The Veritaserum's effects gradually wore off, and the reporters all obtained news that made them tremble with excitement.
As Peter Pettigrew slowly regained consciousness, Lupin unhesitatingly used a Stunning Spell to knock Peter out again.
When he dragged Wormtail out of the room, the reporters acted as if they saw nothing, still excitedly discussing their respective articles.
Since they were from different countries and their newspapers had no competitive relationship, the atmosphere among the reporters was exceptionally harmonious and friendly.
Before leaving with Peter Pettigrew, Wade added, "One more thing, Mr. Marchionne."
"Please say," Marchionne said eagerly.
"I hope they temporarily withhold this report—until the British government denies the error of that year," Wade stated.
Marchionne initially thought he had mistakenly said "denies" instead of "admits," but after a moment's thought, he understood.
A smirk played on his lips. "As you wish, Wade."
"Do you want to come with me?"
Returning to the attic, standing before the Vanishing Cabinet, Wade asked Lupin.
Lupin was somewhat tempted, yet also struggled.
He shouldn't enter the school without permission.
And he knew that Wade didn't want everyone to know the secret of the Vanishing Cabinet—
If this secret were exposed, for the safety of students and staff, the professors would probably make Wade hand over the Vanishing Cabinet to the school for safekeeping.
But Lupin genuinely wanted to witness the betrayer brought to justice with his own eyes.
"Let's go." Wade made the decision for him. "But please say you came to the school through a secret passage."
Wade knew that the secret of the Vanishing Cabinet might not remain hidden from Dumbledore—he suspected the Headmaster already knew but simply chose not to say.
Dumbledore always gave students excessive freedom, such as arranging for first-year Harry to face Voldemort, or tolerating Malfoy's various attempts at murder in his sixth year.
When this freedom benefited him, Wade quite liked this aspect of Dumbledore.
However, Wade also knew that the convenience granted by this unspoken understanding could only be used, not spoken of. Once it was publicized, the Vanishing Cabinet would no longer belong to him.
After all, only one cabinet was bought by him; the other belonged to the school.
In the Owlry, everyone had already heard Percy's recollection of events.
Percy, only five or six years old at the time, didn't remember much, but his reminder made Hermione recall similar content she had read in a book.
She quickly found "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century"—a book she had finished before starting her first year—and found Peter Pettigrew's name within it.
"...mercilessly murdered by a desperate Sirius Black... bodies strewn everywhere... the Ministry of Magic awarded the sacrificed Peter Pettigrew the Order of Merlin, First Class..."
Looking at these words, and then recalling that sneaky, cowardly face, Harry felt it was all very unreal.
"If he was a hero... why would he pretend to be dead and hide?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Hiding at Ron's house... as a child's pet?"
"That's why, this is the scariest part, Harry," Fred said meaningfully.
"Remember?" George asked him. "Last year when we heard about it..."
"Professor Quirrell was the Dark Lord's puppet... little Ronnie's pet was the 'hero' who was blown up..." Fred chuckled sarcastically. "It's like we've never truly known this world."
He looked at his other brothers—Scabbers' former and current owners both looked extremely ill, unable to utter a word.
They looked like they were about to be sick.
The book hadn't recorded the history of the Fidelius Charm and the Secret-Keeper, so Harry's mindset was still relatively calm, mostly filled with confusion.
"I just remembered, I actually saw that person's photo," Harry told his friends. "Remus hung a picture on the wall. Peter Pettigrew, Remus, and my dad were all friends when they were at school."
"Many stories must have happened between them..." Hermione said. "There's a reason why Peter Pettigrew, despite being hailed as a hero, faked his death."
"Yeah... but he didn't hurt me, did he? We've always liWade in the same dorm, and Scabbers, besides being greedy and sleepy, never did anything bad."
Harry looked into everyone's eyes, seeking agreement: "I think he might not be a bad person, just worried about retaliation from Death Eaters, which is why he kept hiding... Uh, is that wrong?"
Everyone looked at him as if he were some naive idiot.
"If he were just timid..." Fred shook his head. "He could have sought help from Dumbledore... but he remained in his rat form even at school, which means he wasn't afraid of anyone else..."
"...It was Dumbledore, wasn't it?" Ron said in a low voice.
Fred nodded.
Harry's mouth opened, but he didn't know what to say.
Just then, the curtains parted, and Wade appeared, leading Peter Pettigrew, with an additional person beside him.
"Remus!" Harry immediately went to greet him. "How did you get to school?"
Lupin managed a strained smile and patted his head.
The rekindled memories constantly tore at his heart. Seeing Harry's face reminded him of his dear friend, who was killed because he trusted a friend.
Lupin took a deep breath, suppressing the sting in his eyes, and said, "Wade knew I was one of the involved parties, so he sought me out through a secret passage... Let's take Peter and go see Dumbledore."
As soon as the seemingly calm and reliable adult wizard appeared, he naturally took control of the conversation. Percy didn't say anything this time either. Everyone left the Owlry together and walked towards the Headmaster's Tower.
"You lot!"
Midway, they encountered Professor McGonagall, who strode over, annoyed. "I heard you put a mud pit outside the Gryffindor common room door; the Fat Lady told me..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Lupin and Peter Pettigrew and immediately gasped, freezing.
"Merlin..." Professor McGonagall said, shocked. "What's going on?"
"As you can see, Professor," Lupin said as calmly as possible. "Peter Pettigrew is not dead. Everything from that year was a lie... We need to see Dumbledore now."
"Of course... of course..." It took Professor McGonagall a while to get her mind working again. She said stiffly, "Come with me..."
As she spoke, she continuously scrutinized Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, even rubbing her eyes, as if she thought she was seeing an illusion.
Students they met along the way looked at them in surprise. Some secretly asked the Weasley brothers what was happening, but they didn't answer.
Soon, they arrived at the Headmaster's office.