Chapter 67: No Hesitation
---Two Weeks Later. September 14th, 1988 ---
The library had that smell of old books and leather. A student, probably a sixth or seventh year, was making his way up one of the tall ladders to get a book from the upper shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. Harry found a quiet spot at a corner table near the Charms section, surrounded by stacks of fifth-year textbooks.
He flipped another page, scanning the text about the Growth Charm. The information burned into his perfect memory within seconds. Harry moved his finger through the wand motion described – a smooth upward spiral that gradually expanded outward, followed by a small flick upward at the end.
A group of fifth-year Ravenclaws whispered at a nearby table, stealing glances in his direction. Harry ignored them, already used to the attention his faint halo drew. He grabbed another book from the pile and opened it.
Most of the content wasn't difficult to understand. Books spent pages upon pages explaining the history behind the spell, possible uses, safety measures and proper pronunciation, when the actual magic seemed straightforward enough. Use the correct wand motion, say the words, focus your intent. Transfiguration required more visualization and knowledge of various materials, but even that didn't seem too challenging.
Harry smiled to himself. Once he got his wand, catching up to his friends shouldn't take long at all.
He got up to get more books, walking between the tall shelves. The library was fuller than normal for a Saturday morning. Students sat in groups at tables, studying for their first tests of the school year.
"Um... excuse me?"
Harry turned to find three first-years staring up at him. Two girls and a boy, all wearing new Hufflepuff robes. The blonde boy who spoke wrung his hands nervously.
"We were wondering..." The boy swallowed hard. "About the… light? Behind your head?"
Harry glanced at the other two first-years, who he could tell were muggleborns just by the looks on their faces. The dark-haired girl nodded eagerly while her friend half-hid behind her.
"It's just something magical you're born with," Harry said softly. "Like how some wizards can change how they look, or see the future."
"So you were born with it?" The blonde boy's eyes widened.
"Not really. It started happening recently." Harry shifted the books in his arms. "Magic comes out differently in each person."
The dark-haired girl raised her hand as if in class, then blushed when she realized what she'd done. "Does it... do anything?"
Harry considered how to answer, knowing that this would probably spread throughout Hogwarts. Maybe it'd be best if he mentioned something minor so people aren't as curious? "It helps with healing magic sometimes. Nothing too special."
That wasn't entirely true, but they didn't need to know the details about how his virtue cultivation amplified his entire existence. It was safer if people didn't know what he could really do.
"That's so cool!" The quiet girl finally spoke up. "We just learned about people who can change how they look in Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall said magic like that doesn't happen much."
Harry nodded. "They are, but you don't need to worry about missing out. Human Transfiguration is something you'll learn in the last years of Hogwarts."
All three first-years beamed at him. Harry remembered his conversation with Calla about her accidental magic, how excited she'd been to learn she wasn't alone.
"I should get back to studying," Harry said, gesturing with his books. "Good luck with your classes."
The first-years thanked him and hurried away, whispering excitedly among themselves. Harry watched them leave, thinking about how he might have been just like them if he'd grown up with the Dursleys instead of at Hogwarts. Not knowing anything about magic...
He shuddered slightly, and walked back to his table, ready to continue memorizing spells he couldn't cast yet. Even if he liked the Dursleys, he wouldn't trade his current life for anything.
Harry sat down, cracked open another Charms book, and started flipping through the pages once he was sure he hadn't missed anything. At least the theory would be perfect when he finally got his wand. It was a shame he couldn't just instantly comprehend what he memorized, but that was life.
Footsteps approached Harry's table, and he looked up to see Charlotte walking toward him with an armful of books. She smiled brightly and sat down across from him.
"I thought I'd find you here," Charlotte placed her books on the table. "Still memorizing everything?"
Harry closed his current book and pushed it aside. "Just finished the fifth-year Charms books." He grinned at her. "How was Spain?"
"Amazing!" Charlotte's eyes lit up. "Mum and I spent a whole week at the beach. The water was so warm, and we went snorkeling near these underwater caves." She rolled up her sleeves, showing off her unmarked skin. "No one even looked twice at my arms."
Harry smiled, not needing to ask what they were celebrating. Charlotte pulled out her Transfiguration homework and started writing.
"Bill!" Charlotte waved at someone behind Harry. "Over here!"
Harry turned to see Bill Weasley walking toward them, followed by two younger boys with the same bright red hair. The taller one was Charles who played as Gryffindor's Seeker. The shorter boy pushed his glasses up his nose, looking nervous.
