The Return to Hogwarts

Mr. Weasley and Amosta did not encounter a single person along the way, but when they turned from a gap in the corridor onto the stairs leading deeper underground, the place was crowded with people, and guarding behind the gap was Kingsley, Tonks's predecessor in the Auror office, whom Amosta had met twice.

Good morning, Mr. Blaine—

Before Amosta could speak, Kingsley greeted her in a slightly more composed voice.

"Ms. Burns told me that if she sees you coming down, you can go straight in."

Kingsley then turned his gaze to Mr. Weasley.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, you don't have authorization. You have to stop here."

Mr. Weasley showed no surprise, as if he had expected this all along. Amosta, however, was aware of Mr. Weasley's connections and hidden influence within the department. He glanced at the batters standing guard every two steps on the stairs and asked, slightly taken aback, "..."

"Good morning, Kingsley. Seriously, was it really necessary? It's just Peter Pettigrew, and Dumbledore's down there too. He can't escape—"

"This might not be much to you, after all, you're capable of taking down so many werewolves all by yourself—"

After saying goodbye to Mr. Weasley, Kingsley led Amosta down the street. Hearing Amosta's question, Kingsley replied with a complicated expression,

"But there is no denying that Wizengamot is preparing to try the most evil and cunning dark wizard we have encountered in twelve years, and he has also humiliated the ministry."

Just as Kingsley said, every Auror standing guard here had a tense face, and a chilling atmosphere filled the air.

Aurors are probably the most admired profession in the wizarding world right now, but even with the recently famous Amostra Blaine nearby, not a single Auror stepped forward to speak with her. They adhered to their principles and remained vigilant against any disturbance.

Kingsley and Amosta descended the stairs and followed a similarly crowded corridor. The architecture here was exactly the same as the underground passageways leading to the Slytherin common room in Hogwarts, with rough stone walls and torches stuck in brackets. The rooms they passed had heavy wooden doors with iron bolts and keyholes.

Kingsley stopped in front of a gloomy black door with a large iron padlock, turned around, and nodded to Amosta.

"This is it, Mr. Blaine. Without instructions, I cannot go in."

"grateful--"

Amostella smiled as he walked past Kingsley, but as his hand touched the cold, icy doorknob, something suddenly rang out. He turned and called to Kingsley, who was already walking back.

"Oh, by the way, Kingsley, there's something I might need your help with. If possible, could you please help Tonks apply for a few more days of leave?"

Seeing Kingsley's confused look, Amosta's lips twitched.

"She's been busy dealing with her single status lately."

Amosta surveyed the courtroom before him—the walls were made of dark stone, and the torchlight cast a dim, eerie glow. Rows of empty benches, gradually rising in height, lined the left and right sides of the passageway. Ahead of him, on the highest benches, appeared several dark figures who had been whispering amongst themselves. As the heavy doors closed behind Amosta, a chilling emptiness enveloped him.

"Amosta!"

Meanwhile, the greetings echoing in the courtroom included those of Amelia Bornes, Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, and several other prominent figures from the political and business world whom he had recently made acquaintances with.

As soon as he entered the room, the whispers grew louder. Many wizards pointed at him and talked to their acquaintances. Amostah looked up, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the rows of wizards. Most of the wizards who made eye contact with him smiled in a friendly manner, while others remained indifferent and unmoved by his appearance.

Dumbledore, as the First Wizard of Wizengamor, stood behind the central platform, smiling gently at him.

"Please take your seats, Amosta—"

Chapter 357 Trial

2023-06-30

Behind Dumbledore, in the front row of chairs sat a host of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic, including Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bornes, Barty Crouch, and Dolores Umbridge. Behind them sat the heads of various functional offices, as well as celebrities and leaders from all walks of life in the magical world.

Amosta hesitated for a moment, unsure of where he should sit, but luckily Amelia waved to him.

