Arthur lowered his voice and coughed twice.

Some things...don't need to be said.

And those employees of the Ministry of Magic, what's wrong with you? Just think about it in your hearts. Do you have to express your opinions?

The elevator stopped and started.

Ministry of Magic officials came in and out, and above their heads, bird-like notes whizzed back and forth.

"Second floor, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration."

Dumbledore said, "Harry, we're here."

Arthur followed them out; his office was also on this floor.

"Goodbye, Harry," Arthur said briskly, trying his best to appear to be ignoring Dumbledore. "My office is over there. I won't be joining you if you go to the Wizengamot."

There were two groups of people, one on the left and one on the right.

The sun was streaming in through the windows, bright and beautiful, in stark contrast to the weather outside.

Soon they reached the end, in front of a violet door with a golden hollow clover doorplate in the center, and the words "Wizengamot Administration" were written in gorgeous words.

Dumbledore pushed the door open and walked in.

The room was empty, with no one in it. The furnishings were all new. There were several cabinets with various photos on them, most of which were of Dumbledore, and the rest were of wizards and witches that Harry didn't recognize but were equally old.

There are a few sofas, and there are not many signs of being used, but they have been there for a long time, and the floor is slightly dented.

"Harry, sit down for a while." Dumbledore waved his hand at him and waved his wand. The airtight cabinet opened and several clean cups and a bottle of red wine floated out. "Few people come to the Wizengamot management office. You have to understand that we are all very old and would rather bask in the sun and take a lazy nap."

"What time is it?" he asked.

Harry raised his wrist and checked the time: "Eight forty-eight."

"We won't start dealing with your matter until ten o'clock, which is more than an hour away. They probably won't be here until ten minutes before the start." Dumbledore also sat down, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

Harry nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly turned his head and looked towards the door.

There was a rush of hurried, flustered footsteps.

"They are coming now?" Dumbledore was a little surprised.

In response, the door was pushed open with a clang, and a wizard hurried in: "Mr. Dumbledore, and Mr. Potter, thank God, I heard someone say that you have come to the Ministry of Magic."

"What's up?" Harry asked him.

The wizard nodded. "I sent a few owls to deliver letters to you this morning, but for some reason, none of them were successful."

Dumbledore and Harry watched him perform in silence.

The wizard swallowed and continued, "The time and location of Mr. Potter's trial have been changed. The time has been changed to nine o'clock, and the location has been changed to Courtroom 10."

"Courtroom Ten?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

The wizard nodded and explained in a low voice: "It's in an interrogation office on the tenth floor underground."

"It is usually used against criminals who have been proven to have committed a crime." Dumbledore filled in the blanks for him.

The wizard lowered his head, not daring to look them in the eye.

"Why change the time?" Harry asked.

The wizard answered honestly, "This morning, we received a notice from some members of the Wizengamot that more than two-thirds of them were unable to attend today's trial due to illness."

"According to the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Magic, when the number of Wizengamot attendees is less than one-third, the Ministry of Magic will take over the trial to ensure the fairness of the trial."

"This inquest will be presided over by the Minister, Mr. Cornelius Fudge, himself."

"How come I didn't know about this?" Dumbledore raised his hand and gently pushed his glasses. He was the chief wizard of the Wizengamot and the nominal supreme leader of the Wizengamot. Even if he did not take care of the affairs and completely handed the Wizengamot over to the control of the Ministry of Magic, for such things, even if they were not present, they should at least notify him.

The wizard didn't blush or feel nervous. He was even confused. "Maybe for some reason, the owl letter failed to reach you."

Dumbledore nodded, thinking: "Why does it have to be a place and a time?"

"Minister Fudge has a meeting of the World Ministry of Magic at ten o'clock, and will meet with the Minister of Magic of the Thousand Lakes in the afternoon. As you know, the disappearance of Headmaster Karkaroff has become the most concerned issue in the world." The wizard replied, "And according to the regulations of the Ministry of Magic, when the interrogators of the meeting are changed, the events and locations can be corrected."

"But you have to notify us in advance." Dumbledore frowned, but his tone didn't change much.

The wizard said softly: "I have notified you. I sent several owls, but you didn't receive them."

"Okay, Mr. Dumbledore, Mr. Potter, we don't have much time, let's hurry up..."

Harry interrupted him: "No sir, I'm not going."

The wizard was stunned.

Harry drank the wine in the glass and crossed his legs. "Tell dear Mr. Cornelius that I will wait for him here. He will explain my case at ten o'clock, not interrogate me. If he hasn't come by ten o'clock, then I think we are not destined to meet today."

The wizard argued, "But Minister Fudge has another show at ten o'clock..."

"That's his business." Harry interrupted him, "I hope you can understand that I'm not a sinner."

He spread his hands.

"But if you want me to be a criminal, I think I'd be happy to grant your wish."

