Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 541 Public Trial Result
At this time, the golden hair on Mike's head was spreading out like withered yellow weeds, and his face and chin were covered with light yellow stubble. He looked extremely decadent, just like a homeless person seen everywhere on the street.

But what attracted the most attention were those red, swollen, bloodshot eyes.

The madness revealed in it made everyone who looked at it feel terrified.

Penelope was trembling with heartache. She didn't understand what had happened to Mike. Why did he change from the handsome boy he used to be to what he is now in just a few days?

But the only thing she knew was that Mike must have had a hard time these days, and maybe the people from the Ministry of Magic had tortured him!
Penelope glared fiercely at Chris, who was walking at the front of the team, and then sat back in her seat.

If possible, she would tear this damn Chris into pieces!

Of course, Chris couldn't hear the curse in Penelope's heart. After Mike and the giant cross were fixed to a slot in the center of the courtroom, he came to the top of the judgement seat and sat down.

Beside him stood a large number of officials from the Ministry of Magic and Aurors in uniform.

These people are almost all new faces. Many of the former senior officials in various departments of the Ministry of Magic have now been replaced by Chris's own staff.

This is particularly evident in the Auror department. All the members who originally belonged to Scrimgeour's faction have now disappeared, and they have been replaced by elite members from the pure-blood families under Chris. Their mission is also very simple, which is to suppress the entire Ministry of Magic and even other forces in the wizarding world of Britain while protecting Chris.

No one was surprised by this. After all, building up one's own staff is something that every Minister of Magic must do when he or she first takes office. At most, Chris just did it to a larger extent.

What really surprised Mike was that he saw a familiar face among the group of Aurors - Mad-Eye Moody!

The old Auror with artificial eyes and limbs stood on Chris's right hand side. From time to time, he would take out a shiny wine flask from his dirty uniform robe, take a sip, and then shiver with pleasure.

Perhaps he noticed that Mike was looking at him, Moody suddenly turned his head, stared at Mike with his strange evil eyes, and opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. He looked like he really deserved a beating.

Mike turned his head silently and ignored Moody's provocation.

But I was thinking quickly in my mind.

He knew that Moody had returned to the Ministry of Magic, but he really didn't expect that Moody would actually join Chris. And judging from Moody's position and the attitude of the people around him, Moody's status in Chris's camp was not low.

This is a bit outrageous. You have to know that Moody was originally a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and later joined Scrimgeour, who was the Minister of Magic at the time. But now that Chris is in power, he is gaining power again!
Mike really couldn't understand this.

At this moment, Chris on the judge's seat said in a loud voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet. Now that everyone is here, let us begin today's trial."

After that, Chris clapped his hands again, and only nodded after all the reporters returned to their seats, and continued:

"The trial will be held on May 5! The trial will be against Mike Townley, who lives at 404 Godric's Hollow, for violating the Wizarding Safety Management Regulations, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and the International Wizarding Counter-Terrorism Measures!" Chris said, tilting his head slightly. "Interrogators: Minister of Magic Chris Flint, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Al Green..."

As Chris called out the names one after another, the wizards sitting beside him stood up and saluted the public and the Wizengamot Council jury.

This process lasted for a long time. Half an hour later, Chris put down the long list, took out a piece of parchment from the table and began to read:
“The defendant, Mike Townley, is now charged with the following crimes:

First, the defendant had released a large number of powerful spells in the village of Hallsands on the evening of April 4 without reporting to the Ministry of Magic, causing irreversible changes in the topography of the site and attracting the attention of Muggles. This violated Article 25 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy! At the same time, since the defendant was still a minor, he also violated the "Reasonable Restraint of Minor Wizards Act". However, since this was the first time the defendant violated the relevant regulations, he was only given a warning.

Second, the defendant summoned several wizards from his Los Santos Security Company to fight in Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and White Hart Lane on April 4, 10 and 20. This violated Articles 21 and of the Wizard Safety Management Regulations!
Third, the defendant has been constantly inciting Muggle-born wizards and stirring up public opinion since early April, trying to make Muggle wizards believe that they have been treated unfairly and thus rebel against the Ministry of Magic! He also directly led to the BL incident at the Ministry of Magic on April 4 and indirectly led to subsequent rebellion incidents across the country! This action violated Articles 4 to 22 of the International Wizarding Counter-Terrorism Measures and was identified by our Ministry as KB behavior!"

"That's all! These are all the crimes that our department has determined Mike Townley has committed!" Chris looked at Mike with a stern face and said, "Defendant, do you have any questions about this?"

Mike looked at Chris expressionlessly and said calmly:
"I'm not guilty."

"Very good. You certainly have the right to defend yourself, but you have to provide evidence." Chris grinned and said, "First, let's talk about the first charge. How do you explain what you did in Holsands Village on the night of April 4?"

"Haha, I've never heard of wizards having to report to the Ministry of Magic when casting spells."

"Of course there is such a rule! Article 54 of the Regulations on the Release of Wizard Spells clearly states that wizards need to report to the Ministry of Magic when releasing super-large spells. If you have any objections to this crime, you can check the relevant documents." A bald middle-aged man next to Chris stood up and said, "Defendant, I have to remind you here. The reason why we have not strictly enforced some clearly recorded regulations is only due to our lack of power. This does not mean that these regulations do not exist!"