"Come here, Amosta—"

Wisengam also has its own unique rules of the game. Amosta knew that the first row was obviously not where he should be, but Fudge smiled and gestured to him. After a moment of silence, Amosta smiled freely, ignored the many strange looks, and walked up the steps to the platform.

The atmosphere here was very solemn. After Amosta sat down next to Amelia, he simply nodded to those he knew and then remained silent.

Dumbledore glanced back at the rows of seats behind him, and after confirming that no one was absent, his gaze fell on Barty Crouch, who stood beside Amostella and exuded a chilling aura. He spoke gently,

"You'll host it, Batty?"

Barty Crouch stood up without a word, walked to the front of the platform with a sullen face, and Dumbledore sat in the seat that had just been vacated.

"We're starting now."

"Barty Crouch said coldly, his voice tinged with humiliation," he said.

Boring—

Amostella, who had been observing the reactions of the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic with a detached eye, suddenly felt a sense of boredom. The grand trial was nothing but a farce, and the victors had already reaped the benefits.

Opposite the platform was a temporary prison cell. After Crouch announced the start, the iron gate of the small cell rattled, and one iron bar after another slowly descended into the ground. Peter Pettigrew's hands were bound with ropes, and at least five wands were pressed against the back of his head.

Peter's plump body, which he had grown in the owl shed, had all disappeared during his torturous two-week imprisonment. He now looked like a flying broom with only a few branches.

Peter stepped from the darkness into the dim light, and when he saw Barty Crouch on the opposite platform and the people sitting on the first row of benches, he immediately trembled and began to sob uncontrollably. If it weren't for the wands on the back of his head forcing him to move forward, he probably would have collapsed to the ground.

Amosta heard the surrounding noise suddenly grow louder, with most people glaring angrily at the dirty Peter, both for the Potters and for the fool they had been fooled.

Dumbledore, standing beside him, let out a heavy sigh. His previously ramrod-straight back hunched slightly. Many people were observing Dumbledore's every move. A bearded wizard spoke in an angry voice,

"He doesn't deserve sympathy, Albus—"

“I agree with you—” Dumbledore blew his nose, his blue eyes filled with sorrow, “but I cannot pretend I have no responsibility, Cordir, all of this should have been avoided.”

The surrounding murmurs quieted down considerably. Some people sighed heavily, while others secretly cast mocking and disdainful glances at Dumbledore.

Just then, the sound of heavy stones grinding came from the room where Peter had left earlier, and then Delilah escorted Sirius out.

It had been almost a month since I last saw Sirius, and he looked much worse than before. Of course, this was to be expected. Being detained in the Inquisition, the deepest chamber in the Ministry of Magic, for so long without seeing the sun and having to endure wave after wave of interrogations, it was impossible for anyone to be in good condition.

In recent days, the Daily Prophet has revealed the truth of what happened back then, and everyone here knows he is innocent. The politicians look at him with more curiosity than fear. There is only one exception, and that is the presiding judge of this trial, Barty Crouch.

"You despicable traitor, you shameless coward!"

As the saying goes, enemies meeting are bound to be furious. For many days, the Ministry of Magic had been holding Sirius and Peter separately. Today was the first time Sirius had seen Peter. He immediately forgot about Amostella, who was greeting him with her eyes from the stands. After a furious roar, he rushed towards the terrified Peter without a second thought.

However, Sirius's attempt to tear Peter apart failed. Seeing him pounce on him, the Aurors guarding Peter immediately turned their guns around and pointed their wands at him with cold expressions.

"If you attempt to disrupt the trial proceedings again, I will find you guilty, Sirius Black!"

Barty Crouch responded to Sirius's angry glare with a detached look and said without any mercy.

Sirius and Peter were both pinned to stone chairs that rose from the ground, but Peter was almost entirely bound by chains made of jingling sago palm that grew from the chairs.

"The trial is on February 27th," Barty Crouch said, flipping through the folder in front of him. Even though he knew that after today his reputation would plummet, his posture remained steady and upright.

