Chapter 14
"Scandal Shakes Hogwarts: Peter Pettigrew Found Alive—A Decade of Deception"
By Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent for The Daily Prophet
HOGWARTS — In a twist that defies all logic and decency, Peter Pettigrew, the wizard presumed murdered over a decade ago by the infamous Sirius Black, has been found alive—and what’s more, he has been hiding under our very noses for years.
The astonishing discovery unfolded during breakfast at Hogwarts when none other than Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, made an explosive accusation. In front of the entire school, Potter claimed that a “strange man” had been seen skulking around the Gryffindor dormitories. After a spell was cast by Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Madam Amelia Bones, it was revealed that this "man" was none other than Peter Pettigrew, who had been disguising himself for over a decade as a pet rat!
You read that correctly, dear readers: Pettigrew, an unregistered Animagus, had transformed into a common rodent and lived in hiding at Hogwarts. One must wonder—what kind of innocent man lives for years as a rat? What was Pettigrew hiding from, and more importantly, how did he escape justice for so long?
The revelation that Pettigrew was a secret Animagus will undoubtedly send shockwaves through the Ministry. It is a crime of the highest order to remain an unregistered Animagus, and Pettigrew role in betrayal of the Potters only adds to already long list of questions.
But it raises troubling questions about Hogwarts itself. How could a supposed safe haven for children harbor such a dangerous individual for so many years?
This is where the shadow of responsibility begins to loom large over none other than Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. How is it possible that a man as supposedly wise and powerful as Dumbledore failed to notice that a traitor was lurking within his school, disguised as a lowly pet? Was this the same lack of foresight that allowed Sirius Black to be locked away without a trial?
And speaking of Sirius Black, this latest twist throws his entire case into disarray. With Pettigrew alive, one must seriously question the events leading up to Black’s imprisonment. Black, once thought to be the mastermind behind the Potters' betrayal and the murder of thirteen innocents, was sent to Azkaban without the proper legal process. But now, the question becomes: was Black framed? Was the true villain Pettigrew all along?
One cannot ignore the weight of this revelation. If Sirius Black is innocent, it would not only clear his name but also restore his standing as the rightful heir to the Black family fortune. The Black family, as readers will know, is one of the most ancient and wealthy pure-blood families in the wizarding world. Black, a once-convicted criminal, could now walk free and reclaim his fortune.
But the plot thickens. Sources within the Ministry suggest that Theophilus Abbott, the esteemed legal advocate renowned for defending high-profile clients, has already been seen at the Ministry today. It appears that Abbott may take on Black’s case, opening the door for the disgraced wizard to finally tell his side of the story—a side that could very well send Peter Pettigrew back into the spotlight as the true villain of this tragic saga.
And what of the wizard who unknowingly harbored Pettigrew all these years? A Gryffindor student had kept the rat as a pet, unaware of the dark secret lurking within. But one has to wonder—did this student truly know nothing, or were there subtle signs that were conveniently ignored?
For now, Pettigrew is in Ministry custody, where he will undoubtedly face a long-overdue interrogation. How deeply he was involved in the betrayal of the Potters and what further secrets he may reveal remain to be seen. But one thing is for certain—this scandal is far from over.
As we await further developments, the wizarding world stands on the edge of a revelation that could reshape everything we thought we knew about one of its darkest moments.
Stay with The Daily Prophet as we continue to follow this extraordinary story.
Rita Skeeter , always bringing you the truth behind the headlines!
Harry closed the newspaper, a small sense of relief washing over him. Theophilus Abbott, the wizard Harry had hired to represent Sirius Black, was already hard at work. Finding Abbott had been a stroke of luck. Harry had come across his name in the Daily Prophet while reading about one of his recent high-profile cases. The more Harry researched, the more he discovered that Abbott, a former Hufflepuff and the uncle of Hufflepuff student Hannah Abbott, had a reputation for winning cases against all odds. That connection to Hufflepuff was a comfort to Harry, a sign that Abbott might approach the case with the fairness and persistence that had earned him respect in the courtroom.
Harry spent most of the previous day trying to calm Ron down, spinning a story for his fellow Gryffindors about how he’d woken up in the middle of the night and seen a filthy man standing over his bed. He told them how he had pretended to stay asleep and watched in horror as the man transformed into Ron's pet rat, Scabbers—who turned out to be none other than Peter Pettigrew.
Fred and George had tried their best to console Ron, still shaken by the betrayal. They had pressed Harry on why he hadn’t said anything sooner, asking why he had kept such a startling discovery to himself. Harry, keeping up with his fabricated story, explained that he had been terrified Pettigrew might overhear and harm them. After all, what kind of wizard hides as a rat for over a decade? He had to be dangerous.
