NABC Chapter 342 The trial is over
Chapter 342 The trial is over
Chapter 342 The trial is over
"I didn't mean that, but it is undeniable that Harry and his cousin were attacked by Dementors." Dumbledore said loudly to the jury, "As for whether there is someone behind this, I think some people know it best."
Dumbledore's sarcastic words made the jury members look at Fudge with unfriendly eyes. They were not fools. They had already seen that Fudge and Dumbledore were not getting along. And considering Fudge's character and intelligence, it was understandable that he did what Dumbledore said.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Fudge exploded. The muscles on his red face were twitching constantly. Suddenly, he slammed the table with a loud noise, and then roared at Dumbledore:
"You panicked!"
After that, he turned his attention to the jury and explained:
"Every time the Ministry of Magic deploys Dementors to carry out missions, it will strictly report and notify the various levels of the Ministry. Even if I want to mobilize Dementors, I need to notify the Director of the Auror Office and the Warden of Azkaban first. And you all know how upright the current Director of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour, is. If I really sent Dementors to attack Harry Potter, he would definitely not agree."
Fudge's murderous gaze fell on Harry again.
"Then there is only one final conclusion, that is, Harry Potter, he is lying!"
Fudge's voice was firm and many members of the jury instinctively nodded in agreement.
"I'm not lying!" Harry gripped the handle of the chair tightly, veins popping out of his hands, "Dementors did attack us!"
"You are still lying! Honorable members of the Wizengamot, the prisoner in front of you is a habitual liar! In fact, when he was warned by the Ministry of Magic for using spells without permission during the summer vacation, he lied and said that a house-elf broke into his house and cast a spell! Ha! A house-elf! Breaking in for no apparent reason..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Fudge was only halfway through his words when he was interrupted by a loud cough.
"Minister Fudge, in fact," Mike said, noticing that his cough had attracted the attention of everyone present, "in fact, the house-elf who broke into Harry's house and used magic to cause damage is now working for me."
"Working for you!?"
"Yes, he is now a member of the Los Santos Corporation, responsible for the cleaning work of the Los Santos headquarters." Mike said, "If you need, I can ask him to testify in person."
After saying that, Mike smiled and winked at Harry, while the latter looked at Mike gratefully.
"This... this doesn't prove anything, even if..."
"That's enough, Fudge," said Dumbledore. "In fact, we have a witness who can prove that the Dementors did attack Harry and his cousin."
Fudge's fat face turned even redder. He stared blankly at Dumbledore below him. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice:
"I'm afraid we don't have time for any more nonsense, Dumbledore. I want this to be dealt with quickly..."
"I may not remember it accurately," Dumbledore said, his mouth curling up, "but I believe that according to the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the defendant has the right to call witnesses to testify in court, right, Ms. Bones?"
"Yes! That's right," the woman with the monocle adjusted her glasses and said, "So where is the witness you mentioned now?"
"I brought her here. She's just outside the door now."
"Weasley, you go!"
Fudge said to Percy viciously, and then Percy immediately stood up and ran to the door along the stone steps as fast as possible.
A moment later, Percy came back, and behind him was an old woman.
The old woman seemed very nervous. She walked unsteadily and looked like she might die here at any time.
Seeing this, Dumbledore conjured up a chair for him to sit down, and then Fudge shouted without stopping:
"Name!"
"Arabella Dorien Figg, I saw a Dementor attack that day..."
The old woman named Figg was startled by Fudge's voice, and she spoke so quickly and hurriedly that she looked like she was reciting a script.
Fudge smiled when he saw this, but then he frowned again and said viciously:
"I didn't ask you that!"
"Yes Yes!"
"According to our records, there is no wizard living in that area except Harry Potter, so who are you?"
Mrs. Figg was silent for a long time. As if she had finally mustered up the courage, she bravely raised her head and said in a tone that was almost sarcastic while panting:
"I'm a Squib, so you won't register my name, will you?"
"A Squib, eh?" said Fudge, eyeing her suspiciously. "We'll check. (Fudge looked at the jury) By the way, can a Squib see a Dementor?"
Fudge's words made the jury members laugh. They looked at Mrs. Figg as if they were looking at a bear performing in a circus.
"Yes, we can see..."
Mrs. Figg lowered her head, her voice stammered, and her eyes were red.
The waves of laughter in the courtroom completely destroyed the little courage she had mustered.
"What did you say? I can't hear you!"
Fudge smiled and put his hands to his ears to make a trumpet shape, and his action made the laughter at the scene even louder.
"She said they could see!"
Dumbledore frowned and stared coldly at Fudge and the jury members.
Everyone whose eyes he swept across was like being attacked by a Dementor. The smiles quickly disappeared from their faces, returning to their original serious expressions.
"Uh!" Fudge coughed, loosened his tie, and pretended nothing had happened. "Well, then, tell us, what did you see that night?"
Ms. Figg, who had originally lowered her head, now raised her head and was looking at Dumbledore with gratitude.
After hearing Fudge's question, she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, then took a deep breath and said firmly:
"That night, when I went out to buy cat food, I heard a commotion in the alley between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Road. I walked to the entrance of the alley and saw the Dementors chasing Harrybert and his cousin!"
"What do they look like?"
"They were huge, and they were wearing cloaks! Their cloaks were tattered, but they were also very big, so big that they covered their faces..."
As Ms. Feig continued her story, whispers in the courtroom began to rise again.
