HP: Alchemy? Nah, It's Crafting

"What did you figure out?" Dumbledore asked with great curiosity.

"When Lupin and I were exploring before, he mentioned a fun fact about werewolves: they don't attack animals if they're not hungry. And since Lupin also knew about Sirius's Animagus form, that means they must've been quite close back then," Kasenhis explained in a rapid-fire stream.

Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction. "Go on."

"So, Sirius probably became an Animagus so he could keep Lupin company during his transformations—so he wouldn't be alone. But at the time, was Sirius Lupin's only close friend? That's my question to you—I don't know much about their past."

Dumbledore nodded again. "The four of them were very close friends back then. You already know about Lupin and Sirius. The other two were James Potter—Harry's father—and the late Peter Pettigrew."

"That fits. Sirius wasn't the only one who learned to become an Animagus. I may not know the three of them personally, but I do know how young wizards think at that age. No one wants to be left behind, so the other two probably learned as well," Kasenhis said quietly.

"Why are you so fixated on this? James Potter and Peter Pettigrew have been dead for quite a while," Dumbledore said with a heavy tone.

"How did they die?"

"James Potter was killed by Voldemort at home. Peter Pettigrew was blown up by Sirius on a Muggle street. That's the event that got Sirius Black sent to Azkaban," Dumbledore answered.

"Then why would Sirius kill his friend—Peter Pettigrew?"

Dumbledore stood up from his seat and began pacing around the office. "At the time, I cast a protective spell over Harry's home. But that spell required a Secret-Keeper—only then would it be effective. As long as that Secret-Keeper didn't betray them, Voldemort would never be able to find the Potters."

"Let me guess, the Secret-Keeper was Sirius?" Kasenhis asked.

"That's what I believed too… but perhaps things weren't as I thought," Dumbledore said.

"Originally, I offered to be the Secret-Keeper myself, but James Potter—Harry's father—refused. He said he wanted Sirius to be the Secret-Keeper. But if Sirius really was the Secret-Keeper… it doesn't explain why he killed Peter Pettigrew in such a cruel way. A simple Killing Curse would've been enough."

"And by 'cruel' you mean…"

"He blew Peter Pettigrew to pieces—only one finger was left."

Kasenhis stroked his chin. "If Sirius was the traitor… right, if he really betrayed them, then there was no reason for him to kill Peter so brutally. There's just no point—unless he had some sort of massive, unspeakable grudge against him."

"That's exactly what I'm getting at," Dumbledore nodded.

"You're suggesting that the real traitor… was Peter Pettigrew. And that he was actually the Secret-Keeper?" Kasenhis asked.

"I'm afraid that might be the case."

"Well, if it's not true, that's one thing. But if it is… then Sirius is a war hero. And you let him rot in Azkaban for all those years… I despise you."

Kasenhis promptly raised a middle finger.

Dumbledore just smiled bitterly, "That way, he could find peace of mind—"

"Heh… hold on, I'm gonna go find Lupin and ask him directly. He was there, after all."

"Wait," Dumbledore said. "This might not be nice to say, but at the time, Voldemort had a history of favoring werewolves. Because of that, James and the others didn't fully trust Lupin—which is one of the reasons he wasn't considered as a candidate for Secret-Keeper."

"So?" Kasenhis raised an eyebrow.

"It's a painful memory for him. Best not to bring it up," Dumbledore explained.

Kasenhis shook his head. "So ten-plus years ago, his closest friends discussed something this important and didn't include him. And now, ten years later, I might not be his closest friend, but we're doing the exact same thing again—excluding him?"

"...Then go get him," Dumbledore said.

"Sure."

Soon, Kasenhis brought Lupin into the Headmaster's office. Lupin had already been briefed along the way, thanks to Kasenhis's rapid-fire analysis, and had pieced together most of the picture.

"What I know, and what I don't know, Kasenhis has more or less figured out already," Lupin said. "But I can tell you about their Animagus forms. You already know Sirius's. As for the others—James's Animagus form was a stag. And Peter Pettigrew's was a small rat."

Kasenhis and Dumbledore both nodded.

"A small rat…"

Suddenly, Kasenhis jolted as something came to mind. "Dumbledore, do you have a copy of the Daily Prophet? The issue where the Weasley family won that Galleon prize!"

Dumbledore waved his hand, and a newspaper floated out from a clip on the bookshelf.

Kasenhis caught it and spread the Weasley family's photo from Egypt across the table.

"Ayo! What the fuck.. Hey! Lupin, come take a look. Is this the rat?" Kasenhis pointed to the one lying on Ron's shoulder.

Lupin leaned in, staring closely. For a moment, he looked like he couldn't accept what he was seeing—couldn't accept that the brother he'd misunderstood for over a decade might have been innocent, or that another close friend of his might actually be the real traitor… someone who had faked his death all these years. In the end, all he could do was nod helplessly.

"...Yes."

"Yes, yes, just look at his fingers…" Kasenhis began.

Dumbledore's voice came from the side, "Remember what was left of Peter Pettigrew? Those three fingers… they match exactly!"

"Now everything lines up. Sirius came to Hogwarts to find Peter and kill him... No wonder he kept hugging Ron like a creepy dog... That explains it."

Kasenhis recalled how Sirius had randomly latched onto Ron once, practically ready to gnaw on him. He'd been confused—Sirius was usually all about Harry. So why Ron, all of a sudden?

Now it made perfect sense… it was because of Peter Pettigrew…

"You cracked this whole thing perfectly?" Lupin looked at Kasenhis with surprise. "Looks like living next to a detective does rub off on you."

"I'm no match for that maniac," Kasenhis chuckled, "but I guess I've got some talent."

"So… what do we do with Sirius and Peter now?" Lupin asked.

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