Harry Potter and the others arrived at the Wizengamot courtroom. The courtroom in the Ministry of Magic was arranged in a circular council layout, where the defendant would stand at the center, subjected to questioning and scrutiny from all sides—a classic case of overwhelming public attention.
Unless someone had the mindset of a high-profile celebrity, very few could handle being stared at like this. Even a wizard, not a Muggle, would find it hard to maintain composure. Panic would be considered a mild reaction—there had been people who were driven to madness right there on the spot.
"Today, we will hear the case of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban."
One of the female judges on the bench glanced at Dumbledore on her left, then began the proceedings for the day's most important—and only—trial.
If not for Regulus Black's warnings on the way, Harry might have impulsively declared his stance immediately. But now, Harry had learned restraint and waited quietly for his turn to testify.
"Sirius Black, do you admit to escaping from Azkaban not long ago?"
The female judge picked up a file and began the questioning. This was standard procedure—each question was pre-written in the file and not subject to personal discretion. Only after all answers had been collected would the court deliberate based on the responses.
The kind of trial methods used years ago for Death Eaters were no longer appropriate. Besides, today's audience included many outsiders, and Sirius's case had drawn significant attention. The packed seats of the Wizengamot court reflected that clearly.
"I..."
Sirius seemed to be in good spirits today. After all, he had done everything he could; now, all that was left was to wait for fate to play its hand—or rather, for the plan his younger brother Regulus Black had arranged to unfold.
"Objection. The claim that Sirius escaped from Azkaban is inaccurate."
This was only the first court question, yet someone had already interrupted it with a forceful challenge.
Rufus Scrimgeour's expression was grim as he stared at Sirius Black like a lion. That bastard really had escaped, and now Scrimgeour was the one forced to defend him.
He glanced at Regulus Black seated in the gallery and thought about the consequences of not going through with this. If they didn't back the story, the Auror Department would be held accountable for the escape—and if it turned out Sirius was wrongly imprisoned, that would bring even more disgrace to them.
So, no matter how awkward it felt, Scrimgeour had to play his part.
"Mr. Rufus Scrimgeour, the report of Sirius Black's escape came from your Auror Department. Are you now denying that?"
The female judge put down the file and turned to question him directly. She knew the formal process had already been derailed, which gave her the freedom to improvise.
What followed was Scrimgeour's performance. He recounted how Sirius had protested his innocence from within Azkaban, how the plan had been granted special approval by the Minister of Magic, and how Regulus Black had vouched for his brother. Finally, with all three parties involved casting a tracking spell, they modified Sirius's memory to make him believe he had successfully escaped on his own...
All of the outlandish details, when combined, formed a narrative so seamless that no one present could spot any flaws.
The audience was left dizzy from it all. The female judge felt the same—nothing about the situation made logical sense, yet everything presented felt oddly plausible.
Everyone found themselves grappling with a philosophical dilemma: Maybe Rufus Scrimgeour has gone mad... or maybe I'm the one who's losing it.
"Mr. Rufus Scrimgeour, I can't comment on everything you've just said. In fact, you've been so thorough that I don't even have anything to ask. So, esteemed Minister of Magic, according to Mr. Scrimgeour, this entire operation had the Ministry's special approval. Is that true?"
The female judge had no choice but to turn to Minister Fudge. Compared to Regulus Black, the defendant's brother, Fudge's testimony carried more weight.
"Oh...! Yes, yes, when Regulus and Rufus first brought this plan to me, I was quite shocked. Releasing a prisoner from Azkaban—there was no precedent for that. As the Minister, I could've refused and passed the responsibility on."
Fudge spoke with a deliberate air, his theatrical instincts clearly stirred by Scrimgeour's earlier performance.
"But! We had to consider one hypothetical—what if Sirius was innocent? We had just emerged from a very dark period, and in the process of cleaning up its remnants, both the Ministry and the Wizengamot may have acted a bit... heavy-handed. So I reviewed the original trial records of Sirius Black, and I must say, many critical details were indeed overlooked."
Minister Fudge prided himself on being a responsible leader—one willing to admit and correct mistakes made by the Ministry. He pulled out a file containing the original trial documents of that time.
The female judge felt as though a herd of Thestrals had just stampeded through her mind. For a moment, she wanted to greet Minister Fudge with a heartfelt What the hell.
So the missing file was with you all along? No wonder we couldn't find it!
The staff passed the case file to the judges' bench, and several judges quickly flipped through the documents.
"Actually, even with various pieces of evidence suggesting Sirius Black's innocence, I couldn't have released him so easily at the time. However, Mr. Regulus Black offered a small but significant possibility that allowed this matter to proceed smoothly."
Minister of Magic Fudge shifted the focus onto Regulus Black—another detail that had been carefully arranged that night.
First, Rufus Scrimgeour would speak, pushing the responsibility up the chain through special authorization. Then Fudge would explain things, portraying himself as a responsible Minister while redirecting everyone's attention to Regulus Black.
"Mr. Regulus Black, what role did you play in this matter?"
The female judge had finished reading the file ahead of the others, and in her heart, she was already convinced that Sirius's original case had hidden truths.
"I never believed Sirius was guilty. You all know I once stood by the Dark Lord's side, representing the Black family's support. Yet I was still killed. And even before my death, I was certain that Sirius Black was merely an enemy—not a Death Eater. On the other hand, the person who was actually pointed out by my foolish brother... I'm quite sure he had already joined the Death Eaters."
Regulus Black continued to regard Sirius with disdain, as if having such a foolish relative was a disgrace to the Black family.
"Who is the Death Eater you're referring to?"
The female judge asked, even though she already knew the answer. It was part of the formal process—her question was meant to inform everyone present.
"A filthy, disgusting rat—Peter Pettigrew! As far as I know, he was once a member of the Order of the Phoenix. But unlike Snape, his identity wasn't that of a spy, was it?"
As Regulus spoke, he cast a glance toward Dumbledore. The old man looked a bit embarrassed. Although he had known it was his turn to speak, it still felt awkward.
"No. The Order of the Phoenix never sent Peter Pettigrew to infiltrate the Death Eaters. One inside agent—Severus Snape—was enough."
Dumbledore immediately denied such a claim. By now, everyone present had formed a clear idea of the situation.
"Mr. Regulus Black, you still haven't told the court what method you used to convince the Minister of Magic to grant special approval."
The female judge had no intention of letting the Chief Judge of the Wizengamot be put on the spot.
"It was just a simple spell—the Grey Knight Order. It allows several people to simultaneously cast it on the same target. The effect is to track the subject's movements, and once the task is completed, the spell naturally dissolves. It's a kind of contractual magic."
Whether this so-called Grey Knight Order spell was real or not, only the heavens knew. But Regulus Black had already performed so many miracles that no one present seemed to question it. On the contrary, they listened with keen interest.
"Minister Fudge, Mr. Scrimgeour, and I jointly cast the spell on Sirius. Then we altered part of his memory before releasing him."
Regulus Black adjusted his posture gracefully and gave Sirius a mocking glance.
"In fact, during the entire course of Sirius's 'escape,' he was accompanied by Aurors the whole time."
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