Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 341 Use magic to defeat magic
In the Gryffindor Headmaster's office, Professor McGonagall, with a serious expression, addressed Sherlock and Harry:

"Besides the four of you who were in the office yesterday, who else knows about this?"

“Ron’s sister Ginny, and Cho and Luna from Ravenclaw, we just told them while we were eating.”

"The three of them... Potter, why didn't you keep it a secret?"

“Dear Professor, no one told us to keep this a secret, and besides, I don’t think there’s any need to keep it a secret, since everyone will find out soon.”

"But that's not the case now, Mr. Holmes!"

Professor McGonagall said with a stern face:
"As I just said, Dumbledore had anticipated the Ministry of Magic's reaction and made it clear when he handed Peter Pettigrew over to them that he himself had orchestrated and discovered the matter."

Professor Snape, Professor Lupin, and I played an important assisting role in this process:

Professor Lupin, having known Sirius and Peter since their childhood, saw through Peter's disguise.

Professor Snape provided the truth serum, which made Peter tell the truth.

My role was to restore Peter from his Animagus state to his original form.

At this point, Professor McGonagall blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, Holmes, because of what I just mentioned, we practically stole all the credit from you..."

“It’s alright, Professor, I don’t care about it at all.”

Professor McGonagall looked intently at Sherlock, as if trying to ascertain whether he truly meant what he said.

After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Holmes—but even so, the Ministry of Magic still believes that it is not yet time to withdraw the arrest warrant for Sirius Black."

"Why? Hasn't the truth already come out?"

Harry couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and said excitedly:

Sirius Black is innocent!

Peter Pettigrew was the one who kept my parents' secret!

He faked his death back then, transforming into Ron's pet mouse using Animagus. He lay low for twelve years, all for the sake of…

"Take it easy, my friend."

Just then, Sherlock reached out his strong hand and pressed his friend back into his seat.

“Harry, you do have a talent for summarizing and generalizing. You pointed out the key to the whole thing in just a few words.”

Hearing Sherlock's slightly teasing words, Harry had no intention of responding. "But..."

"Don't rush, let's hear what Professor McGonagall has to say first."

"Okay, okay..."

Professor McGonagall gave Sherlock, who had calmed Harry down, an approving look, and then slowly said:

"The Ministry of Magic believes that Peter Pettigrew's testimony alone is insufficient to overturn the verdict from back then."

The reason given was that all the witnesses on the street insisted they saw Sirius kill Pettigrew.

"But Little Pettigrew is clearly still alive!"

Harry, who had already sat down, could no longer contain himself and stood up: "Are they blind?"

A person who had been confirmed dead for twelve years suddenly appeared before me and, under the influence of truth serum, revealed everything!
But the Ministry of Magic refused to believe this, preferring to believe the testimonies of eyewitnesses from over a decade ago.

This is absolutely outrageous—it's outrageous to the extreme.

"Harry, I beg you not to interrupt me anymore."

Harry froze.

To his recollection, Professor McGonagall had never spoken to him in such a pleading tone before.

"Okay, okay..."

This time, without Sherlock's intervention, he obediently sat back down in his chair.

He secretly resolved that no matter how absurd the Ministry of Magic's decision might be, he would patiently wait until Professor McGonagall finished speaking.

Professor McGonagall said in a low voice:

"The Ministry of Magic means that even if Peter Pettigrew is still alive, it does not prove that he killed all the Muggles on that street."

It also doesn't prove that your parents replaced Sirius Black with him as the confidant, nor does it prove that he revealed your parents' address to God... Voldemort.

Because the truth Peter tells might be 'what he believes to be the truth':
Antidotes to truth serum, confusion agents, amnesia agents, brain shut-ins, and even strong willpower can all counteract truth serum.

On the contrary, Sirius's various actions made him seem less like an innocent person.

From escaping from Azkaban, storming Hogwarts Castle, attacking the Fat Lady…

At this point, Professor McGonagall sighed deeply, seemingly feeling helpless about Sirius's reckless behavior.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Magic insists that only by finding Sirius Black and having him confront Peter will they overturn his case."

Seeing that Professor McGonagall had finally finished speaking, Harry was momentarily at a loss for words.

The main problem is that Professor McGonagall's remarks were so full of flaws that it felt like she was flawless.