"I am the warmest-hearted Gryffindor."

The wizard grunted and swallowed hard.

"Go and inform Cornelius." Harry called the minister's name affectionately, "It's almost nine o'clock now..."

He raised his wrist and looked at the time: "Oh, five more minutes."

"Mr. Potter, this is..." The wizard wanted to make another attempt.

"You also know that I am Harry Potter." Harry interrupted him again, his tone cold, "not Albus Dumbledore."

He raised his hand slightly.

Alder!

The seal was cast, and with a bang - a huge wave of air rolled up, hitting him, sweeping him away, causing him to stagger.

He took out his wand again, waved it gently, and with a snap, the door was slammed shut.

"A beautiful silent spell," Dumbledore commented.

Harry sighed, "I can't do it to the extent of Professor's wandless and silent."

"I didn't master wandless magic until I was fifty years old." Dumbledore shook his head. "In fact, it was only before I graduated that I was able to put silent spells into practical use. In this respect, I am much worse than you."

The two of them discussed in a low voice.

Magic is much more interesting than the Ministry of Magic.

After drinking half a bottle of red wine, Harry glanced at the time: "It's ten o'clock, Mr. Dumbledore, we should leave. Can we use Apparition here?"

"Not here, we have to go back to the hall." Dumbledore shook his head.

They got up and just walked to the door.

Click, the doorknob was turned, Fudge pushed the door open, followed by a group of people, mostly Ministry of Magic officials, the closest to him was the lady who looked like a toad in the Triwizard Tournament, and some elderly people wearing purple robes with a silver "W" tattooed on their chests.

The two groups of people stood facing each other, including the minister.

"Mr. Potter," Fudge greeted with an emotionless greeting. "Good afternoon."

"I thought you had to attend a meeting of the World Ministry of Magic." Harry smiled slightly, "It seems you are not that busy?"

Fudge gritted his teeth and said, "You should abide by the regulations of the Ministry of Magic instead of being willful and messing up my schedule. You know how much I have to pay for you..."

Harry interrupted him and poked his wand at his chest: "I am happy to abide by some of the Ministry's regulations, but I don't think it's necessary to change them because of someone's momentary capriciousness, right?"

"Mr. Potter, what are you talking about?" Fudge's back teeth loosened slightly.

"I don't like this." Harry said bluntly, his pupils fixed on him, "Don't play those little office tricks on me again, okay? I've already given you a lot for Professor Dumbledore's sake."

Fudge took a deep breath: "What on earth are you talking about!"

Harry clapped his hands, expressionless: "Let's get down to business, my dear Minister Cornelius, you have already wasted a lot of time."

Fudge pursed his lips and walked in.

They walked into the conference room.

Just like the living room outside, it is clean and tidy, but the tables and chairs look half-worn and show signs of frequent use.

When everyone was seated, Fudge gathered around the table, surrounded by his own people, and regained some of his courage. He waited for Umbridge to take out the notebook and quill, and coughed twice: "The trial will be on August 31st."

Umbridge waved her wand and the quill began to record automatically.

"Presiding Judges: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic, and Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Recorder: Senior Undersecretary Dolores Jane Umbridge."

"For the Defendant: Harry Potter."

"Witness for the defense: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Toad smiled brightly.

Fudge paused for a moment, then continued, "Mr. Potter, regarding the murder of ..."

"It was self-defense," Harry interrupted.

Fudge frowned. "Are you going to bring out that ridiculous Death Eater rhetoric again?"

"Was it the Death Eaters and the mole in the Ministry who attacked the Triwizard Cup, which led to me being sent away with a Portkey and ambushed by twelve adult wizards?" Harry said sarcastically. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that I had to fight back?"

Fudge's face twisted.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Although the Ministry of Magic is terrible, I have always thought that Scrimgeour is a pretty good Auror. Could it be that under your leadership, after two months, he still can't even find out the truth?"

"Of course not." Fudge slammed the table, "We have already investigated it clearly!"

"Although some of them were once Death Eaters..."

Harry interrupted him: "All of it!"

"Connelly, I hope you won't overlook the fact that they all have the Dark Mark on their arms."

The publication of "The Quibbler" forced the Ministry of Magic to face up to the fact of the "Dark Mark". At least they could no longer pretend that they knew nothing as they had done before.

Rita Skeeter!

Fudge hated her as much as he liked her before. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath after a while. "Mr. Potter, I don't think we are familiar enough to call each other by name."

"Okay, Cornelius." Harry nodded, looking sincere.

Fudge was startled, with an expression on his face as if he was watching Dumbledore chewing a pile of cockroaches: "Even if they are all, they have reformed..."

"So they Portkeyed the Triwizard Cup and sent me over, and that's reformation?" Harry interrupted.

Fudge grabbed the quill angrily: "Mr. Potter, please wait until I finish..."

