Professor McGonagall must have used Apparition to find the Weasleys; they arrived very quickly.
Wade stood by the window, watching them enter the castle through the heavy rain and muddy grounds.
—Filch was probably going to have a fit. Wade thought to himself.
For the past few days, students would track mud and water into the school whenever they went outside, leaving everything dirty. Filch despised this, as he was the one who had to clean it up every time (the house-elves only cleaned the castle at night). Thanks to Filch's shouting and threats of detention, fewer students were running out into the rain.
A short while later, another group led by Hagrid walked over from the lawn. They held their wands up, as if holding an invisible umbrella, and the rain was being repelled.
"Wade..." Ron asked hesitantly, "Do you know what they mean when they say Scabbers... Peter was the Secret-Keeper?"
"Peter faked his death eleven years ago, and Sirius Black was sent to prison," Wade said. "A major event known throughout the wizarding world happened around that time..."
"The Dark Lord was defeated... Harry's parents died..." Ron murmured. "So... the betrayal they're talking about is..."
"You two can come in now," Lupin said, pushing the door open. "The questioning is over, and the Ministry people will be here soon."
Wade and Ron entered and saw Peter Pettigrew firmly tied to a chair, looking somewhat dazed. It was obvious he had been given Veritaserum again.
Snape was staring intently at Peter Pettigrew, his gaze as cold and venomous as a snake, filled with deep-seated hatred. Ron only took one look before quickly shifting his gaze away.
When they came in, Snape turned to look at Lupin, his expression still full of disgust. Wade sighed inwardly. The grudges and enmities of twenty years in the original story couldn't be fully captured in a few lines. Wade wasn't there for the events and could only guess at the rights and wrongs of the past, unable to make a judgment.
When they were capturing Peter Pettigrew, Wade had considered enlisting Snape's help, but ultimately decided against it. The reason was simple. Given Snape's loathing for the Marauders, if he had caught the true traitor, Peter Pettigrew, he would have simply used the Killing Curse on him, and there would have been no way to exonerate Sirius Black from Azkaban.
Clear an enemy's name? What a joke! In his opinion, Sirius Black had gotten what he deserved. He would have loved to send Lupin to Azkaban too, so they could reunite and be with the Dementors forever.
Led by Professor McGonagall, the Weasleys and several Ministry of Magic officials entered the Headmaster's office.
Leading the way was a short, stout, middle-aged man with messy gray hair. He wore a dark green jacket and purple pointed boots, his face a mix of anxiety and seriousness.
"That's the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge," Ron whispered to Wade. "I've met him before."
Ron and Wade weren't in the same house and had only ever been nodding acquaintances. But now, with so many adults present, he seemed to instinctively see the only two young wizards as a single group, and he appeared much friendlier to Wade than usual.
"His fashion sense is a bit... unusual," Wade said back in a low voice, not pushing him away.
By complaining about his father's boss, Ron felt like they were a team. When he saw an Auror glance at them, he instinctively closed his mouth and moved closer to Wade.
"Ronnie!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly rushed over, gave her son a tight hug, and then held him at arm's length to look him over. "I can't believe... I can't believe the rat we just picked up was an Animagus... Did he do anything to you?"
Her enthusiasm embarrassed Ron. He struggled free from his mother's embrace, loudly saying, "No, Mum, I'm fine!"
"Good evening, Cornelius, Arthur, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I believe Minerva has already told you what happened."
"Yes... I've heard all about it..." Fudge didn't go near Peter. He stood at a distance, looked at the shabby man, and frowned. "Unbelievable... truly unbelievable..." Fudge shook his head. "Peter is really alive! I was so saddened by his death... And he's alive! Yet he didn't even show up when his mother passed away..."
"He's Scabbers?" Arthur Weasley looked shocked, his face pale. "Did he say anything? What was he doing hiding in our house?"
"Rest assured, Arthur," Dumbledore said. "Peter was only seeking information about the wizarding world from your family and did not take any action to harm the children."
The Weasleys finally looked a bit relieved.
An Auror went up to examine Peter Pettigrew, confirmed that he wasn't someone else disguised by magic, and nodded to Fudge.
