“Unleash Your True Form!”
Seeing that they could not break free, and noticing that only George was chasing after them, the tiny house-elf's courage surged, and he immediately undid his animagus transformation, returning to his human form.
As long as he could kill George before Dumbledore and the others arrived, he still had a chance to escape.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Drawing his wand and aiming it at George, he unleashed the deadly Avada Kedavra spell without a moment's hesitation.
A green beam shot upwards, aimed at George's chin.
Given the proximity of the Avada Kedavra spell, he believed that even Dumbledore would not have time to dodge.
However, the truth was that George easily dodged the Avada Kedavra spell by lifting his head, grabbed his foot in the air and swung it around, throwing him down hard and knocking him off his feet, making him see stars and nearly causing him to faint.
"You dare use the Avada Kedavra curse on me? I see you're eager for death!"
With one foot, George broke the wand of the tiny house-elf, then kicked it away with a fierce kick, which was powerful enough to break at least several of the little elf's ribs.
Actually, with his current Dragon Slayer physique, even if the house-elf's Avada Kedavra curse hits him, it might not be enough to kill him. However, it's better to avoid unnecessary risks.
He moved in for another round of punches and kicks, beating the tiny house-elf until he fell to his knees, shaking and begging for mercy, at which point he finally stopped.
"Tell you, if you don't behave yourself in a while, I can't guarantee that you'll make it to Azkaban alive."
"I'm honest, I'm absolutely honest."
The tiny house-elf felt that the George of the moment was scarier than Voldemort himself had ever been.
It wasn't far from the truth. George picked up the tiny house-elf and opened his wings, flying back towards the castle.
Soon, he returned to the lawn where the Whomping Willow stood.
Over there on the lawn, besides the headmaster Dumbledore and the other school professors, there were also the Minister of Magic, Fudge, and a group of Death Eaters, including Dolohov. Among them, he saw Tonks as well.
"Really, it's Peter Pettigrew!"
Everyone saw George holding a wizard in his hand and immediately recognized it as Peter Pettigrew, who had been awarded the Merlin's First Class Medallion and posthumously honored as a Hero Wizard.
This meant that Sirius Black might have been telling the truth.
"How is he covered in bruises and swelling?"
However, they soon realized that it was indeed Peter Pettigrew, but his face was significantly rounder than in the picture. The roundness wasn't natural, but the result of some rather harsh physical alteration.
Walking was also lame, and he was holding his stomach. As soon as he opened his mouth, blood came out.
"He used an Unforgivable Curse against me when I found him, so I hit him a bit harder."
George waved his hand and cast a healing charm with no wand, attending to the elf's external injuries.
"You vile creature, you traitor, I'm going to kill you!"
Waking up and being tied up, Sirius saw Peter and immediately became enraged, rising to attack. However, he was quickly restrained by the Death Eaters.
The tiny house-elf over there was so frightened that he sat down abruptly on the ground.
"I think there must be some misunderstanding, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black said that you had joined the Death Eaters and framed him, isn't that what he's lying about?"
The Minister of Magic, Fudge, moved forward and addressed the tiny house-elf.
As the Minister of Magic, he was very much hoping that what Sirius Black was saying was not true, because that would mean the Ministry had been wrong from the start, wrongly imprisoning the true hero in Azkaban for twelve years and letting the despicable house-elf be hailed as a hero.
If the Ministry were to be proven wrong, it would be the biggest joke in the wizarding world, and the Minister himself would be the biggest joke of all.
"Yes, he's lying, I'm the traitor. It must have been that person whose name can't even be mentioned who taught him a few tricks so he could escape from Azkaban. I'm innocent."
Hearing the Minister of Magic's tone, the tiny house-elf felt that there might still be a chance for him to turn things around, so he pointed at Sirius quickly and said.
Sirius Black immediately became so angry that his eyes seemed about to pop out of his head.
"Voldemort? Taught me a few tricks? Me, a traitor? How dare you!"
When have I ever courted anyone more powerful or influential than myself?
And you, I really regret why I didn't see you for what you were from the very beginning.
You always like to have strong friends, to get their favor, right? It used to be us. Me and Remus. And James...
"I am not a traitor, you are! You are!"
The tiny house-elf retreated timidly towards Fudge, but he was firm in his denial.
"If you're not a traitor, why did you turn into a rat and hide for twelve years instead of becoming a hero or?"
Seeing the deadlock, George immediately asked a key question.
The tiny house-elf's eyes kept twitching:
"Because I was afraid. I was afraid Voldemort's men were after me. I've put their most valuable asset in Azkaban."
"A wizard who dared to fight Voldemort, who fought with Sirius Black and was awarded the Order of Merlin First Class for his courage, would hide from Voldemort's followers for twelve years after Voldemort fell?"
George couldn't help but laugh.
"So why did you run away? Why did you attack me with an Unforgivable Curse when I found you?"
"I... I was afraid. I was afraid of Sirius's revenge, so I ran away. And when you appeared, I thought you were in cahoots with him."
The tiny house-elf's speech was already stuttering because he didn't know how to spin his lies anymore.
And the professors and people from the Ministry of Magic were also looking at the tiny house-elf in a strange way. They were no fools; Peter's explanation was just too much of a stretch.
In comparison, Sirius Black's story seemed more reasonable.
"Sirius, I remember you should still have the potion for creating Veritaserum in your place, right?"
Dumbledore smiled at Snape, who nodded silently, without showing any emotion.
"There's enough to make two doses. Just one for each of them. I'm sure after they've had it, we'll know who's telling the truth and who's lying."
Although Snape disliked Sirius Black greatly, he was not foolish. He knew at once that Peter Pettigrew was lying, and therefore would not help the person who had killed Lily.
To be honest, if it wasn't for his self-control, his desire to kill the tiny house-elf would have been no less than Sirius Black's.
If it hadn't been for Peter Pettigrew revealing the location of Lily's home, Voldemort wouldn't have found and killed her.
"Animagus!"
Upon hearing about the Veritaserum, Peter's pupils contracted immediately, and he transformed into a rat, ready to flee.
He knew that once he drank the Veritaserum, there would be no hiding the truth.
However, George, who had been prepared for this, quickly moved to intercept the tiny house-elf and stepped on him, pinning him to the ground.
"Now it seems that Sirius and Professor Lupin were telling the truth all along. It's this guy who's been lying!"
The Minister of Magic, seeing the evidence, could only helplessly nod. With the proof as clear as day, there was nothing more he could say.
