Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Headlines (Edited)
"Are you suggesting that Peter Pettigrew be tried at Hogwarts?" Fudge was perplexed. "Why?"
After Fudge had met Dumbledore, he hadn't even exchanged a few words before hearing Dumbledore's seemingly ridiculous idea.
He couldn't understand why Dumbledore wanted to do this. It was certainly irregular. Criminal trials were always conducted at the Ministry of Magic, so how did it make sense to hold a prisoner's trial at a school? Did Dumbledore want to show off and usurp the Ministry of Magic's power? That thought crossed Fudge's mind, but he quickly dismissed it: Dumbledore wasn't that kind of person.
"Because I believe it would be meaningful to do it this way. Most young witches and wizards studying at Hogwarts have never witnessed a real trial and courtroom. If we can conduct this trial at Hogwarts, we would broaden their horizons. Peter's confession would also give them a lesson," Dumbledore spoke calmly.
Fudge frowned. He thought Dumbledore had some logic in what he was saying, but he simply didn't want the trial to take place at Hogwarts.
That was the instinct of a powerful being.
However, at this moment, Dumbledore had the upper hand: he had captured the man, had investigated the case, and had Peter Pettigrew firmly under his control. Given all that, Fudge should have complied with Dumbledore's small request, if he still had any dignity left.
But politicians are different from ordinary people in the sense that they are shameless.
Fudge was a politician. So he spoke brazenly, "It's a good idea, but I'm concerned about the followers of He Who Must Not Be Named. In the past, some people managed to escape justice. I don't know how they'll react when they hear this news. We should take precautions."
Fudge was sincere, as if he were thinking about the well-being of Hogwarts' professors and students.
Dumbledore stared at Fudge for a moment. Fudge felt increasingly guilty under his gaze. Just as he was about to say something to defend himself, Dumbledore nodded and agreed.
"Yes, that's true. Thank you for your concern."
Fudge felt relieved.
"What punishment will Peter receive?" At this question, Fudge thought for a moment and replied, "According to the law, he will be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. If the jury has no objections, that will be the punishment."
The standard punishment in the wizarding world is life imprisonment in Azkaban; death sentences are rarely imposed. And the Dementor's Kiss, only the most evil and despicable criminals like Sirius Black would receive that punishment after escaping from Azkaban.
"Well, I'm afraid Sirius will be disappointed then; he really wants to kill Peter." Dumbledore sighed, "Go to the school's hospital and bring Peter."
"I will do my best to clear Black." Fudge pretended not to have heard the first half of the sentence and bid farewell to Dumbledore before leaving the office.
As Fudge and Dumbledore were finishing their conversation, Tom and Amelia had also finished their conversation.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Bones. Given the situation, Fudge can't go against the general trend," Tom placed his empty glass on the table, which was covered in dirt, and told Amelia.
Although she knew the mysterious young man in front of her was trying to console her, Amelia still felt his words were hurtful, as if Dumbledore, hidden in the shadows, could easily replace the Minister for Magic with a simple flick of his fingers.
"Let's hope so, but Fudge isn't so easy to deal with." She responded sternly.
"Then just watch and wait, but don't miss the opportunity. You should start contacting your supporters."
"Alright." Amelia concluded the conversation. She left the Phoenix Fire cocktail on the table, untouched, and departed.
The next morning, young witches and wizards gathered in the Great Hall as usual to enjoy a hearty breakfast. At that moment, a flock of owls flew in, delivering letters from their families and newspapers and magazines the students had ordered.
Hermione set her fork down and looked enviously at the owls flying all around. Her parents never sent her letters of their own accord; it was always her who wrote to them first, and then the Grangers would send them back via owl.
But that didn't mean she didn't receive mail. She had subscriptions to the Prophet and other wizarding magazines.
Today, a gray owl arrived with a freshly printed edition of the Prophet and dropped it right in front of her plate, almost knocking over her cereal.
