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"Peter... Pettigrew?"

Accompanied by Dumbledore's voice, the wizards shifted their gaze from the sky, following Dumbledore and the others to the trial chair positioned directly in front of the main stage, its sides entwined with iron chains.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Rubeus Hagrid, Severus Snape, and Otto Apocalypse had already appeared beside the chair, each with an exceptionally solemn expression. In fact, when Dumbledore spoke the first name, they had already moved to the center of the field, looking up at the names blossoming in the sky.

"Professor Dumbledore, where is Peter Pettigrew?"

Cornelius Fudge frowned, asking with a puzzled expression.

Apart from the three wizards, he didn't see anyone else in the center of the field. If it weren't for his trust in Dumbledore and his rationality, he might have thought Peter Pettigrew had run away again, or that the whole thing was just a farce.

Dumbledore gently shook his head and pointed forward.

"He's already there, Minister, just not in the form you're familiar with."

"Hmm?"

Cornelius Fudge squinted his eyes and looked closely. Only then did he notice that Hagrid had placed a strange iron cage on the trial chair. The half-giant's large hand forcefully covered the cage, emitting a series of terrifying clicks, making people worry that he might accidentally crush the cage directly.

And inside the magic-reinforced cage...

"If you're talking about what's on the chair, I'm sorry, I only see a rat..."

Cornelius Fudge looked at Dumbledore with a comical expression. He began to suspect whether all of this was a farce arranged by the increasingly senile old wizard, just to trick everyone to Hogwarts for a... memorial service?

"It is a rat, but it isn't, Cornelius," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"What are you saying—it can't be—"

However, before Cornelius Fudge could finish his sentence, two dazzling blue lights shot out from the wands of Severus Snape and Otto Apocalypse, landing on the gray rat huddled and shivering in the cage.

In the next moment, a short wizard with beady green eyes, a rat-like pointed nose, and a balding head appeared on the trial chair in full view of all the wizards.

Immediately afterward, the chains on both sides of the chair's armrests suddenly emitted golden light, then moved like snakes, wrapping around Peter Pettigrew, who was about to struggle, and binding him firmly in place, rendering him unable to move.

Peter Pettigrew looked around breathlessly, his face extremely panicked. The names floating above seemed like glaring sunlight, and he would instinctively flinch whenever he looked up.

"This, this is... an Animagus, impossible, but how could Peter Pettigrew..."

Cornelius Fudge stood up abruptly, looking incredulously at the wizard who had suddenly transformed from a rat into a human. If his knowledge was correct, Animagus was an extremely advanced branch of Transfiguration.

According to statistics, less than one in a thousand adult wizards in the entire magical world can successfully master this spell.

Like his reaction, a commotion and quiet discussion suddenly erupted in the stands of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. There are seven registered Animagi known in this century.

But now, they had seen the eighth.

"Indeed, Peter Pettigrew, an unregistered Animagus, an extremely well-hidden magical genius. I believe this simple fact will allow everyone to clearly and quickly understand Peter Pettigrew's strength."

Amidst a flurry of flashes and people's doubtful discussions, Dumbledore stepped forward slightly, looking around at the people and reporters in the stands. The wizard robe on his body suddenly transformed into a purplish-red Wizengamot robe.

However, unlike the Wizengamot members behind him, Dumbledore's robe, as Chief Warlock, was decorated with a layer of golden纹路 at the edges, and the "" on his left chest was also a pure gold style.

"Now, silence!"

The old man's expression was extremely solemn, a glint of reflection flashed on the lenses of his crooked nose bridge, and his voice was as loud as a bell.

"The year is 999 of the Magical Calendar, April 21st. Location: Hogwarts."

"The Wizengamot Supreme Court of Magic is now officially in session!"

"Peter Pettigrew, according to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the regulations of the British Wizengamot Court, you will be charged with five crimes. These five crimes are: planning, preparing, initiating, and executing murder or anti-social and anti-human terrorist activities. In addition to these four, the crime of participating in a joint plan or conspiracy for the aforementioned purposes is also included."

