bioinnovel Chapter 219 Returning the Property to its Rightful Owner
Chapter 219 Returning the Property to its Rightful Owner
Chapter 219 Returning the Property to its Rightful Owner
In a room in the West Tower, Lupin slowly recounted stories of the past.
It begins with how he became a werewolf, then moves on to entering Hogwarts, and how he met James, Sirius, and Peter.
Lupin also mentioned their feud with Snape, specifically the extremely dangerous and malicious joke that occurred in the Shrieking Shack.
Harry, Ron, and Harry listened intently to these stories of the past, with Harry and Ron being particularly shocked by the fact that Lupin was a werewolf.
Compared to Harry and Ron, who were completely unaware, Hermione remained remarkably calm. Through Snape's substitute lessons and homework, she had long since guessed why Lupin was always sick.
Even the intelligent and earnest Hermione wasn't entirely calm throughout. When she learned that James, Sirius, and Peter were Animagus, the know-it-all was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped to the floor.
Snape, the Potions Professor, sat on the ground with a gloomy face the whole time, occasionally interjecting with a few words, saying bad things about James or Sirius.
It's nothing more than saying that James and Sirius are arrogant, haughty, and unruly, that Sirius showed signs of murderous tendencies early on, and that James is a proud and foolish coward.
Snape also sprayed Harry with venom, saying that Harry was as arrogant as his father and would be killed by his pride sooner or later.
Whether it was the intense hatred in his heart or Snape's hidden Gryffindor heart, he actually spoke ill of James in front of his friend and son.
That's why Sirius was tied to the chair; otherwise, he would have jumped up and bitten Snape to death.
Before long, Lupin finished telling everything he knew, and Sirius took over from his friend and continued the story.
As Sirius Black recounted his story, many of Harry's doubts were resolved one by one.
It turned out that Sirius Black wasn't the Secret Keeper. He suggested replacing him with Peter Pettigrew, and James and Lily accepted his suggestion.
Therefore, the Potters, who were hiding in Godric's Hollow, suffered a shameful betrayal and died tragically at the hands of Voldemort, leaving Harry the only one alive in the world.
"I got a newspaper from Fudge, and Peter was on the front page, standing on this boy's shoulders," Sirius Black pointed a finger at the blank-faced Ron. "I recognized Peter immediately. I've seen him transform so many times."
I will absolutely not admit my mistake.
Snape scoffed and interjected, "What a brilliant idea! To pin all the blame on the dead. Dead men tell no tales, Black."
"Shut up, you snotty-nosed brat, stop showing off your meager sense of humor," Sirius said impatiently. "Peter isn't dead. He was faster than me; he escaped and has been hiding for twelve years!"
"Severus, you fool," Lupin said gently. "It was Peter who betrayed James and Lily; he was the secret agent. Are you really going to continue wrongly accusing innocent people because of things that happened in our school days?"
Snape turned his head away and stopped talking, his dark eyes once again blazing with anger.
So that's why Dumbledore kept protecting Belvina and Lupin, that damn Peter Pettigrew!
However, even knowing that Sirius Black was not the Secret Keeper and that he had not betrayed Lily, Snape still hated Sirius Black.
Harry's many doubts were resolved. He believed in his parents' choice, he believed Sirius's words, and he believed that Sirius would rather die than betray James and Lily.
At that moment, Harry had a thousand words he wanted to say to Sirius, but his throat tightened and he couldn't speak. He could only nod vigorously.
Seeing this, Sirius and Lupin relaxed, realizing that convincing Harry of the truth was much simpler than they had anticipated.
"Remus, I still want to apologize to you again. I'm sorry, I..." Sirius's tone was very solemn, and his guilt towards Lupin came from the bottom of his heart.
Sirius felt deeply guilty about both the secret he kept from Lupin and the twelve years of hardship and displacement Lupin endured.
"You have to forgive me too, old friend, forgive me for thinking you were a spy, okay?" Lupin said, opening his arms and bending down to hug Sirius, who was still bound.
Snape slowly stood up and snorted again, saying sarcastically, "What a touching scene, the thug and the werewolf embracing each other warmly."
Upon hearing this, Lupin's face darkened. Snape had repeatedly mentioned the word "werewolf," which would anger even the most patient person.
"By Merlin, who can help me punch Snotty? I'm not available right now," said Sirius. "Ideally, I'd like to make Snotty's nose look like Dumbledore's."
Harry really wanted to punch Snape's big nose, but Snape was a professor at the school, so Harry didn't dare to do it.
