Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 381 The Kiss of the Dementor

"Because I deserve it!"

Sirius spoke again, his voice booming, instantly overshadowing the two judges, Fudge and Burns.

All the wizards' eyes were once again drawn to Sirius.

"Because I essentially killed them!"
If it weren't for my suggestion, they wouldn't have changed the Secret Service, and Voldemort wouldn't have found them!

My arrogance cost them their lives!

"An idiot like me deserves to be locked up in a place like that, with Dementors!"

At this moment, Sirius was finally forced to reveal his true feelings by the cautious Burns and the flustered Fudge.

The whole place fell silent.

They looked at Sirius in surprise, never expecting that this man valued friendship so much.

Many witches already had tears in their eyes.

Sherlock looked at Harry. "See, that's it, my friend."

Harry was on the verge of tears.

Hearing Sirius Black's heartfelt words, Ms. Burns finally stopped targeting Fudge, whom she was already exhausted from dealing with.

A glint of light flashed behind her glasses as she turned her gaze to Sirius:

"Witness, are you saying that the reason you surrendered when the Ministry of Magic arrived and didn't tell the truth until you found the defendant was still alive was simply because you wanted to atone for your sins by being imprisoned in Azkaban?"

“Yes,” Sirius said with a straight face.

"I personally disagree with your approach, but I can understand it."

Ms. Burns shifted her gaze from Sirius and turned to Fudge, saying, "I have no more questions."

After saying those words, Sirius let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked at Ms. Burns again, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Just as Sherlock said, he really did know Ms. Burns.

However, it was merely a friendship between gentlemen.

Amelia Bornes herself is a staunch member of the anti-Voldemort front.

Although she is now the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she actually took over the position after Barty Crouch was transferred to the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Therefore, she did not handle Sirius's case.

The two men's connection mainly stemmed from Bernes' brother, Edgar Bernes.

Like Sirius Black, he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Edgar was a valiant warrior who died heroically during the Wizarding Wars.

Sirius respected him greatly.

As for what Sirius just said, he had actually mentioned it to Harry indirectly before.

But it wasn't explained as clearly as it is today.

Now, by sheer chance, he has spoken his mind in public, which makes Sirius feel like an idiot once again.

After this discussion, the entire courtroom fell into a brief silence.

Dumbledore looked at Sirius through his half-moon spectacles, his expression seemingly calm, but his slightly trembling shoulders revealed that his heart was not at peace.

Professor McGonagall, standing beside him, sat upright with her hands clasped tightly on her knees.

Her lips pressed into a stern line, her eyes already brimming with tears, and she kept shaking her head, saying, "Silly child, such a silly child..."

Professor McGonagall once described Peter Pettigrew in this way, and now she's applying that same assessment to Sirius Black.

The only reason was that their identities had been switched.

Lupin looked extremely tired, but beneath that weariness lay a deep sorrow.

His gentle eyes stared intently at Peter, his expression extremely complex.

It was as if he were looking through that trembling body back to the betrayal of that bloody night thirteen years ago, his eyes filled with deep pain and a hint of incredulous pity.

Snape's black robes blended almost seamlessly into the shadows. From the moment the trial began, a cold, undisguised, and extremely satisfied smirk lingered on his lips, like a viper seeing its prey fall into its net.

However, after Sirius Black said those words, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in his cold eyes, and he then mouthed two silent words:

"idiot."

Mad-Eye Moody's face was terrifying; his gaze toward Peter was filled with hatred, while his gaze toward Sirius held a hint of regret.

Sherlock's posture was the most relaxed in the entire room.

Despite being in the courtroom, he felt a strong sense of detachment from the place, and his gray eyes showed no emotion.

As for Harry, his green eyes, which were exactly the same as his mother Lily's, were now filled with tears, just like Professor McGonagall's.

At that moment, Sirius, for some reason, felt a quiet sense of relief deep down.

It was as if something heavy had finally been put down.

Compared to Sirius, who quietly breathed a sigh of relief, Fudge truly let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing that Ms. Burns had finally stopped relentlessly pursuing him, and fearing that someone might cause further trouble, he seized the opportunity and once again delivered the lines that Ms. Burns had interrupted him on:
"Now that the defendant has pleaded guilty to the two principal offenses, and considering the verdict obtained through truth serum testing and the testimony of key witness Sirius Black, this court will now proceed with the vote—those who agree that the defendant is guilty, please raise your hands."

Sirius and Peter both suddenly raised their heads.

Harry's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly and anxiously looked around.

Hands were raised one after another, quite a few in total...

Excellent! It seems that more than half have been elected!
His breathing quickened, and he was about to count properly, but before he could finish, Fudge, who was even more impatient than him, blurted out:
"Now, please raise your hand if you agree that the charges are unfounded."

Somewhat surprisingly, six or seven hands actually went up.

This included the bearded wizard on the second row of benches and the curly-haired witch next to him.

Fudge glared at these people and memorized their faces.

The autumn will bring about a reckoning.

He took a deep breath and said in a loud voice:
"Very well, this court will now pronounce the verdict. All rise!"

Everyone except Peter Pettigrew stood up.

"Defendant Peter Pettigrew is guilty!"

He was stripped of his title of hero for the crime of traitor in the war;

For the murder of thirteen Muggles, he was stripped of the Order of Merlin.
For the crime of endangering the magical world in an illegal Animagus form, the sentence is... a Dementor's Kiss!

As soon as he finished speaking, Peter's body convulsed violently.

The last hope was finally extinguished.

Ever since Sherlock exposed him, he knew this day would come sooner or later.

No, it should be said that he had already thought about this outcome from the day he chose to betray.

He made a hoarse sound in his throat, and his eyes rolled back.

