With deep resentment, Peter pointed at Sirius, shedding tears.
"Professor Lupin has been deceived by Sirius; the truth is not at all what was just said."
"Sirius is a murderer, a deranged Dark Wizard; don't be fooled by his acting."
Peter's eyes were red as he continuously elaborated on his reasons.
"Don't forget, the entire House of Black are extreme pure-blood supremacists, without exception; their whole family supports You-Know-Who."
"His parents began funding You-Know-Who before he rose to power;
His cousin BellatrixBlack is You-Know-Who's most fanatical and loyal servant;
His younger brother Regulus Black is also a pivotal figure among the Death Eaters."
At this point, Peter looked at Sirius, his face contorted as he questioned him fiercely.
"Sirius, am I speaking the truth? Do you dare deny it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Harry and Hermione both looked at Sirius in surprise, awaiting his response.
They had never imagined that the House of Black's composition was so pure, with almost all family members connected to Lord Voldemort.
Ron, however, was not very surprised; having grown up in the Wizarding World, he already knew the situation with the House of Black.
Facing Peter's questioning, Sirius openly admitted it.
"I don't deny what you just said; everyone in my family is a scoundrel, a piece of trash, the dregs of the Wizarding world."
"But," Sirius's tone shifted, "precisely because I couldn't stand their ways, I rebelled against the family early on and was subsequently disowned by my mother from the family tree."
"Lies!" Peter retorted sharply, "Who knows if this isn't a ploy by your family, to have you infiltrate Dumbledore's ranks as a spy, to secretly pass information to the Dark Lord."
"You can fool others, but you can't fool me."
Seemingly having caught a loophole in Sirius's words, Peter's tone grew excited.
"You were disowned by your family at 16, while you were still studying at Hogwarts, but from then until after you graduated, you never lacked a Galleon."
"Not only that, you always maintained your extravagant spending habits; you even bought a high-end Muggle motorcycle, which, by Galleon exchange rates, was no small sum."
"After graduation, you didn't work; you only joined Headmaster Dumbledore's resistance against You-Know-Who, but the Principal never paid us a salary."
Peter's expression was somewhat smug: "Tell me then, where did your Galleons come from? Don't tell me it was all from James."
"If it was from James, then why didn't he fund Professor Lupin? You know, because of his Werewolf identity, Professor Lupin has always lived a difficult life."
Hearing this, Harry's heart stirred, and he quickly looked at Sirius.
Yes, if he was disowned by his family, Sirius should have no financial source and be living very frugally.
But listening to Pettigrew, Sirius not only had plenty of money to spend but could also buy a motorcycle, which didn't seem like the state of someone who had been disowned.
If his own father had funded him, it wouldn't make sense either; Professor Lupin was a ready example.
Could it really be as Pettigrew said, that Sirius outwardly left the family, but in reality, it was just to facilitate being an undercover agent?
Thinking this, Harry's judgment began to waver; he felt that what Pettigrew said made some sense.
Sirius was stunned; he had never expected to be caught off guard regarding money.
But he couldn't refute it; after being disowned by his family, the family had not cut off his financial source, and he could still withdraw Galleons from Gringotts. Additionally, one of his uncles had also given him a sum of Galleons.
He spent it without any psychological burden, based on the principle of not letting money go to waste and that spending the enemy's funds strengthens one's own side.
However, after coming out of Azkaban, he found that the Galleons his uncle had given him earlier were almost all spent.
Moreover, for some unknown reason, he also couldn't withdraw Galleons from Gringotts.
He had originally tried to order gifts for Harry via owl, but it ended in failure.
Looking at Sirius, whose face was flushed, Sebastian sighed softly in his heart.
He could actually understand why Sirius could still spend the House of Black's money after being expelled.
The reason for all of this stemmed from Sirius's mother—Walburga Black.
She was a very ambitious woman; she had always been dedicated to making the House of Black the top pure-blood family in the Wizarding World.
At the same time, she was also a very intelligent woman; upon discovering that her eldest son was rebelling against You-Know-Who, she outwardly expelled him from the family, but in reality, she was going with the flow and betting on both sides.
Sirius's defection was merely a contingency plan for Walburga, an insurance to ensure the continued existence of the House of Black.
This way, whether Lord Voldemort won or lost, the House of Black could continue to survive in glory.
However, she hadn't expected that neither of her sons would follow her script, leading to the complete decline of the House of Black, appearing no different from extinction in the eyes of outsiders.
Sebastian gently shook his head, refocusing his attention on Peter, and continued to watch his spectacular performance.
"I have a lot more evidence!" Pettigrew shouted hoarsely.
"On the night Harry's parents died, Sirius clearly rushed to find Harry, but he didn't think about fulfilling his godfather's responsibility; instead, he chose to hastily pursue and kill me."
"Why do you think this is?"
Meeting Harry's puzzled gaze, Pettigrew cried bitterly: "He was trying to silence me!"
"As long as I'm dead, no one will ever know what he did!"
"The Secret-Keeper was changed to me, but Sirius was also one of the Insider of the secret."
"At James's request, I gave Sirius a parchment with James's home address on it."
"He must not have destroyed it after reading it; instead, he offered that parchment to You-Know-Who."
"Nonsense!" Sirius roared, looking at Pettigrew with a murderous gaze, "You were the one who betrayed James and them; how dare you..."
Sirius desperately twisted his body; if he wasn't chained, he would rush up and fight that bastard to the death right now.
Harry felt his mind turn into a muddle; he was completely dizzy, unsure whom to believe.
Professor Lupin also hesitated; Pettigrew's words had once again shrouded clear facts in a fog.
He felt that Peter's explanation was not problematic, but the fact that he had been a rat for over a decade was very suspicious.
Pettigrew glanced at the grim-faced Snape and administered another strong dose.
"Poor Lily, she was so young, and because she followed James and trusted the wrong person, she sacrificed her life at such a young age. That bastard Sirius deserves to die!"
"Shut up!" Sirius roared, "You don't deserve to utter Lily and James's names!"
Peter ignored Sirius's shouts, merely lowering his head with tears in his eyes.
He knew Lily's importance in Snape's heart, so he wanted to use Lily's death to provoke Snape, hoping that Snape would lose his mind and directly kill Sirius, his enemy.
Go on, Snape!
Think about the enmity between you and Sirius.
And think about Lily's wails before she died.
How can you resist not striking down that bastard Sirius?
Come on, with just one green light, you won't bear any responsibility; instead, you'll become a hero for taking down a fugitive.
And I will live openly under the sun, no longer fearing that the truth will be exposed.
Pettigrew looked at the ground, feigning heartbreak, while cursing incessantly in his mind.
What are you standing there for!
Quickly kill Sirius!
Severus Snape!
...
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