Countenance [1] Sirius Black's Daughter

xxvii- buried

"IT'S TIME we offered you some proof," said Remus. "You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest, "Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean . . . " He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat — there are millions of rats — how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

　　Sirius put his hand inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which was the same newspaper he had shown Jessica and the others when we hadn't beloved him. He had still kept it for proof to others.

　　It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Remus asked Dad, thunderstruck. Jessica and the others hadn't told him about the newspaper.

"Fudge," said Sirius. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder . . . I knew him at once . . . how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts . . . to where Harry was . . . "

"He's got a toe missing," explained Jessica to Harry, Ron and Hermione, "Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Remus. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right — Ron tried to say.

"Twelve years, in fact," said Remus. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Remus. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again . . . "

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

"This cat — told me Peter had left blood on the sheets . . . I supposed he bit himself . . . Well, faking his own death had worked once."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry suddenly said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Remus, "Harry —"

"And now you've come to finish him off!" Harry accused him.

"Yes, I have," said Sirius, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," said Remus hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down — but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father — Sirius tracked Peter down --"