"Hey Harry, Charlotte." Bill dropped into the chair next to them. He gestured to his brothers. "You know Charlie, and this is Percy. He just started second year."
"Nice to meet you," Percy stuck out his hand formally. Harry shook it, trying not to laugh at how serious the young Weasley looked. "I've heard a lot about you both."
Charlie leaned against the table. "Percy wouldn't stop talking about finally meeting the famous Harry Potter." He smirked when Percy's ears turned red. "And Charlotte who helped deal with the Ice and Forest Vaults."
"Charlie!" Percy glared at his brother.
"What? It's true." Charlie ruffled Percy's hair. "You kept asking Bill about them all summer."
Percy straightened his glasses, clearly embarrassed. "I-I just think what you did was very brave." Desperate to move past the awkward moment, he quickly thrust his hand into his pocket. "Would you like to meet Scabbers? He's my pet rat."
Harry froze as Percy pulled out a fat grey rat. The rat looked ordinary enough - missing a toe on one paw, fur a bit thin in places. But Harry's instincts told a very different story. This wasn't a pet rat, it was too dangerous for it to be that. This was an Animagus in disguise, pretending to be a child's pet.
Harry forced himself to stay calm. Why would an Animagus pretend to be the Weasleys' pet? How long had this person been spying on them?
"He's... interesting," Harry said slowly, looking at the rat. He noticed the rat wouldn't look back at him.
"Percy got him when he was little," Bill said. "He's been with us for about seven years."
"That's a long time for a rat," Charlotte noted, reaching out to pet Scabbers. The rat shrank away from her hand.
"He's very smart," Percy said proudly, not noticing his pet's strange behavior. "And well-behaved. Never tries to run away or anything."
A wizard hiding as a rat for seven years, starting right after Voldemort's defeat? This had to be a Death Eater. But why stay with the Weasleys? Unless...
"Percy," Harry kept his voice casual. "What did you say about getting him?"
"Dad found him in the garden," Percy stroked the rat's head. "Right after I turned five. He looked lost, so Dad let me keep him."
The timing made Harry's stomach clench. Someone desperate enough to hide as a rat right when Voldemort fell... This wasn't just any Death Eater. This was someone who needed to disappear completely.
He glanced between Charlotte and Bill, both focused on Percy's enthusiastic description of Scabbers' eating habits. Harry looked down at Charlotte's parchment and nudged her arm. He pointed at her quill and mouthed 'let me use it'.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow but slid the quill over. Harry grabbed a blank piece of parchment and wrote quickly: 'That rat is an Animagus. Probably a Death Eater hiding since Voldemort's defeat.'
He showed the note to Charlotte and Bill. Charlotte's eyes widened, but she kept her face neutral. Bill read the message and crumpled the parchment in his fist, shoving it into his pocket.
"So Charlie," Bill spoke up, clenching his fists hard beneath the table. "You were telling me about that dragon sanctuary in Romania you were interested in?"
Charlie launched into an excited explanation about Romanian Longhorns while Percy nodded along. Harry watched the rat from the corner of his eye. Scabbers seemed perfectly calm, whiskers twitching as he sniffed Percy's sleeve.
Charlotte scratched something on a new piece of parchment: 'We need to tell the professors.'
Harry shook his head slightly and wrote back: 'Can't let him escape. No Apparition in Hogwarts, not a match for me. He's trapped.'
Bill leaned forward, pretending to look at Charlie's dragon book. He whispered so quietly Harry barely heard him. "You sure about this?"
Harry nodded. The rat might look harmless, but he knew exactly how dangerous this wizard was. He could take him. Still, right now the Animagus was completely unaware and vulnerable…
Harry quickly wrote another note: 'Keep them busy. I'll grab the rat. Both of you be ready with Full Body Bind.'
Bill's eyes narrowed as he read the message, but he nodded. Charlotte gripped her wand under the table.
"Charlie," Bill spoke up. "Show us that picture of the Hungarian Horntail again. The one from that book you got."
Charlie pulled out a thick book from his bag, flipping through the pages. "Here! Look at those spikes along the tail." He pointed excitedly. "They can grow up to-"
Harry moved fast. He snatched Scabbers off the table, gripping the rat firmly behind the neck. The rat squeaked and thrashed, but Harry held tight and held it towards Charlotte.
"What are you-" Percy started to protest.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Charlotte's spell hit the rat square in the face. The rat went rigid in Harry's hand.
