Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 294 I was never doing this willingly, I was just too scared!

The cold water jolted Peter Pettigrew, causing him to shudder violently. He let out a muffled cough and his eyelids began to twitch slightly, clearly showing signs of waking up.

Indeed, the reason why Peter Pettigrew dared to make a move in front of Sirius Black and Rupert Hoop is because of this.

It's all because of the dreamlike constructs that Dylan created in the shadows.

The spell blurred his fear and amplified his unrealistic wishful thinking, which gave him courage that he shouldn't have had.

At that moment, under the combined effect of the cold water and the dispelling of the spell, Peter Pettigrew's eyelids trembled violently, and then he suddenly opened them.

His eyes blinked blankly for a moment, his pupils contracting as the light suddenly appeared.

A moment later, their gaze focused.

He was facing Professor Dumbledore's eyes, which seemed to see through his glasses and could see right through everything.

His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively turned his eyes, immediately spotting Sirius Black beside him.

The other person was staring intently at him, their gaze like a sharp blade, almost as if they wanted to devour him alive.

On the other side, Professor Snape had a cold smile on his lips, and his eyes showed undisguised contempt and disgust.

A little further away, the young student stood quietly, his face expressionless.

But the calm gaze that fell upon him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

For some reason, when my gaze fell upon Dylan...

An indescribable fear would suddenly surge from the depths of his heart, like a cold, venomous snake coiling around his spine.

His hands and feet were so cold that he instinctively wanted to curl up or find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Isn't this damn guy a Gryffindor student?

He felt like this guy was even more Slytherin than Snape!
No matter what he was thinking, he couldn't move at all.

The injuries on my body were still throbbing, and even the slightest exertion felt like my internal organs had shifted.

Madam Pomfrey only managed to bring him back to consciousness; the idea of ​​escaping in this body was simply a pipe dream.

What's more, everyone in the room was staring at him, each gaze like an invisible chain, trapping him firmly in place.

In the end, Peter Pettigrew could only stiffly twitch the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying, his voice dry as if sandpaper was being rubbed.

"...Hello, everyone?"

"ha--!"

Before he could finish speaking, Sirius Black let out an uncontrollable roar, his voice filled with deep-seated hatred.

He could no longer contain himself and charged forward, looking as if he wanted to pounce on the damned bastard and traitor in front of him and tear him to pieces!
"what--!"

Peter Pettigrew was terrified. He screamed, instinctively pulled his neck back, covered his head with his hands, and almost slid off the chair.

However, the anticipated attack did not occur.

There was a muffled thud.

Sirius Black felt as if he had run into an invisible wall.

His body jolted violently, and he was thrown back, staggering two steps backward before regaining his balance.

In front of him, a transparent barrier was shimmering faintly.

—That was an armor spell that Dylan casually set up.

"Mr. Blake, please remain calm until the truth is fully revealed, okay?"

Dylan's wand remained firmly pointed at the edge of the armored charm in front of Sirius Black, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable insistence.

What a joke! If Peter Pettigrew is damaged, neither extracting his soul nor directly controlling his body will yield a perfect test subject.

Sirius Black's chest heaved violently, veins bulged on his forehead, and his voice was hoarse with suppressed rage.

"Wasn't what I just said clear enough?!"

"I understand what you're saying, but it's ultimately just your one-sided statement."

Dylan tilted his head slightly, and with his other hand, he calmly took out a small glass bottle from his bag. Inside was truth serum, and the bottle gleamed faintly under the light.

"Based on the current situation, the existing evidence only shows that Peter Pettigrew is not a hero, but it is not enough to prove your innocence."

"If you were willing to drink this before making your statement, I might believe you a little more, but clearly, you're not willing to do that, are you?"

"Okay, Blake, calm down."

Professor Dumbledore's gentle voice rang out, "It won't be long before everything is answered."

He sighed softly, his deep eyes turning to Peter Pettigrew, who was huddled in his chair.

His gaze held a complex mix of inquiry and a hint of barely perceptible regret.

“Peter, it’s been a long time since we last met. All these years, I thought you were long gone.”

"Principal... Principal..."

Peter Pettigrew's body trembled even more violently.

He looked up at Dumbledore, his lips trembling, his voice filled with uncontrollable sobs, thick with the sound of crying.

"It's so good to see you again... You wouldn't believe his nonsense, would you? How could you take the lies of a wanted criminal seriously..."

Peter Pettigrew's voice trembled violently, his eyes darted nervously around in their sockets, then turned to Dylan standing beside him, trying to force a kind expression onto his rat-like face.

But that stiff smile was even uglier than crying.

Dylan frowned in disapproval.

“Child… I really didn’t mean to hurt you. That was just a feint.”

“You saw it with your own eyes, Lupin and Black were in cahoots. They wanted me dead... just like they did after they killed James and Lily…”

Dylan remained silent, but with a slight turn of his wand, the tip of the wand, which had been pointing at Sirius Black, was now firmly aimed at Peter Pettigrew's chest.

"Don't get excited, brother mouse."

Little Pettigrew was taken aback.

How dare you mention their names?!

Sirius Black could no longer contain himself and slammed his fist into the armored shroud in front of him, producing a dull thud and causing ripples to spread across the transparent barrier.

Peter Pettigrew was startled by the sudden noise and shrank back like a frightened rabbit.

"He's trying to kill me again! You all saw it, didn't you!"

Peter Pettigrew quickly realized that Sirius Black couldn't break through the barrier at all, and his courage grew a bit. He shrieked and pointed at the other side, his voice filled with deliberately feigned terror.

