Later that day at lunch, as Harry, Colin, Hermione, Ginny, Susan, and Luna were enjoying a lunch of hamburgers with mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, onions, pickles, and lettuce with a side of fries and Coca Cola Classic to wash it down with, a barn owl dropped a letter on Harry's plate.

"It must be Peter's sentence, " said Harry aloud.

Harry unfurled the letter and read.

"Dear Mr. Potter:

Peter Pettigrew had his sentencing hearing before the Wizengamot this morning. While this proved somewhat divisive, Peter Pettigrew was ultimately given the Death Penalty and sent through the Death Veil. The witches and wizards of the Wizengamot formed the majority opinion that Pettigrew could not be allowed to live, as it was clear he was both an escape threat and a serious threat to help Voldemort rise again. Some witches and wizards on the Wizengamot, such as Madam Augusta Longbottom, suggested life in Azkaban due to their own moral opposition to the Death Penalty. Others, such Mr. Patrick Patil and his wife Madam Patricia Patil, argued that if we kept Pettigrew alive, we would likely pay the price for it down the road and come to regret it. The sentencing options were put to a vote. While a small handful of the witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, including Madam Longbottom, voted for life in Azkaban, the overwhelming majority of the witches and wizards on the Wizengamot agreed with the Patils that Pettigrew was too dangerous to be kept alive. Sirius Black, who was allowed in the courtroom as a visitor, requested that Pettigrew be given the Dementor's Kiss. However, almost all of the witches and wizards on the Wizengamot found this idea too morally repressible. So, the Death Veil it was. -

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Amelia Bones."

"Pettigrew deserved the Death Veil, " said Harry fiercely, "But I am glad they laid off the Dementor's Kiss."

Colin let out a sigh.

"I'm morally opposed to any form of the Death Penalty, " said Colin clearly, "As to me the Death Penalty is murder. But it's hard to argue against its necessity in this particular case."

"If there was even a one one trillionth of a one percent chance he would go back to Voldemort or help Voldemort rise again, " said Hermione in a crisp decisive voice, "Then this was the only solution. Sometimes, you have to throw morals out the window and do what absolutely must be done. Though I personally support the use of the Death Veil from a moral standpoint in this case because what Pettigrew did was SO terrible."

"YES!" agreed Harry instantly, "Some crimes deserve very extreme punishments."

"This is certainly one of those cases, " added Ginny.

"Auntie always said the people who have to make these decisions have to do so completely unemotionally and look just at the facts at hand, " piped up Susan.

There were a few minutes and a few nanoseconds of silence as everyone processed the news in his or her own way. It was Ginny who finally broke the silence.

"How did Peter Pettigrew get into Gryffindor anyway?" asked Ginny curiously, "Sirius Black and Severus Snape would be a million times more likely to kiss lip to lip in front of the Great Hall at Hogwarts then Peter Pettigrew would be to ever show any kind of courage or bravery."

"The sorting hat can make mistakes, " said Susan calmly, "I mean, Hermione should clearly be in Ravenclaw as clever as she is."

Hermione beamed at Susan and admitted, "The Sorting Hat did consider me for Ravenclaw but decided on Gryffindor in the end."

"And then you have people like Harry who are suited to all four houses, " said Luna dreamily, "Maybe the Sorting Hat was infested with nargles during Pettigrew's sorting. Or maybe there were wrackspurts in the hall at the time that affected the hat's brain on that day."

"But this is why we need to stop judging people by their houses, " said Harry firmly.

"Even now, " said Luna observantly, "There are bad people of various levels in all four houses. Ron the asshole in Gryffindor, Zacharias the prat in Hufflepuff, Marietta Miss Untrustworthy Edgecombe in Ravenclaw. So no, all bad people are not in Slytherin."

"So how did Professor Protect's first lesson go?" Ginny asked Harry.

"It was interesting to say the least. Professor Protect put the Imperius Curse on all of us to teach us how strong it is and what it feels like, " replied Harry.

"And Harry was the only one who resisted it!" said Hermione proudly.

Ginny, Susan, and Luna all looked at Harry in awe, though, Colin, who didn't know what the Imperius Curse was, didn't.

"I think the lesson was a success, " continued Hermione, "A no nonsense approach covering serious and important topics."

"OHH!" remembered Ginny suddenly, "Colin, you and I are in Professor Brew's Potions class first thing after lunch!"