Severus's words not only captured the attention of Harry and Lupin but also caused Sirius, who had been slumped dejectedly in the corner, to abruptly lift his dog head.
He looked at Severus, his gaze devoid of any supposed excitement or gratitude, only those gloomy eyes coldly meeting Severus's.
In response to his gaze, Severus simply smiled and shrugged, simultaneously explaining to Lupin and Harry.
"During dinner, I sensed someone was watching us, so I added an extra, more secret alarm charm on top of the tent's own protections."
"So, I detected Black the moment he sneaked in here. After entering the tent, he first went quietly into Harry's room. But facing the sleeping Harry, he didn't act. Instead, he stood by the bed for a long time before coming out, then came to my room intending to capture me."
"If he truly wanted to harm Harry, that would have been the perfect opportunity."
Severus analyzed calmly.
"And if he were truly the loyal servant of the Dark Lord, as his conviction states, hating Harry to the bone, then why was he unwilling to act? And why didn't he choose to kill me directly afterward, but rather to capture me?"
His words made both Lupin and Harry thoughtful. Sirius, however, remained silent from start to finish, just coldly watching Severus.
Even now, Sirius held not an ounce of trust for Severus.
Although Harry's words earlier had convinced him that James's son wasn't the kind of person who would acknowledge a killer as his Professor, he still deeply believed that Severus keeping Harry by his side was with ulterior motives.
And now, bringing this up at this moment must also be part of some scheme!
"Many speculate that he and Barty Crouch Jr. escaped together as part of a plan. Him finding us here this time might also be part of some plan their group is preparing, wanting to capture you and Harry alive?"
Lupin guessed.
To this, Severus shook his head.
"You know I still have connections with Lucius and those people. I know a bit about Barty's group. I can confirm that Sirius's escape from Azkaban has nothing to do with them. Since his breakout, he hasn't made any contact with Barty or the others… he's been acting alone all along."
Hearing Severus vouch for Sirius, Lupin now turned his gaze back to his former close friend.
"Is there anything you want to say, Sirius?"
In response to his question, the No. 3 radio around Sirius's neck merely emitted a laugh.
"Anything I want to say? What could I possibly have to say? Do whatever you want, whether it's killing me or handing me over to the Aurors."
Lupin clearly knew his temper well. From their school days until now, even after all these years in Azkaban, his nature hadn't changed.
And precisely because of this, Lupin had always wanted to know when exactly Sirius had completely betrayed them and turned to Voldemort's side.
It was because everyone knew his character that no one ever suspected he could be the one to betray James.
However, after Sirius was captured, the Wizengamot didn't hold any public trial. Instead, they directly announced the verdict, sentencing him to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
This deprived Lupin of any chance to communicate with Sirius.
And now, Lupin was well aware that getting this stubborn dog to take the initiative to lower his head, set aside his pride, and engage in reasonable conversation was impossible.
Just like back in their Hogwarts days when there were conflicts within their group, no matter whose fault it was, the one who always spoke softly first, offering a way out, was always him.
"I've actually always been shocked and confused about your betrayal. Many times I wrote to Dumbledore, asking him to help me apply to the Ministry for permission to visit you in Azkaban. But prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment generally aren't eligible for visitation rights."
Lupin pulled a chair from Severus's room and sat down in front of Sirius, adopting an open and honest posture.
Yet, Sirius's gaze remained unchanged. He still looked coldly at Lupin, silent, as if he had become mute.
"I know what you hold against me. You think I shouldn't be associating with Severus now." Lupin continued to look at him calmly.
"And precisely because I can guess your current feelings, I find your past betrayal even more incomprehensible. You still despise Severus, but this hatred isn't born of his betrayal of the Dark Lord, as those outside say. It's the same as before, the same hatred rooted in the belief that he, associating with those Slytherin Death Eaters, must have ill intentions."
Finally, Sirius spoke. His gaze cold as he looked at Lupin, the No. 3 radio emitted the broadcaster's resonant voice.
"Since you understand that, then why are you still hanging around with this Snivellus!"
"You're clever, Sirius." Lupin looked at him earnestly, "I've always thought you were the cleverest of the four of us. But it's precisely this cleverness that made you very arrogant, always thinking that your innate intelligence was enough. But that's clearly not right."
"And I've always considered myself a mediocre person. Meeting you all and becoming friends with you is the greatest honor of my life. So I love reading, love learning principles from books, love using my own eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my brain to think."
His words weren't just for the Sirius before him… they were also clearly heard by Harry and Severus standing behind.
"When I first met Harry, it was among the werewolves organized by Fenrir. He said he had been following Severus. At that time, I, like you, held great prejudice against Severus. Just like in our school days, I thought he was an unrepentant villain."
"My initial choice to follow him was solely because I was uneasy about Harry being with him. I was also afraid that James's son might end up being raised into the very kind of person he used to hate the most."
"Later, I heard the stories in Britain about Severus turning over a new leaf. Of course, I was skeptical of such rumors too. But in these days I've spent following Severus and Harry, I've determined for myself that he truly is no longer the Severus Snape we used to know."
