Dumbledore did not particularly want to drag an unrelated student into something like this.
So after Professor McGonagall brought Ron Weasley in, he signaled for her to take him away again.
"He has the right to know. Otherwise, how are we supposed to explain his rat disappearing afterward?" Professor McGonagall said helplessly.
"What do you mean? Why would my rat disappear?" Ron Weasley instinctively clutched his rat tighter.
"Ugh..." Tonks, who had been watching from the side, could not hold it in anymore and nearly threw up. Just thinking about that rat the boy was carefully cradling in his arms actually being a filthy middle-aged man made her sick.
Sirius, meanwhile, could no longer suppress the rage in his heart. He stared fixedly at the rat in Ron Weasley's hands and let out a savage growl.
Ron Weasley instinctively stepped back and bumped into Professor McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall?" Ron Weasley asked helplessly. He had just started to ask what was going on when the rat in his hands bit him hard.
"Ah! Scabbers, what are you doing?" Ron Weasley instinctively threw the rat away, and Sirius immediately lunged at it in midair.
He opened his mouth and snapped at the rat, looking as though he wanted to tear it to pieces.
"Sirius, calm down," Dumbledore said sharply. If Sirius really bit Peter Pettigrew to death, things would become troublesome. No one would be able to prove Sirius was innocent then.
Sirius had not completely lost his reason. He instinctively shut his mouth, only for the rat, after flipping once in the air, to land squarely on his head.
The rat stood on Sirius's head, panic flashing through its eyes, but it did not stop struggling. Its plump body twisted like a rope, its bead-like black eyes frantically searching for a way out.
Then it despaired.
In this palm-sized space, every exit was blocked. The black dog beneath it was staring at it hungrily, the phoenix not far away stood calmly by the window, watching with obvious ill intent.
And behind him, the way out was blocked by Professor McGonagall.
There was nowhere left to run.
"Scabbers!"
At that moment, Ron Weasley's cry caught its attention, and at the same time gave it hope.
Its only hope.
Ron Weasley.
Using Sirius's head as a springboard, Scabbers threw himself violently toward Ron Weasley.
This was his only chance. As long as he could grab Ron Weasley and use him as a hostage, he would still have a chance to escape.
Ron Weasley had no idea what was happening. Seeing Scabbers throwing himself at him, he thought only that his pet was frightened. Ignoring his still-bleeding finger, he reached out to catch him.
But the chubby, harmless-looking rat suddenly swelled and expanded in midair, instantly turning into a short, fat man in a shabby gray coat.
Relying on his bulk, Peter Pettigrew shoved aside Professor McGonagall, who had not yet had time to draw her wand, and ducked behind Ron Weasley, trying to hide his fat body behind him.
But Ron Weasley's body was nowhere near big enough to block Peter Pettigrew. The whole scene looked like a stupid, overweight ostrich burying its head in the sand while leaving its huge body fully exposed.
Still, Peter Pettigrew had not lost all sense. While trying to hide, he also reached across Ron Weasley's chest and snatched out his old wand.
"Nobody move!" Peter Pettigrew shouted. "Don't come any closer. If you do, I'll kill him!"
He jammed the wand against Ron Weasley's neck so hard out of fear that it looked as though he wanted to stab straight through it.
Ron Weasley froze. His mind had gone completely blank.
At that moment, all he could think about was the fact that adorable Scabbers had transformed right in front of him into a short, fat vagrant. The contrast was so extreme it nearly shattered him.
If Scabbers had turned into a fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged cute girl, Ron Weasley would not have been this stunned. He might even have been overjoyed. Honestly, he could have dropped most of those qualifiers. Just a cute girl would have been fine. At a minimum, just a girl would have been acceptable.
But what had appeared in front of him was a fat slob.
And one who looked as though he had not bathed in more than ten years.
At that moment, Ron Weasley did not even have the spare brainpower to process the fact that Scabbers, who had lived beside him day and night, was actually an utterly hideous fat slob. His entire mind was stuck on the image of Scabbers turning into that fat man, while one horrified thought circled over and over in his head.
He touched me just now!
But no one in the room cared what the panicking Ron Weasley was thinking.
Everyone present had already drawn their wands and pointed them at Peter Pettigrew.
"Peter Pettigrew! You coward! You traitor!"
With a furious roar, Sirius changed back into human form and drew his wand as well.
Though both of them had gone from animal to human, Sirius had taken Leonard's advice and cleaned himself up well enough to look decent. He was nothing like the ragged vagrant Peter Pettigrew.
...
"Oh, dear Sirius." Peter Pettigrew looked somewhat cowed by Sirius's gaze. "Long time no see."
"Long time no see? You still have the nerve to say that to me? Do you know what kind of life I've lived these past thirteen years because of you?" Sirius roared furiously.
"It's not my fault. You know I've always been timid. I did it because I had no choice." Peter Pettigrew forced out a smile. "Don't get worked up, Sirius. You know how timid I am. If I accidentally hurt this boy, that would be unfortunate."
At that, Sirius's eyes nearly spat fire. He had never expected what should have been a foolproof capture to go wrong because of this.
At that moment, he even found himself blaming Professor McGonagall for interfering. If she had not brought this child along, they would not be in such a passive position now.
"Peter Pettigrew." Dumbledore fixed him with a stare. "Stop being stubborn. You-Know-Who has already fallen. It is not too late to turn back."
"Spare me that nonsense, Professor Dumbledore." Peter Pettigrew looked at Dumbledore warily. "Let me go, and I'll make sure this child gets safely back to Hogwarts. But if any of you dares say no, I'll die together with him on the spot."
"W-wait!"
Ron Weasley, the person just nominated for mutual destruction, finally snapped back to himself, though his attention was somewhat misplaced.
"Where's Scabbers? Where's my Scabbers?"