Chapter 68

"Mind your own business! Get out of my way!" Sirius angrily waved his wand. We were blocking the gate of Lily's courtyard, and this man wasn't in a hurry to leave but wanted to exit the courtyard first, whether out of respect or something else.

"Once again, Lily was my best friend, and Harry is almost like my son. How could the person who caused Lily's death and turned little Harry into an orphan have nothing to do with us?" My voice was very soft, but I ensured every word penetrated his ears.

Sirius looked deeply shocked, his eyes filled with despair and pain. His hand holding the wand dropped weakly. His lips trembled as he uttered fragmented sentences, "…killed them…"

Suddenly, Sirius's wand flew out of his hand.

"Do you understand clearly now? Did you betray them? Where is Peter? Did you give him to the Dark Lord?" I suspected that he revealed Peter as the Secret Keeper to the Dark Lord, leading to the secret being easily extracted. Maybe Peter had already turned or been killed.

Sirius's expression changed. "You know Peter was the Secret Keeper? I thought you were accusing me of betrayal."

"Revealing Peter as the Secret Keeper to the Dark Lord is like handing over the secret. Do you think Peter could withstand multiple Cruciatus Curses without giving in? Or resist powerful Legilimency?" My voice was sharp and harsh. "Lily told me. Only you and I knew the true Secret Keeper was Peter. I swear it wasn't me!"

"I…"

"Can you look into my eyes and swear you didn't betray them?" Severus interrupted my emotional outburst, staring into Sirius's eyes.

Sirius met Severus's gaze without hesitation, knowing Severus might use Legilimency on him. "I swear I didn't betray them! I'd rather die than harm them..." Sirius fell back into despair.

Severus was silent for a few seconds. "He's not lying."

"…Then it's clear. Sirius, you entrusted the wrong person. Your brilliant plan failed because you trusted the wrong person. Lily and James are gone and can't be brought back." I choked on my words.

Sirius buried his face in his hands, trembling all over. "It's all my fault… I killed them… James almost convinced Lily to make you the Secret Keeper. But I distrusted you, blamed you for not trusting me and Peter..."

"Idiot!" Severus's eyes burned with anger. He cast a non-verbal Stinging Hex at the unprepared man in front of him.

Sirius groaned and was knocked to the ground by the spell, coughing violently. Severus didn't stop, casting spell after spell, leaving Sirius gasping on the ground.

"This is the 'great' Gryffindor friendship! Foolish!" Severus's suppressed emotions erupted. He was always cold and harsh in public, gentle and caring at home. I had never seen him this angry.

I held Severus's arm. Although I wanted to keep hitting Sirius to vent my anger, I couldn't tolerate someone being injured in front of me. "The fact is, your prejudice indirectly caused the death of your best friends and our Lily. How do we settle this?" I didn't intend to let him off easily; mental torment was more punishing than physical pain.

"After I kill Peter, you can do whatever you want with me." Sirius struggled to his feet, his expression turning crazed, as if he no longer cared about anything but revenge.

"Do you know where Peter is?" I asked.

"I don't know yet, but it shouldn't be hard to find him. May I leave now? I have a rat to catch." Sirius tried to smile, but it looked grotesque.

I stepped forward and cast a pain-relief spell on him, ensuring he wasn't seriously hurt. "Since we share a common goal, I want my ally to be in good health and not a burden," Severus explained, tossing Sirius's wand back to him. "Take us to Peter. No negotiations."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest but was immediately shut down.

"Our goal is to capture Peter, not to murder him," I reminded Sirius as we set protective spells on James and Lily's bodies before leaving. "If you kill him, no matter how guilty he is, you'll be the one accused of murder." I glanced at the unconvinced Sirius. "Unless you're eager to atone for James and Lily by going to Azkaban."

Sirius paused, his expression shifting. I sighed inwardly. Stubborn Sirius.

"Do you think they would want you to atone? Losing one trusted friend, would they want another to self-destruct in Azkaban? Do you think we can take care of Harry without his godfather?" My voice softened. "Or do you think we will raise Harry as our own, in your absence?"

Mentioning Harry clearly shook Sirius, his eyes filled with deep reluctance.