Sherlock, on the other hand, was not surprised at all, and looked as if he had expected it.

Harry took a deep breath and quickly asked:
"Is it possible that even Mr. Dumbledore has no solution?"

"Potter, Dumbledore isn't omnipotent either."

Professor McGonagall said in a soft voice, “Albus cannot influence the Ministry of Magic’s decision, and besides, he testified to the Ministry that Sirius was the Potters’ secret keeper.”

"How could this be?"

Harry was stunned. He stared at Professor McGonagall's stern face and felt as if the ground was about to collapse.

If things continue to develop this way, then what is the point of everything Sherlock has done?
He suddenly remembered what Sherlock had said to him during his morning exercise that day.

His premonition came true again!

Thinking of this, he suddenly turned to Sherlock: "Sherlock?"

Sherlock clearly understood his friend's thoughts and couldn't help but sneer, "I can only say that this is not an unexpected outcome at all."

Professor McGonagall also turned her gaze to Sherlock, wanting to hear what the man who had uncovered the truth had to say.

"In the Muggle world, prioritizing evidence over confessions is perfectly acceptable, and even commendable."

But in the magical world, this is rather amusing.

This is a truth that even someone like me, who comes from a Muggle background, knows—if the Truth Potion could make Voldemort reveal his secrets, wouldn't they trust it?
Did Professor Snape pour truth serum into the mouth of the Ministry of Magic official who said those words?

"There were indeed suggestions from the Ministry of Magic to use truth serum to interrogate Peter."

Professor McGonagall spoke slowly, “But this claim was quickly rejected on the grounds that Sirius Black was imprisoned in Azkaban without trial back then.”

Therefore, re-interrogating Peter, who had already taken truth serum, would be an 'unnecessary procedural repetition.'

"I understand."

Sherlock nodded:
"Leaving aside how absurd those reasons for opposing truth serum are, even if it were possible to do so, what would Peter's purpose be?"
Even though he didn't commit these crimes, he deliberately resisted the truth serum and then told the lie that he would get himself sent to Azkaban... Do they think Peter is a masochistic psychopath?

Of course, the world is full of wonders—I don't believe such people don't exist—but this person definitely wouldn't be Peter Pettigrew, that cowardly wretch!

Harry nodded repeatedly.

This is absolutely absurd!
Even novels don’t dare to write like this!

But it just happened.

"Some have even pointed out that even if Sirius Black was indeed wronged, his act of escaping from prison should still be punished."

Since Sirius Black did nothing during his twelve years in Azkaban, he could have filed an appeal through the proper channels.

But if he chooses to escape from prison, then he is openly defying magic and going against the entire Ministry of Magic.

Her Scottish accent carried a distinct sarcasm that even Harry could detect in the last few words.

Professor McGonagall has already started to mock them, so how can Sherlock be left out?

However, compared to Professor McGonagall's slow pace and subtle criticism, Sherlock's words were quick and direct:
"Why didn't they say this two years ago when another Blake just walked right out the door? That guy was even their former colleague!"

Professor, I'd bet you a Galon that if Sirius Black were really a thug who could kill thirteen innocent people, they wouldn't be controlling him like this.

These foolish goldfish just need a reason, regardless of how absurd that reason is!

They chained the truth with three layers of chains:

The first layer is called procedural justice, because it is feared that if the case is overturned, it will tear down the banner of 'fairness and justice' embroidered on the Ministry of Magic.

The second layer is traditional authority, which prefers to keep all the Dementors in Britain at Hogwarts rather than acknowledge the Ministry of Magic's incompetence over the years.

As for the third point... admitting mistakes damages the authority of the bureaucratic system far more than letting innocent people continue to bear the blame.

They even invented a new curse for bureaucracy:
The Selective Deafness Curse is specifically designed to suppress grievances and cries of injustice; the Memory Alteration Curse is specifically designed to correct history textbook errors; and finally, all those who question it will be given a grand gift of obstruction of official business.

It's like using the reasoning techniques of a third-rate detective novel to depict reality!

(D)

Professor McGonagall looked at Sherlock with a surprised expression.

She never expected that the other person could express her inner thoughts so clearly; it was so satisfying!

The problem is that no matter how biting the satire, it still doesn't help the current situation.

