The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 536 Taking over the spotlight
It was already the second week after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort had been making frequent moves, but the Ministry of Magic had never found anything and was always one step behind. Every time the Aurors arrived, the Death Eaters had already left, leaving only a mess.

Morale within the Ministry should have been even lower due to their incompetence, but instead, everyone had a smile on their face because Pius Thicknesse had captured another Dark Lord.

Esmeralda Drizzt is caught! This evil woman is about to go to Courtroom 10 to stand trial!
In the dark corridor, the only light was a torch on a bracket, and a group of Aurors were escorting the female devil to trial. Ada was not dirty, and if it weren't for the heavy shackles on her hands and feet and the large group of people guarding her, she wouldn't look like a prisoner.

Confiscating wands, handcuffing and shackles, and placing a large number of Aurors on guard were all measures taken by the Ministry of Magic to prevent Ada from escaping.

In addition to these, the Ministry of Magic also rushed to make metal gloves overnight, which are now being put on Ada's hands to restrain her wandless spellcasting.

"I didn't expect that we would meet again in this way." Kingsley's voice was low and magnetic. He was not mocking Ada, but just sighing. No one expected that the famous Ada would be caught by Thicknesse.

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood to Ada's left. He was the only Auror guarding Ada that Ada knew.

"I didn't expect that. Aren't you supposed to be protecting the Muggle Prime Minister?" Ada said in a relaxed tone. Even though she was under close surveillance, she still had an indifferent attitude.

"Someone has temporarily taken over my job. In Scrimgeour's opinion, keeping an eye on you may be more important than the Muggle Prime Minister." Kingsley said, "How did you get caught by Thicknesse?"

Kingsley was highly regarded by Dumbledore in the Order of the Phoenix and trusted by Fudge and Scrimgeour in the Ministry of Magic. He was truly a rare talent. Why was Ada captured? This question had always troubled him. Thicknesse was not a master.

"Maybe it was a disaster." Ada said with a smile, without any regret on her face.

It's outrageous! Kingsley knew that Ada wanted to bribe Thicknesse, but he fell into the other party's trap instead.

Even though the wizards were very vulnerable and it was possible that the top wizards would capsize, Kingsley still couldn't believe that Ada would be caught. Kingsley roared in his heart, this must be a dream, who will wake up the Ministry of Magic!

The two did not continue chatting because they had already arrived at the door of the tenth courtroom. A large iron lock was hung on the gloomy black door.

The door was opened, and under the supervision of Kingsley and others, Ada walked into the deep dark room. The Tenth Courtroom was not unfamiliar to her, it could be regarded as a revisit to an old place.

It was here that Ada had her argument with the Wizengamot in August 1995. At that time, she was Dumbledore's student and Harry's defender. Now that she had left Dumbledore, she herself had become the defendant.

Ada sat in the defendant's seat, and the chains around the chair automatically wrapped around her, and the cage stood up. There were dozens of sharp knives embedded around the iron cage, and the blades were pointed at Ada, making it impossible for her to move.

Scrimgeour's cold voice echoed in the courtroom as he announced all of Ada's charges, including multiple murders, conspiracy to seduce, and subvert the Ministry of Magic.

"Are you Esmeralda Jessica Drizzt who lives in the Rose Estate in Versailles, France?" Scrimgeour stared at Ada like an old lion, his slightly trembling hands unable to hide his excitement.

The sudden death of Amelia Bones left Fudge at a loss. Although the next minister has not been announced to the public, Fudge and Bones have already begun the relevant handover work.

If nothing unexpected happened, Amelia Bones would be the new minister, but something unexpected happened. Fudge was panicked and had to quickly convene a high-level meeting to discuss the new minister candidate.

After some discussion, Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office, became the new candidate. The name of Pius Thicknesse was not mentioned, and he simply changed his deputy director to director.

This is why the presiding judge is Rufus Scrimgeour, rather than the current Minister Cornelius Fudge, or the new Director of the Law Enforcement Department, Thicknesse. This is to pave the way for Scrimgeour to take over.

If Thickness hadn't captured Ada, he might not even have gotten a seat on the jury.

"I am Esmeralda Jessica Drizzt," Ada said. "I admit all the charges you just mentioned. Is there anything else you want to ask? You can put any other charges on me. It doesn't matter."

"You!" This made Scrimgeour completely helpless. This guy was too cooperative!

Looking at the special handcuffs on Ada's hands and the groups of Aurors, Scrimgeour didn't believe that Ada could play any tricks. But Ada's attitude made Scrimgeour feel vaguely uneasy.

