Homecoming from Hogwarts

"Mr. Potter, I am a reporter from the Daily Prophet. May I ask what is your personal opinion on the charges brought against you by the Ministry of Magic?"

"Mr. Potter, I am from France. Can you tell us what your purpose is in harming an innocent Muggle?"

"Was this a premeditated murder, or do you just find it amusing?"

"What was the role of Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger in this murder, were they your accomplices?"

"As a legendary figure who defeated the mysterious man, how do you feel about your current situation?"

"Say something, Mr. Potter, how do you intend to defend yourself?"

Amidst excited roars and nearly crazy faces, Harry and his two companions, escorted by the Order of the Phoenix and others, struggled through the horde of reporters and the blockade set up by the Aurors at the Fountain of Magical Brotherhood and arrived at the elevator hall.

"Harry, Harry, Harry!"

Sirius's face flickered before Harry's eyes, and his voice seemed a world away in his ears.

"Don't be scared by these reporters, you three, they are just here to watch the fun!"

Under the guidance of the Auror, the group walked into the elevator car reserved for them.

Ding--
The elevator door closed and Sirius, with a livid face, immediately shouted loudly.

But, whether it's Harry, Ron or Hermione.

The three prosecuted little wizards were like being petrified. They just looked at Sirius blankly, unable to say anything.

"This won't do, you three--"

Remus looked anxious.
"You must remain clear-headed and answer every question the Wizengamot Judgment Committee asks you accurately!"

"Don't say anything extra."

Kingsley gave advice.

"Don't be afraid, you have to believe that you are innocent!"

Professor Moody yelled that every member of the Order of the Phoenix was giving advice, but Harry didn't listen to any of it.

kill.
How could the Ministry of Magic use such a horrible crime against him?
"Don't worry, Ron!"

The consolation along the way was all ineffective the moment the three children stepped into the hall of the Ministry of Magic. Mr. Weasley was extremely anxious. He shook Ron's shoulders anxiously.

"Your mother and I both believe that you have not done anything stupid. Fudge and Dolores can't do anything to you. Amosta and Dumbledore will accompany the trial and they will defend you!"

"Dumbledore has most of the Order of the Phoenix on standby, little ones!"

Professor Moody spit at Harry and the other two again.

"You see, we will never sit idly by and watch the Minister of Magic do whatever he wants. If necessary, we don't mind using force!"

This sentence unexpectedly worked. Harry's eyes lit up and he nodded slightly.

In Harry's perception, there seemed to be something wrong with the flow of time and the transfer of spatial scenes.

He only remembered that he sat in a red telephone booth and entered a magnificent hall in the Ministry of Magic, and then a second later, he stood in front of a large rusty iron door.

Ron and Hermione were still by his side, but when he turned around, he found that Sirius and the others had disappeared at some point, and only the dark-faced Kingsley was with the three of them.

"Come on in, the three of you."

Kingsley, who was always calm, showed obvious worry at this moment. He pointed at the iron door in front of the three of them.

"It's inside, but I can't go in."

Harry nodded numbly and touched the cold iron handle.

The moment he opened the door, a cold fishy smell hit Harry in the face. He shuddered suddenly, and the sounds around him became real instead of ethereal.

He turned back to look at his two good friends again.

The despair on Ron's face was unbearable to look at, and Hermione seemed to be a little more "awake" for some reason. When she saw Harry looking at her, she said nothing, but just gave a sad smile.

The walls of the courtroom were made of black stone and the light from the torches was dim and eerie. After the three of them walked into the courtroom in an untidy line, they found that the situation inside was somewhat beyond their expectations.

Harry had expected to be greeted by the dignified gazes of many witches and wizards.

But the fact is, there are indeed about fifty wizards wearing purple robes with an exquisite silver 'W' embroidered on the left chest sitting on the benches that are raised one after another, but their attention is on the two people who are on the verge of a confrontation in the courtroom, and a few of them are looking up at the sky in fear.

"I still stick to my opinion, Connelly!"