However, remembering Dumbledore's instructions to her before she came to find Sherlock and Harry, she still asked, just to try her luck:
“Mr. Holmes, do you have a solution? If so, it wouldn’t matter if we told others about this beforehand.”

"It doesn't matter if there's no way."

Sherlock pondered for three seconds, "However, I think this matter cannot be delayed and should be resolved completely before Christmas."

"You actually have a way?"

Professor McGonagall's face lit up with surprise; Sherlock's words gave her hope. "Have you found Sirius's whereabouts? If so, all we need to do is have him confront Peter again, and the Ministry of Magic won't be able to deny the facts!"

Seeing Professor McGonagall's delight, Sherlock gave her a mocking smile:

"Excuse my bluntness, Professor, but you place too much faith in the rules."

"But the Ministry of Magic has made it clear that if Sirius Black and Peter confront each other, they will reveal the truth to the wizarding world!"

"It's just talk. I thought someone like you wouldn't easily believe a promise that can be made with just words."

Even if Sirius were to appear, I could come up with at least seven ways to maintain the status quo.

Therefore, continuing within the rules set by the other party is meaningless.

Sherlock looked at Professor McGonagall, who was frowning, and said, word by word:

"We must use magic to defeat magic."

After leaving Professor McGonagall's office, Harry was filled with worry.

Combining what Sherlock said during his morning exercise this morning with Professor McGonagall's description just now, Harry now fully understands why the Ministry of Magic is unwilling to exonerate Sirius Black.

The crux of the problem is that the Ministry of Magic values ​​its own authority more than the truth.

If they admit to the misjudgment of twelve years ago, it would be tantamount to denying the credibility of the Ministry of Magic system in the wizarding world, raising questions among wizards about the competence of Ministry of Magic officials.

Another important reason is that Peter Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, which was personally recognized and awarded by the Ministry of Magic, and it was a first-class medal.

The main reason Peter was able to get it was because he "sacrificed" himself.

However, if Sirius Black is exonerated, the hero becomes a coward and the traitor becomes a hero, which will expose the Ministry of Magic's serious dereliction of duty in the awarding review process, creating an embarrassing situation where the official is contradicting itself.

So even though Peter Pettigrew was brought back to life and gave a true and reliable testimony through the Truth Potion, he was still alive.

However, the Ministry of Magic still refused to re-interrogate Peter, citing the ridiculous excuse of procedural repetition, which was essentially an attempt to evade the truth.

As for whether Sirius Black was wronged, who cares?
Since the verdict has already been handed down, let's stick to it to the end.

After figuring this out, Harry wasn't even surprised.

After all, he had already witnessed the Ministry of Magic's amazing operations in the case of Hannah Abbott's father losing his documents when he was a first-year student.

Despite the numerous suspicious points surrounding the matter, they chose to ignore them and simply wanted to end the controversy hastily.

One word: absolutely!

"Your ability to summarize and generalize is getting stronger and stronger, my dear friend."

After hearing Harry's analysis of the matter, Sherlock showed an approving look, "So, being friends with people who have meticulous thinking will unconsciously influence you as well."

While praising Harry, Sherlock also subtly complimented himself, adding:

"The phenomenon you described is actually the Tacitus Trap. When credibility is lost, whether you tell the truth or lie, do good or bad, you will be considered to be lying or doing bad things."

The Ministry of Magic was afraid of falling into Tacitus's trap, so it was unwilling to admit its mistake.

In addition, the Ministry of Magic's judicial system, or rather the entire British judicial system, is plagued by this ingrained mindset that a single conviction is valid for life.

Therefore, even if new evidence emerges, the bureaucratic system tends to uphold existing judgments in order to avoid increasing administrative costs.

As for Dumbledore's early misjudgment of Sirius's identity as the Secretkeeper, it was deliberately used as a tool by the Ministry of Magic.

This is a way to shift responsibility to a third party and evade the responsibility of correcting errors.

At this point, Sherlock sneered, "I have to admit that I overestimated them."

The fact that someone would believe the decision made twelve years ago was made by the previous minister could potentially lead to a correction of the wrongs.

However, it overlooks the fact that most people within this system have already been institutionalized and become part of the vested interests.

Harry took a deep breath and looked at Sherlock with hopeful eyes:

"What exactly did you mean by using magic to defeat magic?"

(End of this chapter)