The Wizengamot jurors looked at each other, none of them knowing what Ada was up to.

Scrimgeour banged the gavel in his hand and pronounced, "The verdict is now in. Esmeralda Jessica Drizzt is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban!"

The trial took less than half an hour in total, with most of that time spent on Ada being escorted to the courtroom. This trial, which was considered of utmost importance by the Ministry of Magic, ended in vain.

Ada confessed readily, making Scrimgeour feel like his punch had hit cotton. This feeling of failure was very uncomfortable, but Scrimgeour had no time to care about his feelings, because there was another scene waiting for him to perform! It was the same long corridor again, and the elevator still made an unpleasant clacking sound. In a blink of an eye, the team escorting Ada arrived at the main hall of the Ministry of Magic. Many reporters from the magic world gathered here, most of whom were invited by the Ministry of Magic.

The escort team stopped in front of the Magic Brothers Fountain, and Scrimgeour's big show officially began.

Some of the reporters who were arranged in advance "broke through" the Auror team and rushed straight to Scrimgeour. If they had microphones in their hands, they should have put them in Scrimgeour's mouth at this moment.

The reporters asked questions as planned, all of which were beneficial to the Ministry of Magic and Scrimgeour.

"This is a difficult time. There is no need to hide it. Our world is facing unprecedented threats. But I want to tell everyone: we will defend your freedom and your safety as always, and fight against all forces that want to deprive you of your freedom! Your Ministry of Magic is still strong!"

Scrimgeour said this, and the hallway erupted in applause, accompanied by flashes of light and smoke rising from cameras.

Obviously, Scrimgeour's strong statement achieved his goal and gave confidence to Ministry employees and the public, letting them know that the Ministry of Magic is powerful and invincible.

If you don't believe it, just look at Ada being guarded by Aurors. She is the best negative example.

Apart from anything else, Dan saw from this press conference that Scrimgeour was much better than Fudge. No wonder everyone chose this Auror Office Director after Bones's accident.

Ada, the negative example, was standing nearby, fully armed with handcuffs, shackles, and special gloves.

Ada's smile was brighter than the sunshine outside. She stood straight without sagging because of the weight of the gloves. She listened to Scrimgeour's speech very carefully, nodding in agreement from time to time.

Just as Scrimgeour finished his statement, another group of reporters suddenly appeared. These reporters dispersed the Auror team and stopped when they rushed in front of Ada.

"Esmeralda Drizzt! Why are you against the Ministry of Magic?"

"You will be taken to Azkaban today. Do you have anything to say?"

A bunch of questions were thrown at Ada, and just as Scrimgeour was about to stop them, he was surrounded again, and the questions he asked made him very embarrassed. They were all about Bones and the mysterious man, leaving Scrimgeour with no time to take care of himself.

Facing the enthusiastic journalist friends, Ada cleared her throat and spoke:

"First of all, I want to make it clear that I have never intended to be an enemy of the Ministry of Magic. I am only targeting certain people who have made the Ministry of Magic dark, corrupt and incompetent. These rotten people abuse their power for personal gain, deceive people and cover up everything with one hand. I am only hostile to these people and their minions."

……

"Mr. Scrimgeour is right. The Ministry of Magic is still strong. It brings together the elites of the British wizarding world. But the Ministry of Magic lacks a strong leader, a leader who can lead the public to break the darkness. The unexpected death of Ms. Amelia Bones is heartbreaking news."

……

"Do you have anything to say or comment about Pierce Thicknesse?" a reporter asked in a roar.

Ada was still smiling, not complaining about the fact that she was caught by Thicknesse. She replied, "There's nothing to say. He caught me and did what Fudge and Scrimgeour didn't do, didn't they?"

"Excuse me, do you have anything to say? Do you regret your reckless revenge?" another reporter asked after climbing over the mountains.

Ada finally put away her smile and said solemnly: "I never regret it. You can say that I am seeking revenge, but I consider myself an idealist and I never fight for hatred."

"Someone once said, 'Magic flourishes only in a very small number of souls, and is only granted to those of a higher order.' I agree. As wizards, we are born powerful. We should have the right to breathe freely in the sun, and we should be equal and mutually beneficial. We should not be trapped in dark corners, shrouded in darkness, or ruled by corrupt, selfish, and crazy tyrants!"

Ida raised her hands with great effort. The metal sleeves on her hands were particularly glaring. She continued, "Friends, brothers, and sisters, we should shout for freedom! We should shout for fairness! We should shout for ideals!"

"This world needs heroes. We should stay in the darkness and wait for the dawn to come!"

(End of this chapter)