184: Chapter 184 Peter's New Bargain

"Sirius Black is free, and you are still alive. Surprised?"

Allen stood outside the cage; the thin walls of the five-square-meter space shimmered with a faint light. Peter knelt inside, his hair a tangled mess, his severed finger hidden in his sleeve. Void coiled beside the ebony box, its tail resting on the edge of the cage; if it moved, the cage walls would tighten.

Peter's silence spell was lifted for five minutes.

He first gasped for air, as if he had forgotten how to speak. Then, upon hearing the words "Sirius Black is free," he slid down to the floor.

"He will kill me." Peter's voice was raspy. "He will definitely kill me. Allen, sir, master, anything you want, you cannot hand me over."

Allen pulled up a chair and sat down. "Why would I hand you over?"

Peter looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "Dumbledore wants evidence. Sirius Black wants his innocence. The Ministry of Magic wants to cover up their shame. Harry wants answers. If you hand me over, everyone will swarm you."

"That makes you very valuable."

Peter was stunned for a moment.

"Before, you were a prisoner." Allen spread a piece of parchment across his knees. "Now, you are a bargaining chip. Living evidence, the key to an old case, the only gateway to clearing Sirius Black's name, and the living proof of the Ministry of Magic's twelve-year mistake."

A glimmer of shrewdness squeezed out from Peter's fear. He licked his cracked lips. "What do you want in exchange for letting me out?"

Void tapped its tail, and the cage made a soft sound.

Peter immediately shrunk his neck. "I can testify. I can say that I was the Secret Keeper and that Sirius Black did not betray them. I can also say who helped me escape, who tampered with the files before the trial, and who arrived at the scene of the explosion first."

Allen looked at him. "Go on."

"Barty Crouch's people were in a hurry; they wanted to close the case. The Ministry of Magic needed a crazy Sirius Black and a dead Peter back then. No one wanted to listen to me." Peter spoke faster and faster. "And the pure-blood circle. Many people are afraid of Sirius Black speaking out—not just Malfoy, but Rosier, Avery, all those old names are afraid."

"Do you have evidence?"

Peter faltered.

Void raised its head.

"I have clues." Peter immediately changed his tone. "I can take you to my old hideouts. I hid things before I ran away—letters, lists, a few seals, and the cipher pages used for communication back then."

Allen wrote on the paper: Old hideouts, to be verified.

"Location."

Peter's eyes darted around. "I can't say right now."

The cage tightened by half an inch.

Peter let out a scream and immediately pressed himself to the ground. "London, the back wall of the old furniture shop in Knockturn Alley! The second loose brick! But it might not still be there; I haven't been back in twelve years."

Allen stopped writing. "Anything else?"

"There is a temporary hideout near Godric's Hollow that I visited back then. Around the time The Potters met their end, someone sent a message incorrectly. It wasn't me—at least, not entirely me." Peter looked up, his voice dropping. "That business with your parents wasn't as clean as it seemed."

Allen did not move.

Peter stared at him, as if he had finally grabbed a rope that could save his life. "I can tell you. As long as you promise not to hand me over to Sirius Black."

Allen folded the parchment. "You are only useful if you are alive."

"So, you agree?"

"I said you should stay alive for now."

The expression on Peter's face froze. He understood. Allen was giving him a way to live, but not freedom. He was giving him value, but not the authority to decide how it was used.

"You can't keep me locked up forever." Peter's voice began to tremble. "Sirius Black will come looking, Lupin will come looking, and Dumbledore will investigate too. You are just a student."

Allen looked at the ebony box. "Students can do many things that adults dare not."

Peter suddenly remembered the diary, the Basilisk, the Killing Curse, and that blue light of time from last night. He shut his mouth, not daring to talk back.

Allen continued to ask: "If Sirius Black cannot find you, what will he do next?"