"I'll take this man with me, Dumbledore," Fudge said. "And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and little Mr. Weasley, I think you'll need to provide some information about Peter Pettigrew."
"Okay, Minister," Arthur Weasley naturally agreed, waving his hand to signal Ron to come to his side.
Fudge saw Wade next to him and asked, "Who is this child?"
"This is Wade Gray, a Ravenclaw student. He caught Peter Pettigrew in his rat form," Professor McGonagall introduced.
"Oh?" Fudge's gaze became a little sharper. "Why were you trying to catch a rat?"
"I told him to do it," Lupin said. "Peter and I used to be friends; I was very familiar with his Animagus form."
"If you need to know the details of the capture, I'm happy to provide a full account," Wade said politely. This was why he had stayed behind.
"Oh, oh, we can talk about that later," Fudge didn't seem very interested. He stared at Lupin and asked, "You're not an illegal Animagus yourself, are you?"
Snape suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Lupin's face twitched, and he said vaguely, "No... I'm not."
Dumbledore nodded. "I can guarantee that."
Snape's face immediately turned sour, and he glared at Lupin.
"Alright, since you say so..." Fudge twirled his walking stick and asked, "Why is Peter like this? He looks like he's been through some... well... not entirely legal questioning..."
"Given the severity of this incident, we had no choice but to use Veritaserum to get the truth from him," Dumbledore said, taking the blame for Lupin as well. "Peter confessed that he was the true Secret-Keeper for the Potters and that he was the one who revealed James and Lily's location to Voldemort..."
Fudge suddenly shuddered.
Dumbledore, seemingly oblivious to his fear, continued calmly, "After Voldemort's disappearance, Peter became a true rat on the run. He framed Sirius for his crimes, faked his death by killing a dozen Muggles with a single curse in plain sight, and got away..."
"Hmm, we will investigate this matter in detail," Fudge said smoothly. "The Ministry of Magic has its own duties to fulfill. We can't just unilaterally... believe whatever you tell us, can we?"
"After all, you yourself once assured the Ministry that Sirius Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper..." he added. "To overturn that now might not be well-received by the public. We'll need... well, more substantial evidence."
Wade could see that Fudge wasn't saying this because he doubted Dumbledore, but simply because he didn't want to look like the old Headmaster's puppet. However, a new investigation by the Ministry was a reasonable request, and Dumbledore naturally didn't object.
"Minister, if you just question Peter, you'll know that Sirius is innocent..." Lupin couldn't help but interject.
"Hmph!" Snape suddenly sneered. "I can also assure you that Sirius Black showed murderous tendencies at sixteen! He once tried to kill me! He and Peter Pettigrew might have both joined the Dark Lord, and their later conflict was just a falling out among accomplices..."
He shot a venomous glare at Lupin, but with Dumbledore nearby, he didn't expose the fact that Lupin was a werewolf.
"Severus!" Lupin said angrily. "It's not a righteous act to lock up an innocent man in Azkaban!"
"Innocent?" A mocking smile played on Snape's lips. "Sirius Black is anything but innocent..."
"Alright, gentlemen," Fudge said, playing peacemaker. "There's no need to argue. I can promise you that the Ministry will conduct a thorough and serious investigation. We won't wrong any good person, nor will we let any villain get away..."
His attitude quieted both of them.
"Thank you, Minister," Snape's voice was like the hiss of a snake's tongue. "I'll be waiting for the results of the trial..." It sounded as if he was saying that if the Ministry couldn't give Peter and Sirius a fitting punishment, he would send them both to hell himself.
"Severus..." Dumbledore sighed.
Snape didn't respond. He pulled the door open and strode out of the Headmaster's office.
Fudge then also excused himself. They left, taking Peter Pettigrew, the Weasleys, and Lupin with them. Only two Aurors remained to take statements from Wade and Ron.
With Lupin becoming the de facto lead, Wade's role as a 'tool' was limited, and his involvement seemed minor. He briefly recounted how he caught the rat and his relationship with Lupin, after which the female Auror gestured for him to leave. They probably thought a second-year student wouldn't know anything important.
Ron's questioning took much longer.
Standing in the hallway, Wade held out his hand and looked at it in the light from the window. In his palm was a small, rectangular piece of parchment with a tiny dot slowly moving on it.