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Miss Granger Advises Me To Stop Study
Chapter 146: Clearing one's name.

Chapter 146: Clearing one's name.

Peter Pettigrew lay limp on the ground, watching as Harry's eyes gradually lost their light. In his eyes, the figure of the boy slowly overlapped with a past figure. It was as if a brilliant light was shining, making it almost impossible for him to open his eyes.

Lin Yue silently turned off the video recorder, her expression unchanged as her gaze shifted to Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. "The footage has been recorded, Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall. You can call the people from the Ministry of Magic now."

Only Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black knew about this matter; acknowledging the truth was useless, as the Ministry of Magic was still the official authority in the British wizarding world. Not to mention, only they could revoke Sirius Black's wanted status.

"I'll go find Fudge, Minerva, Severus, and leave this to you," Headmaster Dumbledore nodded to Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape before leaving the boys' dormitory and heading to the Gryffindor common room. He took a handful of Floo powder from his pocket and threw it directly into the roaring fireplace. The flames instantly turned green, and he stepped in without hesitation.

"Will the Ministry of Magic honestly admit the truth?" Hermione asked Lin Yue softly, looking uncertainly at the door to the boys' dormitory.

"They won't want to admit it," Lin Yue shook her head indifferently. "Especially Fudge."

"Admitting that the Ministry of Magic once mishandled a case and arrested the wrong person would damage the Ministry's reputation, and according to personality analysis, Fudge himself should care the most about these so-called prestige and power, so he won't want to admit it."

"However, the evidence has already been recorded," Lin Yue waved the video camera in her hand, indicating, "and we have so many witnesses."

As she spoke, she glanced around at all the Gryffindors present. "Fudge won't be able to ignore it."

"And as long as he isn't foolish, he shouldn't be too aggressive in opposing me and Headmaster Dumbledore."

When she warned Fudge earlier, she had already demonstrated her strength, and Headmaster Dumbledore's power was beyond doubt. Compared to the elusive and potentially changeable power, she and Headmaster Dumbledore truly held the real weapons.

As long as Fudge, the Minister of Magic, hasn't become completely brainless, he shouldn't completely sever ties with her and Headmaster Dumbledore. Because if he really did, she didn't know what would happen to Headmaster Dumbledore. But she herself would definitely not hold back and would take action directly. A Minister of Magic who lacks a sense of the bigger picture and fails to recognize the situation is not worth keeping.

It would be better to let Hermione take over; a Minister of Magic who hasn't even graduated from Hogwarts sounds like a legend.

A slight smile crept onto Lin Yue's lips as she was amused by her own thoughts. Standing next to her, Hermione felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of Lin Yue's upturned mouth.

Lin Yue looked... so sweet when she smiled. I wonder if she would taste sweet too?

Before long, Professor Dumbledore returned to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory with three people behind him. Following him were Fudge, the head of the Auror Office, and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

It was clear that they had all been called out of their homes in the middle of the night by Professor Dumbledore, as all three were still in their pajamas and hadn't had time to change.

"Merlin's beard! It's really Black!" The head of the Auror Office exclaimed as he saw Sirius sitting on Harry's bed, instinctively reaching for his wand at his waist.

"Don't be hasty, Robards," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on him. "As I just mentioned, look who it is."

As he spoke, he pointed to Peter Pettigrew, curled up on the floor, trembling. Robards followed Dumbledore's finger and, in the next moment, his wand was aimed in the opposite direction.

"Peter Pettigrew! You're really not dead?"

Robards frowned as he looked at Peter Pettigrew, who was slumped on the ground, and Crouch's expression also turned grim. However, neither of their faces could compare to the grimness of Fudge's. Seeing that Peter Pettigrew was still alive felt as uncomfortable to him as if someone had told him to step down right in front of him.

If the other two were still pondering why Peter Pettigrew hadn’t died and whether the truth of the past was really as suspicious as Dumbledore had said, Fudge was completely focused on how this incident would affect the reputation of the Ministry of Magic and how much he himself would be impacted.

