There was a narrow tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow, stretching forward endlessly. Kael kept walking for a long time, but never caught sight of Harry and the others ahead.
"Did they run that fast?" Kael couldn't help but quicken his pace again.
After about ten minutes of walking, the tunnel began to slope upwards. A while later, Kael saw a faint patch of light.
He knew, by now, he'd reached the Shrieking Shack of Hogsmeade—this secret passage ended there.
It was a messy, gray room, all the windows sealed, with only a few dim oil lamps on the walls.
The light he saw earlier was cast by those lamps—though very faint, it was enough for this small room.
When Kael walked in, the atmosphere in the room was tense, crossbow drawn, everyone on edge.
Kael stood to the side cloaked in the Disillusionment Charm; the flickering lamps cast his shadow onto the wall, but nobody noticed him—including Professor Lupin and Sirius Black.
They were arguing fiercely by a table in the corner at this moment.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood on the opposite side; they finally seemed to realize their situation, and fear crept into their faces.
Ron looked conflicted, wanting to step forward and reclaim his rat but having no courage.
"When Scabbers bit me, I should've figured it out." he said in a defeated voice, "Scabbers ran away, but Lupin caught him with just one charm… Will the professor hunt us down with his wand? Even Snape wouldn't!
He must've planned this way ahead. Damn, how did I not see it before..."
"But why do they want your Scabbers?" Harry asked, puzzled and wary, keeping an eye on Lupin and Black.
"No idea," Ron said. "Maybe they just enjoy killing other people's pet rats."
But Harry and Hermione didn't agree; an ordinary pet rat wasn't worth all this risk.
And as the argument got more heated, Harry caught a name that sounded all too familiar.
"I did not betray James!" Black howled, finally speaking the words he'd always wanted to tell everyone.
"Peter was the real Secret-Keeper… We switched, I thought that way we could fool You-Know-Who. As long as he kept hunting me, James and Lily would be safe."
Black's voice trembled, close to tears, but after twelve years tormented by Dementors, crying had long since become a luxury.
His eyes were red as he gripped Scabbers, shaking him hard.
"But I never imagined that damned, cowardly traitor would give up the location to You-Know-Who the very next day after becoming Secret-Keeper."
"You must've been thrilled then…" Black raised his hand, glaring at the struggling rat, showing a vicious smile. "What did your master reward you with?"
"Enough! You're insane—both of you are!" Ron suddenly shouted. "He isn't Peter, he's Scabbers—my pet rat!"
He mustered his courage and stepped forward. "I've heard enough, give Scabbers back to me!"
"Sorry, I can't let you leave until the truth comes out," said Professor Lupin, snatching the nearly-squashed rat from Black's hands.
"That is the truth!" Black seemed even more agitated.
"I told you before—once you get the Marauder's Map, you'd see Peter's name on it at a glance… it's in Filch's office!"
"You think I didn't look?" Lupin replied blankly. "After your second break-in to the castle, I went to Filch's office, but the map was gone!"
At this point, Harry's mind was totally muddled.
He knew Peter Pettigrew—Minister Fudge had mentioned him at the Three Broomsticks earlier.
Wasn't he dead already? Killed by Black himself!
A Minister of Magic couldn't possibly lie, right?
Thinking that, Harry couldn't help blurting out, "You can say anything now, but Peter was killed by you. The whole street saw it!"
"What they saw wasn't what they thought," Black said roughly. "He fooled everyone using dirty tricks!"
"But Scabbers can't be Peter," Ron still refused to believe. "He lived with us for…"
"Twelve years!"
Black said, "You think a regular rat can live that long?"
"That's because Kael keeps brewing rat tonic for him," Ron argued. "Since he was with Percy, for years now."
"Who's Kael…" Black paused, clearly not expecting Ron's answer, and the name bugged him—he felt he'd heard it somewhere, but couldn't recall.
"A very clever kid," Lupin explained. "And quite brilliant."
"So just some kid who hasn't graduated yet…" Black said carelessly. Judging by Ron's look, he'd assumed he was some Master of Fantastic Beasts.
"It was just coincidence—he ran into an Animagus and wrongly assumed his tonic worked!"
Kael, standing to the side, raised his brow.
True, strictly speaking, but somehow it sounded snarky coming from Black.
When had he ever been arrogant?
Besides, those tonics were carefully made by him.
Black patiently continued to Ron, "Isn't he missing a finger?"
"So what?" said Ron.
"They only found a finger…" Harry instinctively recalled Fudge's earlier words.
"Exactly. That coward cut his finger off, just before transforming." Black said. "After I cornered him, he screamed for everyone on the street to hear that I betrayed Lily and James. Before I could cast a spell, he blasted the street with the wand he'd hidden behind his back, and dove into the sewer with the other rats…"
"Lunatic!" said Ron, as if listening to a completely absurd story.
Hermione spoke up too, voice trembling, forcing herself to be calm. "But Professor Lupin, Scabbers can't be Peter Pettigrew—you must know that."
"Why do you think it's impossible?" Lupin calmly asked.
"Because if Peter Pettigrew were an Animagus, people would know… the Ministry of Magic keeps records… only seven Animagi this century, none of them named Peter Pettigrew."
"You're right, Hermione," Lupin said. "But the Ministry doesn't know—three unregistered Animagi operated in Hogwarts."
"How do you prove it!" Harry's mind felt even more tangled. "Prove Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew!"
"It's very simple, and that's what I mean to do." Lupin glanced deeply at Black. "I hope you're not fooling me, or else…"
His tone went cold, then he suddenly hurled Scabbers to the ground and pointed his wand at him.
The wand shot a beam of blue light, enveloping Scabbers' head…
Black grinned, his hollow eyes lit up with strange excitement…
Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched the rat on the ground, nerves taut.
But nothing happened…
Scabbers was still the same, frantically scrambling across the floor, finally seized by Ron.
Black's smile froze, while Ron wore the air of a victor.
"See? I told you they're crazy. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew?"
Harry silently looked at Lupin.
He saw Lupin's face was grim, as he turned his wand to Black. "What else can you say? Ridiculous! I can't believe I ever trusted you, traitor!"
"No, no, it's not like that…" Black said dumbly. "It must've been your spell—something went wrong… he is Peter Pettigrew… he is… I can't be wrong…"
"Save it for the Dementors," Lupin said flatly, devoid of emotion.
Seeing this, Scabbers stopped struggling in Ron's grip, his tiny eyes full of stunned delight at surviving.
"No, Remus, that's not it…" Black collapsed, lunging forward in despair. "You have to be wrong—please, give me the wand… let me try…"
"Don't even think about it!" Lupin trained his wand at him. "Don't come any closer…"
But before he'd finished, Black threw himself forward, slammed Lupin to the ground, and snatched the wand.
Another flash of blue light—but again, nothing happened,
"Impossible… this can't be!" Black was going mad.
Harry, quick to react, raised his wand instantly.
But before he could cast a spell, a faint, familiar voice came from the corner.
"Expelliarmus."
Kael, now visible and freed from the Disillusionment Charm, stepped out and caught the flying wand in his hand.
...