The multitude of owls during breakfast at Hogwarts caused real problems for the students: feathers everywhere, droppings falling from the sky, and owls swooping down like bombers that could easily ruin your breakfast.
Hermione slipped a Knut into the leather pouch on the owl's leg and managed to get her newspaper. Many other young wizards, like her, also received their own subscriptions and started reading while eating.
Then they were stunned. The headline on the front page of the newspaper read:
["An Ancient Hero Guilty? Sirius Black Acquitted of All Charges!"]
The accompanying photo showed Black screaming hysterically, but this time, in the lower right corner, there was a photo of a young man smiling shyly: an image of Peter Pettigrew during his school days.
The newspaper also had a subtitle: "Order of Merlin Suspected to Strip Peter Pettigrew of His First-Class Order of Merlin Medal"
This news headline was enough to leave them open-mouthed. In the Great Hall, the sound of cutlery hitting tables was heard: the sound of knives and forks slipping from the hands of young wizards.
"This can't be possible!" these words came out of countless mouths.
It could be said that, except for those involved that day, no one in the Great Hall was not surprised. It was evident that all the people present that day had kept silent, and even some professors were unaware of this matter.
Hagrid, sitting on the edge of the teachers' table, had tears in his eyes. He pulled out a handkerchief the size of a small towel, blew his nose, and made a horn-like sound. But people like the Heads of Houses, Harry, Ron, Tom, and Hermione remained calm.
Professor Flitwick spread butter on his bread without paying attention, and Newt beside him did the same. Professor Sprout raised the newspaper and leaned over to her close friend, Professor McGonagall, whispering something to her, while Snape turned completely pale.
For Snape, this was like a bolt from the blue on a sunny day! The person he loathed the most in his youth was about to be acquitted; how could he not be furious? His source of happiness these days was imagining catching Black with his own hands and bringing him headlong before a Dementor. Now his happiness had evaporated!
Some young wizards in the audience who were in the know showed no surprise, simply lamenting that the Prophet's news was so accurate.
"It's about to begin..." Tom muttered softly, just to himself, and then quietly shielded his plate to prevent an owl from spoiling it.
Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Peter's Trial (Edited)
The Great Hall buzzed until Dumbledore tapped the glass in front of him.
Once everyone had quieted down, he addressed all the young wizards, saying, "Even the finest soup turns unpleasant when it cools, so let's enjoy it while it's hot."
If the young wizards continued making noise like that, they would surely have to attend their first class on an empty stomach.
"Professor, now that the true culprit has been captured, does that mean the Dementors will be removed?" Fred asked aloud.
After receiving an affirmative answer, the Great Hall erupted in excitement once again.
Although the Dementors hadn't affected the lives of the young wizards much, their removal was good news. After all, the Dementors near Hogwarts were a direct threat to the students and professors. Now that this threat had been eliminated, it was surely a good thing.
Dumbledore's words didn't make the students eat in silence. On the contrary, they were still discussing the Black case in hushed voices.
In the wizarding world, unexpected twists in the news were rare. But when they did happen, it was definitely big news. Like today's news about the popular author Gilderoy Lockhart turning out to be a fraud, something similar was happening in the news today.
Some young wizards from wizarding families were excitedly sharing the details of what happened back then. Some of the young wizards' parents were members of the investigative team at the time, so some details were especially authentic.
"My uncle thought there would be a big battle, but when he got there, Black didn't offer any resistance, he just stood there laughing like a madman."
"My father said the same thing, and guess who was one of the ones responsible for arresting Black at the time. The current Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge! He was scared to death, and only when my father reminded him did he remember to order his arrest..."
"Whether you believe it or not, my mother always thought this case was suspicious. Peter Pettigrew didn't really die, how is it possible that only a finger remained after the explosion and no other part of his body was found? At that time, she thought Peter might have gone into hiding..."
Everyone was discussing animatedly.
