The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 351 Fudge's Difficulties

Veritaserum is not only available in the wizarding world, but also in the Muggle world. However, Muggles inject anesthetics to put people into a special state of calmness, so that they can answer questions accurately while they are unconscious.

The magic world's truth serum is not an anesthetic, it is also a kind of potion. This colorless, odorless liquid allows the other party to answer all your questions without worrying about the other party lying.

However, although both types of truth serums are useful, the use of truth serum is unethical and even illegal in some places, whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world.

The truth serum that Ada took out of the crystal bottle was certainly not hers. She just happened to pass by Snape's private storage room one day and happened to find a bottle of truth serum, so she stole it.

The reason why she brought the truth serum was to prevent Peter Pettigrew from being stubborn. After all, she couldn't use the Cruciatus Curse in front of Dumbledore, right?

Compared to the thumb clamp, truth serum is better.

Dumbledore didn't show any reaction when he saw Ada taking out the truth serum. The headmaster was used to it. Now, no matter what strange things Ada took out of her pocket, the headmaster didn't find it strange.

Minister Fudge and Senior Undersecretary Umbridge were not so knowledgeable. The truth serum on their desks made them break out in cold sweats.

Fudge was even thinking about whether he had just drunk the tea in front of him. After thinking for a while and making sure that he had not touched the teacup, Fudge breathed a sigh of relief.

All this is just the beginning. Is it enough to put the truth serum on the table? How could it be possible? Ada directly opened the stopper of the crystal bottle and pretended to drip a few drops into the teacup.

Judging from the appearance, it doesn't look like just a few drops. If Peter Pettigrew drinks this cup of tea with added ingredients, he will probably be a fool for the rest of his life.

This is also why the use of truth serum is considered unethical. If you drink too much of it, your brain will be damaged, and the damage is irreversible.

"Kid...kid, put down the truth serum. We don't need to be so radical." Fudge hurriedly stopped Ada, fearing that Ada would pour the whole bottle of truth serum into Peter's mouth if he wasn't paying attention or seeing it.

It was not until Ada put the truth serum back into her pocket that Fudge stopped staring at her and turned to look at Dumbledore. Fudge's eyes were fixed, as if he was asking Dumbledore: Are all students nowadays so fierce?

Dumbledore crossed his arms with a helpless look, and his glances around seemed to be responding to Fudge: Absolutely not, don't even think about it, there is only one family that can be so fierce.

The eyes of the principal and the minister were almost sparking, but the two of them were in a stalemate and neither of them spoke first.

Anyway, Dumbledore was not in a hurry at all. Peter Pettigrew was lying on the table. The facts were there and he had to admit it whether he wanted to or not. Whoever was in a hurry knew it.

If the headmaster is not anxious, then the minister will be. Dumbledore obviously came prepared. He caught Peter first and made everything clear. Isn't this just a trap?

Fudge and his Ministry of Magic couldn't deny their debt even if they wanted to. If they dared to do so, Dumbledore would definitely expose the matter and make it known to everyone.

Even though the facts were right in front of him, Fudge didn't want to admit that Sirius was innocent, and didn't want the Ministry of Magic to be branded as a person who had committed a false crime.

The reason was simple: admitting this might have a huge impact on the Ministry of Magic and Fudge's own rule.

When Voldemort was rampant, the Ministry of Magic not only failed to become the leader in resisting darkness, but was infiltrated like a sieve and was beaten by Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

It stands to reason that once the Ministry of Magic was destroyed, Voldemort's reign of terror would spread to every corner of the British Isles, but some people dared to resist. The Order of the Phoenix, a civil organization led by Dumbledore, became the main force in resisting Voldemort, fighting on the front line against the dark terror. Everything is afraid of comparison, and this comparison immediately showed that the Ministry of Magic was not only destroyed by Voldemort, but also by the Order of the Phoenix.