"Examiners: Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; Minister of Magic Cornelius Oswald Fudge; Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Susan Bones..."

"Due to the lack of defense witnesses, and the potentially adverse effects of the defendant's case on the magical world, as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I request that the court directly use Veritaserum for all subsequent inquiries."

Dumbledore turned around calmly, looking at the Wizengamot members behind him, as well as the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his face was calm and solemn, without any hint of joy or anger, giving people the feeling that the air was clenched.

Veritaserum is a magical potion used to force the drinker to tell the truth. Just three drops can reveal the deepest secrets of the human heart. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic has very strict regulations and controls over the use of this potion.

However, for wizards who are prepared in advance, Veritaserum can be resisted.

Wizards may control the Veritaserum potion above the throat, insisting that they are innocent; or they may turn it into something else the moment the potion touches them. Because of this, Veritaserum is not as useful as imagined in wizarding courts and is rarely used in the trial phase, especially in such a large-scale public trial.

Accompanied by Dumbledore's voice, the members of the Wizengamot immediately began to whisper, and the eyes of the audience focused on the main stage, mostly on Dumbledore, and the rest on Fudge and Bones.

Because according to the procedure, after the presiding officer Albus Dumbledore made a request to the court and the Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge and Amelia Bones, as the other two examiners of the public trial, needed to express their views in order—strictly speaking, this proposal also needed to be approved by the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but at this time, this trouble was directly omitted.

Facing Dumbledore's gaze, Cornelius Fudge was slightly flustered and looked a little at a loss.

However, when he saw the short wizard bound to the trial chair not far away, a hint of murderous intent flashed across Fudge's face, his eyes quickly became firm, and he nodded, taking the initiative to raise his hand and saying calmly.

"Cornelius Fudge, second! But as Minister of Magic, I request the Auror Office to check the defendant's mental condition and whether there are any spells attached to his body, and whether there are any traces of potion use."

"Amelia Bones, second! At the same time, as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, I hereby remind you according to existing laws that the confession obtained under the use of Veritaserum can only be used as a reference for a guilty verdict and cannot be used as evidence for an innocent verdict—and the above testimony must be corroborated by one or more people, or other reliable material evidence."

Immediately afterward, Amelia Bones, who was sitting next to Cornelius Fudge, also raised her hand, expressing partial agreement, and put forward her suggestions and reminders in an organized manner from the perspective of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Although this was their first time participating in a large-scale public trial, for Fudge and Bones, this was also an opportunity to re-establish the image of the Ministry of Magic and eliminate the long-standing doubts about the Ministry of Magic's trial process.

Regarding this point, the two had already communicated with Albus Dumbledore on the way from Hogwarts Castle to the trial site. Everything that is now presented to people is just a well-prepared performance.

Of course, what has been determined so far is only the general process and basic rhetoric of the trial.

As for the final result, even Aileenna, who planned everything, only has less than 80% certainty.

As the opinions of Dumbledore and the others were unified, the Wizengamot members sitting in the back also quickly completed the vote. In the face of this financial fraud that swept the entire magical world, the more wizards with complex social attributes were more likely to be involved. Therefore, the voting result was naturally without any suspense—extremely rare, unanimously passed.

"...Very good, it seems that all the judges and jurors are already victims."

Aileenna put down the monocular telescope in her hand and nodded with satisfaction in secret.

Since she paid out the first Copper Knut, this was destined to be a seemingly legal, but in fact there was no fair and objective, a revenge performance in the name of justice.

And what Aileenna needs to do is to build the stage well, let the Ministry of Magic and the wizards play on the established track, and achieve the results they expect to see through their own efforts and decisions.

Because only in this way will there be no hidden dangers for the future.

People never care about the truth...

Or rather, people only care about what kind of truth is more suitable for them.

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Chapter One!
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