The witch who was arguing was Amelia Bones.

Harry and the other two had seen him at the Triwizard Tournament, and had heard her name mentioned by different people many times. Her reputation seemed to be better than that of the entire Ministry of Magic combined. "There is no clause in the interrogation regulations formulated by the Wizengamot Administration that mentions the use of Dementors during the interrogation process!"

Use Dementors?!

Not to mention Ron, even Harry himself almost couldn't breathe!

Is the Ministry of Magic planning to 'torture a confession' in public? !

"You're taking my words out of context, Amelia. I never said I was going to use the Dementors!"

The voice that followed belonged to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, whom Harry had come to hate.

"The Dementors appear only to prevent some unexpected situations from happening!"

"Unexpected situation!"

Amelia shouted angrily,

"I don't understand what kind of accident could happen. You called in the Dementors and insisted that wizards participating in the interrogation were not allowed to carry wands. I don't need to ask you what law you are basing your actions on, but have you ever considered that there was a prison break in Azkaban guarded by Dementors last month? We also lost the contract that controlled the Dementors if they are no longer loyal to the Ministry of Magic!"

"What nonsense!"

Fudge's face looked horrible, as if he wanted to eat someone.
"Dementors always follow the orders of the Minister of Magic!"

"Dementors."

Harry muttered unconsciously as he listened to the argument between Amelia and the Minister of Magic.

"Up there, Harry."

Ron finally remembered that he could speak, and he spoke in a voice as vague as a ghost.

Harry immediately looked up, and at one glance, the chill that rose from the bottom of his heart almost froze his soul!

Dementors indeed!
There were so many of them that Harry couldn't tell them apart. These ghost-like creatures moved silently under the high dome, almost blending into the darkness.

Harry guessed that the reason why so many Dementors had no effect on the wizards in the courtroom might be because of a dark and glowing film under the dome that blocked the Dementors!
Harry looked down again, and only then did he notice how heavily guarded the courtroom was.

In almost every inconspicuous corner stood an Auror with a stern look, and they were obviously authorized to carry wands.

The intersection of these Aurors' lines of sight was the two calm and composed wizards sitting at the front of the trial seat.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor Braine!

Harry's frozen thoughts seemed to come alive again.

Like most members of the Wizengamot.

Professor Braine and Professor Dumbledore were also looking at the quarrel between Amelia and the Minister of Magic, but compared to others, their expressions were very calm, and they did not seem to realize that the current strict security measures were aimed at the two of them!
Suddenly, a wizard familiar to Harry stood up.

It's Ludo Bagman!

He seemed to be the first one to notice the three of them coming in.

Ludo didn't mind at all that Harry and the other two were currently suspects. He smiled at them in a friendly manner, then carefully stepped past the wizard in front of him, came to Amosta and Dumbledore, whispered to them, and pointed at the three of them.

But to the disappointment of Harry and the other two, neither Professor Dumbledore nor Professor Braine cast any glance at them.

"minister--"

A witch who was in the shadow of Fudge stood up. She looked at Harry and the other two, and paused for a few seconds at Hermione in particular. Her ugly toad-like eyes showed satisfaction, and she said in a chilling and delicate voice,

"The three defendants are here. I think we can get started now?"

Wow!

There was a sound of seats being moved, and all the members of the Wizengamot Tribunal gave Harry and the other two heavy looks.
The only exceptions are Amosta and Dumbledore.

The two of them were discussing something and still didn't look at them.

A feeling of resentment rose from the bottom of Harry's heart.

The last time I met Professor Brain was when he was brought to Grimmauld Place from the Dursleys' house over twenty days ago. He never communicated with me once!
"You are here."

Cornelius Fudge no longer paid attention to Amelia. He took a last look ahead at Amos Towers Braine and Dumbledore, who showed no sign of giving up.

Cornelius Fudge took a deep breath, stared coldly at the three little wizards who were silent, and pointed to the three chained chairs prepared in the middle of the venue.

"Go sit over there." (End of this chapter)