Percy jumped up. "Stop! What are you doing to Scabbers?"
"Percy, wait." Bill grabbed his brother's arm. "That's not really a rat."
"What do you mean?" Charlie stood up too, looking between Harry and the frozen rat. "Of course he's a rat."
Harry placed the petrified rat on the table. "He's an Animagus. A wizard pretending to be a rat." He glanced around the library. Other students were starting to stare. "We need to get him to the Professors."
"You can't just-" Percy reached for Scabbers, but Bill pulled him back.
"Trust me, Percy," Bill said firmly. "This is serious."
Harry wrapped the frozen rat in his scarf, making sure to keep a tight grip. "Charlie, take Percy to Aunt Mi- Professor McGonagall's office. Tell her we found an unregistered Animagus." He turned to Bill and Charlotte. "We'll go to Grandpa's office."
"But-" Percy's voice cracked. "He's just a rat! He's been my pet for years!"
"Exactly," Harry met Percy's eyes. "What kind of rat lives for seven years? Normal rats only live for two or three."
Percy's face went pale. Charlie put an arm around his younger brother's shoulders. "Come on, Perce. Let's find Professor McGonagall."
Charlie led the distraught Percy away while the other students in the library started whispering amongst themselves. Harry ignored them and headed for the library exit, Bill and Charlotte right behind him.
"How did you know?" Bill asked as they rushed through the corridors. "About him being an Animagus?"
"I can tell when someone's dangerous," Harry adjusted his grip on the scarf-wrapped rat. "And this wizard is definitely hiding from something big if he went this far to escape notice."
They reached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. Harry spoke the password - "Sugar Quills" - and they hurried up the spiral staircase.
Dumbledore looked up from his desk as they burst in. "Harry? What-" His eyes fixed on the bundle in Harry's arms, and his expression turned serious. "Explain."
"This rat belongs to Percy Weasley," Harry placed the wrapped bundle on Dumbledore's desk. "But it's not a rat. It's an Animagus who's been hiding with the Weasleys for seven years."
Dumbledore stood up, drawing his wand. "Seven years, you say?" He waved his wand over the frozen rat. "Indeed. This rat is human..."
"Percy found him not long after You-Know-Who fell," Bill stepped forward. "He's been pretending to be his pet all this time."
"A Death Eater hiding as a pet rat?" Charlotte frowned. "But why choose the Weasleys?"
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps to keep track of any news about Voldemort's defeat." He pointed his wand at the rat. "Stand back, children."
Harry moved away from the desk, pulling Charlotte and Bill with him. Dumbledore muttered an incantation, and bright white light shot from his wand.
The rat began to twist and grow. Limbs stretched, fur receded, and within seconds a short, balding man lay sprawled across Dumbledore's desk. The man remained frozen from Charlotte's spell, but his small watery eyes darted around in panic.
"Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore whispered. The usual twinkle in his eyes vanished. "But you're supposed to be dead."
Bill gasped. "Pettigrew? The one Sirius Black killed?"
Harry watched the frozen man on the desk. Something felt wrong about this. If Pettigrew was supposed to be dead, killed by Sirius Black... why was he hiding as a rat? Why not just stay reveal himself if he was alive all this time?
A knock at the door made them all jump. Aunt Min entered, followed by Charlie and a very pale Percy.
Percy took one look at the man on the desk and stumbled backward. "That... that's not... Scabbers?"
"Charlie, Percy, come with me," Aunt Min placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You shouldn't be here for this." She glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. Percy looked like he wanted to protest, but Charlie gently steered him toward the door.
Once they left, Dumbledore waved his wand in a circular motion. Blackened chains burst from the tip, wrapping tightly around Pettigrew. Another wave undid Charlotte's Body-Bind.
Pettigrew immediately transformed back into a rat, but the chains simply shrank with him. After a few futile attempts to squeeze free, he changed back into a man.
"Please!" Pettigrew's voice came out as a squeak. "I had to hide! Sirius Black... he's mad! He'll kill me if he ever escapes Azkaban!" Tears streamed down his round face. "I was scared for my life!"
Harry shook his head. The story made no sense. Why would an innocent man hide for seven years? Not to mention that nobody had ever escaped Azkaban. And if Black wanted him dead, why not tell everyone he was alive? The Ministry would have protected him...
Unless...
Harry reached into his pouch and pulled out a small crystal vial filled with clear liquid. He had brewed this Veritaserum months ago, practicing seventh-year potions. Now he finally had a use for it.
