Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 174 The Story of Wormtail (Part 1)

"Enough!" Professor McGonagall snapped, pointing her wand at James and the other two bound to their chairs. "Tongue Lock and Throat Lock!"

James and Sirius's angry roars abruptly ceased, leaving only futile whimpers; Pettigrew, on the other hand, seemed frozen, only his eyes still darting around in terror.

Professor McGonagall's chest heaved as she struggled to suppress the turmoil within her. Finally, her gaze settled on Moody, who looked travel-worn and stern.

“Alastor,” she said, “tell me a detailed account of how you encountered them.”

Moody, standing in the center of the cabin, tapped his wooden leg on the floor. Unmelted snowflakes still clung to the shoulders of his travel cloak. The blue magic eyes that Grindelwald had made for him now resided in their sockets, making his already unfriendly face appear even more ferocious.

“Minerva,” Moody’s Magic Eye slowed its rotation, and he spat, “we were in northern Wiltshire, chasing a bunch of Death Eater scum who were attacking a Muggle village.”

“Unexpectedly,” his voice was low and hoarse, carrying the weariness of battle, “when we arrived, the fighting had already begun. We heard the sounds of fierce fighting near the ruins of a burned-down barn, rushed over, and saw the three of them.”

“At the time,” Moody frowned, recalling the details, “they were fighting with about five or six Death Eaters. Potter and Black were at the front, fighting pretty hard.” He shifted his wooden leg and continued, “we joined the battle. In the melee, Potter was bound tightly by a Swift Binding Charm, and Black was knocked down by a Stunning Charm while trying to save him.”

“As for him,” Moody’s alchemical eyes darted wildly in their sockets, landing on the insect tail with disgust, “that coward, only a few steps away from the Death Eater. He didn’t cast a single spell, but he didn’t run either, he just stood there trembling like a frightened mouse.”

Upon hearing Moody's account, the insect tail shook its head, trembling even more violently, despite the fireplace burning brightly in the captain's cabin, making it warm and cozy.

Snape saw his small eyes darting towards the closed hatch, and a low whimper coming from his throat, making him look particularly pitiful.

"The fighting was fierce," Moody's voice broke the tense atmosphere in the cabin. "These bastards are cunning, but they were thrown into disarray by being attacked from both sides. We defeated that group of Death Eaters. Seeing that things weren't going well, they Apparated away."

"It wasn't until the battle was over that Little Pettigrew shakily moved out, and he even forgot how to hold his wand."

“That’s when something strange happened,” he said, pulling a wand from his robes with a grim expression. “The boy suddenly turned around and ran past Potter, who was tied up.”

"Even though Potter was tied up, when he saw Peter approaching, he somehow mustered the strength to headbutt him hard. Mr. Pettigrew was knocked down, fell face-first into the mud, and his wand flew out of his hand. Here it is."

Moody brandished his wand, raising it high, and Peter's eyes followed the wand with longing.

“Then,” Moody put away his wand, “our men surrounded Potter and cut the ropes binding him. And then—” he raised his voice, “Potter’s eyes turned red as soon as he was free.”

"He wasn't going to pick up the wand or help his friend at all. Instead, he pounced on Pettigrew like a mad deer, punching and kicking him as if he wanted to strangle him to death."

“We re-tied Potter,” he shook his head, and continued, “only then did we lift the stun spell on Black. But as soon as he woke up, ignoring our attempts to stop him, he roared and pounced on Pettigrew, who was still lying on the ground.”

“It took us a lot of effort to separate them,” Moody said, shrugging. “We couldn’t do anything about it; we’re not sure what happened between the three of them.”

"For safety, and to prevent them from attacking each other, we used magic to quiet them down temporarily. And, while we were at it, we also cleaned Mr. Pettigrew's pants."

"After confirming that there were no tracking spells or other magical traces on the three of them that could reveal our location," he concluded, "we brought them back."

"That's what happened."

Moody finished speaking, and only the crackling of the fire and the heavy breathing of the others remained in the room. All eyes were on the three raiders.

James and Sirius's faces were contorted with anger and suppressed rage. They stared intently at Peter, their silent hatred almost bursting forth.

Although he already had a guess in mind, Snape still had some questions to answer. He turned to Professor McGonagall and suggested:

“Professor, let the parties involved speak for themselves? Potter and Black’s anger must have a source. Let’s hear what they have to say. Maybe we can fill in some details.”

Professor McGonagall nodded with a serious expression.

"Stop the spell!" She waved her wand, breaking the spell on the three of them.

The moment the restraints in their throats were released, all three of them burst into sound simultaneously.

"He's a spy!" Sirius roared hoarsely first. He struggled violently toward Pettigrew, scraping the chair legs against the floor. "He joined the Death Eaters! That despicable traitor! Spineless! He killed—"

“I don’t know—what are you talking about!” Peter Pettigrew interrupted sharply, his voice rising shrilly with fear.

“James, Sirius, you’re insane!” His breathing became more rapid, large beads of sweat rolled down his pale face, and his body trembled as if it were about to fall apart. “Slander! Why are you doing this to me?” He stammered, looking at Professor McGonagall for protection.

Seeing that Sirius and James were about to explode again, Professor McGonagall immediately waved her wand once more: "Quiet!"

Their angry curses were forced back down their throats, but the hatred in their eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Seeing Peter's terrified and tearful state, Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment. After all, in everyone's mind, Peter had always been the most timid, the most inconspicuous, and the one most in need of protection among the four.

She instinctively tended to believe he was coerced or framed. She took a deep breath and looked at Peter:
“Peter, you go first. Tell us what happened? Why did they do this to you?”