Lupin's words were utterly sincere. This was clearly not just for show. Regardless of whether Sirius was truly guilty or not, he genuinely wanted to share his changed perspective on Severus with him.
"He's really different from before, and he's fully qualified to be a good teacher for Harry. And because of him, I've also resolved the misunderstanding with my father that lasted for so many years."
"I've even decided that wandering outside all these years has been irresponsible to my family. After the matters in Albania are concluded, I will go home and live properly with my father for a while."
"All these changes were brought about by the changed Severus."
"By telling you this, I just want to say, no matter what you've been through, or why you betrayed us, Sirius, as long as you tell us your experience, as long as what you say is the truth, then whether it's me, or Harry, or Severus, we will all use our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our brains to think, to judge what is factual."
After Lupin finished speaking, the room fell into silence.
After raising the doubts about Sirius, Severus hadn't spoken further, because he knew that as long as the suspicious points were mentioned, Lupin would surely notice the issues.
Sirius's earlier outburst towards Harry, though full of prejudice and self-righteousness, was also genuine emotion. Lupin, who had been his close friend, could definitely see that.
If Sirius were truly the traitor described in the verdict, a die-hard follower of Voldemort, he couldn't possibly have shown such emotion at this moment.
Therefore, Severus only needed to provide a slight nudge. Saying more would only be counterproductive.
The silence lasted a long time, roughly a full minute. Draco had already run back to his room to look for an ear pick. Finally, Sirius slowly spoke again.
"I am not the traitor. The real traitor is Peter Pettigrew."
His expression was calm, yet the voice from the broadcaster was loud and resonant.
Harry, standing behind them, widened his eyes. He didn't know much about the past events, but he was also shocked by Sirius's statement.
Lupin's face remained calm, but the slight contraction of his pupils betrayed his unsettled inner state.
However, true to his promise to Sirius, no matter how absurd or far-fetched the story, he was willing to hear it out first.
"Can you be more detailed? I know very clearly that after casting the Fidelius Charm, James chose you as the Secret-Keeper."
"Yes, it was me. Everyone knew I was his closest friend, closer than a brother! So, the fact that I was the Secret-Keeper for the charm couldn't possibly be a secret. So, at the time, I thought of a 'better' plan, thinking myself clever."
Sirius's eyes clearly held pain.
"I sought out Peter and had James change the Secret-Keeper from me to him. I thought the plan was flawless, that no one could possibly guess. But I didn't expect... I didn't expect that Peter had already pledged himself to Voldemort by then!"
He buried his dog head in his paws. Having said this, he didn't continue.
He didn't need to say more. Just from this, Lupin understood why Sirius had gone mad hunting down Peter afterward!
"Then why didn't you speak out about this?" Lupin asked, not understanding, "If you had told Dumbledore, told me, we would have definitely found a way to clear your name, to prove your innocence!"
"But I wasn't innocent. I was clearly guilty, wasn't I?" Sirius suddenly shouted. This wasn't the No. 3 radio's broadcaster acting on its own… from his wide-open mouth, anyone could see he was yelling.
Lifting his head again, Sirius didn't look at Lupin but met the eyes of Harry standing behind him.
"I am guilty. Because of my so-called 'brilliant plan', James and Lily died! I indirectly caused it all! I had no face to speak these things. Even killing Peter couldn't make up for my mistake. So I chose to willingly accept the charges, to stay in Azkaban and atone for it for the rest of my life!"
His words made Harry feel as if his breath was blocked.
The still-young Harry didn't fully understand what the Fidelius Charm was, or what a Secret-Keeper was. But he could tell from Lupin and Sirius's conversation that the person before him, always regarded by the outside world as the biggest villain who betrayed his parents, seemed... seemed not as simple as the rumors suggested!
Lupin was also silent for a long time before speaking again.
"Evidence? Do you have any evidence to prove this?"
Sirius lowered his head again. He lay on the ground, offering no further explanation.
"No evidence. Peter is dead, killed by me. James and Lily, who knew the Secret-Keeper had been changed, are dead. No one can testify for me anymore..."
Before he could finish, Lupin reacted quickly. He suddenly said, "No! There might be no one on our side to testify for you, but regarding Peter's betrayal, surely some of the core Death Eaters would know, right?! They're locked up in Azkaban. If we could get the Ministry to re-interrogate them, force the truth out of them, your words could be verified!"
In response to this, Sirius just said disdainfully,
"The Ministry wasn't even willing to hold a trial for me back then. Now you want them to re-interrogate the people in Azkaban, just to prove my innocence and make them lose their dignity? You're too naive, overestimating those politicians."
"We can ask Dumbledore for help. He's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. If he raises questions about the lack of a trial back then, he could definitely find a way to make the Ministry reopen the case!" Lupin still refused to give up.
At this moment, Severus, who had remained mostly quiet, suddenly spoke with a smile.
"Actually, if you want to prove whether what he just said is true or not, I have a simpler, more direct method."
Instantly, all eyes turned to him, Harry's, Lupin's, and even Sirius's, who was lying on the floor.
Facing their gazes, Severus simply took out a small vial of potion from his pocket and gave it a gentle shake.
"This is a bottle of Veritaserum."