Chapter 239

Chapter 239

Only after Suer heard the gargoyle open and close again did he raise his hand and knock with the griffin-shaped knocker.

Whatever the circumstances, one ought to knock before entering.

“Come in,” Dumbledore’s gentle voice called from within.

With the owner’s permission, Suer immediately stepped inside. He had not visited for some time, but the Headmaster’s office remained as spacious and bright as ever.

Unfamiliar silver instruments still revolved upon the desk, breathing out thin wisps of pearl-white mist.

The portraits of former Headmasters crowded within their frames, chattering among themselves. They did not stop when Suer entered.

He caught scattered words such as “Dementors” and “disgraceful”.

Fawkes preened his feathers upon his perch. Noticing Suer’s gaze, the phoenix looked back at him, then turned away and continued his grooming.

Suer knew why. He had only wanted to pluck a few feathers. Did Fawkes truly need to remember it for so long?

“Suer?” Dumbledore seemed mildly surprised to see him. “You wished to speak with me?”

“Yes, Professor Dumbledore.” Suer bowed slightly. “I believe I need your help with certain matters.”

“Oh?” Dumbledore’s expression grew serious. He laced his fingers together atop the desk.

“Well… it is like this, Professor…” Suer carefully chose his words and drew a roll of parchment from his shoulder bag. “I obtained a very interesting object. It is called the Marauder’s Map.”

“I’ve had it for some time.”

Suer also took out the recording orb he had prepared and placed it beside the parchment on Dumbledore’s desk.

Dumbledore examined the parchment through his half-moon spectacles.

“A most interesting work of alchemy.”

He extended one finger. Without any visible spell, the parchment suddenly opened.

A spot of ink lengthened rapidly, tracing a plan of Hogwarts. Countless named dots appeared across it.

“The Homonculous Charm. This is a highly sophisticated piece of magic.” Dumbledore looked curiously at Suer. “I had not expected the map to be in your hands. How did you obtain it?”

The important thing is the name on it, Professor!

And Dumbledore’s wording suggested that he already knew the map existed.

Nevertheless, Suer answered obediently. “Fred and George gave it to me.”

He did not mention that he had received it only a few days ago.

“I saw a very interesting name upon it, Professor.”

“Peter Pettigrew.”

Something flickered in Dumbledore’s eyes before he asked, “What is strange about that name?”

“Nothing, by itself.” Suer had prepared for Dumbledore’s questions. “But it becomes very strange when connected to Sirius Black.”

“So you have already met Sirius Black,” Dumbledore said calmly.

“Yes, Professor.” Suer nodded. “I discovered his whereabouts. He is hiding in the Shrieking Shack.”

“With the help of this?” Dumbledore glanced lightly at the Marauder’s Map.

“Not exactly, though the map was very helpful. After the attack on the Gryffindor common room at Halloween, I visited the Room of Requirement. Someone was already using it, so I could not enter. Out of curiosity, I left this behind.”

Suer indicated the recording orb.

“It recorded Sirius Black emerging from the Room of Requirement.”

“And…” Suer pretended to hesitate. “As you know, I possess a certain gift for prophecy. Not long after the start of term, I dreamt that a great black dog would appear in the castle.”
“It looked exactly like the dog in the recording orb.”

“How did you determine that it was Black?” Dumbledore asked curiously.

“The map gave a dog a human name — and the surname was Black. That aroused my curiosity, and I used the Marauder’s Map to find his hiding place.”

“Reasonable.” Dumbledore nodded, then asked with studied casualness, “Why did you not inform the Ministry of Magic? Its Aurors and Dementors have been searching for him for a very long time.”

“I believe someone else betrayed Harry’s parents,” Suer replied after a moment’s thought.

“Then you have spoken with Black?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes, Professor,” Suer answered frankly. “Black told me another version of events. I found issues of the Daily Prophet from ten years ago and, out of curiosity, investigated what happened.”

“And what is the basis for your conclusion?” Dumbledore asked without revealing any emotion.

“The greatest doubt comes from the old newspaper reports. If Sirius Black truly belonged to Voldemort’s faction, there would be no reason for him to surrender after completing his task.”

“Why would he not return to his master?”

“Sirius Black told me the entire story. Peter Pettigrew was the real traitor, and the explosion in the street was a spell Pettigrew used to kill witnesses and escape.”

“I found Sirius’s account more convincing than the one I had previously known, but a critical piece was missing.”

After speaking for so long, Suer’s mouth felt dry. He licked his lips, and Dumbledore thoughtfully snapped his fingers. A glass of fruit juice appeared.

“Thank you, Professor.” Suer accepted it, moistened his throat and continued. “I found the missing piece recently, when I opened the Marauder’s Map.”

“Wormtail is simply what everyone called Peter Pettigrew — a nickname.”

“I obtained the old Gryffindor pupil lists from Head Boy Weasley. Ten years ago, the house included a pupil named Peter Pettigrew.”

“Why would a pupil who should have graduated ten years ago still appear inside the castle?”

“I believe the events of that year may not be what they seemed, so I came to you.”

“Very good.” Dumbledore smiled and nodded. “I had the same suspicion at the time, but there was insufficient evidence to prove Black innocent. The circumstances were extremely complicated. Many people were sent to Azkaban without a trial…”

Dumbledore sighed.

“Then Black escaped from Azkaban to capture Pettigrew?”

Suer nodded. “In fact, Sirius decided to escape because he saw Pettigrew in a newspaper.”

“Mr Weasley won a prize. You must have heard about it.”

Dumbledore nodded, holding his glass of juice without speaking.

“The Daily Prophet printed a photograph of the family in Egypt. Sirius saw Pettigrew in it and decided to break out.”

“Peter Pettigrew is Ron’s rat, Scabbers. He happens to be missing one toe.”

“And according to Ron, Scabbers has lived with their family for ten years. How could an ordinary rat survive for a decade?”

“There is only one possibility. Scabbers is actually an Animagus.”

“I see.” Understanding appeared on Dumbledore’s face. “A clever choice: using an Animagus form to hide within a wizarding family.”

“As they say in the East, the most dangerous place is often the safest.”