bioinnovel Chapter 229 Judgment Day
Chapter 229 Judgment Day
Chapter 229 Judgment Day
London, July 1994.
Deep within the Ministry of Magic, in the Tenth Trial Chamber.
This is a dark, deep room with walls made of black stone, and the torchlight is dim and eerie.
On either side of the dark room were rows of gradually rising stone steps and benches, where members of the Wizengamo, dressed in crimson robes, sat neatly, looking down from above.
At the far end of the courtroom were the tallest rows of benches, where Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bornes, and Barty Crouch, all dressed in black robes, sat prominently. Whether it was the Ministry of Magic officials, including Fudge, who was presiding over the trial, or the Wizengamors, including Dumbledore, or the invited members of prominent families such as Shafik, Shackleton, and Longbottom—
Inside the courtroom, everyone focused on the chair in the center of the room, and on Peter Pettigrew.
Peter Pettigrew, his face ashen and his heart dead, slumped in his chair, bound tightly to the armchair by chains that resembled snakes, unable to move.
"Peter Pettigrew killed twelve Muggles and framed Sirius Black—"
"Peter Pettigrew should be locked up in Azkaban, no, he should be kissed by a Dementor—"
"So, the one who actually betrayed the Potters' whereabouts was Peter Merlin, the little star!"
During the breaks in the trial, the Wizengamo members discussed among themselves. Even sitting in the trial room, even hearing Fudge announce the charges one by one, and even though the Daily Prophet had already reported on it, the Wizengamo still found it unbelievable.
It's absurd that Sirius Black, who was innocent, was imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years, while Peter Pettigrew, who was guilty, went unpunished for twelve years!
Throughout this time, people kept asking Dumbledore about the situation, and the most frequent question was: "Professor, is the Secret Keeper really not Sirius Black?"
Dumbledore had no choice but to explain that he was unaware of the change of the Secret Service, which was why he had wrongly accused Sirius, leading to Sirius's imprisonment.
Compared to the whispers of the Wizengamor members, the invited noble families were far less polite, and their conversation sent chills down the spines of everyone in the Ministry of Magic.
"What does the Ministry of Magic mean? Are they planning to destroy the Black family? —"
"If they could throw Black into Azkaban thirteen years ago, they can throw us in now." Luckily, Black still has Belvina to hold him back. If it weren't for Belvina, Sirius would have died in prison again. Heh. These people deliberately spoke loudly so that the Ministry of Magic officials, led by Fudge, could hear them clearly, thus expressing their dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Magic.
The imprisonment of Sirius Black in Azkaban without trial nearly led to the extinction of the ancient Black family line. Pure-blood wizarding families inevitably felt a sense of impending doom.
Shortly afterward, the doors to the courtroom opened, and Sirius Black walked into the courtroom step by step.
Sirius's face had lost some of the handsome features of his youth, but gained a more rugged and resolute look. His black hair was flowing, and his beard was neatly trimmed.
His attire was also quite formal; the dark gray tweed suit enhanced his tough-guy image, while the metal cufflinks and pocket watch chain added a touch of luxury.
The only drawback is that Sirius's outfit is too thuggish; someone who doesn't know him might think he has whiskey flowing through his veins.
With Sirius Black's entrance, the whispers in Wizengamor and the discussions among the wizarding families ceased.
The Wizengamo members looked down at Sirius with expressions ranging from sternness and pity to regret and sympathy, while others were filled with great curiosity.
The pure-blood wizarding families are also eyeing Sirius Black. If he regains his freedom, who will be in charge of the Black family in the future, and will their stance change?
"Very good, everyone is here," Cornelius Fudge said. "The trial continues."
Cornelius Fudge sat in the center of the dock, and to his left sat Amelia, who wore a monocle.
The seat to Fudge's right is empty.
Sitting behind Fudge was Barty Crouch, who looked as if he had suddenly aged a lot, with droopy eyes and his slightly trembling right hand constantly clenching and unclenching.
"Trial!" Cornelius Fudge declared in a booming voice, "Trial of Sirius Black, 12 Grimmauld Place, Islington, London. Are you Sirius Black?"
"Yes, sir, I am Sirius Black."
Sirius sat in another armchair in the center of the room, the chains binding the prisoners hanging on either side of the chair, not wrapped around Sirius.
At this moment, Belvina walked down the stone steps on one side of the courtroom, stood next to Sirius, and said loudly, "Attorney,..."
Belvina Black lives in the Cotswolds.
Unlike Sirius Black's roguish style, Belvina's attire was elegant and appropriate. Her well-tailored blue-black long-sleeved shirt dress, along with her silver brooch and hair clips, shone brightly without being dazzling.
As Belvina introduced herself in a loud voice, she gave a slight bow to everyone present, showing respect to everyone except Peter Pettigrew.
The members of Wizengamo whispered among themselves, all aware of Belvina's influence; she was not only highly regarded by Fudge but also a favorite of Dumbledore.
