The bright moon and stars in the sky have disappeared. This is the darkest moment before dawn. Coldness and silence dominate the earth. The brightly lit Hogwarts is like a torch in the endless darkness, or maybe The lighthouse standing alone on the windswept coast drives away the fear that erodes people's hearts.
"If I were to rank the worst of what has happened in the past twelve years, Dumbledore, before today, I can tell you for sure that it was Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. , but now, something worse than this has happened!”
Half an hour ago, Fudge and a group of Ministry of Magic officials, led by Amosta, rushed into the school hospital.
Ignoring Madam Pomfrey's solemn protest, and at Fudge's signal, the resolute Rufus Scrimgeour sent his men to replace Professor McGonagall and the others, and guard all the faculty and staff who entered the Forbidden Forest tonight.
Especially Sirius who was in a coma. Nearly half of the Aurors, including Kingsley, were squatting beside his hospital bed and pointing their wands at him, while most of the other half were interrogating him in an abandoned classroom. Peter.
Amosta had roughly explained what happened on the way from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, but after all, it was just his side of the story, and Amosta himself used a The very powerful Fire Spell, even if it was used to kill evil werewolves, also caused the credibility of his own words to be greatly reduced in Fudge's heart.
However, when Dumbledore led them to Peter Pettigrew, who had died as a hero for twelve years, nothing needed to be explained.
"That means Sirius is actually innocent!"
Amosta donated his office. Fudge and Ms. Bones, who represented the will of the Ministry of Magic, and Dumbledore and Amosta himself, who represented Hogwarts, were discussing how to properly handle this situation. thing.
Dumbledore sat upright on the sofa against the wall, and Ms. Bones sat in a similar position to him.
Amosta, who did not need to comment for the time being, squatted in front of the fireplace with his back to everyone, fiddling with the firewood in the fireplace.
Only Fudge, who had a head as big as an ox, strode around the spacious office alone. He kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, but his face was green.
"I understand what's bothering you, Connelly—"
Dumbledore's blue eyes flashed with helplessness, his voice remained steady,
"But we have to face the facts and face the truth."
"the truth?!"
Fudge stopped for a moment, then laughed angrily and said,
"Who cares about the truth, Dumbledore, Sirius Black, the Daily Prophet or the wizarding public?"
After suppressing it for a long time, Fudge finally opened up his chatterbox, and his harsh yells shook the glass of the office.
"--If Black cared about the truth, he should have told everything twelve years ago instead of letting himself be sent to Azkaban!
Do the Daily Prophet and the shareholders behind it care about the truth? They only care about whether there is content of interest to the public on the front page of the newspaper. If the newspaper can sell more, then the businesses that produce brooms and crucibles will want to place advertisements on it. It would cost more galleons!
Do the people care about the truth? Oh, Dumbledore. They like interesting stories and tragic heroes. They are just happy to see the Ministry of Magic suffer misfortune. Very good. Now they all have their wish. Only the Ministry of Magic has failed. mold!
Stupidly, the Ministry of Magic awarded a Death Eater the Order of Merlin, First Class, and sent the hero who fought against You-Know-Who to Azkaban. Haha, it's so funny. The reputation of the Ministry of Magic is completely ruined. It's in my hands! "
"Connelly——"
Bones looked solemn and gently reminded Fudge to pay attention to his image.
"It is precisely because things are difficult that we should remain calm."
Fudge stared at the floor and stopped talking, while Ms. Bones adjusted her monocle, turned her gaze to Dumbledore, and said worriedly,
"Albus, Connelly's concerns are reasonable. If we cannot handle this matter properly, the credibility of the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot will be affected, and people will no longer trust us. This loss is It’s more than we can afford.”
In fact, with Dumbledore's experience and wisdom, how could he not think of these things? However, the perspective is different, the focus of concern is different, and some words are not suitable to be said from his mouth.
Light flashed on Dumbledore's half-moon lenses. He stared at Amosta, who had been squatting there for a long time to fiddle with firewood, making the temperature in the office a bit dry, and sighed helplessly in his heart.
Except for the crackling sound of sparks crackling, the office was silent for a while, and no one wanted to express their opinions easily.
Sirius, who was lying on the hospital bed asleep, probably didn't realize how much trouble his behavior caused to the Ministry of Magic and how much trouble it caused to Dumbledore, who wanted to save him.
Once the truth is known to the public, the Ministry of Magic will immediately become a laughing stock. This is a very serious political incident. Someone must be responsible for the damaged reputation of the Ministry of Magic, and this almost means that Fudge will take the blame and step down. Therefore, he wants to Fudge took the initiative to clarify the truth, and it was very difficult to restore Sirius' innocence.
"I'll just say it straight, Dumbledore-"
After a long while, Fudge, who was in the most embarrassing situation, gasped and said,
"You must order everyone at Hogwarts who knows about this to keep it a secret. Peter will be imprisoned in Azkaban, and he will be secretly sentenced to life in prison.
And Sirius Black will be withdrawn by the Ministry of Magic at the right time, I mean, when people no longer pay attention to this matter. You know what I mean, he just needs to keep a low profile and live outside. Of course, the Ministry of Magic can pay compensation for this wrongful trial and twelve years' imprisonment."
Dumbledore didn't show any surprise, as if he had already anticipated Fudge's innermost thoughts.
"That's not fair to Sirius, Cornelius—"
Dumbledore lowered his eyelids and said tiredly.
Ms. Bones on the other side was also very embarrassed. On the one hand, Fudge's decision was inconsistent with her personal style. She could not support Fudge's approach. On the other hand, as a representative of the Wizengamot Tribunal, , and she must consider the far-reaching impact of this matter.
"This is his own choice, isn't it?"
Fudge looked gloomy and said coldly,
"It's not that he didn't have the opportunity. Not only back then, he could tell the truth at any time in the past ten years, but he chose not to tell anything."
Fudge paused and then continued,
"Besides, I'm sure you haven't forgotten, Dumbledore. In September last year, Sirius tried to enter Grimmauld Place, which was under surveillance by Aurors. He caused a lot of damage to the Muggle world, and also caused great harm to the Muggle world. An Auror spent some time in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. For this crime alone, he deserves twelve years of imprisonment, and now, the Ministry of Magic can choose to let things go -"
"There is no evidence that the dark wizard who appeared in Grimmauld Place in London was Sirius, Connelly, and I think you know very well now that it was not Sirius-"
Dumbledore said in a serious tone,
"I guess it was just a dark wizard trying to break into the Black family's old house, trying to find Black, and then exchange the bounty from the Ministry of Magic."
Ahem, yes, it’s me.
Amosta, who had his back turned to everyone, smiled slightly.
The situation has reached a stalemate again. Neither Fudge nor Dumbledore can give up their opinions. Ms. Bones, who is known for her fairness, is also in a dilemma for various reasons. This is a difficult game. If this continues, it is very likely that both parties will suffer losses.
Of course, Dumbledore has the power to tip the negotiating table, but it is impossible for him to do so. This is a principled conflict with the beliefs he has always upheld.
"Ahem-"
Amosta, who choked on the flying embers, coughed a few times and muttered in confusion,
"Who was the one who presided over the trial and ordered Sirius Black to be sent to Azkaban?"
I would like to apologize to everyone for being so messed up for a month. I will resume two updates today.
(End of chapter)