Sirius exhaled heavily, his expression still tense, but his heart was surging with emotion.

Sherlock's brother Mycroft was absolutely right.

Even though it was just a formal public trial, the sense of relief—that his innocence had been cleared and the villain had finally been brought to justice—strongly impacted his senses. It was even more exhilarating than when he had successfully escaped from Azkaban.

Fudge's face finally showed a hint of relief; the official end of the trial and Sirius's cooperation relieved him of a heavy burden.

"Please sit down!"

Once everyone was seated again, he straightened his back, raised his voice, and began to recite his lines with great passion and fervor:
"Since I became Minister of Magic, I have always been committed to the thorough upholding of justice!"

We will never let any murderer go unpunished! Nor will we ever wrong any innocent person!
Justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied!

Although this shameless self-aggrandizing behavior seemed particularly ironic to those in the know, it was indeed gratifying to most people present.

Sherlock scoffed and said disdainfully, "Can justice be served late?"

Harry wiped away his tears and grinned. "Sherlock, you seem to have said that before?"

Despite some minor hiccups during the trial, the final outcome was still worth applauding and celebrating.

Hearing Harry's words, Sherlock's gray eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to Harry:
“Dear Harry, I did say that—because Dumbledore said the same thing.”

However, compared to Dumbledore, the hypocrisy of this Minister of Magic disgusts me even more—at least Dumbledore tried to uphold justice, but what about Fudge?

Just think about it: Sirius Black was falsely accused of being a traitor and associated with Dementors for twelve years.

Peter, however, escaped justice by transforming into a rat and was praised as a hero.

Now this Minister of Magic is portraying himself as a champion of justice and a pioneer of truth?
Please remember this, my dear friend.

Sherlock's voice turned serious:

"What we are doing now can only be considered as making up for the regret that justice has not arrived on time."

It is nothing to be proud of, much less to write about it in such detail as he did, or to flaunt it as an achievement.

A rotten apple can be painted with gold paint and become a sacred fruit in the mouths of politicians.

If justice must step over the corpses of wrongfully convicted prisoners to arrive, what difference is there between it and the executioner's scythe?
Fudge's lines are nothing more than a sonata of turning a funeral into a celebration.

Harry: "..."

What you said makes so much sense that I am speechless.

Fudge, of course, was completely unaware of all this and continued his impassioned speech:

"The defendant's crimes were extremely serious and heinous, and his betrayal directly led to the fall of a hero."

After betraying them, he showed no remorse, framed and harmed innocent people, causing them to suffer injustice for more than a decade, and even cruelly slaughtered more than ten Muggles.

The despicable nature of their methods and the severity of their consequences are truly rare in the magical world!

To uphold the authority of the judiciary and purify social atmosphere, this court confirms the previous investigation report and the recent judgment:

"Regarding the criminal Peter Pettigrew..."

Fudge paused, took a deep breath, as if gathering the strength to deliver the final verdict.

The sweat on his forehead glistened in the firelight. Only when all eyes were on him did he speak loudly:
"Execute the Dementor's Kiss in court immediately!"

Peter let out a shrill, inhuman scream, his body twisting and struggling desperately in the chains.

The atmosphere in the entire courtroom instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Harry felt a sudden nausea in his stomach when he heard the words "Dementor's Kiss".

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall Ron's description of him—about the Dementor's fatal kiss.

His soul was sucked away, leaving him only a walking corpse, a living hell.

Of course, Peter Pettigrew truly deserves to die, and even someone as kind as Harry wouldn't feel sorry for him.

However, the thought of what was about to happen still caused me a strong sense of physical discomfort.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but grab Sherlock's arm tightly and whisper to him:

"Sherlock, if I pass out later, remember to support me and don't let me slide off the stool."

Sherlock: ←_←

My little brother here is quite concerned about his image.

As Fudge finished speaking, the door at the corner of the room opened again.

The two Dementors that had been there earlier slowly slid in again.

Sirius's expression changed immediately upon seeing this. He stood up from his chair and took a few steps back.

He did go to Azkaban willingly, to atone for his sins.

but!

His twelve years living in Azkaban also left him with a huge psychological trauma related to these Dementors.

That's why he was so panicked after escaping from prison—he was afraid of running into those guys again.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he lost his wand and was unable to use the Patronus Charm.

Now that he has his wand back, the fear of Dementors still lingers, but at least he feels more confident.

Even so, when he saw the Dementor slowly gliding toward him, he almost pulled out his wand and cast a Patronus spell.

However, considering that the other party was after Peter, he suppressed his impulse and decisively stepped aside.

What happens next is the most exciting part, and it's what he most wants to see.

Sirius thought cruelly.

"The verdict is effective immediately! To ensure the smooth progress of the process, everyone remain in your positions!"

Fudge spoke loudly again.

His voice seemed to remind Peter, causing the previously limp Peter to shout:

No, please!

Send me to Azkaban, just send me to Azkaban!

I...I still have..."

Peter looked at Sirius, who was closest to him, and screamed as if trying to grasp at the last straw, tears streaming down his face.

However, Sirius felt only nausea, and... great satisfaction.

He stared intently at Peter, practically forcing out a sentence through clenched teeth:

"This is exactly what you deserve... traitor!"

A Dementor hovered precisely in front of Peter, who was screaming in despair.

The light inside the courtyard seemed to be partially absorbed by them, making it even dimmer and colder.

Peter continued to try his best to get rid of the Dementors.

But everyone could see that the Dementor's cold suction was beginning to take effect on him.

"I'm going to report him! I know, I know Snape is one of that man's cronies! I assure you, he's a Death Eater!"

Harry's expression changed instantly, and he immediately looked towards Snape in front of him.

At that moment, he even forgot the immense pressure the Dementors were putting on him.

(End of this chapter)