"Caught on Saturday, brought in on Sunday, trial on Tuesday, the Ministry of Magic is really efficient." After reading the report, Hermione learned that Peter Pettigrew's case would be tried the next day.
"It's a shame we can't go to the trial." She sighed. She still hoped to see with her own eyes how that traitor who betrayed her friends was punished.
"There's not much to see." Tom wasn't interested in Peter's case; he was more interested in future developments.
The news of Sirius Black's case spread throughout every corner of the British wizarding world thanks to the Daily Prophet's messenger owls, causing a great stir.
Tuesday, Ministry of Magic Courtroom.
Dumbledore arrived early at the Ministry of Magic. He was now sitting quietly in a chair in the front row, waiting for the trial to begin. He wore a long robe of black and blue, and behind him were about fifty members of the Wizengamot jury, dressed in robes of purple and red, with a delicate silver "W" embroidered on the left side of their chests.
In front of the Wizengamot jury, there was a group of Ministry of Magic officials dressed in black robes. The middle seat in the front row was empty, with Amelia Bones seated on the left and Umbridge, Fudge's confidante, on the right.
Although there were more than a hundred people in the room, there was absolute silence, hardly anyone whispered, only the sound of rain hitting the skylights could be heard, as it was raining again in London.
At nine o'clock, Fudge entered the courtroom.
When Fudge's eyes landed on Dumbledore, he briefly displayed an expression of surprise and panic, but quickly concealed it.
He headed straight to his seat. Once seated, a small podium appeared in front of him with a small hammer. Fudge took the hammer and struck the table, and a chair rose from the floor in the center of the room.
The chair was secured with several iron chains, keeping Peter Pettigrew firmly restrained. He seemed to be dozing off and was unaware of what was happening around him.
Fudge looked towards a plump, balding man who was sitting in a corner. The man understood Fudge's intention and quickly stood up, walking towards Peter Pettigrew and giving him a sip from a bottle of potion.
With the potion's ingestion, Peter immediately woke up.
"I..." just as he was about to say something, a wizard next to him was faster and cast a spell that glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
Peter could no longer speak, only emit whimpering sounds.
"Thank you, Horace," Fudge thanked the wizard and then looked at those present. "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the Wizengamot jury, today we will conduct a trial."
"A man who was supposed to be dead has come back to life, deceived everyone in the wizarding world. His name is Peter Pettigrew, winner of the Order of Merlin, First Class." Fudge stared at Peter Pettigrew with a cold and chilling look.
'Damn bastard, even if you did something like this, why didn't you go far away? Why didn't you hide? Why did you have to show up and cause me trouble?' Fudge held a deep resentment towards Peter.
At one point, Fudge considered ordering the Dementors to give Peter a Kiss immediately, but then he abandoned that idea, as Peter and the case behind him were not worth breaking the rules and confronting Dumbledore.
Peter still hadn't touched his core interests.
"Let's begin, the trial of December 18th," said Fudge with a resonant voice as the stenographer by his side began taking notes.
"The case of Peter Pettigrew, the Death Eater who violated seventeen laws, including the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy." Fudge didn't want to continue with more explanations and directly started the trial. As for the method of interrogation, it was simple and brutal: Veritaserum.
Horace Slughorn, the Potions Master, whom Fudge had invited in advance, produced a small bottle with a clear liquid: the famous Veritaserum. They administered it to Peter Pettigrew. Peter struggled frantically in the chair, but it was in vain.
After receiving the potion, Peter had a vacant look and loose cheeks, sitting still in the chair.
Fudge began asking questions.
"Can you hear me?"
Peter replied quietly, "I can hear you."
Fudge asked a few more simple questions to confirm Peter's identity and ensure that the Veritaserum was working correctly.
"Peter Pettigrew, I hope you will tell us if James Potter and Lily Potter chose you as their Secret Keeper." Fudge stared at Peter and asked.
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