At this point, she probably had no one around her she could truly trust anymore… and that was a terrifying thought.
But thankfully…
President Picquery glanced at Dumbledore, who was still diligently inspecting the other witnesses without complaint.
She understood now—Dumbledore was willing to take the fall for her, to shield her from the storm that was about to break. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to examine the witnesses in the first place.
In other words, she was safe—for now.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Dumbledore's voice rang out again.
"Mr. Wright's memory… has been altered."
"Huh?" President Picquery looked at Dumbledore in shock.
In fact, it wasn't just her—even Dumbledore himself looked genuinely surprised as he stared at Mr. Wright in front of him.
He had checked multiple times and confirmed that Mr. Wright's memory had indeed been tampered with.
Mr. Wright was the only witness who had accused Grindelwald.
He insisted that Grindelwald had harmed his Muggle wife!
President Picquery quickly asked, "Can the modified memory be restored?"
"…Are you sure?" Dumbledore looked at President Picquery.
Mr. Wright had accused Grindelwald, yet his memory had been tampered with?
In other words, his accusation.. The only accusation in this entire trial—was based on a falsified memory?
It was almost absurdly ironic. The imbalance was too extreme to seem real…
If it were the other way around—if there had been only one witness claiming Grindelwald was innocent—that would've been far more believable.
Everyone present turned their eyes toward President Picquery...
Her mind, which had been dazed from the blow, suddenly snapped awake.
Were there still any allies around her?
That meant—the person who tampered with the witness's memory… had to be one of Grindelwald's people!
But why would he leave behind a single, altered witness to accuse him?
Grindelwald would never do something like this without a reason!
Which meant—this witness's memory absolutely could not be restored!
"Then… perhaps for now we should—"
However, before President Picquery could finish her sentence, Grindelwald cut her off.
"How could we not restore it? Everyone already has doubts about the testimonies. Since there's a memory that's been tampered with, it's best to restore it and take a look. Otherwise, what if everyone assumes I was the one who had it altered? Ah… but that wouldn't make sense, would it? I'm currently imprisoned. Even if I wanted to alter someone's memory to frame myself, I couldn't possibly send anyone to do it, right? Wouldn't you agree, President Picquery?"
Picquery was left speechless by Grindelwald's mocking tone...
"Restore the memory!"
"The trial must be fair and just!"
"Tampering with a witness's memory? That's illegal! Whoever did it must be brought to justice!"
A few people suddenly began shouting from the crowd. It was unclear whether they were planted by Grindelwald long ago or simply too upright for their own good.
Either way, no one could arrest them just for speaking out.
After all, there was nothing wrong with what they said… Shouldn't a trial be fair?
But given the timing, President Picquery had no way to stall any longer.
Under the eyes of the entire court, she couldn't bring herself to outright refuse the restoration of Mr. Wright's memory…
"Then… re… restore it," President Picquery said through gritted teeth.
Even knowing full well that Grindelwald had laid a trap right in front of her, there was nothing she could do! She could only watch as she was slowly pushed into it.
Dumbledore frowned as he looked at Mr. Wright, still dazed under the effects of Veritaserum.
Of course, he could tell this was a trap Grindelwald had left behind.
But even if he wanted to bend the rules again and help President Picquery—Under such scrutiny, not even someone as powerful as Dumbledore could quietly alter this man's memory a second time…
Especially not when he had no idea what memory Grindelwald had changed in the first place.
Helplessly, Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand and dispelled the magic placed on Wright's memory.
Mr. Wright's eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot…
The Aurors and healers immediately stepped forward and began administering expert treatment.
President Picquery's heart turned cold as she watched the scene unfold.
So eager to help Grindelwald—had even the subordinates she once trusted the most… already betrayed her?
Mr. Wright was quickly stabilized.
"I accuse! I want to make an accusation!" he shouted as soon as he regained consciousness. "I accuse President Picquery of threatening me!"
"My wife was caught in the crossfire during a fight between Aurors! When I approached the MACUSA for compensation, she—Picquery—told me I had to change my story. She said if I insisted that my wife was harmed by Grindelwald, only then would we receive compensation—and she even promised double! Otherwise, we'd get nothing!"
Mr. Wright looked torn apart as he continued,
"I had no choice but to agree… and to keep me from slipping up, she even had someone alter my memory! But she even erased my memory of filing the compensation claim! That's outright theft of our compensation! So yes, I accuse her!"
Mr. Wright's outburst caused an uproar in the courtroom.
President Picquery closed her eyes in despair.
Clearly, Wright was one of Grindelwald's people… He was lying—slandering her.
But there was nothing she could do.
By arranging so many witnesses, she had already effectively made it clear to the public that she was trying to frame Grindelwald.
However, reality had dealt her a cruel blow. At some unknown point, MACUSA had already been thoroughly infiltrated.
Her so-called plan had failed before it had even begun.
"Oh, my.. So it seems, even the last witness to accuse me is no longer valid.."
Grindelwald stepped down from the defendant's podium, slowly facing the crowd below. "Ladies and gentlemen! You may still have doubts about these testimonies. Some of you may even suspect Dumbledore himself. But that's perfectly fine. Anyone who harbors doubts is welcome to come forward and check!"
Grindelwald spread his hands, "See for yourselves whether the witnesses' memories were tampered with, whether the results match Dumbledore's findings."
As soon as Grindelwald finished speaking, many witches and wizards surged forward—most of them were clearly skeptical of Dumbledore.
President Picquery's face was drained of all color. If Grindelwald was willing to say this, then he must be absolutely confident in the outcome.
And now, with Wright's public accusation and Grindelwald's open invitation, she had even lost Dumbledore as a scapegoat.
Grindelwald strolled over to Dumbledore with a smile, and said quietly, "You want to be someone's scapegoat? Did you ask me first?"
At that moment, the wizards conducting the second round of memory checks spoke up loudly: "Dumbledore's results are accurate! Only Wright's memory had been altered!"
"My results are the same!"
"Mine too!"
Grindelwald turned to look at the jury, then at President Picquery. "Well then… may we proceed with the verdict? Am I… guilty or not?"
Ten minutes later.
"…All charges against Gellert Grindelwald… are hereby dismissed. Therefore, the High Court rules that Gellert Grindelwald is acquitted on all counts and is to be released immediately…"
As President Picquery weakly finished reading the entire verdict aloud—A sudden wave of cheers erupted from the audience below.
Nearly half the wizards in the courtroom surged forward at once, crowding around Grindelwald as they followed him down from the platform.
Along the way, people kept reaching out, trying to touch him.
On the platform, President Picquery could only watch as Grindelwald walked away, her eyes fixed on his retreating figure until he finally disappeared into the swelling crowd.
...
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