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Chapter 893: Win the Lawsuit
🕑 Added 2023-10-28 21:19:07 +0000 UTC"I … no … I'm not..."
Fudge looked as nauseous as though he had eaten a fly. Of course he couldn't pursue this matter.
Accusing Evan of using magic in the Quidditch World Cup finals was like holding the Ministry of Magic accountable.
Evan had helped the Ministry of Magic in the World Cup. In the past year, it had taken a lot of hard work and effort for them to get the eyes of wizards and witches around the world off the matter. Let alone re-investigate Evan’s responsibility. Fudge was not willing to mention it now.
"This boy, we all know he wasn't at Hogwarts last term..." Fudge changed direction.
"Yes, I have already talked to you specifically about this matter. At the invitation of Alchemist Nicolas Flamel, Evan went to Beauxbatons for an academic exchange," said Dumbledore calmly. "He is a student of Nicolas, and he studied Alchemy with him."
There was another discussion from the benches, and many wizards and witches began to look at Evan again.
They never thought that this young wizard would be a student of the famous Alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
In fact, Nicolas had only partners in Alchemy, and they had never heard of any wizard he accepted as his apprentice.
Since Evan was studying Alchemy with Nicolas, his status had greatly increased, and no one dared to despise this young wizard.
"But he was not in Beauxbatons. He’s been seen in Italy!" said Fudge angrily, trying to salvage his pride. "During his appearance in Sicily, there was turmoil in the giants’ tribe there ..."
"You don't think Evan caused the turmoil in the giants’ tribe, do you?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically, smiling.
No sooner had he finished speaking than some wizards on the benches laughed. Evan’s size was not enough to stuff a giant's teeth, let alone cause turmoil in the giants’ tribe.
"No … of course not … I … of course he couldn't..." Fudge stammered again.
It was too absurd to associate a fourteen-year-old wizard with the turmoil of the giants’ tribe. This kind of thing was as funny as Voldemort's resurrection. It was impossible to happen.
He took a deep breath and saw the smiling expression on Evan’s face, but he didn't know what to say.
There was a lot of evidence that Evan had used magic outside school, but it had not been detected by the Ministry of magic.
Moreover, the events that Evan was involved in were very sensitive. It was something the Ministry of magic was trying to play down, and couldn't be put on the table.
For example, the giants’ turmoil in Sicily, the massacre of the Centaurs’ ruins in the Albanian forest and the Gringotts scandal in Egypt, etc. From the feedback from the intelligence agency of the Ministry of Magic, there seemed to be the shadow of this young wizard behind all this.
For some reason, Fudge believed Evan had this ability, but he had no proof.
"Minister, I don’t think what Mr. Mason did outside the school has anything to do with this inquiry," Madam Bones reminded.
Fudge was getting more and more off topic, and everyone could see that he hadn't gained any advantage.
"You're right, we should talk about Potter," said Fudge flustered. "The bad things he did at school..."
"I have to remind you again that the Ministry has no authority to punish Hogwarts students for misdemeanors at school. It’s the headmaster’s responsibility to punish them for their actions, and Harry’s behavior there is not relevant to this inquiry," said Dumbledore, politely as ever, but now with a suggestion of coolness behind his words.
Fudge seemed to have been rekindled. “Not our business what he does at school, eh? You think so?"
“The Ministry does not have the power to expel Hogwarts students, Cornelius, as I reminded you on the night of the second of August,” said Dumbledore. “Nor does it have the right to confiscate wands until charges have been successfully proven, again, as I reminded you on the night of the second of August. In your admirable haste to ensure that the law is upheld, you appear, inadvertently I am sure, to have overlooked a few laws yourself.”
“Laws can be changed,” said Fudge savagely.
“Of course they can,” said Dumbledore, inclining his head. “And you certainly seem to be making many changes."
There was another round of talk on the benches, and Fudge turned a slightly deeper shade of puce. Umbridge, on his right, merely gazed at Dumbledore, her face quite expressionless.
“As far as I am aware, however,” Dumbledore continued, “there is no law yet in place that says this court’s job is to punish Harry for every bit of magic he has ever performed. He has been charged with a specific offense and he has presented his defense. All he and I can do now is to await your verdict!"
Dumbledore put his fingertips together again and said no more. Fudge glared at him, evidently incensed.
Harry looked at Evan, then at Fudge, and finally glanced sideways at Dumbledore, seeking reassurance; he was not at all sure that Dumbledore was right in telling the Wizengamot, in effect, that it was about time they made a decision.
However, Dumbledore seemed oblivious to Harry’s attempt to catch his eye. He continued to look up at the benches where the entire Wizengamot had fallen into urgent, whispered conversations.
Harry looked at his feet. His heart, which seemed to have swollen to an unnatural size, was thumping loudly under his ribs.
He had expected the hearing to last longer than this. He was not at all sure that he had made a good impression.
In fact, he had not really said very much, and it was Evan and Dumbledore who were talking.
He ought to have explained more fully about the Dementors, about how he had fallen over, about how both he and Dudley had nearly been kissed.
Twice he looked up at Fudge and opened his mouth to speak, but his swollen heart was now constricting his air passages and both times he merely took a deep breath and looked back at his shoes.
Then the whispering stopped. Harry wanted to look up at the judges, but found that it was really much, much easier to keep examining his laces.
“Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges; please raise your hands," said Madam Bones’s booming voice.
Harry’s head jerked upward. There were hands in the air, many of them … more than half!
Breathing very fast, he tried to count, but before he could finish Madam Bones had said, “And those in favor of conviction, please raise your hands.”
Fudge raised his hand; so did half a dozen others, including the witch on his right and the heavily mustached wizard and the frizzy-haired witch in the second row.
Fudge glanced around at them all, looking as though there was something large stuck in his throat, not wanting to believe the result.
Then he lowered his own hand. He took two deep breaths and then said, in a voice distorted by suppressed rage, “Very well, very well … cleared of all charges.”
"Mr. Minister, since Harry is cleared of all charges, is there any problem with the authenticity of the report?" Evan asked at the right time. "Is my hearing over too?"
"Yes, It is!" said Fudge grimly, biting every word hard.
He was now angry to the extreme, not to mention answering questions; it seemed he could not wait to tear Evan and the others up to pieces at once.
"Oh, is the Ministry of Magic going to investigate the Dementors’ attack on Harry?" Evan continued to ask.
