As long as there are enough profits, there will always be journalists willing to publish articles that those in power don't want to see.
Fortunately, after the arrows of responsibility pointed to Barty Crouch, the Ministry of Magic's originally tough stance softened.
Barty Crouch was once the Head of the Ministry of Magic Law Enforcement Department and the most promising candidate for Minister of Magic.
In other words, he was Fudge's strong competitor.
But after Voldemort's downfall, Barty Crouch's son was found to be a Death Eater, and he personally sent his son to Azkaban.
This incident led to Barty Crouch gradually losing his prestige and failing to become the Minister of Magic. Now he serves as the Director of the International Magical Cooperation and Exchange Department.
This position is similar to the Muggle government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it cannot be compared in importance. Most of the time, it deals with trivial matters like "the thickness of imported cauldrons" or "differences in contraband standards among countries."
Journalists are not worried about Barty Crouch seeking revenge on them, freely describing Crouch during the war period as a ruthless tyrant, and started digging into others who were sent to Azkaban without a trial.
The Ministry of Magic is happy to let Crouch take responsibility. During interviews, Fudge wipes his tears in front of the cameras, repenting for "trusting the wrong person."
Regarding the release of Sirius, the Ministry of Magic still holds an ambiguous attitude. However, public opinion has turned to pressure the Ministry to make a decision soon, and Dumbledore has been actively advocating for it.
"Lupin says there might be a retrial for Sirius's case after Halloween."
Harry told his friends, "A lot of people think he's innocent, and the probability of him being acquitted is quite high."
Michael knew that Harry always saw the most optimistic side. He whispered to Vid, "Is that really so?"
Vid nodded, "This time, it really is."
Only a small part of the Ministry of Magic insists that Sirius should not be released, most people actually don't care about it.
Machioni told Vid that most prisoners in Azkaban go insane within weeks, unable to maintain even the simplest of thoughts.
Therefore, many people believe that releasing someone who is likely to have lost self-awareness is nothing to worry about, especially since he was wronged.
The students in school don't feel the changes in public opinion or the pressures from various aspects at all.
They only see the continuous coverage in newspapers about the story of Sirius Black, sometimes accompanied by photos of the young wizard from his school days.
The youthful handsome appearance and tragic experience sparked empathy in nearly all female wizards, unexpectedly aiding him.
Gilderoy Lockhart seems to think this is a topic he can latch onto; he surprisingly refrained from having students perform dramas during this week's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, instead speaking at length about his friendship with Sirius Black.
Despite entering school when the Marauders were about to graduate, in Lockhart's stories, they were like-minded.
"I immediately saw Peter Pettigrew's insidious nature and specifically warned them, but unfortunately no one paid attention to my words."
"Alas, at that time I was as young as you are now. Despite my remarkable eyesight and insight, I didn't receive the respect I deserved."
"If they had listened to me earlier, perhaps everything would have been different?"
Lockhart spoke while shaking his head regretfully.
The girls in the classroom looked at him worshipfully, tears in their eyes, comforting him sympathetically, "It's not your fault, Professor! You've done everything you could!"
Ron, seeing Harry seemingly swayed, quickly said, "You're not taking his nonsense seriously, are you, mate? You know Lockhart is just a brainless fool."
"But... but he wrote so many books, right?" Harry said, "He might actually be good at observing."
After finishing his Umbrella House homework, Harry asked Lupin in the Friendship Book.
[Lupin: Gilderoy Lockhart?]
Lupin's reply was filled with question marks: [Who is that?]
Harry wrote all of Lockhart's boasts.
After a while, Lupin seemed to remember the person.
[Lupin: The person you mentioned, I have indeed heard of him; he's a famous Ravenclaw.]
[But that's not because of his insight or strong magic, but because shortly after enrolling, he declared he would create the Philosopher's Stone before graduation and lead the England Quidditch team to win the World Cup.]
[The Ravenclaw team exceptionally allowed him to try out, but he directly fell off his broom.]
[Additionally, he's known for a few other things, like carving his name in 20-foot letters on the Quidditch Pitch.]
[Moreover, during our later years at school, we were busy dealing with Slytherin, exploring and creating Marauder's Map, or concerning ourselves with the state of the war at the time, having no time to deal with a lower-year Ravenclaw student.]
Lupin's reaction seemed intense...
Looking at the strips of words appearing on the parchment, Harry thought to himself.
Michael pointed out sharply, "It seems he doesn't want to be associated with Lockhart at all, you better mention it less."
Harry nodded silently.
He let go of unrealistic expectations about Lockhart and instead asked everyone, "Hey, guys, do you want to attend Nick's Deathday party? It's on Halloween."