Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 380 An Unexpected Twist

Harry felt a chill run down his spine after Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Magic, let out a string of silvery laughs.

He didn't know what others were thinking, but he couldn't hold back any longer, so he lowered his voice and said to Sherlock:
"Um... I thought I was going to hear a hoarse voice..."

Sherlock smiled slightly, "Brother, it's wrong to judge a book by its cover."

Harry: "..."

That's true, but Harry still felt a strong sense of unease watching a middle-aged woman laugh like that.

Fortunately, Sirius Black began to speak at this moment, and Harry immediately stopped talking and listened attentively.

"I once thought it was a good idea—to suggest that James and Lily change secret agents at the last minute."

Because I felt that they wouldn't notice such an insignificant character compared to themselves.

As he said this, he stared at Peter Pettigrew, his voice low and subdued.

Every word he uttered seemed to be forced out of his chest, carrying intense hatred and the excruciating pain of betrayal.

"But I never expected that this most inconspicuous person would betray us!"

All two hundred or so wizards in the courtroom stared at Sirius.

As Mrs. Weasley said, Sirius, who was already tall and handsome, became even more outstanding after being carefully groomed.

In addition, the passage of time has allowed his physical advantages to be fully utilized at this moment.

Humans are visual creatures.

This is true in both the magical and Muggle worlds.

All the wizards present, regardless of gender, subconsciously felt that whatever Sirius Black said was right.

Not only that, they also empathized with him and deeply felt the man's grief and regret.

Sirius was completely oblivious to this; he was lost in his own world, and as he looked at Peter, he slowly said:
"That night, I discovered that the person who was supposed to be hidden was missing, and I immediately realized that something was wrong."

Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at Godric's Hollow, it was too late, James and Lily..."

At this point, Sirius's voice broke; he could no longer utter those two names.

"..."

The entire room fell silent.

After a moment, Sirius Black's speech suddenly quickened, clearly intending to end his statement as soon as possible:

"Later I met Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid, who rescued Harry from the ruins."

At that time, my thinking was very simple: it would be good if someone could take care of Harry, and I could go and get revenge on that damned traitor.

I chased him for a while, and then I cornered him on a street...

Unexpectedly, I underestimated him once again.

His voice was filled with self-mockery, and his gaze toward Peter grew increasingly cold and piercing.

Peter sensed the tangible hatred in Sirius's eyes and instinctively trembled, causing the chains binding him to creak and scrape.

Sirius didn't look away, but continued speaking quickly:
"He shouted so loudly that everyone on the street could hear that I had killed them."

They then acted first, blowing up half the street before I could.

I was completely fooled by him at the time, thinking that he really blew himself into pieces!

It's unbelievable that the bastard who usually follows us around has such quick wit and courage.

"Amazing, truly amazing!"

Sirius's gaze shifted to Peter's hand, where the missing knuckle stood out starkly.

Peter suddenly let out a piercing wail.

His body writhed hopelessly in the chains, tears streaming down his face, like a desperate worm.

"There's nothing I can do, he's just too strong... he's really too strong..."

He murmured in vain, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

Just then, Sirius did something that surprised everyone.

He suddenly stood up, walked over to Peter, and slapped him hard across the face.

"Snapped!"

All the wizards in the room couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"Snapped!"

Sirius Black slapped Sirius again with his backhand.

By the time everyone realized what had happened, Sirius had already slapped them twice, once on the front and once on the back, and sat down again as if nothing had happened.

"stop!"

It was only at this point that Ms. Burns had a chance to speak and try to stop Sirius.

However, the latter had already sat back down in his original spot.

After venting his anger one last time, he leaned back lazily in his chair, his body tilted back so that only the chair's two legs touched the ground.

Hearing Ms. Burns' words, he nodded to her: "Yes, ma'am."

Bones: "..."

It is definitely wrong for a witness to assault the defendant in court.