"Harry is only a little over a year old now. His first magical outburst, his first friend, his acceptance letter, his first spell… you don't want to be there for any of it? And his every success, every failure, you don't want to share?" My words pressed harder. Severus watched coldly.

"…I… no…" Sirius grabbed his hair in anguish, clearly torn inside.

"Or is it that you don't dare face Harry and want to shirk your responsibility? Brave Gryffindor indeed," Severus mocked. "We might as well not tell Harry he had an irresponsible godfather. Sawyer and I will raise him as our own. He won't be as arrogant as his father. He'll be a proper Slytherin, just like my Ivan."

"In your dreams, Snivellus! James and Lily's son will be the bravest Gryffindor!" Sirius jumped up, his energy renewed. "Let's catch Peter and send him to Azkaban! Harry is my godson, and I have custody!"

"Good, glad we agree on something." I gave Severus an admiring look. "Let's catch Peter, no time to waste." As for Harry's custody, that would be another battle.

Sirius, with renewed vigor, began using spells to locate Peter.

When we arrived at the magical location, Peter had already fled. The Marauders could track each other using a magical bond unless disrupted by strong magical interference or death. Sirius repeatedly tracked Peter with his wand, and we followed the directions until we finally cornered Peter on a Muggle street.

There were curious onlookers. Sirius and I held our wands, with Peter trembling between us. The Obliviators at the Ministry would have a busy day.

"Sawyer! Oh… why are you here with Sirius chasing me! I didn't want to…" Peter's small eyes were teary, his expression pained, his hand holding the wand trembling, seemingly indecisive.

"No! We're not here to kill you. I don't want to hurt you! Sirius said you were the Secret Keeper. I think there must be a misunderstanding! How could you betray James and Lily? There must be a reason!" I lowered my wand, putting myself at a defensive disadvantage, trusting Severus who was hidden.

"No! Don't believe him, the betrayer is Sirius!" Peter's body tensed, turning to Sirius. "Oh—how could you betray our friends!"

As Peter cried out, waving his wand, a spell was about to be cast. A red beam from an inconspicuous angle struck him, turning Peter into a stone statue.

I sighed in relief, quickly taking Peter's wand and binding him tightly with a spell. The crowd, who had been watching from a distance, had seen everything. The Obliviators would have their work cut out for them.

Sirius stormed over, releasing Peter from the Petrificus Totalus spell, and roared, "Why did you betray us? Why!"

"I didn't want to! You don't know how terrifying he is… he tortured me, threatened my poor mother, said he'd kill me if I didn't obey!" Peter struggled, his sharp voice causing my nerves, already strained from the previous night, to throb painfully.

"I'd rather die than betray them! You…" Sirius pressed his wand against Peter's throat, looking ready to curse him to death.

"You could have told Dumbledore, the Order would have protected you and your mother!" I stopped Sirius. "Remember? They protected my Muggle parents when I was in my fifth year!"

"It's useless… I'm just a cowardly, useless Wormtail, always following James and Sirius! In such tense times, who would care about my request? No one noticed my fear and anxiety, not even you!" Bound tightly, Peter vented his long-held grievances, accusing us of not caring, not noticing his distress.

"Excuses, all excuses! That doesn't justify betraying James!" Sirius grabbed Peter's collar.

"He didn't just threaten me, he offered me power, far greater than anything I learned at Hogwarts! He promised rewards for every piece of information I gave from the Order! Now, I'm not weaker than you, dear friends!" Peter laughed maniacally, his eyes gleaming. "Sirius, I should thank you. It was you who convinced James to make me the Secret Keeper. When I reported to him, I was highly praised!"

A wave of helplessness washed over me. How had this twisted friendship lasted so long? Lily was dead because of this scumbag. I regretted stopping Sirius from cursing him.

"Bastard!" Sirius punched Peter, sending him flying a few meters away, drawing gasps from the crowd. Peter spat out a few bloody teeth, an eerie smile spreading across his face. I knew something was wrong.

Peter's form began to change, shrinking rapidly, the binding ropes falling loose. Sirius and I simultaneously fired spells, which collided and fizzled out. The gray rat formed and darted toward the sewer grate.

"Damn it!" Our spells were dodged one after another, the rat was frustratingly agile. We watched as he slipped through the grate.