"The trial has concluded," Adrian said with a slight nod, "Peter Pettigrew will receive the Dementor's Kiss as ordered by the Wizengamot. Sirius Black has been officially declared innocent of all charges."
He paused before adding, "The Ministry will formally withdraw his wanted notice within the next forty-eight hours and issue a public statement restoring his reputation. However, given the... unusual circumstances of his case, he will remain under Ministry observation for one month."
Remus's shoulders, which had been stiff with tension finally relaxed as if an enormous burden had been lifted from them.
Around the circular office, the professors released collective sighs of relief. They had all learned the basic truth from Dumbledore earlier, but hearing the official confirmation from someone who had witnessed the trial firsthand brought a sense of conclusion that mere speculation could not provide.
However, there was one noteworthy and unsurprising exception to this atmosphere of relief and vindication: Severus Snape.
From the moment Adrian had emerged from the flames of the Floo Network, Snape had maintained an expression of such coldness that the temperature in his immediate vicinity seemed to drop several degrees.
For Snape, this news was disappointing. Besides James Potter, whose memory still had the power to send waves of complicated rage and pain through his chest, his greatest living enemy was undoubtedly Sirius Black.
The man who had nearly gotten him killed during their school years, who had shown him nothing but contempt and cruelty, who represented everything Snape had learned to despise about the privileged, reckless Gryffindor elite—that man was now not only free but officially vindicated.
The injustice of it burned in his throat like acid.
"How... touching, Lupin," Snape drawled in a voice so low and venomous that several professors instinctively stepped back. "Black is innocent—exactly what you hoped for all along, isn't it? How convenient that your dear friend's name has been cleared just in time for a heartwarming reunion."
He took a step closer to Remus, "Here's some advice, freely given: pack your belongings and leave Hogwarts immediately. Go reunite with your precious childhood companion. After all, you never truly belonged in this castle anyway—"
"Severus..." Professor McGonagall seemed about to say something.
However, after delivering this cutting remark, Snape immediately turned and left the headmaster's office.
Remus smiled helplessly. He knew Snape had always opposed his professorship at Hogwarts. Snape had even deliberately taught students about werewolves and Wolfsbane Potion in Potions class—obviously trying to make students discover his werewolf identity.
Of course, now Snape would never have that chance. Since drinking the second version of the Purification Potion, he could freely control his transformation during full moons. Even on full moon nights, no one could discover his werewolf identity.
News of Peter Pettigrew's trial and the revelation of Sirius Black's innocence spread through the wizarding world. Owl post networks carried the story to every corner of Britain within hours, while the Floo Network buzzed with excited conversations as witches and wizards shared the shocking developments with friends and family.
By the morning following the trial's conclusion, the Daily Prophet had managed to publish a comprehensive report that would shake how the wizarding public understood one of the most notorious criminal cases in recent memory.
The next morning, Hogwarts' Great Hall was peaceful as usual. Most students were unaware of what had happened in the wider wizarding world.
For them, this was simply another ordinary morning—a time for consuming hastily eaten toast, comparing homework assignments, and complaining about upcoming exams.
Owls flew in through the windows as always, packages and letters mixed with feathers falling from the sky.
Amidst this controlled chaos, a copy of the Daily Prophet landed with a soft thwap directly in front of Harry's place, the newspaper settling between his barely touched porridge and a glass of pumpkin juice that had grown cold while he wrestled with a difficult Transfiguration essay.
"Whose newspaper is this?" Harry asked, looking around the Gryffindor table with mild curiosity. It was unusual for unordered post to land so precisely in front of him—most owls were remarkably accurate in their deliveries.
"Mine," Hermione said, nibbling on bread while holding a thick Dictionary of Ancient Runes in one hand and jam-covered bread in the other.
"May I read it?" Harry asked, already reaching for the paper.
"Of course, go ahead," Hermione murmured absently, turning a page with the hand that held her toast, leaving small jam fingerprints on the ancient parchment that she would undoubtedly clean later with a quick spell.
Harry unfolded the newspaper with the routine motion of someone accustomed to browsing the morning news, expecting to find the usual mixture of Ministry announcements, Quidditch scores, and advertisements for various magical products.
Instead, his green eyes immediately fixed on a headline so shocking that he had to read it twice to convince himself he wasn't hallucinating:
SHOCKING REVELATION ROCKS WIZARDING WORLD!
Peter Pettigrew Alive After Twelve Years - Ministry Forced to Withdraw Sirius Black's Wanted Notice
Exclusive Details Inside:
"!"
Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses until they seemed to occupy half his face, his mouth falling open in an expression of pure astonishment. The piece of toast he had been holding dropped forgotten onto his plate, scattering crumbs across the morning Prophet's front page.
"Ron!" he called urgently, his voice cracking slightly with excitement and disbelief. "Ron, you need to see this immediately!"
Ron, who had been in the process of constructing what could only be described as an architectural monument to breakfast surplus—a gigantic combination of sausages, black pudding, scrambled eggs, and fried tomatoes that defied several laws of physics—looked up with mild annoyance at being interrupted.
