Page 356
"I don't understand, Mr. Minister." A cold voice said, "You caught the fugitive, why not just throw him back to Azkaban or hand him over to the Dementors? Why waste time on a retrial?"
"Don't worry, Barty..." Fudge said slowly, "I have received strong evidence that Black is very likely innocent."
As soon as he finished speaking, discussions arose again around him.
"Nonsense!" Barty Crouch looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "Twelve years ago, all the Muggles on the street knew that he was the one who betrayed the Potters, and he also killed Peter Pettigrew who came to question him."
"But as far as I know, they only heard someone shouting, and no one saw it with their own eyes," Foley said. "And what if I told you that Peter Pettigrew is still alive?"
"This is impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible." Fudge ignored Crouch's increasingly ugly expression and shouted to the outside of the door, "Bring him in."
The door was pushed open again and Dawlish walked in from outside.
Everyone looked at him, but after noticing that he was the only one who came in, everyone's eyes turned to the chained cage in his hand.
Crouch frowned as he saw Dawlish open the cage and dump out a half-dead rat.
"Don't tell me this is Peter Pettigrew!" he asked coldly.
Fudge didn't say anything, but just looked at Dumbledore, as if asking something.
"Leave it to me," said Dumbledore, stepping forward and taking out his wand.
"Appear quickly!"
A blue light fell on the mouse, and it began to twist rapidly and grew larger. A head appeared, and then limbs appeared...
A moment later, a short man appeared in front of everyone. His sparse hair was messy, and there was a large bald spot on his head. His pointed nose and green eyes also had some mouse-like features...
A buzzing sound was heard for the third time, and some wizards stood up from their stools with screams, apparently recognizing that the person in front of them was Peter Pettigrew.
"This is impossible……"
"Isn't he dead..."
"Damn it, what on earth just happened..."
Crouch also stood up, his face so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it.
A group of Aurors walked over and began to check Peter's identity.
Kyle noticed that the moment Peter turned back, Sirius clenched his fists, his eyes flashed with deep hatred, and he kept breathing heavily, as if he wanted to kill the man in front of him immediately.
But fortunately he held back.
"Everyone..."
Soon, Head Auror Scrimgeour put away an empty potion bottle and exclaimed, "It is indeed Peter Pettigrew himself."
"Very good..." said Fudge.
He didn't look at Crouch, but followed the procedure and spoke to himself.
"Everyone is here. I now declare that, because the death of the witness is not a fact, a retrial will now begin regarding the case in which Sirius Orion Black betrayed the Potters and blew up the street, killing twelve Muggles in November 1981.
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic, Amelia Susan Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry, and... Barty Crouch, Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation! Trial Recorder: Scudderbert Whymple."
"Witnesses: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Dumbledore said, standing up.
Just as Kyle was hesitating whether to stand up, an invisible force suddenly patted him, as if someone put a hand on his shoulder.
Kyle glanced at Dumbledore, seemed to understand something, and continued to sit there without moving.
Fudge glanced over here quickly, but didn't say anything. He nodded to Dumbledore and said, "Then please state your testimony, witness Mr. Dumbledore. When did you find out that Peter Pettigrew was still alive?"
"This is all thanks to an outstanding student who, with his keen insight, discovered a very hidden Animagus..."
Dumbledore pointed at Kyle, instantly making him the focus of everyone's attention. However, everyone seemed more interested in what Dumbledore said next, so most people just glanced at Kyle and then looked away.
And Dumbledore just stood there and repeated what he had said to Fudge before.
During this period, the judges had different expressions.
Some were surprised... some were angry... but most were skeptical...
Especially after hearing Dumbledore say that Peter was the secret keeper twelve years ago, and it was he who betrayed the Potters and framed Black, Crouch stood up again.
"Where's the evidence!" He interrupted Dumbledore rudely, "Peter concealed the fact that he was still alive, perhaps because he was worried about revenge by the Death Eaters. This doesn't mean that he did everything."
As he spoke, he looked at Peter Pettigrew, as if waiting for him to defend himself.
But he was soon disappointed. From then on, Peter just lay on the ground in a daze, not saying a word, and did not respond even when others called him.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 484: Caught for skipping school?
Peter's abnormality quickly attracted the attention of people around him, mainly because his current condition was too abnormal.
If Scrimgeour had not checked the other person's identity beforehand, some people would even think that he was created by Dumbledore using Transfiguration.
In other words, he was controlled by the Imperius Curse... Although this idea is a bit ridiculous, it is not impossible.
Soon, Scrimgeour walked over again.
