appearing calmer. He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"You don't understand!" Peter's tone regained its previous calmness. "He would have killed me, Lupin! As long as I stayed alive, it was enough. Not to mention he also bestowed power upon me."

"Alright, now the facts are clear," Minister Bones raised her hand to stop Lupin, who wanted to say more. "I know you used to be friends, but now we have important matters to attend to."

After saying that, she took the record from Percy's hand, glanced at it, and signed her name at the end.

"You're Percy, right? This transcript is well written," Minister Bones praised. Percy appeared excited and smiled widely, almost knocking off his glasses.

However, Director Bones just made a polite comment and then turned to Professor Dumbledore. "Headmaster, the situation is now clear. Peter is responsible for the previous criminal acts, but they were falsely attributed to Sirius. I would like you to accompany me to the Ministry of Magic to bear witness to the exoneration of this case."

"Of course, I would be glad to see an innocent person cleared of false accusations," Dumbledore replied, standing up. "I think we can use the fireplace in the office to travel there."

Afterward, Professor Dumbledore and Minister Bones, accompanied by the securely bound Peter, headed to the Ministry of Magic. Before leaving, Dumbledore said to Ryan and Percy, "Thank you for your contributions to this matter. However, the details of this case cannot be made public until after the Ministry's discussion, so please keep it confidential for now."

Ryan and Percy nodded quickly in agreement, and after a burst of green flames, Dumbledore left. Everyone left the office one by one.

At the entrance, Ryan encountered the Weasley family of three. Arthur Weasley proactively extended his hand to shake Ryan's hand and thanked him, saying, "I'm really grateful to you this time. Percy told me about your help. Our family owes you a favor."

"No need to thank me. After all, I am friends with your sons. Helping each other is what friends should do, isn't it?" Ryan replied humbly.