Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 146 Innocence

"Question, Mr. Sirius Black, did you reveal the Potters' address to Voldemort?"

"No."

Is there any evidence to prove it?

"Yes, our memories can prove it."

Harry spoke first and handed the signed testimonies to the Auror, who then passed them on to Fudge and the others.

Testimony was passed around on stage, accompanied by murmurs of unintelligible discussion.

"Harry James Potter, Dorothea Black... are you sure your testimonies are true?"

"Sure!"

Several people spoke in unison.

"So, may I ask, Harry James Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, how did you get to the Shrieking Shack the day before yesterday?"

Harry: "We were planning to visit Hagrid, since it's almost holiday time."

"Then halfway there... Peter... he was still a mouse at the time, he bit me, and then he ran away, so we chased after him..."

Ron's expression was priceless; he found it hard to accept the truth that his pet was a bald old man.

"Later we came to the Whomping Willow, where Ron was dragged into a secret passage by Black. Harry and I chased after him and then came to the Shrieking Shack."

Hermione finished speaking her last words.

Discussions broke out on stage again.

"Dorothea Black, Draco Malfoy, Gella Rozier, Daphne Greengrass, Mr. Theodore Nott, can you tell me what you saw in the Shrieking Shack?"

“When we got there, Blake had turned into human form and recognized me.”

Draco continued, "Then we had everyone drink a sobering potion to make sure they could stay conscious."

"Then we caught the rat, and Black turned him into a human. After drinking the truth serum, he confessed that he was the one who betrayed the Potters."

Where does truth serum come from?

"Professor Severus Snape."

"Please continue..."

"Then on our way back we encountered Dementors, and Peter turned into a rat and ran away."

Theodore calmly concluded his statement.

As usual, discussions arose on the stage.

A moment later, “Now—raise your hand if you believe Sirius Black is innocent.”

The atmosphere in the courtroom reached its climax because of this sentence. Sirius Black remained silent for the rest of the time, except for the first sentence he said.

"Don't worry, Uncle, I'll help you."

Thea's soft voice reached Sirius's ears, and Harry turned his head to look at Sirius.

Sirius's earlier gloom seemed to have vanished thanks to the two people's concern.

Dumbledore raised his hand first, followed by Ms. Burns, and then the other wizards Harry didn't recognize...

Thea kept looking at Crouch on the stage, who hadn't raised his hand, and her resolve strengthened once again.

"Then, please raise your hand if you think Sirius Black is guilty."

Thea looked at the raised hands, looked down at the notebook that was digging into her hand, and her smile grew wider and wider.

"Very good. There are 26 people who believe Sirius Black is innocent and 24 people who believe he is guilty. It is now officially declared that Sirius Black is innocent!"

"Great!"

Just as everyone was cheering, Thea suddenly looked up and stared directly at Fudge, saying:

"Minister Fouché, do you think this matter should end here?"

Fudge's heart, which had just settled, immediately tightened again. "Miss Black means..."

"I believe the Ministry of Magic owes Sirius Black an explanation, because you've allowed an innocent man to spend twelve years in Azkaban for nothing!"

Facing the ambiguous stares from everyone, Thea calmly turned to Barty Crouch, whose face was grim, and asked, "What do you say, Chief Crouch?"

crazy!

This little madman!

Crouch didn't even need to turn his head to see Fudge's drooling eyes!

Hmph! You think you can make me step down? Dream on!

Crouch, while scoffing at Fudge, pondered a solution before slowly saying, "Miss Black, this matter is not within the scope of today's trial..."

Sensing Crouch's stalling tactics, Thea turned to Fudge again and asked, "Minister, as a British citizen and Sirius Black's niece, do I have the right to bring a lawsuit against Barty Crouch for abusing his power, resulting in an innocent person being imprisoned for twelve years?"

"this--"

Fudge kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Even though he wanted to bring Crouch down, he understood that Sirius's imprisonment was not Crouch's sole responsibility.

If you really think about it, very few of those present were innocent.

Crouch now understood that Thea was deliberately targeting him, and he was somewhat troubled, not only because she was a Black, but also because of the string of pure-blood families behind her.

Dumbledore also put aside his spectator mood and, to be honest, although he had guessed that Thea's purpose was not only to exonerate Sirius, he still couldn't understand why Thea was targeting Crouch.

Given her personality, shouldn't she start with Fudge to investigate the Dementors' loss of control?

Compared to Dumbledore's composure, the young wizard next to him immediately recalled Thea's performance in the library yesterday.

Thinking about the materials Thea had been looking through in the library yesterday and that thick notebook, Hermione and Gellar understood that Thea's actions were not impulsive.

She was already prepared to confront Crouch.

Out of trust in Thea and sympathy for Sirius, Draco and the others pretended to be oblivious to their own thoughts without a second thought, but only they knew what they were plotting.

“Miss Black,” a solemn yet kind voice rang out.

“Director Borns,” Thea looked directly at the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, “are you here to answer my question?”

"Yes, have you thought it through regarding the prosecution of Director Crouch?"

“Of course! I want to seek justice for my uncle. He shouldn’t have suffered this injustice for nothing. Even if it’s because he’s not very smart, that’s no excuse for Mr. Crouch’s dereliction of duty.”

Thea appeared gentle and harmless, but she relentlessly directed her sharp edge at Crouch.

Sirius was just touched by Thea's defense of him, but the next second he was heartbroken by Thea's words, "Not very smart."

Harry, however, did not understand Sirius's sadness at all, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Based on the Godfather's previous explanation, he does seem to be not very bright...

Borns was momentarily amused by Thea's earnest retort, but quickly realized they were in the courtroom. After a moment's thought, she organized her thoughts and said:

“Miss Black, it is every citizen’s right to bring a lawsuit against a public official, but there are some procedures involved…”

"Bones!"

Crouch couldn't help but growl at Bones.

Burns ignored him and continued, "If Miss Black has thought it through, you are welcome to submit your legal documents to the Ministry of Magic at any time, and the Ministry of Magic will handle them in accordance with the law."

Thea looked up at the righteous-looking witch on the stage and said, "You are very suitable for the position of Director of the Department of Law Enforcement."

Borns was surprised to receive praise from Thea, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. "Thank you for your praise, Miss Black."