#309 - Chapter 309 The White-haired Old Woman

June 25, 1994, Saturday.

Early in the morning, an old woman with white hair and tattered clothes arrived at the Ministry of Magic.

She was Peter Pettigrew's mother, and she was here today to see her son for the last time.

"Look, that's Peter Pettigrew's mother. Today is Peter's execution day, and she's here to see her child off. By the way, why does she look so old?"

"It's said that after her only son 'died' back then, Peter's mother couldn't accept the tragic way her son died at all. She cried her heart out, almost blinding herself, and naturally aged faster after suffering such a blow in life."

"Serves her right for raising a traitorous son!"

"Don't say that. She's quite pitiful. Her son clearly isn't dead, but he hasn't sent her a single word, making it seem no different from being dead."

"You'd better not pity her based on her appearance. You should know that she's not a simple character. She's a ruthless person who managed to get a First Class Order of Merlin from the Ministry of Magic."

Hearing this, the onlookers became interested and gathered around the old wizard who spoke.

Most people only knew that the Ministry of Magic had indeed awarded Peter Pettigrew a First Class Order of Merlin, but they didn't know that so many stories were hidden behind this medal.

Seeing that the crowd was interested, the old wizard cleared his throat slightly and immediately began to educate everyone.

Back then, the Order of Merlin had no intention of awarding Peter Pettigrew a First Class Order of Merlin.

After all, the difficulty of obtaining a First Class Order of Merlin was obvious to all. Every winner had made significant contributions to the wizarding world.

And Peter Pettigrew didn't have any remarkable achievements to his name back then. At most, he had a good reputation for revealing the truth and bravely facing death.

During the period when the Dark Lord was rampant, there were countless victims like Peter Pettigrew, and there was nothing special about him.

In addition, Peter Pettigrew came from an ordinary background and wasn't from a noble pure-blood family. His family also had no influence in the wizarding world.

Therefore, not to mention wanting a First Class Order of Merlin, even a Third Class Order of Merlin was a bit beyond Peter Pettigrew's reach.

In order to win glory for her son, Peter's mother found Dumbledore and pestered him for nearly a month using every trick in the book.

Considering that the other party's son had worked for him and had just sacrificed himself, Dumbledore reluctantly submitted Peter Pettigrew's Order of Merlin application to the Order of Merlin as a nominator.

"Oh! So that's how it is. No wonder the Order of Merlin approved the application."

"Dumbledore's prestige was so high back then. His nomination was definitely a sure thing. It's said that it was only because Dumbledore wasn't willing, otherwise he would be the Minister of Magic now."

"So it was all because of Dumbledore's reputation. Peter's mother got a great deal back then."

Peter's mother ignored the pointing and whispering wizards around her and walked slowly with a cane.

Heh—

What's so great about a First Class Order of Merlin? Can it be more precious than her son's life?

When she found out that her child, who she thought had sacrificed himself, was actually still alive, Peter's mother was so happy that she almost jumped up.

This news was undoubtedly great news for her as a mother. She even thought that she could reunite with her son and live happily together.

However, the overwhelming news reports quickly shattered her fantasy.

Her son was no longer the hero who had gloriously sacrificed himself, but a villain who had joined the Dark Lord, betrayed his friends, and killed his friend's family.

He even used a Blasting Curse to blow up half a street of Muggles, which could be described as a series of crimes.

Despite this, Peter's mother was still not prepared to give up on her son.

She was already very old, and facing this only child who had been lost and found, she had to fight for him no matter what.

Therefore, despite the fact that Peter Pettigrew was facing more than a dozen charges, Peter's mother stood up without hesitation and personally served as her son's defender.

On the day of the trial, she first cried and sold misery to win everyone's sympathy.

Coupled with that tattered robe and full head of white hair, it really made the listeners sad and the hearers cry.

When the chief judge mentioned Peter's many misdeeds, Peter's mother even loudly declared that Peter Pettigrew might have been under the Imperius Curse of the Dark Lord or Death Eaters back then.

"I know my child very well. He is so timid and so kind. If he hadn't been under the Imperius Curse, he would never have done such outrageous things."

Peter's mother's plan was very clear. When the Death Eaters were tried back then, many people claimed to be under the Imperius Curse and escaped the final trial.

So, she also planned to use this reason to let Peter Pettigrew escape punishment.

However, to her disappointment, no matter how she quibbled, the Ministry of Magic still convicted Peter Pettigrew.

And sentenced him to the most severe punishment in the entire wizarding world—the Dementor's Kiss.

Peter's mother didn't completely give up on this result. In the past half month, she had spent all her wealth and secretly made many preparations, striving to make a final effort today to completely rescue Peter.

Rescuing people from the Aurors on the day of execution was such a crazy idea that no one thought Peter's mother could succeed even if she said it.

However, she clearly knew her unique advantage, that is, she was old and weak, and the Aurors were not very vigilant towards her.

As long as she made a fuss about this, it was not without a chance.

Before entering the Auror's office, Peter's mother took out a water cup, opened the lid, and drank.

In the eyes of outsiders, she was just drinking water, but no one knew that there was only a small sip of golden potion in the water cup.

This was Felix Felicis that she had bought on the black market, almost exhausting most of her wealth. As the potion entered her throat, Peter's mother prayed silently in her heart.

I hope the people on the black market are not liars, and that this expensive potion can play its due role.

Soon, a wonderful feeling surged into her heart. Peter's mother pushed open the door in front of her and walked into the Auror's office.

"Hello, today is my child's execution day, and I want to see him one last time."

"Madam, standard procedure, you must leave your wand and handbag here, and then accept our inspection."

"Of course, of course, I will cooperate with everything." Peter's mother said in a sad tone, shedding a few tears from time to time.

The two Aurors who received Peter's mother looked serious and picked up their wands to check her body. They had to make sure that there were no Portkeys on the buttons of her clothes.

When the Aurors checked the cane in Peter's mother's hand, she pleaded.

"My legs and feet are a little inconvenient, can you let me hold my cane? Please be kind. The Auror gentlemen who came here a few times ago also agreed."

As she spoke, she took out her wand and handed it to the other party, and then took out a lunch box from her handbag.

"My son is going to die today, and before he dies, I want him to eat one last meal that I made, do you think that's okay?"

Then, she took out two small cloth bags and placed them in the other party's hands: "Please, this is my only wish."

Feeling the heavy weight in their hands, the two Aurors looked at each other, nodded, put away Peter's mother's wand and handbag, and then quickly completed the visit formalities.

"Come with us!"

The three left the Auror's office and came to a heavily guarded room.

After checking the relevant procedures, the two Aurors led Peter's mother into the room and closed the door.

When the door opened again, they had arrived on a remote island in the North Sea.