"If I really killed James and the others, why didn't I kill their kids too? For the past three years, I've been so close to him! I've had plenty of opportunities to do it!"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, as if he had truly suffered a tremendous injustice, but his evasive eyes betrayed his guilty conscience. "That's just because you're afraid! You're afraid to lay a hand on Dumbledore under his nose! And you're even more afraid to expose your true colors again for a master who has been missing for so long!"

Sirius Black pressed his hands firmly against the Ironclad Barrier, his knuckles white and veins bulging, almost embedding himself into the transparent magical barrier.

His eyes were wide open, bloodshot and menacing, as he stared intently at Peter Pettigrew. His voice was hoarse with extreme anger, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"enough."

A deep, powerful voice rang out in the office, instantly interrupting the two men's wild, howling argument.

Professor Dumbledore slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on Peter Pettigrew's face, which was filled with fear and evasion. His thick eyebrows furrowed tightly, and his usually gentle eyes now held a sharp edge.

"Peter."

His voice was calm, yet authoritative. "Do I have to make you drink a truth serum before you'll tell the truth? Believe me, I really don't want to use this method on someone who was once my student."

His tone carried a hint of barely perceptible disappointment, as if he were heartbroken over the student's downfall.

Dylan nodded and took out the bottle of potion he had added a little something extra to.

"No...you can't...you can't do this to me..."

In response to Professor Dumbledore's question.

Peter Pettigrew just kept shaking his head, his head shaking like a rattle-drum, his hands gripping the armrests of the chair tightly, wood chips even getting between his fingers.

His body trembled like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, his face was filled with despair as he was forced to the edge of a cliff, his lips quivered, and he couldn't even utter a complete explanation.

"Ah~"

Professor Dumbledore let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with unspeakable disappointment, as if it weighed a ton.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on Peter Pettigrew for a moment before turning to Dylan and nodding gently.

No! You can't—

Peter Pettigrew's scream was still stuck in his throat, and the terror on his face hadn't even fully unfolded before he was frozen in place by a spell.

"They all turned to stone."

Dylan's voice was calm and utterly emotionless.

Peter Pettigrew's face froze instantly, his eyes wide open and his mouth half-open, like a frozen, ugly sculpture, even the tears that welled up in his eyes from fear were frozen on his cheeks.

Dylan deftly tucked his wand back into the wand case in his sleeve.

Then, he picked up the bottle of truth serum, pulled out the oak stopper, tilted his wrist slightly, and three drops of clear liquid dripped from the bottle opening, landing precisely in Peter Pettigrew's frozen mouth.

After putting the cork back on the bottle, he drew his wand again and pointed it at Peter Pettigrew.

"The curse stops immediately."

As the incantation ended, Peter Pettigrew's stiff body gradually regained its movement, but the expression on his face slowly faded from terror and became unusually calm.

He even exuded an almost numb blankness, staring blankly ahead, as if half of his soul had been taken away.

It's just that I occasionally make vomiting motions.

Upon seeing this, Professor Dumbledore could no longer bear to watch and gently closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, all that remained in his gaze was an undeniable seriousness.

He began asking Peter Pettigrew about the details of what happened back then.

From changing the person responsible for keeping secrets to how someone betrays them, every question is clear and direct.

Peter Pettigrew, like a puppet, laid everything bare without reservation, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion.

Until the effects of the truth serum gradually wear off.

When Peter Pettigrew's consciousness returned.

He noticed the various gazes of the people around him.

Especially Sirius Black's eyes, which seemed to be spitting fire.

An overwhelming sense of despair instantly engulfed him.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

He knew perfectly well that everything was over, and there was no way to salvage the situation.

Sure enough, Sirius Black, like an enraged lion, pounced again.

This time, however, the armored curse that had been blocking his way had vanished without a trace.

"You betrayed us long before that! You were the one who tipped off Voldemort!"

Sirius Black gripped Peter Pettigrew's collar tightly, lifting him off the ground.

He was furious, and the veins on his arms bulged.

Every word was squeezed out through clenched teeth, filled with burning hatred, as if trying to pierce a hole through the repulsive face before him.

"Sirius...Sirius...I really didn't mean to..."

Peter Pettigrew's feet kicked futilely in mid-air, his thin body swaying like a withered leaf.

His small, beady eyes were brimming with tears, which rolled down his sallow cheeks, mingling with the dirt on his face, making him look particularly disheveled.

"But... what can I do? That dark demon... you can't even imagine how terrifying he is, his methods... I'm so scared, Sirius."

“I’ve never had the courage of you, Lupin, or James. I’m just a coward…”

He sobbed, his voice broken and intermittent, trying to use cowardice as a shield for his actions. His shoulders trembled, and anyone who didn't know better would have thought he had suffered a great injustice.

“I was never willing… It was that person whose name I can’t mention who forced me… If I had dared to refuse, he would have killed me! You have no idea what that fear is!”

"But you served him for a whole year, didn't you?"

Dylan tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Peter Pettigrew's tear-streaked face.

"Throughout the year, you have countless opportunities to ask your friends for help and to confess to Professor Dumbledore."

"I believe they would be willing and able to protect you, just like Harry's parents did everything they could to protect him."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Sirius Black.

"You may still be able to stay together, protected by the Curse of Loyalty."

"After all, back then, he was willing to replace you with the Secret Service. Given the friendship between you, Harry's father would certainly not mind letting you live with them and defend against danger together."

These words were like a sharp dagger, precisely piercing through all of Peter Pettigrew's excuses.

He opened his mouth, making a hoarse sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a single word.

She could only shake her head in vain, her cries growing even more piercing, but she could no longer elicit even a shred of sympathy.

(End of this chapter)