"What's got you all worked up now, Harry?" He asked, reluctantly setting down a particularly promising sausage and leaning over to peer at the newspaper. "Don't tell me Snape's been quoted saying something nice about Gryffindor—I'd probably choke on my breakfast."
"Sirius Black's wanted notice has been withdrawn," Harry said softly.
Ron frowned, his freckled face scrunching up in confusion as he processed this information. "Withdrawn? What d'you mean, withdrawn? Why would they do that? Did he die or something?"
"Because he was innocent," Harry explained. "He was framed for crimes he didn't commit. But Ron, that's not even the most important part—you need to look at this photograph."
Harry pointed with a trembling finger to a magical photograph embedded in the newspaper's front page. The image showed a short, balding man with watery eyes and a weak chin, sitting slumped in what appeared to be a wooden chair.
His mouth moved constantly in the silent way of magical photographs, though no sound emerged. His eyes held a vacant, defeated expression that spoke of a man whose world had completely collapsed around him.
Ron leaned closer, squinting at the photograph with intense concentration. For a moment, his expression remained puzzled, but then recognition appeared across his face.
"No," He whispered, his face draining of all color. "No, that's..."
"This is Peter Pettigrew," Harry explained, his finger still pointing at the photograph. "Twelve years ago, he faked his own death and framed Sirius Black for his crimes. Then he used magic to transform himself into a rat and went into hiding. He's lived as a rat for twelve entire years, Ron."
He paused, watching his friend's expression carefully.
"But more importantly—look at his face carefully."
Ron stared at the photograph with growing horror, his blue eyes tracing every detail of the man's face.
"Scabbers..." Ron murmured, his expression exactly like Peter Pettigrew's in the photograph—equally vacant-eyed.
He had almost forgotten about this incident, but now...
Good God!
Ron desperately covered his face and collapsed onto the table. He had been sleeping with a hidden murderer for all these years!
A lecherous-looking murderer at that!
Just then, Hermione noticed the commotion between the two.
"What's happening?" she asked, immediately setting down both her book and her breakfast with the efficient movements of someone shifting from academic mode to crisis management mode.
Harry silently handed her the Daily Prophet while providing a rapid explanation of how Ron's pet rat Scabbers had actually been Peter Pettigrew in disguise.
When the explanation concluded, Hermione looked at Ron with an expression that mixed sympathy and pity.
"This is... well, it's almost impossible to believe," She said slowly, her voice gentle in the way she reserved for moments when her friends needed comfort rather than lectures. "It sounds like something out of a particularly absurd story rather than real life. But you're absolutely right that Animagus transformation magic would be nearly impossible to detect without specific spells designed for that purpose."
She paused, consulting her vast mental library of magical knowledge before continuing: "The transformation affects even the magical signature of the person involved. Unless someone specifically suspected what they were looking for and used detection spells, an Animagus could theoretically maintain their animal form indefinitely without discovery."
Harry nodded, becoming increasingly interested in Animagus magic. He remembered Adrian had said he could try this magical ability during summer vacation.
Hermione continued reading through the article, her expression growing more and more disapproving as she encountered the increasingly speculative and sensationalized reporting.
"Listen to this rubbish," she said, her voice taking on the crisp tone of disdain. "...Hogwarts Professor Adrian Westeros was the first to discover Peter Pettigrew hiding at Hogwarts. It's worth noting that Adrian has an unusual relationship with Dumbledore. According to this writer's speculation, there seems to be some special connection between them..."
She looked up from the paper with obvious disgust. "What follows is obviously complete nonsense—wild speculation about secret alliances and hidden agendas that reads more like the plot of a novel than legitimate journalism."
Flipping back to the front page, she checked the article's byline with the resigned expression of someone confirming their worst suspicions: "Rita Skeeter."
The name explained everything.
Hermione had heard enough about this reporter to know that Rita Skeeter specialized in transforming even the most straightforward news stories into scandalous exposés filled with inference, speculation, and outright fabrication.
For many Daily Prophet readers, these sensationalized articles were precisely what made the paper worth reading—the magical equivalent of gossip magazines that promised shocking revelations and dramatic secrets behind every ordinary event.
"Well, that explains the dramatic tone and wild speculation," Hermione said with obvious dislike, immediately closing the newspaper and handing it back to Harry.
"But regardless of how it's being reported, this is genuinely wonderful news," Hermione said with a warm smile. "At the very least, you won't have to worry about Sirius Black being a threat anymore, Harry. You can finally visit Hogsmeade village without looking over your shoulder or wondering if every shadow might be hiding a dangerous criminal."
"Exactly," Harry nodded absentmindedly, then glanced at Ron beside him.
Ron had adjusted his position and was now staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Harry didn't disturb him. He looked back at the newspaper. In the cover photograph, Sirius Black stood straight, somewhat haggard but with sharp eyes.
What kind of person was Sirius Black, really?
The question had been nagging at Harry ever since he first learned that this supposed dangerous criminal had actually been his father's closest friend. From scattered comments made by various professors—he understood that James Potter and Sirius Black had been almost inseparable during their time at Hogwarts.
Perhaps he could try contacting this person. He was eager to learn more about his parents.
He wondered if Hedwig could deliver a letter to him.
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