But Sirius Black was just too fast.

By the time the Wessengamo members realized what was happening, Sirius had already sat down again and given a very positive response to Burns's reminder.

Furthermore, Peter Pettigrew's actions were indeed outrageous, so after whispering among themselves for a while, they pretended that nothing had happened.

After Sirius finished speaking, Fudge asked another question:
“Witness, after the Ministry of Magic provided information that Peter might still be alive, you reached an agreement with the Minister of Magic—that is, myself, Cornelius Fudge—to jointly hunt down Peter Pettigrew, right?”

When he asked that question, Fudge's voice involuntarily tensed up, and his whole body even trembled slightly.

He stared intently at Sirius, as if afraid he might utter a "no".

Sirius frowned in disgust and looked at Sherlock.

Even he himself found it strange, as he should have looked to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, or his friend Lupin at this time.

But his body instinctively chose Sherlock.

But oh well, I've already seen it.

As their gray eyes locked, Sirius Black slowly spoke:
"That's what happened."

"very good!"

Fudge was overjoyed and immediately said:
"Since the defendant has pleaded guilty to the two principal offenses mentioned above, and considering the previous verification with truth serum and the testimony of key witness Sirius Black, this court now..."

Just as Fudge was about to seize this opportunity to make a decision, a voice suddenly interrupted him:
"Wait a minute!"

Everyone looked toward the person who had spoken.

One of the three interrogators in this public trial is the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Amelia Susan Borns.

Peter Pettigrew suddenly raised his head and looked at the other person.

At that moment, his eyes blazed with a fierce will to survive.

Sirius is the exact opposite.

He dropped his nonchalant demeanor, straightened his chair, and gave the witch, with a sharp look, the one he had just been exchanging pleasantries with.

Ms. Burns did not avoid Sirius's sharp gaze. She looked calmly at Sirius and asked in her loud voice:
“Witness, since you are innocent, why did you surrender without any defense after the Ministry of Magic arrived?”
Furthermore, you spent twelve years in Azkaban, why didn't you ever tell the truth about this matter?

Just when it seemed the trial was about to end smoothly, Ms. Burns's sudden question turned out to be an unexpected turning point.

Sirius frowned and looked at Fudge in the middle of the judge's bench.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: I've already cooperated so much, why are you still causing trouble?

Seeing this, Fudge couldn't help but look helpless.

what can I do?
I'm desperate too!

This was not something he instructed.

Amelia Borns is both the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a member of Wizengamo.

Her parents and a brother were killed by Voldemort during the Wizarding Wars.

Perhaps this is why she is exceptionally serious in her dealings with people and is notoriously difficult to get along with in the Ministry of Magic.

In Fudge's view, this kind of person is a typical troublemaker.

Unfortunately, she possesses strong magical abilities, excels in duels, and is even quite capable in business matters, yet she remains unmarried to this day.

Fudge had no way to deal with such a strong woman.

Not long ago, the Ministry of Magic planned to suppress the truth about Peter's affair, and she happened to be the one who opposed it the most.

But now that the Ministry of Magic is about to reveal the truth, she's started nitpicking these details again, which is really giving her a headache.

But as much as I'm worried, I still have to say what needs to be said.

The unruly Sirius Black had finally cooperated once, so we couldn't waste this precious opportunity.

"Ms. Burns, the witness has already answered this question:"
From the time he was arrested until he was imprisoned, he never knew that the defendant was actually still alive.

He only began to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic after I received definite information and informed the witnesses.

To mislead the defendant, we even fabricated the illusion of a witness escaping from prison.

"Oh, is that so?"

As Ms. Burns spoke, she squinted so tightly that the edge of her monocle dug into her flesh.

"exactly!"

"no no."

Ms. Burns said somewhat impatiently, "Even so, this does not explain why the witness surrendered when the Ministry of Magic arrived at the scene, and why he did not defend himself until he discovered that the defendant was still alive."