The dormitory had buzzed with disbelief and speculation for hours, only to be brought to an abrupt end when Percy intervened. In his usual authoritative tone, Percy insisted he needed to write to their parents about what had happened. He also suggested that he, along with the rest of his brothers and the first-year boys, would go to the hospital wing the next morning to ensure that Peter hadn't harmed them in any way.
Despite the victory of exposing Pettigrew, Harry felt awful seeing how much the revelation had affected Ron. His friend’s face cycled between shades of pale disbelief and flushed embarrassment. Ron had been deeply attached to Scabbers, and now that bond had been shattered in the worst possible way.
Harry and Hermione did their best to keep Ron company in the Gryffindor common room, never leaving him alone for long. Harry had even offered to buy Ron a new pet over the summer, hoping it might lift his spirits. But it hadn’t worked. Ron remained despondent, barely speaking, and he had taken to spending most of his time secluded in the common room, only leaving for meals and classes.
…
The next day marked the beginning of November, and if Harry were to believe the timeline from the book, he, Ron, and Hermione should be huddled in the castle courtyard, warming themselves with a flame conjured by Hermione. That scene usually ended with Snape docking five points from Gryffindor because Harry had taken a library book outside the building.
Harry wasn’t entirely sure if that rule actually existed. The Hogwarts library, under the strict supervision of Madam Pince, seemed to follow its own set of rules. Some of the books were so old and enchanted that they were not allowed to leave the library. That made sense, especially after what Professor Flitwick had taught them about magical objects—some items were enchanted in layers, with each part being charmed before being assembled. If too many enchantments overlapped improperly, they could conflict and eventually stop working. That’s why Fred and George still flew on brooms that were long past their prime. They couldn’t simply "Reparo" them back to new. The spell that worked wonders on Harry’s glasses had little effect on complex, magical objects like enchanted broomsticks.
In his two months at Hogwarts, Harry had learned how little he actually knew about the wizarding world. Every answer he uncovered seemed to lead to a dozen more questions. He had tried several spells from his textbooks on the notebooks and the small box he had found in his father's vault, but nothing had worked. The box remained firmly sealed, and the notebooks remained illegible, as if their contents were locked away by a spell far beyond Harry's abilities.
Harry had also started keeping his own notebook, documenting everything that had happened to him since coming to Hogwarts. He was doing his best to maintain the original events from the books, but catching Pettigrew had already made the third book almost useless as a guide. There would be no Dementors guarding the castle this time, no Sirius Black escaping justice. But even with those significant changes, Harry couldn’t ignore the small, subtle differences between the world of the books and the real people around him.
The characters from the book were flesh and blood now, far more complicated than they’d seemed on the page. Take Lavender Brown, for instance. Harry hadn’t expected much from her beyond the giggling, gossiping persona she had in the books. But Lavender came from a pure-blood family that had run a rare bookshop in Hogsmeade for generations. According to her, one of her great-grandmothers had been a Seer, which explained why Lavender was so eager for Divination classes. She and Parvati Patil had been surprisingly helpful too. When Harry mentioned that he had no keepsakes from his parents, Parvati had promised to collect newspaper clippings about his family. Her mother, a Muggle-born witch, worked at Witch Weekly and was in charge of the social column. Between Lavender and Parvati, there wasn’t a piece of gossip or history about the wizarding world that they didn’t know.
It was through Parvati that Harry learned more about his grandfather, Fleamont Potter, who had invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, among other successful potions. That bit of family history had taken Harry by surprise.
Even the boys in his dormitory were far more interesting than the book had let on. Neville Longbottom, who Harry knew a fair amount about from the books, was raised by his formidable grandmother and was set to become the future head of the Longbottom family—a lineage deeply involved in the cultivation of potion ingredients for generations. Neville, while clumsy and prone to accidents, had a unique perspective on the wizarding world that often clashed with Ron’s views. Ron, raised by his forward-thinking parents, loudly declared that Neville’s "old-fashioned" beliefs came from being raised by his strict grandmother.
Seamus Finnigan, whose mother was a witch and father a Muggle, found their discussions amusing, saying they reminded him of the arguments between his parents at home over the differences between Muggle and wizarding traditions.
Meanwhile, Harry and Dean Thomas, both raised in the Muggle world, usually stayed out of those conversations. Neither of them fully understood what Neville and Ron were arguing about most of the time. However, Harry made a mental note to look into it more. He had always assumed that pure-blood families like the Malfoys were the ones obsessed with blood purity, while the Weasleys were on the right side of the issue. But seeing Neville—brave and good-hearted—clash with Ron over these old traditions made Harry wonder if things were more complicated than the books had let on. What exactly were these "old-fashioned" views, and how much did they really matter?
Time flew by faster than Harry had expected, and soon, his first Quidditch match was upon him.