Dumbledore's deep blue eyes shifted from Sagres to the gaunt Sirius behind him, and he raised a hand, signalling everyone to calm down.
Professor Snape, however, let out a disdainful snort, his wand already poised to strike.
Under Sagres's invisible protection, Sirius seemed to cling to a final lifeline, once again recounting Peter's betrayal, the switch of the Secret-Keeper, and the other man's Animagus identity.
"Utterly absurd!"
Snape was the first to erupt, his face carved with bitter hatred and extreme contempt. "Black, do you think fabricating a story with no witnesses and slandering others will clear your name? Peter Pettigrew stopped you and was blown to pieces by you. That is an undeniable fact."
"You're as stupid as you were at school, Snivellus," Sirius said scornfully.
"You—!"
Snape's fury reached its peak. He abruptly raised his wand, his voice dripping with cruelty. "Give me one reason, and I swear I won't hold back!"
His face twisted, pale teeth bared. "How about I hand you straight over to those Dementors hovering outside? Let you slowly rot under their 'sweet kiss' and become a true living corpse?"
"Severus," Dumbledore finally spoke.
Snape spun toward Dumbledore, his chest heaving violently. "Dumbledore, you can't possibly believe this traitor's mad ramblings, can you?"
The Potions professor's voice was sharp with anger. "He's stalling for time, weaving lies, looking for a chance to escape!"
Sagres watched Snape's outburst with cold eyes, and only after he finished speaking did he calmly open his mouth.
"Anger and hatred cannot obscure the truth, Professor Snape. Since Black claims innocence, and you are so certain of his guilt, why not verify it in the most direct way?"
His gaze swept over Dumbledore and the professors present.
"Veritaserum will make even the most cunning criminals speak their minds. If he lies, the lie will have nowhere to hide. And if what he says is true…"
Sagres paused, his eyes shifting between Sirius and Snape. "…then it means the real traitor is still at large."
The scene instantly fell into dead silence.
Veritaserum was indeed the most effective way to break the stalemate.
Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "This is the simplest way to resolve the dispute. Severus."
He looked at the furious Snape, whose cheek muscles twitched violently, his eyes filled with reluctance and venom. Yet under Dumbledore's calm gaze, Snape reluctantly lowered his wand and pulled a small brown bottle from his robes.
Sirius looked at the bottle, and even in his weakened state, managed a provocative smile. "You're not going to take the opportunity to slip me something else, Severus?"
Snape immediately let out a disdainful sneer, his eyes as though he were looking at something filthy.
"You're still as arrogant as ever, Black," he said with open disgust. "To deal with you, I have a hundred ways to make your life worse than death without poison."
As he spoke, he uncorked the bottle, his movements deliberate and precise. "Powerful Veritaserum. Just three drops, and even You-Know-Who would reveal his most insidious secrets."
A cruel smile tugged at his lips. "Have you thought about what you're going to say?"
"Is that so? Then I hope this stuff can make me quickly say the 'truth' you want to hear," Sirius said, staring intently at the dripping liquid, his voice low. "Unless… you're afraid to hear it?"
"Heh. Open your mouth!"
Under the close supervision of several wands, three drops of Veritaserum were dripped into Sirius's mouth.
Under the absolute effect of Veritaserum, Sirius's eyes became hollow, his voice losing all inflection.
The interrogation that followed was cold and merciless.
Like a puppet being manipulated, he recounted without reservation the past that had dragged him into the abyss.
The sudden decision to change the Secret-Keeper. Peter's flattery and betrayal. The despair he felt as he rushed toward Godric's Hollow. The breakdown when he saw his best friend's body amid the ruins. Peter's provocation and false accusations while he hunted him down. The earth-shattering explosion. And his own surrender, born of overwhelming guilt and utter despair, leading to his imprisonment.
Every painful memory was forcibly unearthed by the potion's power and laid bare before everyone.
His pain was real. His despair was real. And his loyalty to James and Lily was also real.