Listening to the bald man's explanation, Chris nodded with satisfaction.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, he saw the jury on the podium suddenly become chaotic, and then a witch wearing a black veil stood up cautiously.

"McTownley, may I ask why you cast so many powerful spells in Hallsands Village that day? Did you really..."

The witch stopped talking abruptly, and then looked at Mike expectantly.

Mike's mouth curled up slightly, and he looked at the jury members on the platform who were also curious and said softly:

"You already know the answer, don't you? The reason I did that was, of course, to deal with Voldemort. And, I was lucky, I won in the end!" This caused a sensation in the entire courtroom!

Everyone, even the jurors on the podium, exclaimed in surprise, and the reporters were even more crazy. They carried their heavy magic cameras and completely ignored the Auror guards around them, and rushed up to Mike like crazy to start filming.

Seeing this, the corners of Mike's mouth began to rise gradually. He just wanted to see the trial scene in chaos so that he could find a chance to escape.

However, Chris had obviously thought of this. There was a loud explosion from the judge's seat, and then an invisible force swept over and drove all the reporters back.

"quiet!"

Chris roared with a cold face, and seeing this, the reporters could only return to their seats in disappointment.

Seeing this, Chris finally showed a hint of satisfaction on his face, looked at Mike and said:
"McTownley, stop trying to make excuses. The Wizengamot Council won't believe your lies!"

"But judging from their reactions, their beliefs don't seem to be as firm as you said!"

Mike said this sarcastically, and upon hearing this, Chris turned his head and glared at the podium, directly staring at the Wizengamot jurors who were still in shock and making them shrink back.

Seeing this, Chris looked at Mike again with an expressionless face:
"Haha, let's not talk about this question for now. So how do you explain the next two charges?"

"There's actually nothing to explain about this, right? It's easy to find excuses to accuse someone of something."

"But I have a lot of evidence in my hands, enough to prove that you are the culprit who has been inciting the people to launch the KB action in the past few months!"

"So what?" Mike looked at Chris seriously and said, "When I came here, I found that there are all kinds of injustices in this world. I could have turned a blind eye to it and lived my own good life. But as a wizard, as a human being, I can't do it! So I stood up and spoke for those Muggle wizards who were oppressed by you, for those magical creatures who were treated cruelly by you like pigs and dogs, and for those witches who were discriminated against!
My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror, and everything I do is just! "

The spacious courtroom was silent, with only Mike's final cry still echoing, shaking the hearts of everyone present.

The reporters all stared blankly at the man tied to the cross in the center of the courtroom. After a while, they took out their notebooks with hands trembling with excitement and began to write quickly on them.

At this time, Chris on the judgement seat finally woke up. An almost endless anger was pouring out of his chest, first making his face become distorted, and then turning into a deafening roar!

"Ridiculous! I've had enough of your sophistry! Now! Let's go straight to the voting stage. Jury, please raise your hands if you think McTownley is guilty!"

Chris stared at the jury on the podium. His eyes, which were originally as gentle as jade, were now filled with violence and ferocity, which made people feel very uncomfortable.

The Wizengamot members in the jury box were shocked by Mike's final speech and were hesitant about whether to raise their hands. However, when they were glared at by those fierce eyes, they all trembled as if they had thought of something, and then they all raised their hands.

"Hahaha! Passed unanimously!" Chris supported the long table with both hands, looked at Mike fiercely and shouted, "Now! I declare in my capacity as the Minister of Magic and the presiding judge! After rigorous discussion, the defendant Mike Townley is guilty! For multiple crimes, the defendant is sentenced to death! It will be executed two days later in the morning!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a burst of intense whispering broke out in the courtroom.

Obviously, everyone saw that there might be problems with today's public trial. After all, Chris was too anxious and his behavior was very abnormal.

But despite this, facing the now powerful Chris, no one dared to jump out and say a fair word for Mike, and everyone just dared to whisper below.

"Well, now that the verdict has come out, today's public trial is officially over!" Chris opened his arms and shouted, "Someone, take the prisoner back to the cell!"

As Chris finished speaking, silence returned to the courtroom. All the spectators stood up and began to salute the jury on the podium and Chris and others on the bench.

On the other side, Moody took out the hip flask and took a big gulp, then limped to Mike with a team of Aurors and escorted the cross out of the courtroom.

"Hiccup!" Moody sneered as he walked. "McTownley, it looks like you're going to die this time."

"But I'm not dead yet."

"Oh? Who will come to save you now? Dumbledore? Forget it, he can't even save himself now. Your friends? Or Black and the others? Hahaha, they will come to save you, but what's the use?" Moody shook his uneven shoulders and said, "You haven't given up yet, have you? The Ministry of Magic is not the same as before. Since Chris Flint came here, the defense has increased several times. Not to mention that the cell where you are imprisoned is the famous Dead Sea Prison! I'm afraid those brainless rubbish can't even break through the hall of the Ministry of Magic?"

Mike glanced at Moody indifferently, knowing that he was just a villain who had succeeded in his career, so he ignored him and began to close his eyes and rest.

At this time in the courtroom, the spectators were slowly leaving.

Penelope's eyes gradually became firm as she looked at Mike's disappearing back. She took a deep breath, took out a Masonic gold coin from her pocket and whispered to him:

"The public trial ended badly. It's time for us to start Plan B."

(End of this chapter)