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose as he looked at the truth serum in Harry's hand. "Harry, where did you get that?"
"I made it," Harry met his grandfather's eyes. "We need to know the truth."
Pettigrew's eyes darted between Harry and the vial. His whole body trembled. "No! You can't... I'm innocent! Black was the Secret Keeper! He betrayed them!"
But Harry noticed how Pettigrew's panic seemed to spike at the sight of the Veritaserum. Almost as if he was more afraid of telling the truth than dying...
"This is a restricted potion, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "The Ministry regulates-"
"I know." Harry stepped closer to Pettigrew, who tried to shrink away. "But we need answers. Real answers." He turned to Dumbledore. "What if we've been wrong all this time? What if an innocent man has been in Azkaban for seven years?"
Bill moved forward. "Sirius Black was found laughing in that street. All they found of Pettigrew was a finger..." He stared at Pettigrew's right hand, where the same finger was missing.
"You cut off your own finger," Charlotte whispered. "To fake your death."
"No!" Pettigrew struggled against the chains. "You don't understand! Black was going to kill me! He betrayed James and Lily!"
Harry's hand tightened around the vial. "Then prove it. Take the Veritaserum."
"I... I..." Pettigrew's eyes darted toward the window, as if measuring the distance.
"Three drops will do it," Harry uncorked the vial. "If you're telling the truth, you have nothing to fear."
Dumbledore stood up from his desk. "As Chief Warlock, I can authorize the use of Veritaserum in extraordinary circumstances." He pointed his wand at Pettigrew. "This certainly qualifies."
"No, please!" Pettigrew thrashed in the chains. "You can't! I won't-"
"Stupefy," Dumbledore's spell hit Pettigrew in the chest. The man slumped forward, unconscious. "Harry, the Veritaserum, if you would."
Harry stepped forward, hands steady as he carefully counted three drops onto Pettigrew's tongue. Dumbledore revived him with another spell.
Pettigrew's eyes glazed over as the truth serum took effect. The room went completely silent.
"What is your name?" Dumbledore asked.
"Peter Pettigrew."
"Were you the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter?"
"Yes." The word came out flat and emotionless. Bill sucked in a sharp breath while Charlotte covered her mouth with her hands.
"Did you betray James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort?"
"Yes."
Harry's vision blurred red. The temperature in the room spiked as his anger leaked into the chi escaping from his mouth. This man, this coward had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. Had framed an innocent man. Had lived as a pet while Sirius Black rotted in Azkaban.
Red flames burst from Harry's skin, crackling with power. The portraits on the walls shouted in alarm as the temperature in the office soared ever higher.
"YOU KILLED THEM!" Harry raised his hand toward Pettigrew. A massive wave of crimson fire roared forward, the heat so intense it warped the air.
Pettigrew screamed, but the flames splashed harmlessly against a transparent shield. Dumbledore appeared next to Harry, gripping his shoulder firmly.
"Harry," Dumbledore spoke softly. "You need to calm down."
"He deserves to burn alive!" Harry's voice cracked. "He betrayed them! My parents are dead because of him!"
The flames grew hotter as Harry drew upon the power of virtue. Books started smoking on the shelves. Bill and Charlotte backed away from the heat, faces pale.
Dumbledore didn't flinch. "Think about Sirius Black, Harry. We need Pettigrew alive to prove his innocence." He placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let the law deal with him. He will spend the rest of his days in Azkaban."
Pettigrew whimpered, tears streaming down his face as the crimson flames pressed against the shield. The metal objects in the room began to glow slightly from the heat.
Harry's hands shook. Grandpa was right. Killing Pettigrew wouldn't bring his parents back. Wouldn't help Sirius. The flames flickered and died, leaving the office filled with smoke.
"He'll pay for what he did," Harry stared at Pettigrew with burning hatred. "In Azkaban. With the Dementors."
Pettigrew slumped in his chains, still crying from the intense heat. Bill and Charlotte exchanged worried glances, but Harry ignored them. He wouldn't kill Pettigrew.
But he would make sure Justice was served, no matter what.
"I need to contact the DMLE," Dumbledore said, heading toward the fireplace. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Whitewood, please go back to your common rooms. Harry..."
"I'm staying," Harry didn't take his eyes off Pettigrew. The rat-faced man flinched under his gaze.
Charlotte squeezed Harry's arm before leaving. Bill paused at the door. "Harry, mate... the Ministry will make this right."
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