So, like Sirius, Harry, his father, and his eldest son all placed their hopes on Belvina.
Hopefully, the flyweight champion can show his prowess again.
Unfortunately, Belvina was already lost in thought and completely failed to notice the expectant looks in Sirius and Harry's eyes.
At this point, Ron stammered, his expression even worse than when he found half a fly in his bread. Poor Ron couldn't accept that his mouse was actually Peter Pettigrew.
This is outrageous! The rat that lived in the Weasleys' house for twelve years was actually a middle-aged, lecherous male wizard? How is that possible?!
April Fools' Day hasn't even arrived yet! Even if April Fools' Day comes early, you can't play jokes like this!
"But, but—" Ron stammered, "But that Peter Pettigrew is dead. Half the street can testify that you killed him!" Ron pointed at Sirius Black. "My dad said the same thing. You killed Peter Pettigrew."
Poor Ron continued, his voice trembling, "My mouse is Scabbers, not Peter! Everyone knows you killed Peter—everyone knows—how could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? It's ridiculous!"
It wasn't that Ron was stubborn, nor was he dumber than others; rather, he couldn't accept the cruel reality that his pet mouse, Scabbers, was the heinous Peter Pettigrew.
Ron looked at everyone for help, his pleading gaze sweeping over every face in the room, hoping someone would step forward and tell him: This isn't true.
However, Ron's expectations were dashed.
Sirius and Lupin looked at him apologetically, while Harry stood there awkwardly, unsure how to comfort the nearly collapsing Ron.
Hermione reached out and carefully tugged at Ron's sleeve, whispering, "Ron, you still have me and Harry." Hermione blushed and didn't know what to say.
Even Snape, known for his venomous tongue, remained unusually silent, neither mocking Ron nor refuting Sirius's statement.
"Ron," Belvina said slowly, regaining her composure, "Life is full of things that are hard to accept, but you have to learn to accept them. Peter Pettigrew is still alive. He turned into a mouse and hid in your house for twelve years, and for the last two years he's been sleeping in your bed."
Belvina spoke very directly, every word piercing Ron's heart, every word causing him immense pain.
Poor Ron Weasley gradually gave up thinking, or rather, he was no longer able to think.
Sirius Black was wronged, Lupin was a ruthless man, and Peter Pettigrew was Scabbers. One thing after another, these events assaulted Ron's mind, making him feel that either he had gone mad or the world had gone mad.
"I'm sure you'll soon accept this cruel reality and come to love your new pet," Belvina continued. "Sirius lost your pet, so he should compensate you with a new one."
"That's right, leave it to me, I'm actually quite wealthy," Sirius Black loudly agreed, eager to offer some comfort to his unfortunate Gryffindor junior.
Aside from the stunned Ron, everyone else in the room rolled their eyes, including Snape.
Everyone present knew that Sirius Black was rich; he could throw around top-tier flying broomsticks and fire arrows at anyone. Who would dare say that Sirius Black wasn't wealthy?
"How about we buy another mouse?" Sirius suggested. "Two are fine, three would be no problem either!"
Ron shook his head repeatedly at Sirius's idea. Ron had already developed a physiological reaction to pet mice, and he couldn't stand keeping them.
"Remus, please shut our fugitive up, okay?" Belvina said helplessly. "He's probably been driven crazy in prison."
Without any hesitation, Remus raised his hand and covered Sirius's mouth, forcibly silencing the Gryffindor idea king.
"How about a toad, like Neville's Raeford?" Lupin suggested. "Or an owl, or maybe a cat, so it can keep Hermione's pet company."
An unexpected scene suddenly unfolded: Snape spoke up, in his usual annoying tone, "I suggest you get a dog. You can kick it a couple of times to relieve your boredom."
With that, Snape walked toward the door of the room.
"Severus, wait a minute." Belvina looked at Snape.
"I heard nothing and saw nothing today," Snape said coldly. "What I do next is none of your business."
Before Belvina could speak again, Snape flicked his sleeves, pushed open the door, and walked out.
It's obvious where Snape will go next: either to find Dumbledore or to search every rat hole in the castle.
"It's almost time, we should go." Belvina slapped her chair and stood up. "Sirius,"
I hope you can finally see Peter, whom you've been longing to see, at the West Tower.
As she spoke, Belvina walked toward Sirius, pulling a long, narrow wooden box from her coat pocket.
"Connelly brought it over this morning," Belvina continued. "It can finally go back to its owner."
Open the long, narrow wooden box, and a magic wand lies quietly inside.