Chapter No225:The Unveiling: The Interrogation of Peter Pettigrew
Because just now, when Ryan cast the stun spell, he actually held back. After all, he was worried that if he turned into a mouse and his defense power dropped as low as a mouse, the stun spell might kill him. So when Lupin took Scabbers out of the cage, it had already woken up. Professor Lupin tried to grab it, but Scabbers kept screaming and struggling, its small black eyes bulging. It was desperately trying to escape.
Now everyone in the office could tell that this mouse was not normal. McGonagall and Lupin discussed after checking it separately and said, "We are sure that this mouse is an Animagus."
"Well, Mr. Mouse, please turn back to your original form," Dumbledore said to Scabbers, but unfortunately Scabbers didn't budge. It even quickly ran towards the door after Lupin let it go.
But how could so many wizards in the house let it escape? Scabbers was soon levitated in the air by Mr. Weasley.
"It seems we have to resort to force," Dumbledore said, nodding slightly to Professor McGonagall. McGonagall's wand emitted a blue-white light towards Scabbers; Scabbers was suspended in mid-air, its small black body writhing frantically.
Soon it fell from mid-air onto the floor. There was a dazzling flash, and then it was like watching a time-lapse video of a plant growing. A head appeared on the ground, and limbs also emerged. After a while, a man stood where Scabbers had been just now. He was a short man about the same height as Ryan. He was bald like Mr. Weasley, with disheveled light-colored hair. He looked like a fat person who had lost weight rapidly, with many wrinkles on his skin, making him look dirty, almost like Scabbers fur. His pointed nose and watery little eyes also had the characteristics of a rat. He looked at the group of people in the office, breathing heavily.
"Oh, hello, Peter," Professor Lupin was the first to react, calmly saying as if he hadn't seen him transform before, "Long time no see."
"Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbledore, and Professor Lupin..." Peter's voice was sharp, and his eyes kept glancing towards the exit where the Headmaster was. "My professors and my friends."
"Peter, we're here to ask you why you chose to be a rat for twelve years," Dumbledore lowered his head, looked at Peter through his half-moon glasses with a very stern tone.
"Because... because I wanted to escape Sirius's pursuit. Yes, I was running away. I felt that one day he would come to kill me," Peter stammered in his defense.
"I don't think an innocent person would hide for twelve years in such a despicable way, not to mention how did you know that Sirius would escape from Azkaban? You know, no one has ever escaped from there," Lupin asked on the side.
"I... I was just afraid. After all, Sirius must have learned incredibly powerful dark magic from that person. Azkaban couldn't punish him at all, so I wanted to kill him," Peter explained hesitantly. His eyes darted around like a rat, which made his words somewhat believable.
"No, it doesn't make sense. We had many tainted witnesses back then, and even some Death Eaters were exposed because of their testimonies. But they have all been living normal lives under the protection of the Ministry of Magic until today. As an ordinary person who only offended Sirius, you hid for twelve years after Sirius was captured. Your reasons are not credible," Amelia Bones adjusted her monocle and said.
"Moreover, you had a whole week to seek shelter at the Ministry of Magic, especially when you could turn into a rat, Sirius couldn't possibly stop you. But you didn't. Instead, you chose to hide alone and pretend to be dead after a strange explosion a week after Sirius's arrest. This doesn't match with what you just said about being afraid," Lupin said coldly, as he had already guessed the truth behind certain things.
"We don't need to listen to this guy fabricating lies here. I have a bottle of Veritaserum in my office. Just three drops will make him spill everything. Ms. Bones, what do you think?" Professor Snape, already disgusted with Peter's lies, slowly voiced his suggestion.
"Well, this involves a very heinous murder case from over a decade ago. So, as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I authorize the use of Veritaserum in this interrogation. By the way, Headmaster Dumbledore, I would like to borrow your office for an official questioning. After all, we have two members of the Wizengamot here, and there are five adult observers nearby. It meets the minimum requirements for a legal interrogation," Amelia Bones inquired with Professor Dumbledore.
"Of course," Headmaster Dumbledore nodded. "I also want to know what really happened back then."
"No, no, I'm just a suspect. You have no solid evidence, you can't use Veritaserum on me," Peter struggled, but Professor McGonagall waved her wand and immobilized Peter in place.
There was silence in the office for a few minutes, and the sound of the revolving staircase could be heard again. Professor Snape returned with his Veritaserum.
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said, turning around from behind the desk and taking the bottle of Veritaserum, which looked like transparent water. Then he waved his wand and forcefully opened Peter's mouth, pouring three drops of the potion.
Peter struggled for a while, but soon he stood there motionless. Amelia Bones took out a peculiar instrument made of brass and crystal, pointed it at Peter, and then took out parchment and a quill. "When we start the questioning, I need someone to record it."
"I'll do it," Percy answered nervously. Bones glanced at him, and Mr. Weasley beside her responded, "He's my son and the head boy. He'll definitely help you with a complete record of this trial."
"Very well, I'll leave it to you then," Bones said, and then she waved her wand, and the parchment and quill flew towards Percy.
Percy, who took the parchment and quill, was somewhat excited. Ryan noticed his attempt to place the parchment on his thigh for recording and conveniently used his wand to turn the backrest of his chair into a board and handed it to Percy.
"Transfiguration is impressive," Professor McGonagall praised. Before Ryan could reply, Director Bones began the interrogation. Everyone's attention was drawn to her.