"Okay, Cornelius," Harry interrupted again, "but I'm afraid I can't ignore your willful attempt to change the facts."

Fudge took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Potter, according to our investigation, they have very serious and cruel traces of dark magic."

"Though it looks like they died by the sword."

"But that cruel black magic caused irreversible damage to their bodies. Their blood and flesh were drained dry. Even without any other external force, they would have died from that black magic."

"Mr. Potter, what is your explanation for this?"

"It's amazing that you can find out this thing." Harry couldn't help but marvel at them.

Fudge said smugly: "Don't even think that any clues will escape the eyes of the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Potter, we..."

"But if you were smarter, you might be able to find out that the traces of dark magic on them come from the Dark Mark," Harry said softly.

Fudge slammed the table. "Don't try to bring up your excuses about Death Eaters and You-Know-Who again!"

"The You-Know-Who has been dead for fifteen years, how could his mark still have magical abilities!"

"From what I can see, you conducted some very cruel black magic experiments on them, and then disguised it as if they had attacked you and were killed by you in the counterattack."

"You carefully selected twelve people who had a tainted past!"

"This is murder!"

His words were so sharp that he wished he could accuse him of the crime right then and there.

"Think about it with whatever brain you may have," Harry sneered. "I was in Hogwarts preparing for the Triwizard Tournament. How did I cast a spell on the Triwizard Cup under the supervision of the Ministry of Magic? How did I bring together twelve people I had never contacted before, all of whom were Death Eaters?"

"I am more Voldemort than Voldemort is, and the Death Eaters listen to me more than Voldemort?"

The name came out of his mouth with a hissing sound, as if all the air was sucked out.

"Minister Fudge," said Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was a lady who looked very much like Professor McGonagall, and her voice was just as stern. "I think if you read the report given to you by the Auror Office three days ago."

"You should not have any doubts that the dark magic on those twelve people originated from the Dark Mark."

"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement can vouch for the Dark Mark as the source of that magic."

Fudge was startled and looked at Bones.

His eyes were full of shock—the document you gave me three days ago was so important?

Harry looked at her in surprise.

"Ah, but that doesn't prove that it has nothing to do with Mr. Potter." Fudge caught the wording.

Harry's eyes gradually cooled down: "But this doesn't prove that it has anything to do with me."

"Cornelly," Dumbledore said gently, "Have you found the person who cast the spell on the Triwizard Cup?"

Fudge shook his head, "No, we found no record of a Portkey being used at the Ministry."

"I don't think that group of people would follow the rules and register with the Ministry of Magic if they are planning to kill me," Harry said in a cold tone.

Fudge flipped through the files in front of him, trying to find something else.

Harry spoke up, "Anything else you want to say? School starts tomorrow, and I don't have much time to waste here."

Dumbledore looked at the others in the room, took out his wand, tapped it on the table, and conjured up a cup filled with syrup. "I don't think there is any law that can bind a completely innocent person."

"We know the whole story of this matter very well."

"Twelve former Death Eaters, and one outstanding student currently attending Hogwarts who received an award for special contribution to the school."

At this point, Dumbledore looked at Harry with a strange expression. What was going on with this strange sense of déjà vu?

Fudge took a deep breath and said, "Okay, then, those who think that charges against Mr. Potter should continue, please raise your hands."

He didn't hesitate.

Umbridge did not hesitate.

Dumbledore and Harry looked around at the others, and only three of them raised their hands.

Fudge reluctantly continued, "Then, those who think that Mr. Potter should not be charged, please raise your hands."

Bones raised his hand without hesitation.

The one third who arrived from the Wizengamot also raised their hands - they did not dare to offend Dumbledore, even though the chief wizard had no real power.

"Five votes in favor, eleven votes against, and nine abstentions." Bones said with a cold expression, "Cornelly, I told you that there is no need to waste time. Whether it is us or Mr. Potter, the most important thing is to find the culprit who cast the spell on the Triwizard Cup and planned this conspiracy."

Fudge didn't say anything, stood up, ignored the files on the table, and walked out of the meeting room.

Harry waved his wand and the chair flew across the floor, making a long, sharp hissing noise, and stopped in front of Fudge.

"Mr. Potter?" Fudge turned to look.

"Cornelly, is there anything else you haven't said to me?" Harry whispered.

Fudge looked embarrassed. He looked at Dumbledore, then at Bones, and at the other people in the room. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Mr. Potter."

He shook his fat body and quickened his pace, trying to leave this place faster.

Damn it!

The people at the Ministry of Magic didn't even help me. Next time, I will make an exception and propose a replacement for the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. This woman is too...

Sizzle——

The chair blocked his way again.

"Mr. Potter?" Fudge was a little annoyed, his cheeks flushed an unhealthy deep red, and his blood pressure highlighted the veins on his temples. "What else do you want to do?"