Deals and Secrets! Part-3

{Abandoned Classroom, 3rd Floor}

{18th Sep 1991}

{3rd Person POV}

"So let me get this straight. According to your 'speculations'..." George air-quoted as he looked at Rigel with a doubtful look, "Peter Pettigrew was the one who sold out Harry's family to Voldemort and killed the 12 muggles instead of Sirius Black. And for the past 17 years, Sirius Black has been wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban?"

"Yup," Rigel nodded. The twins did not seem convinced, but it wasn't entirely necessary. He had Pettigrew imprisoned, so there was no need for him to do anything.

"You want to interrogate the rat?" Rigel asked, getting a hesitant nod from George and Fred. He wasn't planning to do anything like that in Hogwarts, but the circumstances had changed. Rigel got his wand ready before he opened Pandora's box. The rat was still knocked out unconscious at the moment, so at least he didn't need to go through the chase again.

Rigel grabbed onto Wormtail's tail and pulled him out of the box. After contemplating for a bit, he looked at Fred and George before placing the rat on the table. 

"Do any of you happen to know the charm that could reverse the animagus transformation?" Rigel asked.

"No-" "Nope"

With two negative responses, Rigel moved on to Plan B. Since he was going through this on the fly, the plan wasn't as foolproof as he would have liked, but three wands were better than one. He rolled Pettigrew's unconscious form onto his back so that both his hands and feet were sticking out above.

"Incarcerous," Rigel cast, and he focused on binding his limbs. The charm worked better than he had hoped, as ropes appeared out of thin air, binding his limbs together.

"Okay, that's a basic precaution taken for his rat form. I'm going to need your help with the rest..." Rigel spoke, getting two hesitant nods in return.

"When I persuade him to transform into his human form, I want one of you to dispel these ropes. We don't know how this spell would work, and I don't want his hands to snap like a twig. The other one will use the Rope Binding spell on him again when he is in his human form. Do you have any questions before I wake him up?" Rigel asked.

"What if he tries to run or attacks? If your theory is correct, he's a death eater, isn't he?" Fred asked. He looked a little concerned even though he was practically vibrating with excitement.

"The Incarcerous Spell will stop him from running in his rat form, and I will have a stunning spell ready if he shows any intent of running away." Rigel clarified, getting a nod from George and Fred.

"Ready?" Rigel asked one final time and then focused on Wormtail.

"Enervate~" 

The bright blue bolt of magic left Rigel's wand and sunk into Pettigrew's unconscious form. The rat twitched as he woke up slightly, and as it tried and failed to move, its beady eyes and neck looked from side to side in a very human-like motion as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Peter Pettigrew, welcome to the land of living," Rigel commented, and Pettigrew snapped his neck back to look at him.

"I'll speak, and you'll listen. Okay, there's no need to panic, as it won't help you much. I'll tell you about your situation, and I'll assure you that you have no way to escape for now. No, me and my friends here don't know the counter spell to reverse your animagus transformation. And as much as it would help learning that spell, I don't have the time right now." Rigel paused for a bit to make sure the rat understood everything.

"Now you have two options: you could refuse to reveal your real form, and I could simply stun you again and again and again. I have heard that repeated use of stunners on someone could be dangerous, but that's just a theory, right?" 

"Or, you could change back into your real form and tell us your story. Why are you creeping around the Weasley Family?... Wait, I just thought of a third option. I could hand you over to Dumbledore. He would know what to do, right?" 

Rigel saw the rat tremble slightly at Dumbledore's name, but the rat didn't respond even after the threat. Since he was likely contemplating an escape plan, Rigel decided to use the time crunch. Even though he was confident they had cornered Pettigrew, he wasn't going to take a chance.

"I don't have much time. You have three seconds to make a choice: either transform back, or I'm taking you to Dumbledore... 1 ... 2-" Rigel stopped as Pettigrew's form started shifting. George dismissed the ropes binding his arms as Rigel focused his intent.

The transformation was swift, as Pettigrew changed from a rat to a human in a second. Before he could twitch, Rigel fired a stunner at him, which the rat had no way to avoid.

"Stupefy~"

*Slam*

Pettigrew's head slammed on the desk as he flopped over. He was sprawled on the table on his back, his head lolling to the side. Rigel looked at Fred and George, who were looking at Pettigrew with wide eyes. Due to the sudden nature of the transformation, Fred had forgotten to use the Incarcerous Spell.

'In canon, he was able to escape even after he was caught by the Aurors. The last thing I'll do is give the rat a chance to escape.' 

"Why did you do that? How will he tell us his side of the story now?" Fred complained. He looked a little too excited for Rigel's liking. To him, this was an unforgettable adventure, and for Rigel, this was one of the key factors that led to Voldemort's early revival.

"We don't need him to talk, do we?" Rigel spoke, but upon getting two confused looks, he sighed and walked over to Pettigrew's fallen form. After confirming through his mana sense that the man was knocked out, he walked over and lifted the sleeve of the worn jacket covering his right hand.

The mark was faded, but it was still there. The skull with a snake coiling onto itself was unmistakable for anything else. Rigel was expecting the tattoo to be live, to move, and to indicate that it was magical in nature, but it didn't do anything of the sort. He was a little underwhelmed, but still, he had plenty of proof that his story had a plausible edge to it.

"So what do you guys think? The Dark Mark or a coincidental tattoo enthusiast?"

...

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AN - It's been a while! Hope you guys are doing well! The regular release schedule will begin from today

As always, 48 Extra chapters on P.atreon!