Chapter 156: What is a friend

Pettigrew suddenly caught Ron from behind. No one expected him to do something like that; he was too close to him.

Ron didn't evade him; he stood there with a pale face, allowing Peter to pin him down.

As Pettigrew grabbed his wand, he was like a rag doll, doing nothing to stop him.

The heat brought by the scene between Black and Harry faded instantly. The mood was tense again, and Harry and Hermione hastily pointed their wands at Pettigrew.

"Ron!" said Hermione worriedly, looking up at them with tears in her eyes.

"You dirty coward, let Ron go!" Harry shouted angrily.

Ivan didn't speak, but the tip of his wand glowed brightly.

It was him gathering mana. He looked closely at Peter, looking for an opportunity to strike.

"Peter Pettigrew, you dirty bastard, you miserable coward, let go of that boy!" Black roared angrily, "you're hopeless, I should have killed you!"

"Handing me over to the Dementors, that's no different than killing me, it might even be worse!" Peter's face showed extreme horror as he trembled and pleaded, "I can't go there. They'll suck my soul out. Come on, let me go. Sirius, we used to be friends!"

"Friends?!" Black walked up to Peter, he said through gritted teeth, "I was so blind that I made a friend like you, That's one of my biggest regrets!"

"No, don't come any closer," Peter Pettigrew shouted pointing his wand at Black, then turned again, pointing it at Ron's chest, "Get away from me, put your wand down, if you want Ron to live, do as I say, or else..."

His voice was the only one to be heard, as no one else was moving.

"Quick, do as I say!" A bolt of madness flashed in Peter's eyes. He shouted, "I'm not kidding. I'll give you ten more seconds. If there's anyone who hasn't dropped their wand, expect to bury Ron's corpse."

Ivan, Harry, Hermione and Black looked at each other and hesitated.

Peter was obviously serious, he really would kill Ron, the tip of his wand began to give a faint green light, it was the Killing Curse.

Harry gasped and looked hesitantly at Pettigrew.

He regretted that he had just stopped Black from killing him. If he hadn't, they wouldn't have been in that place. To help Sirius Black clear his name, he had to not let Pettigrew run away, but he couldn't ignore Ron's life.

Harry hesitated, he didn't know what to do.

On the one hand, there was his best friend; on the other, his godfather. Regardless of which person he let down, he would feel bad.

"Just do what he said, Harry!" said Black suddenly. "Put the wand down, we need to make sure the boy is safe."

"But...," said Harry.

"There is no but!" said Black anxiously. "That boy is your friend. We can't let him die. Remember Harry, if a friend is in danger and needs your help, you have to do everything you can to help him, even if it costs you your life Never hesitate!"

At Black's words, Harry sobbed and threw his wand to the ground.

"Ron, I know you're under Pettigrew's control. I don't know if you can hear me, but I still want to tell you...", Harry looked at Ron and his eyes were very steady. He shouted with everything he had, "Ron, you're my best friend forever! As Sirius just said, I'm willing to give my life to help you! So please wake up now!"

No one spoke. Everyone looked at Harry silently and listened to his loud cries.

"You're your father's good son, Harry!" said Black in relief. "I'm proud of you!"

"All right, another two!" cried Pettigrew, he too had tears clouding his eyes.

He tried not to cry. He saw James in young Harry. He thought he would also be willing to offer his life for him. He thought back to his school days with James, Sirius and Lupin. During those years, they adventured together at Hogwarts, and their footprints were everywhere on campus.

But now, he had nothing. He destroyed everything with his own hands.

Listening to Harry's screams, Peter Pettigrew told himself that he did nothing wrong and that hiding behind the strongest was the right choice.

If he fought the Dark Lord, he wouldn't have survived this long.

"Ivan, Hermione, I have no right to ask you anything, but..." Black looked at Ivan and Hermione who were still holding their wands.

"I know, Sirius!" Ivan put his wand down. He looked at Ron slowly and said, "As I told you in Professor Lupin's office, for all your faults, Ron, you are nothing like the man behind you! There is one key difference between the two of you: you never betrayed your friends. We all believe in you. Don't let us down."

"Yes, Ron, we all believe in you!" Hermione also lowered her wand and her eyes were red. "Remember how we became friends? Remember in first year, you and Harry rescued me from the troll? At that time, it was you who defeated the Troll! Without you... Without you, I could have died! I would offer my life for you, too."

Seeing the scene in front of him, Ron turned pale and his face was full of pain.

Peter was leading him to slowly withdraw from the scene.

Ron's body shuddered uncontrollably. Peter was giving new orders in his mind, but Ron couldn't hear a single word. All he could think about was what Harry, Ivan and Hermione told him.

He did so many bad things to them, but they still considered him a friend.

Ron shuddered. Before he thought he was similar to Peter Pettigrew, a misunderstood hero. But what he saw now was that Peter was a lowly, cowardly wretch and to blame for all these misfortunes.

And now, he is helping him and betraying his friends.

Though still under the control of the Imperius Curse, Ron suddenly burst into tears and cried like never before.

He suddenly found himself a bastard, a bastard of the worst kind.

It was like last year, when he preferred to believe in a strange diary and an evil dark wizard, rather than his friends.