Many people sitting around Mike cast sarcastic glances at Feige in the audience.
Yes, Ms. Figg's description of the Dementors' appearance was very detailed, but no one believed that she had actually seen a Dementor because she did not describe the nature of the Dementors at all!
That kind of damp, cold, emotionless, chilling feeling that you will never forget once you’ve experienced it!
"Yes, it's very big, and it's wearing a tattered cloak." Fudge repeated Figg's words in a sarcastic tone, and then snorted sarcastically, "I understand. Anything else?"
"Yes," said Figg, "but when they appeared, everything became very cold, and it was a hot summer! Then I felt... as if all joy had disappeared from the world... I remembered... terrible things..."
Figg's voice trembled and gradually became inaudible, and at the same time, the whispers in the courtroom also disappeared. "They, emm," Fudge licked his lips and said, "What did they do?"
"They rushed at the two boys. One fell down, while the other backed away and tried to fight off the Dementors. This was Harry. He tried twice, but both times all he produced was silver smoke. It was only on the third try that he produced a Patronus and drove the Dementors away."
Fudge and Bones looked at each other, then pursed their lips and said:
"Very well, you can go."
Ms. Figg looked timidly at Fudge and then at Dumbledore.
It was not until Dumbledore nodded that he stood up from the chair and walked out of the courtroom tremblingly.
It was not until the door of the courtroom was heavily closed that Fudge said arrogantly:
"This witness is hardly convincing!"
"Oh? I don't think so," said Bones. "Her description of the Dementors was so accurate that I can't imagine why she would say that if they weren't there."
"Then the question is," Dumbledore's voice attracted everyone's attention, "Why did the Dementors suddenly appear in that place?"
"I repeat once again!" Fugit stood up suddenly, "There can be no spies in the Ministry of Magic!"
Bones agreed:
"Yes, dispatching Dementors to carry out missions requires a lot of procedures. No one can send Dementors without telling everyone."
"Don't worry," Dumbledore smiled, "I didn't say there was a spy in the Ministry of Magic. Maybe the person who ordered the Dementors to attack Harry was not from the Ministry of Magic?"
"That's impossible. No one but the Ministry can command Dementors!"
"That's not necessarily the case."
"enough!"
Seeing that the trial was about to turn into a farce, Bones spoke up to stop the dispute between Dumbledore and Fudge and said to everyone:
"Let's not argue about this anymore! Dumbledore, the Ministry of Magic will investigate why the Dementors appeared in Privet Drive and attacked Harry! Now, let's deal with another matter first, okay?"
Dumbledore nodded, and then Bones bowed to the jury and continued:
"Now, please raise your hands if you agree that the charges are not established."
Upon hearing this, almost everyone, including Mike and Mario, raised their hands.
A smile suddenly broke out on Harry's face. He looked at Dumbledore, as if he wanted to say something of thanks, but he was so nervous that he couldn't say anything.
"It seems that there is no need to proceed to the next vote." Bones looked at Fudge, "What do you think?"
Fudge's head kept twisting, and his eyes swept across the faces of the jury members, as if he wanted to memorize the faces of those who raised their hands.
After a while, he finally stopped, took two deep breaths, and spoke in a distorted voice:
"Very good, very good...the accusation is not established!"
"Great!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, "Well, I have to go now. Have a nice day everyone."
After saying that, he walked out of the courtroom quickly without even looking at Harry.
"We have to go too."
Mario patted Mike on the shoulder.
"Wait a minute," Mike replied without turning his head, "I think I have to comfort my friend."
Following Mike's gaze, Mario saw Harry standing in the audience in a daze, and nodded.
"Okay, I'll wait for you in the lobby."
After saying this, Uncle Mario straightened his clothes and left his seat.
And Mike came to Harry's side and put his arm around his shoulders.
"Are you all right, Harry."
"Oh! It's Mike!" Harry was startled, but then said in a dull tone, "I'm fine, but..."
"Okay, let's not stay here any longer, let's go out and talk, okay?"
As he said that, Mike supported the somewhat exhausted Harry and followed the crowd out the door.
As soon as he walked out of the door, Mike saw Sirius Black sticking his head out, anxiously looking for something in the crowd.
Seeing this, Mike waved his hand and said loudly:
"Blake, we're here!"
"Oh! Are you okay?" Black roughly pushed through the crowd, came to the two and hugged Harry, "I just saw Dumbledore, but he looked very anxious and didn't say anything to me."
"The matter is now closed and all charges are cleared."
After hearing what Mike said, Blake hugged Harry and cheered.
Harry, who was being held, said nothing, but just smiled very reluctantly.
How could Mike not know what Harry was thinking? He was just angry because Dumbledore ignored him just now, so he patted Harry on the shoulder again and said:
"Dumbledore might really have something urgent to do. There's no need for you to be so sad!"
"That's right! Be happy, we won a great victory! We need to have a party to celebrate!" Blake patted Harry on the back and said excitedly, "Mike, come join us!"
"No, I already have an appointment."
Faced with Mike's rejection, Black did not show too much sadness. After a few polite words, he couldn't wait to take Harry away from the Ministry of Magic.
After Blake and others left, Mike came to the hall and met Uncle Mario who had been waiting there.
"Let's go, Mike." Mario took out his pocket watch and looked at it. "The time is just right. We can still make it in time for lunch."
(End of this chapter)