The Ministry of Magic's reputation among the people declined rapidly. The Minister of Magic, who was supposed to be the leader of the British wizarding world, became Dumbledore's foil. It was not until after the war, when the remnants of the Death Eaters were hunted down and the Death Eaters were tried one after another, that the people's hearts were restored.

However, just when the Ministry of Magic regained support, many criminals claimed that they were under the Imperius Curse, which was why they helped Voldemort. How to distinguish who was really under the Imperius Curse and who was pretending to be one, and wanted to use the Imperius Curse to escape punishment, became the number one problem of the Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry's support for the Imperius Curse fell again due to its improper handling of the Imperius Curse. After that, the scandal broke out that the son of Barty Crouch, the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement, was a Death Eater, which made the Ministry of Magic even more mired in the quagmire.

Until the past few years, after more than a decade of peaceful life, the situation in the Ministry of Magic finally eased. However, it was at this time that Sirius Black successfully escaped from prison, causing the Ministry of Magic and Fudge to be criticized by the public again.

Moreover, because of the delay in catching the fugitive, the slogans of the Ministry of Magic being incompetent and Fudge stepping down were loud and clear. Fudge received anonymous howlers and some anonymous curse letters containing evil spells every day.

At this time, I suddenly told everyone that Sirius Black was innocent and the real murderer was Peter Pettigrew, who was regarded as a hero. What would you think?
How incompetent must the Ministry of Magic be to wrongly accuse Black and put an innocent person in Azkaban for twelve years. Many people can't stand being in Azkaban for even a day, and a twelve-year sentence is equivalent to a death sentence.

The man's head has fallen to the ground, and you tell me that the Ministry of Magic killed the wrong person. What? Are all the officials in the Ministry of Magic pigs?
On the other hand, Sirius Black is the heir of a pure-blood family and the last male in the family. What does the Ministry of Magic want to do by locking him up for twelve years?
Did he want to wipe out all the pure-blood families? In the future, if he didn't like a family, would he throw their heirs to Azkaban and leave them to fend for themselves?

The relationship between the Ministry of Magic and powerful pure-blood families has always been complicated, and any Minister of Magic who does not consider the interests of pure-blood families will not be able to stay in office for long.

There had been several ministers who were more inclined towards Muggles and Muggle-born wizards, but they were all driven out of office in disgrace after only a few days in office, and some were even murdered by pure-blood families.

Now tell these pure-blood families that the Ministry of Magic has wronged a pure-blood heir and almost made this ancient family extinct. What do you think these powerful pure-blood families will think? Does Fudge still want to continue?

Moreover, Sirius Black was thrown into Azkaban without a trial.

Since Blake was wrongly accused, is it possible that the other untried prisoners were also wrongly accused? What if another wrongful conviction is discovered? What if an official seeks personal gain by overturning a verdict?
Admitting that Sirius Black was wrongly accused and announcing his innocence to the world would bring about enormous consequences and impacts. Fudge didn't dare to think about it carefully. The more he thought about it, the more scared he became.

"Albus, I am willing to believe that Black is innocent." Fudge hesitated for a moment before speaking in a heavy tone, "But have you ever thought about us and the Ministry of Magic?"

"Of course, Cornelius, it is precisely because of your consideration that I will come to you privately." Dumbledore said, "Instead of going directly to the Wizengamot or the International Confederation of Wizards."

Albus Dumbledore is not only recognized as the greatest wizard of our time, he is also the President of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot. It can be said that Dumbledore's words and deeds can affect the wizarding world.

If Dumbledore didn't intend to negotiate Black's wrongful conviction with the Ministry of Magic, he could have simply bypassed the Ministry of Magic, or replaced it. It's just that Dumbledore didn't want to do that.

"Do you really want to destroy the Ministry of Magic's hard work over the years just for Black?" Fudge asked again, "Have you ever thought about the consequences of the Ministry of Magic no longer being trusted?"

After Dumbledore turned Peter back into a mouse, he continued, "The consequences are not as serious as you think, Cornelius."

"No, the consequences are far more serious than I thought!" Fudge slammed the table and said loudly.

(End of this chapter)