"Find Harry." Peter said. "He will try to find a way to prove his innocence. He will contact Lupin, or perhaps send a message via owl. But he won't dare to show himself publicly. The Dementors have been withdrawn, but the Ministry of Magic is still looking for him."

"Will he come to find me?"

Peter hesitated.

Void's tail pressed against the cage wall.

"Yes." Peter said hurriedly. "If he suspects someone snatched me first, he will investigate everyone who gets close to Ron, Harry, and Scabbers. You once swapped Scabbers in the first year; although no one saw it, Crookshanks might be able to smell the traces. That cat is problematic."

Allen wrote: Crookshanks, risk level increased.

"What about Lupin?"

"He will verify things first; he won't just kill. But once he confirms I am alive, he is more terrifying than Sirius Black." Peter's shoulders shook when he said this. "Sirius Black will roar, but Remus will ask for every single detail."

Allen nodded. "So you are more afraid of Lupin."

"I am afraid of everyone." Peter roared, then quickly softened. "I just want to live."

"Living requires paying rent."

Peter was stunned. "What?"

Allen tossed a second piece of parchment into the cage. "Write down the names of everyone involved twelve years ago. Those who had contact with the Potter Family periphery before and after the Secret Keeper was changed. The Order of the Phoenix, Death Eaters, the Ministry of Magic, pure-blood families—don't leave a single one out."

"I can't remember them all."

"Write down what you remember."

"I need a quill."

A quill and an ink bottle fell into the cage. Peter reached for them, but as soon as his fingertips touched the quill, the thin walls of the cage shimmered with light.

Allen said: "If the quill leaves the paper for three seconds, the cage will shrink. If you write a fake name, the cage will shrink. If you try to transform, Void will enter the cage."

Peter looked at the Black snake. Void raised its head, its silver eyes fixed on him, and its tail gently tapped the ground.

Peter immediately pressed himself to the paper and began to write.

In the dormitory outside, Draco watched Allen with his eyes closed for too long and couldn't help but tap the bedpost. "Is he interrogating Peter again?"

Nott listened to the low voices coming through the knut relay. "Yeah. Peter has started to negotiate."

Pansy frowned. "He still has the guts to negotiate?"

Zabini pushed the candy box aside. "Only those with value dare to negotiate. Those without value only beg for mercy."

Draco's expression was grim. "Sirius Black is free, and Peter is in Allen's hands. From now on, everyone will investigate him."

"That's why we need to strengthen the alibi chain tonight." Nott said. "Lupin has left the school, Sirius Black is on the run, and the Ministry of Magic is in chaos. We need communication rules for the holidays."

Pansy looked at Allen. "Can he hear us?"

Allen opened his eyes. "I can hear you."

Draco immediately asked: "Do you plan to release Peter?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"You dare."

"He stays alive for now."

Zabini nodded. "A living bargaining chip is more valuable than dead news."

Nott wrote: Peter's new value: witness for Sirius Black's exoneration, risk of Ministry of Magic cover-up, clues to old hideouts, suspicious points surrounding The Potters' death.

Draco lowered his voice. "You want to investigate the suspicious points surrounding The Potters?"

Allen took a piece of parchment covered in names out of his Portable Space and placed it on the table. The handwriting on it was crooked, and many names had been blackened out with ink.

"I'll investigate during the summer break."

Pansy saw a few pure-blood surnames, and her expression changed. "These people will bite back."

"That's why I'm letting Sirius Black run around outside first."

Draco looked at the paper, and after a long while, he said: "You are using a fugitive as a smoke screen?"

Allen put away the list. "He is already smoking."

Inside the Portable Space, Peter's hand shook as he wrote. The time for the silence spell was coming to an end, and he looked up abruptly. "Allen, I've written it. Don't give me to Sirius Black."

Allen looked at him. "Keep on living."

The silence spell was sealed back on. Peter opened his mouth, but he couldn't make a sound. He gripped the quill, looked down at the old names on the paper, and finally understood that although he had turned from a rat back into a human, the cage was now even tighter.