Saturday, June 25, 1994.
Early in the morning, an old woman with white hair and worn-out clothes arrived at the Ministry of Magic.
She was PeterPettigrew's mother, and today she was here to see her son one last time.
"Look, that's PeterPettigrew's mother. Today is Peter's execution day, and she's come to see him off personally. By the way, why does she look so old?"
"It's said that after her only son 'died' that year, Peter's mother couldn't accept her son's tragic death at all. She cried so much that her eyes almost went blind. After suffering such a blow in life, it's natural that she aged faster."
"Serves her right! Why did she raise a traitorous son!"
"Don't say that; she's quite pitiful. Her son clearly wasn't dead, yet he never sent her a single message. It seemed no different from him being dead."
"You'd best not pity her based on her appearance. You should know she's no simple character; she's a ruthless person who managed to wring an Order of Merlin, First Class out of the Ministry of Magic."
Hearing this, the onlookers became interested and gathered around the elderly Wizard who had spoken.
Most people only knew that the Ministry of Magic had indeed awarded PeterPettigrew an Order of Merlin, First Class, but they didn't know there was so much history behind the medal.
The elderly Wizard saw that everyone was interested, cleared his throat slightly, and immediately began to educate the crowd.
The Order of Merlin had not intended to award PeterPettigrew an Order of Merlin, First Class back then.
After all, the difficulty of obtaining an Order of Merlin, First Class was obvious; all recipients were Wizards who had made significant contributions to the Wizarding World.
However, PeterPettigrew had no outstanding achievements at the time; at most, he had a good reputation for exposing the truth and bravely facing death.
During You-Know-Who's reign of terror, there were countless victims like PeterPettigrew, so he was nothing special.
Furthermore, PeterPettigrew came from an ordinary background, not from any noble pure-blood families, and his family had no influence in the Wizarding World.
Therefore, let alone an Order of Merlin, First Class, PeterPettigrew wasn't even qualified for a Third Class Order of Merlin.
To secure some honor for her son, Peter's mother sought out Dumbledore and pestered him for nearly a month with tears, tantrums, and threats of self-harm.
Considering that her son had worked for him and had just sacrificed himself, Dumbledore, out of helplessness, submitted PeterPettigrew's Order of Merlin application to the Order of Merlin as a nominator.
"Oh! So that's how it was; no wonder the Order of Merlin approved the application."
"How prestigious Dumbledore was back then! A nomination from him was absolutely a sure thing. It's said that if Dumbledore hadn't been unwilling, he would be the Minister of Magic today."
"So it was all thanks to Dumbledore's influence. Peter's mother really got a great deal back then."
Peter's mother ignored the pointing and whispering Wizards around her, walking unhurriedly with the aid of a cane.
Heh—
What's so great about an Order of Merlin, First Class? No matter how precious it is, can it be more precious than her son's life?
When Peter's mother learned that her long-sacrificed child was actually alive, she was so happy she almost jumped for joy.
This news was a huge blessing for her as a mother; she even thought she could reunite with her son and live happily ever after.
However, the overwhelming news reports quickly shattered her illusion.
Her son was no longer the glorious hero who had sacrificed himself, but a villain who had sided with the Dark Lord, betrayed his friends, and caused the death of his friends' family.
He had even used a Blasting Curse to blow up half a street of Muggles, truly a criminal with countless offenses.
Despite this, Peter's mother was still not prepared to give up on her son.
She was very old, and facing this only child, lost and found again, she had to fight for him no matter what.
Therefore, even though PeterPettigrew faced more than a dozen charges, Peter's mother bravely stepped forward to personally serve as her son's defense attorney.
On the day of the trial, she first cried and wailed, playing for sympathy from the crowd.
Coupled with her worn-out robe and white hair, it truly made those who heard her sad and those who listened shed tears.
When the presiding judge brought up Peter's many evil deeds, Peter's mother even loudly declared that PeterPettigrew might have been under the Imperius Curse of the Dark Lord or a Death Eater back then.
"I know my child very well; he is so timid and so kind. If he wasn't under the Imperius Curse, he would never have done something so outrageous and detestable."
Peter's mother's plan was clear: when Death Eaters were tried back then, many claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse and thus escaped final judgment.
So, she also planned to use this reason to help PeterPettigrew evade punishment.
However, to her disappointment, no matter how much she argued, the Ministry of Magic still found PeterPettigrew guilty.
And he was sentenced to the harshest punishment in the entire Wizarding World—the Dementor's Kiss.
Despite this outcome, Peter's mother did not completely give up. Over the past half month, she had spent all her family's wealth and secretly made many preparations, striving to achieve her goal today and completely rescue Peter.
Saving someone from Aurors on the day of execution—such a crazy idea, even if spoken aloud, no one would believe Peter's mother could succeed.
However, she clearly knew her unique advantage: her advanced age and frailty meant the Aurors' vigilance towards her would not be strong.
As long as she worked on this aspect, there was not no chance at all.
Before entering the Auror Office, Peter's mother took out a cup, opened the lid, and began to drink.
To outsiders, she was just drinking water, but no one knew that the cup contained only a small sip of golden Potion.
This was Felix Felicis, which she had bought on the black market, almost exhausting most of her family's wealth. As the Potion went down, Peter's mother silently prayed in her heart.
She hoped the people on the black market weren't swindlers and that this expensive Potion would work as it should.
Soon, a strange sensation surged through her heart. Peter's mother pushed open the door in front of her and walked into the Auror Office.
"Hello, today is my child's execution day. I'd like to see him one last time."
"Madam, old rules. You must leave your wand and handbag here, and then undergo our inspection."
"Of course, of course, I'll cooperate fully," Peter's mother said with a desolate tone, shedding a few tears from time to time.
The two Aurors who greeted Peter's mother were grim-faced. They picked up their wands and began to inspect her, ensuring that there were no Portkeys hidden in her clothes' buttons.
When the Aurors inspected the cane in Peter's mother's hand, she pleaded.
"My legs are a bit 불편. Could I please keep my cane? Please be kind. The previous Aurors also agreed the last few times I came."
Saying this, she voluntarily handed over her wand to them and then took out a lunchbox from her handbag.
"My son is going to die today. Before he dies, I want him to eat one last meal I cooked. Is that alright?"
Then, she took out two small cloth bags and placed them in their hands: "Please, this is my only wish."
Feeling the heavy weight in their hands, the two Aurors exchanged glances, nodded, and took Peter's mother's wand and handbag, then quickly completed the visiting procedures.
"Follow us!"
The three left the Auror Office and arrived before a heavily guarded room.
After checking the relevant procedures, the two Aurors led Peter's mother into the room and closed the door.
When the door opened again, they had already arrived on a solitary island in the North Sea.