But he was only an Auror after all, not a healer from St. Mungo's. Faced with this situation, he didn't know what to do specifically, so he could only use a few detection spells as usual.
"No problem." Scrimgeour shook his head and said, "I think he was probably stimulated by something and couldn't accept it for a while, so he became like this."
Fudge breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the situation he was most worried about did not happen.
"I suggest suspending the retrial!" Crouch suddenly said, "He is obviously in a state where he cannot be interrogated. I think we should send him to St. Mungo's first, and then retrial him when he can communicate normally."
On the steps behind him, some people immediately raised their hands to echo.
"I agree……"
"agree……"
"Let's send it to St. Mungo's first."
There are many supporters.
Fudge narrowed his eyes tightly and said, "Barty, I don't think it's necessary."
The reason why he conducted the retrial so suddenly was to catch Crouch off guard, so of course he would not agree to suspend the retrial.
"Amelia..." He looked at a witch wearing glasses next to him and asked, "I remember that truth serum should be used in this situation, right?"
Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
Although truth serum is not a conventional trial method, it can be used if the person being tried refuses to cooperate or is unable to cooperate.
Or if you encounter cases with major impact, you can use it directly.
And these two...Peter Pettigrew seems to meet all of them.
"I object!" Crouch said angrily, "I don't deny that Director Bones is familiar with the Wizengamot Trial Act, but I think you must have overlooked one point, that is, more than half of the judges must agree to use the truth serum.
"Then let's vote now. I think Peter Pettigrew should be sent to St. Mungo's."
As he spoke, he raised his hand first.
On the podium behind him, people raised their hands one after another to agree with his point of view, but the number was not large, only about one-third.
"Don't forget..." A man sitting behind Crouch suddenly said, "Veritaserum also has its drawbacks. If Peter Pettigrew's memory has been modified by someone, then his words will become untrue. Sending him to St. Mungo's will just be a good opportunity to check his memory."
After a moment, more people raised their hands.
There is no need to even count the numbers; one glance is enough to tell that more people are now against the use of truth serum.
Seeing this scene, Fudge panicked a little and began to look at Dumbledore frequently.
But neither Dumbledore nor Sirius Black said anything, they just watched quietly.
Soon, the statistical results came out.
Of the one hundred judges present, fifty-nine were against the use of truth serum.
"More than half of the people are against it." Amelia said, "The motion to use the truth serum is dismissed, and the trial continues."
Fudge was even more panicked. He didn't understand. He had thought of everything... First, he exposed Peter Pettigrew's fake death in public, then used the truth serum to restore the truth of that year, and finally, when the dust settled, he dealt a heavy blow to Crouch.
But why did such a perfect plan go so wrong?
Now the truth serum is no longer effective. Once Peter Pettigrew is sent to St. Mungo's, who knows when he will be able to recover? If it takes a year or two... no, even if it's just a few days, giving Crouch time to prepare, then all his good cards will be completely useless.
He looked to Dumbledore again, seeking help.
But Dumbledore still didn't look at him.
"And..." After the reversal, the man continued with a smug look on his face, "Have you forgotten about Blake's escape from prison?"
"But he wanted to clear his name," said an elderly witch. "Dumbledore has already explained that he saw it in the newspaper and recognized Peter Pettigrew's Animagus, and wanted to..."
But before she could finish her words, she was rudely interrupted. The man said coldly:
"Whatever his motives, the incident itself has had a serious impact on the prestige of the Ministry of Magic. We receive at least three Howlers every week because of him.
"I suggest that our first priority during Peter Pettigrew's treatment at St Mungo's is to get him to reveal how he escaped.
And just in case... he must also return to Azkaban and be closely guarded by Dementors!"
Although he didn't say it explicitly, everyone present could hear that this person was just short of directly accusing Dumbledore of perjury.
It seemed that he had already tacitly accepted in his heart that Peter Pettigrew was the innocent man.
Implying that Dumbledore had altered his memory and given false testimony... How dare he do that?
Some people's faces turned ugly.
Even Crouch frowned, as if he felt that this was inappropriate, but he finally remained silent and said calmly:
"Then let's start the second round of voting. Should we suspend the retrial and send Peter Pettigrew to St. Mungo's first? After we have checked his memory..."
"Oh, sorry, wait a moment."
At this time, Dumbledore, who had been silent all the time, finally spoke.
He took a step forward and took a position in front of everyone.
"Mr. Bizita, I understand your concerns."
"Of course, you are right. Before the most authoritative examination, I personally have no evidence to prove that I have not modified Peter's memory."