Fudge glared angrily at Ms. Burns.

What's wrong with this woman?

Damn it, these questions should have been answered by Sirius!
No, Bones shouldn't have asked those questions at all.

When I had initially planned to suppress the matter, she was the most vehemently opposed, saying that innocent Sirius should never be wronged again and that the criminals must be severely punished.

Later, under pressure from the Muggle Prime Minister, the Ministry of Magic changed its stance, which finally satisfied her.

Not long ago, there were voices within the Ministry of Magic saying that Peter should not be executed, but rather thrown into Azkaban like his former Death Eaters.

At that time, Fudge himself was somewhat wavering, but Burns was still the most vehement opponent. She believed that since the investigation report had been issued, it should be strictly enforced and kept.

Therefore, the person he is least worried about in today's trial is Burns.

Who knew such a turn of events would occur?
Instead of questioning the defendant and the witnesses, you, as an interrogator, are chasing after another interrogator with questions at this crucial moment. Have you lost your mind?

"What's up with this person?"

Harry frowned upon hearing this.

Although he didn't like Fudge either, the other was on his side now.

But this witch named Burns kept harping on these minor details. Could it be... that she wanted to exonerate Peter?
Thinking of this, Harry immediately tensed up, and his gaze toward Burns changed.

"No, my dear Harry, you're mistaken."

As before, Sherlock knew Harry's thoughts without even asking.

“She didn’t want to exonerate Peter—in fact, she just wanted to find out the truth, just like me.”

"the truth?"

"Correct."

Sherlock's gaze fell on the second row of benches behind Fudge and Burns.

A short, stout male wizard with a large black beard leaned close to a female wizard with curly hair and whispered something in her ear.

The witch gave a smug, mocking smile and nodded.

Sherlock withdrew his gaze and said calmly:
"From my observation, this lady is a calm and rational person, so it is perfectly normal for her to question the illogical aspects of this case."

I would have done the same—the difference being that I already know the answer.

Harry, unable to follow Sherlock's train of thought, instinctively asked, "What answer?"

"Your godfather, Sirius Black, was a shrewd, rebellious, rule-defying, loyal, passionate, impulsive, and reckless man."

Under Harry's astonished gaze, Sherlock said, word by word:

"And his arrogance—at times, you could actually think of him as the Malfoy house-elf."

"You mean Dobby?"

"Yes, it's about ignoring everything and imposing one's own ideas on others, but not to the same extent as that house-elf."

Such people are usually fine, but they tend to get stuck on minor issues when faced with major changes.

This is why some of his actions seem to contradict normal logic.

That's why he did something as foolish as changing the person in charge of keeping the secret and not telling anyone else about it.

The woman's question precisely hit this anchor point.

Harry: "..."

Dude, do you have to be so harsh with your insults?

"Also, she knows Sirius Black."

"What?" Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "They know each other?"

“Yes, they know each other,” Sherlock said with certainty. “There is no doubt about that.”

Upon hearing this, Harry stopped looking over and instead scanned Sirius and Burns.

It's impossible to tell that these two people know each other.

Meanwhile, Fudge, who was facing Ms. Burns directly, was already finding it difficult to cope.

The reason this happened is essentially because the Ministry of Magic did nothing in this case.

If I had to pinpoint what I did, it would be to hold others back, muddle through, and make things worse.

The so-called wise and powerful minister who discovered the truth, his personal cooperation with Sirius Black, and the cooperation and coordination mechanism with Hogwarts... all of these are fabrications.

The Ministry of Magic's understanding of the whole affair came entirely from Dumbledore's account.

So he's fine in the big picture, but when it comes to these kinds of details, he immediately reveals his true colors.

Seeing the beads of sweat on Fudge's forehead becoming increasingly dense, Sirius, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

He revealed the most sincere, yet also the most foolish, thought buried deep within his heart.

(End of this chapter)