Upon hearing this, Snape couldn't help but let out a soft, cold laugh. But he didn't object; he simply crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and waited for Wormtail to have his fun.

After Professor McGonagall lifted the spell, Peter shivered violently. Seeing that Professor McGonagall had given him a chance to defend himself, he immediately nodded frantically, as if grasping at a straw, tears and snot streaming down his face even more profusely.

"Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick! Please... you must not trust them!"
“They both wanted to kill me, they really wanted to kill me! They’re insane, just because I’m a Mudblood, they think I’m weak and easy to bully, and they want to hand me over to the Death Eaters, but even the Death Eaters can’t accept their behavior…”

"For Merlin's sake, save me!" he wailed, his voice piercing with anguish. "We used to be such good friends... I never imagined..."

With his eyes sunken, James's face now looked even more like a skull.

Although he could not speak, his unfathomable eyes were fixed on Pettigrew.

Peter shrank back, startled by James's gaze. He lowered his head, avoiding James's eyes, and tried to shrink into the floor. His face was now covered in sweat, his eyes darting around, and he stammered as he tried to continue his explanation:

“I thought they were friends…in…Godric Valley…they even took me in…but…but then…they…they wanted to capture me and hand me over to the Death Eaters.”

"Yes! That's it! They wanted to use me to curry favor with the Death Eaters in exchange for safety. I escaped... I barely managed to escape... Waaah..."

Upon hearing Wormtail's words, Sirius's teeth clenched so hard they rattled, and his face contorted in pain.

“Alright,” Snape impatiently interrupted Peter’s clumsy wailing, “Shut up.” He stepped forward, looking down at the trembling man in the chair.

“Wormtail,” he said, “do you have anything to add? About your ‘innocence’ and ‘victim’?”

Peter looked up at Snape, as if he saw another hope.

“Severus, Severus,” he called out, “they’re both purebloods. You have to believe me, I’m like you, we’re not purebloods. They look down on people like me, they bully us, those pureblood lunatics want to kill us…”

However, he was met with Snape's wand.

Peter only managed to utter one last short syllable before falling silent, leaving only the opening and closing of his lips and his terrified stare.

Snape didn't look at him again, but tapped James' wand lightly.

“Tell me, James,” he said. “We want to know the real, complete story.”

James gasped for breath. He swallowed hard, struggling to suppress the raging anger and the suffocating pain within him.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his voice was hoarse as he began his narration.

“After leaving here…” each word seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his throat, “Sirius and I, with him, went back to Godric’s Hollow… back to my home. My parents… took us in…”

“We thought…” James’s voice was full of bitterness, “that at least it was safe there. At first… it was relatively peaceful…” he recalled with difficulty, “but not long after, the Death Eaters came knocking.”

"They extended an invitation to our whole family, but my parents declined."

"Later, they came twice more, each time with an increasingly aggressive attitude..." His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and his voice lowered, "The third time, they came too suddenly..."

“They saw Little Pettigrew…right in the living room…” He paused, catching his breath, “They figured out his lineage, that he was a Muggle-born.”

"They forcibly took him away, like dragging a dog... We tried to stop them, but there were too many of them, and their wands were pointed directly at us."

"As he was leaving, that bastard who was leading the group poked my face with his wand and said, 'You little Potter brat, think it over. If you want this filthy Mudblood to come back intact, you'd better think carefully about your answer to our friendly invitation.'"

Silence fell over the cabin. Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together in anguish; even Moody's Magic Eyes stopped moving, fixed on James.

“We’ve been trying to figure out a way…” James was still lost in his memories, “to get him out. We considered all the possibilities, either pretending to join them, and once they released Peter, we’d immediately take him and hide… far, far away.”

“Or, we could find a chance to snatch him back… We even…planned to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic…” He looked up, his gaze empty as he looked in Peter’s direction. “We’ve been thinking about how to save him…”

“But…” His voice suddenly turned shrill, like the wail of a wounded beast. He writhed violently, the ropes digging deep into his flesh. “One day… Sirius and I… went out… to gather information… We… when we got home…”

“What we saw…” James gasped for breath, “was… ruins…the houses were half blown up…gone…”

“Under the rubble…” He made a hoarse sound in his throat, unable to continue, only letting out a desperate growl.

After a long while, he mustered all his strength and murmured as if in a whisper, "They are dead, my mom and dad."

"Why...why...didn't they say they wouldn't kill pure-blood wizards? They said...they are pure-blood...why..."

Professor McGonagall, her eyes reddening, stepped forward: "James..."

James let out a nervous laugh. Then, as if in a daze, he continued:

"Later, Sirius and I had no choice but to run away. We hid in an old house left by Uncle Alphard."

“Back then, we were still thinking, every day, how to get revenge on the Death Eaters…” He stared at Peter and said, word by word, “How, how to rescue that poor wretch.”

“But at the scene of a Death Eater attack on Muggles, in the Death Eater ranks… we saw him.” His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

“He was standing in the middle of them,” James said calmly. “We thought he was being coerced, so we rushed out to rescue him, attacking the Death Eaters in an attempt to take him back.”

"But when he saw us, he showed no joy, no pleading for help, and no excitement."

"Instead, he raised his wand in terror and, together with the Death Eaters, unleashed a spell at us..."

Sirius let out a suppressed sob. Tears mixed with unvented anger streamed down his cheeks.

“Caught completely off guard,” James finally spoke again, “Sirius was struck by a curse and seriously injured. We barely managed to escape…”

“We can only think of one explanation,” he said through gritted teeth, using his last strength, “He betrayed us… He said something to the Death Eaters to save his own life… or something else… that killed Mom and Dad…”

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(End of this chapter)