"Hagrid told me quite a lot about Harry's father," Tom said calmly. "He accidentally let slip this old feud. Combined with this map, my curiosity got the better of me."
Tom's explanation was logical and convincing. Especially when Hagrid was involved. His loose lips were legendary. As long as it was said to have come from him, even Dumbledore would believe it.
There was only one flaw…
"Now I finally understand why James and his little group were never caught back then," Dumbledore said softly, lowering his head as he admired the branching ink lines on the map. "At a glance, you can tell it was their work. Black family true-name magic, Potter tracking techniques… remarkable. To produce something like this while still students."
Halfway through, a trace of sadness surfaced on Dumbledore's face. He sighed and changed the subject.
"Mr. Riddle, you haven't had this map for very long, have you?"
"Mm." Tom nodded. "Ginny gave it to me. Before that, it had been with Fred and George."
"Fred and George?" Ron exclaimed in shock. "They never told me they had something like this!"
If he had had this map last year, he and Harry would not have been caught sneaking around at night.
"Ron," Harry sighed. "You seem to be focusing on the wrong thing. Shouldn't you be more concerned about why they had such an amazing map, yet never noticed anything strange about Scabbers?"
Ron froze.
Ron's heart shattered.
So that meant Fred and George had never once used the Marauder's Map to check on him?
Tom glanced at Harry. He strongly suspected Harry was deliberately stabbing Ron in the heart to make himself feel better.
Truly a naturally sinister Potter. Even the Sorting Hat had desperately tried to send him to Slytherin. Going to Gryffindor was a waste of talent.
Ron, meanwhile, was completely sunk. For a moment, he did not know whether to be more shocked that his rat was actually a man, or more devastated by the realization that in his brothers' eyes, he was practically invisible.
An eerie silence settled over the room.
Seeing that Snape had already taken Peter Pettigrew out of the office, Tom turned to Dumbledore.
"Professor, since things are getting complicated, I'll head back to class."
He had handed Peter over not for justice, but purely to tell Snape who his true enemy was, to settle old debts and unpaid wages. As for what happened afterward, he did not care.
Not long after Tom left, Snape returned to the Headmaster's office with Peter Pettigrew.
When he saw Harry and Ron, the smile on his face finally disappeared. In front of the two boys, he forcibly compelled Peter to transform back into human form.
Hatred burned in Harry's eyes.
Ron nearly collapsed on the spot.
He had hugged this greasy, wretched fat man and slept beside him for two whole years?
Peter Pettigrew's eyes were dull and unfocused. His already tattered clothes now looked like strips of rags. Through the fabric, lash marks and bloodstains were clearly visible.
Dumbledore's eyelid twitched.
Handing him over to Fudge like this, anyone unfamiliar with the situation might think Hogwarts was some kind of interrogation dungeon. But seeing how refreshed and satisfied Snape looked, Dumbledore chose not to comment.
Soon enough, Cornelius Fudge arrived at the office, accompanied by a dozen Aurors.
When Fudge had read the letter that morning, he had thought Dumbledore was joking. But the seriousness of the tone forced him to take it seriously.
Dumbledore noticed that Fudge had not brought along that so-called senior assistant this time, which instantly made his eyes feel less strained.
"Albus…" Fudge stared at Peter Pettigrew, panic flickering in his eyes. "What exactly is going on here?"
"You'd better listen from beginning to end," Dumbledore said, giving Snape a meaningful look.
Peter Pettigrew was once again force-fed Veritaserum until he could drink no more. Fudge, along with the ten Aurors he had brought, heard everything clearly, thoroughly, without missing a single detail.
Harry could no longer suppress the fury in his heart. He charged forward, punching and kicking Peter in a blind rage, and no one stopped him.
Fudge was stunned.
The Aurors were equally shaken.
Some of them even had distant family ties to the Blacks. After all, the Black family had once been immensely powerful in Britain, bound by countless marriage alliances.
So Sirius Black had been an innocent man framed all along, while the so-called hero celebrated by the Ministry was the real criminal?
What kind of mess had the Ministry of Magic made?
Many gazes turned toward Fudge, who was sweating profusely.
At this moment, Fudge's instinctive reaction was not to correct the injustice, nor to clear Black's name.
It was to suppress it.
Suppress everything.
This colossal mistake could not be made public. It would be a massive scandal, one that would severely damage the Ministry's credibility and, most importantly…
Public support for him.
Just like Muggle politicians, approval ratings were Fudge's lifeline. Lose them, and he was finished.
"Albus… this is… truly unbelievable," Fudge said, wiping sweat from his brow, babbling nervously. "Is Peter Pettigrew really a criminal? Could there be something wrong with the Veritaserum?"
"Snape, I'm not questioning your skill. You know as well as I do that testimony extracted by Veritaserum cannot be used as evidence. Further investigation is required."
Snape was not angry. In fact, he rather hoped the Ministry would not overturn the case. Letting Sirius rot in prison suited him just fine.
Dumbledore lowered his gaze. He had anticipated Fudge's reaction long ago and already had a response prepared.
The old man nodded approvingly.
"Cornelius, the Ministry is fortunate to have such a cautious Minister."
"You agree with me?" Fudge said in delight. He had expected Dumbledore to argue fiercely against him.
"Of course. You are the Minister. It's just that…" Dumbledore sighed. "If the presiding judge at Sirius Black's trial had been a little more careful back then, perhaps this tragedy would never have happened. I'm old now, I can hardly remember who was responsible at the time…"
"Wasn't it Crouch…"
Fudge stopped mid-sentence.
Two seconds later, his eyes lit up. He almost burst out laughing, but remembering there were others present, he forcibly held it back, his face flushing red.
"Albus! This matter cannot be delayed any longer!"
Fudge raised his arm passionately.
"We absolutely cannot allow criminals to roam free. I am sworn to stand against evil to the very end!"