The invited members of the prestigious families were also whispering among themselves. They noticed that the address Belvina mentioned was not No. 12 Grimmauld Place, but Fertile Plain. What did that mean?
At the very center of the dock, Fudge produced a document and announced loudly, "Sirius Black, you were charged in 1981 with leaking information about James Potter and Lily Potter, and with the alleged murder of Peter Pettigrew, the wizard, and twelve Muggles."
Are the above charges true?
Sirius took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, "I didn't betray James and Lily, nor did I kill the twelve Muggles. But Peter Pettigrew—I did consider killing him to avenge James and Lily."
"To avenge James Potter and Lily Potter?" Fudge looked up from the dossier. "According to the dossier, you were the Potters' secret agent. Only you had the power to reveal their hiding place to someone whose name couldn't even be mentioned."
"I'm not James and Lily's secret keeper; the real secret keeper is Peter Pettigrew. That's why I want to get revenge on him."
Sirius looked at Peter Pettigrew with disgust at his sallow appearance, and the short Peter twitched as if he sensed something.
"Are there any witnesses?" Fudge asked, "or any evidence that can prove you are not the person keeping the secret."
1
I'm sorry, we don't have that.
Only four people knew about the change of the secret agent: James and Lily had been dead for many years, leaving only Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black.
Dumbledore stood up, and all eyes in the courtroom turned to him.
He calmly stated, "I have testified on this matter before, saying that Sirius was the Potters' confidant, but my testimony cannot be used as evidence against Sirius Black."
Dumbledore looked apologetically at Sirius Black and said, "Here, I want to apologize to Sirius Black once again."
With that, Dumbledore straightened up, then bowed to Sirius in apology.
Sirius quickly stood up to accept the bow. He had never blamed Dumbledore, and Dumbledore wasn't the only one who considered him the Keeper of the Secrets.
In fact, Dumbledore was unaware of the change of the Keeper of the Secret, and James and Sirius hadn't told anyone about their plans. Oh, except for another secret participant, Lily Potter.
Dumbledore straightened up again, first glancing at the group of Wizengamots, then looking at Cornelius Fudge.
He continued, "After the trial concludes, I will resign from my position as Chief Wizard of Wizengamo."
Having said that, Dumbledore sat down calmly.
The courtroom was immediately filled with a cacophony of voices, as puzzled, confused, and admiring glances poured in.
Some people admired Dumbledore's fairness and selflessness, and his willingness to take responsibility for his mistakes; others admired his loyalty, as he was willing to share the blame with the magicians; still others wanted to keep him, saying that Wizengamot couldn't do without Dumbledore.
Cornelius Fudge, sitting in the dock, picked up his gavel and struck it three times, gradually quieting the noisy courtroom.
"No one is without fault, Albus. I personally do not want you to leave Wizengamo," Cornelius Fudge said.
Fudge then struck the gavel three more times to signal the trial to continue.
At this point, Belvina, acting as the defense attorney, stepped forward and said, "In court, Peter Pettigrew is not dead; he is alive and well. Therefore, Sirius Black is not guilty of murdering Peter Pettigrew."
Belvina paused for a moment, then continued, "Some time ago, Sirius was temporarily imprisoned at Hogwarts. Peter Pettigrew took the opportunity to sneak into Sirius's cell. Why did he do that? And why did Peter try to escape after the Aurors and the law enforcement team discovered him?"
"And," Belvina continued, "that night, Peter Pettigrew himself confessed that he was the Potters' secret keeper, and that he killed those twelve Muggles. The Aurors, the Strikers, and the Law Enforcement Team members who were present at the time can all testify to this."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was no noisy discussion in the courtroom.
Just before Sirius appeared in court, Peter Pettigrew had already confessed to his crimes.
This includes, but is not limited to, secretly passing information to the mysterious man, betraying the Potters, framing Sirius Black, and so on.
Many of the attendees at Wizengamo felt there was no need to summon Sirius Black and that Peter Pettigrew should simply be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Who would have thought that Cornelius Fudge would insist on completing the process, demanding not only justice in the outcome but also in the procedure? What's the point? Everyone knows what kind of people the Ministry of Magic is!
Most Wissengamo members agreed that it would be much better to skip the pre-trial wrangling and just vote by raising hands, saving time and effort.
The first vote by show of hands declared Sirius Black innocent and released him; the second vote declared Peter Pettigrew guilty, with the Ministry of Magic to determine his sentence.
Just when everyone thought Cornelius Fudge would raise the gavel and conduct the vote as they expected,
Someone actually stood up and disagreed with the Blake siblings.
"As far as I know, Peter Pettigrew was tortured at Hogwarts. Can his testimony really be trusted?"
Everyone in the courtroom turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.
Belvina also looked over. She was wondering who had the guts to do that, but she didn't expect that the other party was actually an acquaintance—Walton McNeil.