"As you can see," Dumbledore said gently, looking at the three of them, "the once victim and hero, Peter Pettigrew, is not dead."

"He is alive, and from his mouth, as well as Mr. Black's, we have heard answers that are completely different from those of the investigation back then."

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"I must admit, we were wrong back then, all of us were wrong. It was not Sirius Black who betrayed the Potters, but Peter Pettigrew."

"How... how is this possible, Dumbledore?" Fudge chuckled nervously, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He wiped his brow in a flustered manner and forced himself to say with a hint of pleading, "Sirius Black is the true culprit who betrayed the Potters; this is the result of the Ministry's investigation!"

The Gryffindor students around him widened their eyes in disbelief at his words, as if they were seeing the hypocritical face of the Minister for the first time. In contrast, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape rolled their eyes, a reaction they had grown accustomed to.

"This is the result we obtained using Veritaserum!"

Finally, some young wizards shouted in defiance, and others immediately responded.

"Yes! Lin Yue recorded it on video; no one can deny it! We are all witnesses!"

"Yes! We are all witnesses!"

"Hehehe, children, listen to me." As soon as he heard so many young wizards speaking out, Fudge quickly raised his hand to calm them down. At the same time, he felt a bit surprised; were the young wizards so brave now? Did they dare to openly oppose him, the Minister of Magic? Did they not fear that he would prevent them from working in the Ministry in the future?

"I am the Minister of Magic; I will not wrongfully accuse anyone. Moreover, investigating cases and uncovering the truth is the responsibility of our Ministry, and in this regard, you should trust us, not your school."

Listening to Fudge's words, the Gryffindors became even more agitated. What did he mean? Was he implying that all of them, along with Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape, were lying?!

Seeing that the other young wizards were about to speak again, Professors McGonagall and Snape were ready to interrupt. It didn’t matter if the two masters of magic offended the Ministry, but these young wizards still had a long way to go and families to consider; it was better for them not to offend the Ministry. After all, who knew how petty Fudge could be?

However, Lin Yue acted even faster than they did. "Minister Fudge, here is the video evidence I left behind; there are witnesses and physical evidence, all of which just need to be examined by the Ministry."

"But you have seen Peter Pettigrew with your own eyes, yet you are still unwilling to reopen the investigation. I don’t understand your reasoning."

"It’s not that I am unwilling to reopen the investigation, but your actions are completely illegal, do you understand?"

Fudge shrank back as he watched Lin Yue walk out, clearly reminded of the moment when Lin Yue had used magic to grip his neck and lift him up.

Despite this, he continued to shout defiantly, unwilling to let the matter have even the slightest chance of being overturned. He didn't want to do anything that could damage the reputation of the Ministry of Magic or jeopardize his position.

"The Veritaserum can only be used by the Ministry of Magic, and Muggle recordings cannot be considered as evidence!"

"I assume you haven't read the Ministry's laws carefully, Miss Lin Yue," he retorted.

Lin Yue blinked with a blank expression, her words devoid of any warmth. "Of course, I have read them carefully, Minister."

"But you should also note that the Ministry's laws do not prohibit Hogwarts staff from using Veritaserum within Hogwarts, nor are there any regulations regarding Hogwarts."

"So, strictly speaking, neither we nor the professors have violated any relevant laws or regulations of the Ministry, am I right, Director Crouch?"

Lin Yue turned to Crouch, who had always been in opposition to Fudge, and he smiled slightly, nodding in agreement.

"Of course, Miss Lin Yue, the Ministry has no regulations regarding Hogwarts."

"I must emphasize that the Ministry has absolute respect for Hogwarts, the only magical school in the UK, and will never interfere in your internal affairs."

Fudge was willing to do anything that could attack him. If the previous comments from the young wizards and Lin Yue had only made him angry, Crouch's words had completely infuriated him.

He glared at Crouch with a fierce look, his eyes almost blazing with fire. They were all people from the Ministry; if this matter were to be exposed, what good would it do him if Black were truly exonerated?

Would the public of the British Ministry of Magic really single out Crouch when they criticized the Ministry's incompetence?