"Interrogators: Albus Percival Woolfrirk Brian Dumbledore, President of the International Confederation of Wizarding Arts and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Barty Crouch, Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation; Amelia Susan Burns, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; and Dolores Jan Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary. Trial Recorder: Eric Munch—"

Amostah raised an eyebrow in surprise, only then noticing Eric sitting upright in an inconspicuous corner, his lips trembling with excitement.

"The defendant, Peter Pettigrew—"

Barty Crouch shifted his gaze from the folder in his hand to Peter, who was slumped in his chair like a parasite.

"You are accused of revealing the Potters' whereabouts to a mysterious figure in October 1981, which directly led to their murder. Do you have any defense to offer?"

Forget about debating; Peter seemed to be in a daze, curled up in his chair, trying to get as far away from Sirius as possible.

"The person who previously bore this charge was Sirius Black—"

In the dock, a witch in the back row suddenly raised her hand and spoke, attracting the attention of many, including Dumbledore. The witch nodded and smiled at Dumbledore and asked,

“Mr. Dumbledore previously provided evidence that Sirius Peter was the Potters’ confidant, but now the Ministry of Magic is suing Peter Pettigrew for leaking the Potters’ whereabouts, and we need to know what happened.”

The Ministry of Magic already knew the truth, but according to regulations, either Peter or Sirius Black had to explain to the jury. Peter was no longer able to speak, so Sirius Black had to step forward and, gritting his teeth, say…

"Back then, when we learned through intelligence that Voldemort was planning to kill James and Lily, Dumbledore suggested using the Faithful Charm to protect their whereabouts, but James trusted me more and decided not to trouble Dumbledore and instead made me their Secret Keeper."

But at the last moment before the spell was cast, I suggested that this despicable traitor replace me. Everyone knows that I am the Potters' best friend, and I think if I become the Secret Keeper, the Secret Keeper will foresee it, so I suggested to James and Lily—”

A lump formed in Sirius's throat, and he couldn't continue. However, the members of the jury present all guessed the reason for what had happened.

In fact, when people saw that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, many things were settled. However, the Wisengamour could not determine whether a person was guilty based on conjecture; they still needed evidence.

"This is a recorded statement, a reliable statement obtained during interrogation of Peter Pettigrew after his arrest in the Auror's office, using truth serum--"

The Dexter, who was guarding Peter Pettigrew's line, presented the magically recorded confession to the inquisition.

This confession resolved most of the doubts, including the entire process of leaking information to the mysterious man, how he escaped Sirius's pursuit afterwards, and how he had concealed his whereabouts for the past twelve years. Hearing these things sent chills down the spines of most of the members of the Wizengamot inquisition.

They couldn't believe that Peter Pettigrew, now huddled in a chair, was capable of such terrible things.

Arthur doesn't know yet--

Amosta heard people whispering behind her.

"That's terrifying! I bet Arthur won't let any of the mice in the house get away with this!"

Chapter 358 Kill or Imprison

2023-07-01

Truth Potion is a potion strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. It is not allowed to be used even during the interrogation of ordinary criminals. It is only permitted to be used on those who are heinous dark wizards or criminals who pose a significant danger to the wizarding world, after approval by Amelia Borns and Cornelius Fudge.

The reliability of this potion was beyond doubt. When Peter's trembling voice, which had been echoing in the courtroom, finally fell silent, no one had any further questions.

Amosta thought this perfunctory trial would end there, but to his surprise, Barty Crouch spoke again.

"Peter Pettigrew, you will also face a second charge from the Ministry of Magic: last November, for some reason, you left Ron Ignatius Weasley, who is currently studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and hid in the Owlshaw of the school, where you used the Imperius Curse to control Draco Malfoy, a third-year wizard, for three months, causing him serious harm."

Barty Crouch leaned forward, his eagle-like eyes fixed on Peter Pettigrew.

"--Currently, Draco Malfoy is still receiving treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries--"