When Sirius, in that emotionless voice, mentioned Peter Pettigrew turning into a rat and posing as Ron's pet, Lupin suddenly staggered a step forward from among the professors, his face instantly turning ashen.
"Why didn't you tell us the truth from the beginning?" Lupin demanded furiously.
"In Azkaban, before the trial, even after you escaped, if you had just given me a hint, that rat wouldn't have escaped again…"
His voice choked, and he could not continue.
As a member of the Marauders, as a former friend, this belated truth cut him to the core.
Sirius's eyes were still somewhat hollow under the lingering effects of Veritaserum, but facing Lupin's questioning, a complex emotion mixed with pain and self-mockery flickered within them.
He remained silent, his lips parting slightly, yet no sound emerged in the end.
Twelve years of imprisonment and despair had long crushed any thought of seeking help.
He was already disgraced, and who would believe a notorious traitor anyway?
On the other side, Snape's face shifted from livid to ashen, then from ashen to a deathly grey. He stared at Sirius for a long moment, then abruptly turned and left the forest.
Dumbledore slowly closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his blue eyes were filled with heavy sorrow. "It seems we have made a terrible mistake."
"Perhaps more than one."
Sagres walked toward Sirius, who had just shaken off the effects of the potion, his eyes weary yet burning with the fire of revenge.
"Now your greatest challenge is this: how do you plan to root out that rat hiding in the shadows?"
Lupin's voice was cold, stripped of his usual gentleness. "He's been startled, and now he's certainly like a frightened bird. I even suspect he's already hidden himself in the Muggle world."
"That's right. Black's intrusion into the castle must have terrified him," Professor McGonagall said worriedly. "Since he has already escaped, he won't easily show himself again."
"I have a slightly different view."
Sagres's lips curved into a confident smile. "Just as he once chose to lie low in the Weasley household, that was certainly not a coincidence. A wizarding family, with the head of the household working at the Ministry of Magic, would allow him to constantly obtain information, especially news about the movements of certain individuals."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "After all, if he merely wanted to hide more deeply, the Muggle world would undoubtedly be the best choice. But what he wants is clearly more than that. He needs to feel the pulse of the magical world, to know immediately if there is any news of his master's return."
"He sensed danger and fled, but it is also very simple to draw him back."
His gaze finally settled on Sirius. "He needs a sense of security. He needs to confirm that the greatest threat has been eliminated. We must give him that sense of security."
"Give him… a sense of security?" Sirius murmured.
Sagres nodded. "Exactly. The method is quite simple."
Then he began to explain his plan to everyone.
"Step one: Have Black 'break into' Hogwarts again in front of as many witnesses as possible. Create chaos, spread panic, and let everyone witness his 'madness' and 'danger' firsthand."
"Step two: Have Black accept 'death' in full view. A fierce 'battle', an irreversible outcome."
Finally, a cold glint flashed in Sagres's grey eyes. "Then release an 'official message' through the Daily Prophet: 'Sirius Black executed on the spot for resisting arrest.' We must make the entire wizarding world, especially that rat hiding in some dark corner, believe without a shred of doubt that Black is dead. Gone. No longer able to expose him, no longer able to threaten him in the slightest."
Sirius looked up, the flames of revenge in his eyes igniting as he understood Sagres's intention.
"When he believes he is completely safe," Sagres said calmly, "when he thinks the last person in this world who knows he is alive, who knows his true identity, has disappeared… this rat's courage will return. He will lower his guard and most likely go back to Ron Weasley's side, continuing to play the role of a harmless pet."
"After all, he has stayed there for over ten years, where he can obtain stable shelter and information without attracting extra attention."
"Just like before, a feigned death," Lupin also grasped Sagres's meaning.
Sagres nodded, his gaze finally settling on Sirius. "So, Black, are you ready to play the role of being captured and 'dying'? To personally finish him off?"
Sirius struggled to straighten himself. His lips twisted into a ferocious smile.
"As long as I can tear that rat apart, even if it means truly walking toward death, I have no fear!"
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