Hogwarts: Why do you call me the Demon King?

Even if Voldemort himself wasn't in good mental health, he would at least hope that his subordinates were normal people.

As Voldemort's second-in-command, he could accept his second-in-command's brutality and cunning, but he could not accept his insane nature.

An organization only needs one mentally ill person in charge.

Peter Pettigrew immediately changed direction, intending to "break out" from the other side.

Unfortunately, Snape never gave him that chance.

A blue and white spell struck the big gray rat precisely, and the rat, which had been squeaking and crawling around, paused for a second or two before starting to writhe wildly.

Then, Peter Pettigrew, like a plant being observed growing at double speed, began to "grow" rapidly.

How long does it take for a mouse to grow into an adult?

Isaac got the answer in the principal's office.

In the blink of an eye, the gray rat turned into a man.

A man who looked extremely disheveled.

This person is short, but still taller than Isaac.

However, by next year or the year after, Isaac will probably be taller than Peter Pettigrew.

Peter Pettigrew's thin, pale hair was disheveled, and he had a large bald patch on top.

His appearance resembled that of an obese person who had lost a significant amount of weight in a short period of time.

His skin was very dirty, almost like his mottled fur, and his pointed nose and watery little eyes had the characteristics of a mouse.

When Peter Pettigrew was forcibly restored to human form, the first person he looked at was neither Snape nor Dumbledore.

Instead, he glanced at Isaac standing in the corner of his eye.

He hid in the Weasleys' house for ten years, and no one found him in those ten years.

As a result, Ron only showed it to Isaac once, and the young wizard promptly brought him to the headmaster's office.

Along the way, Peter Pettigrew did consider running away.

But this little wizard went too far. If he wanted to escape from the cage by turning back into human form, he would have to gamble on whether the spikes inside the cage would kill him.

Why did he turn back into human form?

Of course, it's to save his life, but if he transforms back into human form, he might die, so of course he won't choose to transform back.

Just like when his friends dragged him along to face Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

No one said that resisting Voldemort would necessarily lead to death, but the probability of death was certainly greater if one resisted than if one did not.

So Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters to find a way to survive.

Even when Peter Pettigrew uses dark magic to cause an explosion in London that kills 12 Muggles, he is still fighting to survive.

He knew very well that once the truth was revealed by Sirius Black, no matter how big the wizarding world was, he would have no chance of survival.

He left one finger behind in an attempt to make others believe he was dead.

In fact, most people have been misled by Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius even foolishly went to Azkaban to serve time for him.

Even so, Peter Pettigrew still felt uneasy.

He disguised himself as a mouse and successfully infiltrated the Weasley family home.

He lived as a rat in the Weasley family for ten years—a full ten years, eating only what rats eat.

He dared not change back, because he knew very well that Arthur Weasley was a staunch supporter of Dumbledore.

He is also a powerful wizard. If Arthur Weasley were to discover his Animagus identity, Peter Pettigrew doesn't even know what would happen.

Illegal Animagus individuals, once captured, are to be sent to Azkaban.

Sirius will definitely try every means to kill him when the time comes.

He has to live!

“Interesting.” Isaac noticed the fleeting, sinister look on Peter Pettigrew’s face.

How could a dark wizard who can kill 12 Muggles with dark magic only be cowardly?

Peter Pettigrew is ruthless to himself, willing to betray his friends just to survive, living a life that's less than human.

Logically speaking, timid people shouldn't be sorted into Gryffindor.

But now it seems that the old man's division of the departments was quite accurate.

I wonder if the Sorting Hat initially saw Peter Pettigrew's ruthless determination to survive?

“Peter Pettigrew, you can’t afford to offend Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape in the Headmaster’s office, so you’ve chosen to hold a grudge against me?”

"Yet you harbor such deep resentment towards me, yet you dare not even look me in the eye?"

Isaac pointed his wand at Dumbledore's desk, and several thick stacks of parchment flew out.

They transformed into ropes in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, Peter Pettigrew was bound up like a dumpling.

Chapter 80 Dumbledore, you'll regret this!

Without a word, Snape grabbed the crystal bottle from the table, pried open Peter Pettigrew's mouth, and poured a small vial of Truth Potion down his throat.

Truth serum is usually administered in doses measured in drops.

Snape directly converted the dosage into a bottle.

It was obvious to Snape that whether Peter Pettigrew lived or died, or went mad or insane, was irrelevant to him afterward.

All he needs is the truth.

“Peter Pettigrew, weren’t you dead? Why are you still alive?” After the truth serum took effect, Snape stared at the disheveled man with empty eyes.

When he is awake, Peter Pettigrew might feel fear and apprehension.

But now he's so muddled that all he has left is the instinct to tell the truth; he answers Snape's questions.

“I didn’t die because I caused the explosion. I blew up the whole street and killed everyone within 20 feet—I even left one of my fingers behind.”

Snape's grip on his wand tightened, and he was momentarily unable to continue asking questions.

With just one question, Snape realized what had happened back then.

Isaac stood next to Snape and asked on his behalf, on behalf of Dumbledore, "Sirius was the one chasing you back then. Why was he chasing you?"

"Because I betrayed James, I gave their address to that guy who can't even say his name."

Isaac could tell that Peter Pettigrew was genuinely terrified of Voldemort. Even in his dazed state, the mere mention of Voldemort sent shivers down his spine.

"You betrayed James Potter? No, shouldn't the person keeping their address confidential be Sirius Black?"

How did you betray me?

"At the last minute, Sirius changed the person in charge of keeping secrets to me. He thought that the person who couldn't even reveal his name would definitely pursue him, and would never pursue someone as cowardly as me."

Peter Pettigrew spoke haltingly, taking about five minutes to say just those two sentences.

Snape's dosage was still too high.

"When did you start working for Voldemort?"

When Peter Pettigrew heard Isaac call out "Voldemort" without any attempt at concealment, his body trembled even more violently.

The fear Voldemort instilled in Peter Pettigrew even overshadowed the effects of the Truth Potion to some extent.

Fortunately, this bottle of Truth Potion was made by Potions Master Snape himself, and the dosage given to Peter Pettigrew was even more than the recommended amount.

"A year before... when James was confronted by him. That man was truly terrifying and horrible."

I'm really scared..."

Peter Pettigrew's three friends, James, Sirius, and Lupin, were truly risking their lives against Voldemort.

But they really enjoy it.

According to Sirius Black, being able to fight a villain like Voldemort would be the best thing ever.

Essentially, all three of them are Gryffindor-style battle maniacs.

These guys are really giving it their all.

But Peter Pettigrew is different; he only went all out because his friends dragged him along.

Just like when they secretly practiced Animagus transformations while they were in school.

Isaac didn't believe that Peter Pettigrew, who was so afraid of death, would secretly perform such risky magic.

It's highly likely that he was brought along by those two people.

After Isaac asked the main questions, Dumbledore asked a few more supplementary questions.

After piecing together the truth of what happened back then, the office fell silent.

Only Peter Pettigrew occasionally let out a muttered word, as if he were saying something.