Chapter 681: Trial (Edited)

Surrounded by a stern Fudge and a group of Aurors, Fish and Dumbledore walked down an empty corridor with no doors or windows on either side, until they reached a simple black door at the end.

However, instead of going through the door, they headed towards a discreet opening in the left corner, where a staircase led to the tenth floor, the only one that could lead to the tenth floor.

They followed the staircase down to the bottom and were greeted by another hallway.

It was exactly like the hallways in Hogwarts that led to Snape's underground classroom: rough stone walls and torches on stands.

Fish and Dumbledore continued forward, with Fudge close behind, and the Aurors mostly stayed behind, with only Dawlish and two other unnamed Aurors acting as bodyguards by Fudge's side.

The corridor was lined with several old, heavy wooden doors, with iron locks and padlocks. Dumbledore didn't stop until he reached a disturbing black door with a large iron lock.

"The Tenth Courtroom..." he said with excitement. "I never thought I would come back here in less than a year, still as the accused."

"Don't worry, after we convict you, you won't be able to come here for a long time!" Fudge said maliciously from behind.

Dumbledore returned his gaze.

This simple gesture made Fudge take two quick steps back and draw his wand.

"Sigh..."

With a disappointed sigh, Dumbledore looked away and pushed open the black door in front of him, taking Fish with him.

Fudge's face instantly turned red as he looked around. Dawlish and the other two Aurors all had their heads down, avoiding his gaze as they acted as if they hadn't seen anything.

"Ahem," Fudge quickly recovered from his embarrassment, straightened his collar, and said, "Let's go in as well."

Fish followed Dumbledore into the deep, dark room, looking around with curiosity.

The walls were made of dark stone, and the torchlight was dim and eerie. On either side, there were rows of empty benches, and in front of them, on the higher benches, several dark figures emerged.

Fish's pupils slightly changed, and they quickly adjusted to the dark environment here, at the same time, they could clearly see the figures in front of them...

All the figures were wearing fuchsia robes with an elaborate silver "W" embroidered on the left chest. When they saw Fish and Dumbledore enter, half of them greeted Fish with smiles on their faces.

They were all people Fish knew, from the examiners who had been at Hogwarts in the past, like Professor Tofty, to those Fish had met at St. Mungo's.

Moreover, there were a few older wizards, roughly the same age as Professor Tofty, whom Fish had met when they had attended some of Professor McGonagall's parties during their vacations.

The key is...

Fish twitched their ears, sniffed again, and then looked towards a dark corner away from the crowd, where there was a beetle, lying silently.

"Hello everyone, meow!"

(ΦωΦ)

Fish looked away, then raised their arms high and greeted the people in the court.

Dumbledore led Fish to the center of the room, where they casually sat on the chair with chains wrapped around the armrests.

The chains jingled, but Dumbledore didn't mind. Instead, he took out his wand and waved it to the side, conjuring a chair with thick black velvet cushions next to him.

"Fish, sit here," Dumbledore said, pointing to the conjured armchair. He then drew his wand and leaned back, resting his elbows on the armrest chains, with his long-fingered hands intertwined in a very relaxed posture as he looked at the members of the Wizengamot.

At that moment, Fudge approached from the back and positioned himself at the front of the group, sitting between a broad, square-jawed witch with short hair and a monocle, and a thin man with a goatee and a large back.

He, too, had put on the fuchsia robe and held a thick stack of parchments.

"Very well," Fudge said, "The accused has finally arrived, so let's begin. Is the recorder ready?" He asked loudly at the end of the bench.

At the other end of the front bench, a young wizard replied, pen and parchment in hand, ready to record.

"Trial on June 26th," Fudge said, loud but weakly, "The trial of the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, for the violation of the Misuse of Magic Act, Endangerment of Magical Acts Security, and the Secrecy Act."

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Director of the Magical Law Enforcement Division; Pius Thicknesse, Deputy Director of the Magical Law Enforcement Division. Court clerk: Malcolm Covance Clark. Defense witnesses..."

Fudge glanced at Fish, who was sitting next to Dumbledore, fidgeting, and continued, "Defense witness: Fish Robert McGonagall."

At the other end, McCartney quickly scribbled notes on parchment.

After a momentary pause, Fudge took the top parchment from the stack in front of him, took a deep breath, and read aloud, "The accused is charged with the following offenses—"

"The accused attempted to infiltrate the Department of Mysteries on the ninth floor of the Ministry of Magic at eleven forty-nine in the evening of June thirteenth, after deliberately concealing himself with an invisibility spell, thereby violating Article 8 of the Misuse of Magic Ordinance, Article 2 of the Endangerment of Magical Security Act, and Articles 1 and 5 of the Secrecy Act."

He set the parchment aside and addressed the jury, "All of this has been witnessed by me and the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic, the facts are there, the evidence is there, and there is no room for the accused to argue!"

"Perhaps the Minister doesn't recall accurately," Dumbledore said pleasantly in response to Fudge's aggressive attitude, "But I believe the accused is entitled to defend himself according to the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, isn't that right? Isn't that the policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Miss Bones?" he asked the monocled witch.

"Yes," Miss Bones said, "It is."

Dumbledore smiled slightly as he looked at a nervous Fudge and said, "First and foremost, the Minister's memory may be failing him, as I explained to him the other night, I am here as a visitor... I suppose the Ministry of Magic does not prohibit nighttime visits." He turned his attention to the others.

The jury and the other two presiding members nodded.

Fudge hurriedly replied anxiously, "Then why did you use the invisibility spell to conceal your presence?"

"It's a question that I also remember explaining at the time," Dumbledore maintained his pleasant demeanor. "I didn't see any receptionists or guards in the main lobby, and I suspected that the Ministry of Magic had been attacked by the enemy, hence the choice of invisibility."

He restated the question that had initially left Fudge speechless. "Minister Fudge, can you now explain why you removed the reception and guards when both you and the Aurors were at the Ministry of Magic?"

Fudge was initially taken aback, as his ability to respond on the spot wasn't very good. After more than ten days of preparation, he had already thought of a countermeasure. "Because that night I received a warning that thieves were attempting to enter the Department of Mysteries and steal the secrets of the Ministry of Magic, and I made sure they went into hiding to prevent innocent people from getting hurt!"

He said with righteousness, looking at Dumbledore with a sense of superiority and condescension.

"Well," Dumbledore nodded softly, "That, that is acceptable."

However, before Fudge could rejoice, Dumbledore turned the tables and asked, "Why didn't you put up a sign in the main lobby after organizing their departure, or leave a message in some other form, informing visitors that the Ministry staff was temporarily absent and they could visit on their own? That way, I wouldn't have formed a wrong impression."

"..."

After an awkward moment of silence, Fudge replied with a stern face, "I..."