Peter Pettigrew's words caused Harry and the others to fall back into a fog, and what had been certain became uncertain again.
'That's all the slander you've got! Why don't you explain why you've been hiding for over a decade disguised as a rat?' Sirius scoffed.
"It's Lupin, Lupin's been after me! I have to hide… have to hide!" Peter Pettigrew shouted like a madman.
"Professor Lupin?" said Harry and the others in astonishment.
"Yes, that's right, Lupin…he's actually a werewolf! It wasn't just Black who betrayed James in the first place, it was Lupin!"
Peter Pettigrew once again broke the shocking news, and then he went on tearfully.
"Do you know why Lupin was so poor all those years ago? He suspected that I was still alive, so he tried to silence me, and even gave up his job to do so, preferring to starve!
Lupin has been looking for me all over the world for years, because I'm the only one who knows their evil faces… He must have found out I was here when he came to Hogwarts as a professor this year…"
Peter Pettigrew was crying like a man in tears.
"And I want to be there to protect you, Harry! You can't imagine how happy I was when I first saw you at Hogwarts."
Ivan, who knew the truth, had a strange look on his face. He knew that Peter Pettigrew was cunning, but he had never expected him to be so good at making things up.
Fortunately, he was cautious and did not reveal Peter's identity in public. Otherwise, his identity as a Lupin werewolf would have been exposed…
'How dare you… Peter, you filthy worm, it's not enough that you slander me, but you want to drag Lupin into this?' Sirius angrily grabbed Peter by the collar and punched him hard in the nose.
Peter screamed in pain. His nose was broken and blood and snot were pouring out of his nose.
Sirius didn't stop there, and punched Peter again, causing him to scream like a madman.
"Help, he's trying to kill me so nobody knows the truth! Stop him…"
Harry and the others were at a loss, and Ivan was worried that Peter would be killed, so he tried to comfort him.
Suddenly, the door to the Shrieking Shack flew open and a voice called out to them.
"Peter… I can't believe you said that behind my back. You're much better at making up stories than you used to be!"
They all turned to see Lupin, looking sickly pale and clutching a wand, wearing a patchwork robe.
Sirius was not surprised to see Lupin, as he was the one who had invited him, although he was sharp enough to notice that something was amiss.
'What's the matter with you, Lupin? Are you all right?' Sirius asked him, frowning in confusion as he threw Peter aside.
"I just took the wolf venom potion. I've been in bad shape for the past few days!" Lupin shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
Ivan interrupted them with emphasis. "The authentic Wolfsbane Potion does not have such a debilitating effect. You may have been tricked by Snape…"
"Perhaps! After all, he never liked me very much. As long as it worked…" Lupin said with a bitter smile.
He transformed once a month, and the potion Snape gave him had the side effects of weakening him, but at least it suppressed his ferocity, which was good enough for him.
It had to be known that the authentic Wolf Venom Potion was not cheap. He had just become a professor and was not very well off. After wandering for many years, he had developed the habit of saving whatever he could.
Lupin then turned to Harry and the others and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long. I was worried that my status as a werewolf would cause panic, so I chose to keep it a secret."
Disregarding the pain, Peter Pettigrew's twisted face lit up with excitement, and he pointed at Lupin and exclaimed, "Did you see that? He admitted it. He admitted he's a werewolf!"
"Even if Professor Lupin is a werewolf, it doesn't prove anything. There are good and bad people in any race. The notion that werewolves are evil is just a prejudice of many wizards. I believe Professor Lupin is a good man!"
Hermione interrupted Peter and addressed Harry and the others.
"Right, Harry, Ron!"
"That's right, Lupin is the best Defence Against the Dark Arts professor I've ever seen!"
Remembering Lupin's conscientious teaching and his usual self-care, Harry quickly made his choice.
After all, his best friend and most trusted professor came out and told him that Sirius was innocent and that Peter was the one who had betrayed his parents!
This caused the wavering balance in Harry's mind to shift completely in Sirius's favour.
Ron nodded dumbly, still unable to believe that his beloved mouse had turned into a bald old man…
Even changing into something else would be nice. Why was this happening?
The excitement on Peter Pettigrew's face froze, and despair spread through him as he watched the people present turn against him.
Peter tried his best to crawl to Ivan's feet. He grabbed Ivan's thigh and asked with his last bit of hope.
"Hales! You're clever enough to believe me, right?"
"Save it, Peter… why are you always like this? You're not original, but you're getting better at making up stories!" Ivan complained, kicking Peter Pettigrew aside.
After some thought, Ivan waved his wand and conjured a rope to tie him up, then added a debilitating spell.
Although Peter was not a threat without his wand, it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, there were still young wizards like Harry, Hermione, and Ron. It would be difficult if Peter suddenly attacked and kidnapped them.
Peter Pettigrew, who had fallen into a corner, heard Ivan's words and sank deeper into despair, the pain in his body unable to hide the chill that ran from his feet to his heart…
He wasn't stupid. Combined with his fragmented memories of the past few days, he was able to think of something that made him gasp. No wonder he couldn't remember anything…
Peter looked at Ivan again, trembling as if he were looking at a demon. He felt that even the Dark Lord would not be so cruel…