"As for Muggle recording devices not being considered as evidence," Lin Yue said, a confident yet mechanical smile appearing on her face, "tomorrow morning, the Ministry will urgently pass a law stating that Muggle recordings can be considered as evidence."

"Minister, you need not worry; I will pave the way for you. You just have to walk it."

"Or," Lin Yue's gaze flickered among the three gentlemen present, "are you gentlemen not interested in having the truth investigated and the real culprits punished?"

Fudge's mouth opened and closed in frustration, but under the scrutiny of those around him, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to voice any objections.

There was no way out; Lin Yue's words had cornered him. If he said anything against it, he would be accused of not wanting the truth to be uncovered and not wanting the guilty to be judged.

If he wanted to stop this matter, he would have to shift the blame onto Hogwarts, onto Dumbledore and the others, rather than taking the blame upon himself.

Fudge had nothing to say, but beside him, both Robards and Crouch nodded seriously.

"Please rest assured, Miss Lin Yue, Professor Dumbledore, and all the professors and young wizards, we will investigate the entire case as soon as possible."

"We will do our utmost to complete the review of this case quickly, exonerate the innocent, and punish the guilty."

"A wise decision."

Lin Yue smiled and nodded, then took a step back to stand beside Hermione.

Hermione did not hide her admiration and gave her a thumbs up in front of everyone.

That was well said! Especially when Lin Yue made Fudge speechless; it was so impressive!

"Alright, Dumbledore," Fudge said, bending his back as if deflated, "we will re-investigate this matter. If you have no objections, I think we need to take away Black and Pettigrew now."

Professor Dumbledore nodded slightly, "Of course, Cornelius, you may take them, but I hope that when the Ministry of Magic holds the trial, what we see will be a complete Black and Pettigrew, both in body and soul, correct?"

"Of course! Dumbledore, you wouldn't think I would—!"

Fudge shouted in exasperation, like a little dog whose tail had been stepped on.

Lin Yue squinted, quickly analyzing Fudge's personality and the micro-expressions he was displaying.

From the way Fudge had just rebutted them in front of so many people, and how he was stubbornly holding on until the last moment to avoid restarting the investigation, it was clear that he was indeed a bit more foolish than she had previously estimated, and he cared more about the power in his hands than she had thought.

Based on his micro-expressions—frustrated and guilty—Lin Yue had reason to suspect that he wanted to secretly do something to make the evidence chain for this case less solid.

Even... to make this evidence chain completely nonexistent.

But what method would he use? To kill Sirius Black or to kill Peter Pettigrew?

No, no, no, he had physical evidence in hand; these two methods would likely bring him and the Ministry of Magic bad public opinion.

Analyzing his character, which placed such heavy emphasis on power and prestige, he definitely wouldn't do that.

So... what method would he use?

Lin Yue thought to herself, and gradually a thought emerged in her mind as her gaze shifted towards the window.

The sky outside was gloomy, and a thick layer of frost had formed on the window, clearly indicating the significant influence of the Dementors.

If it was the Dementors... Lin Yue blinked blankly. Fudge should be able to evade responsibility. Sirius Black had broken into Hogwarts, intending to kill Harry Potter, which had caused the Gryffindor students to become mentally unstable.

Fortunately, Peter Pettigrew, who had inexplicably survived, arrived just in time to stop him and protect the students. However, during the struggle, Peter Pettigrew was also injured by Sirius Black and became mentally deranged.

As for why Peter Pettigrew survived and did not appear in public, it was simple; he could just say he was doing it for the son of an old friend.

So he had been lying low for so many years, secretly ensuring Harry's safety.

Next, the Dementors came to control Peter Pettigrew, and the testimonies of Professor Dumbledore and the other professors followed.

As long as they said the young wizards were driven insane by fear, Dumbledore and the others could weave a lie based on that, making sure the young wizards remembered it, in order to erase the mistakes made at Hogwarts.

This would also explain why the mentally unstable young wizards all had the same story. Although this plan was despicable and vile, if it was Fudge... it was indeed not impossible.