Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 144 Fudge's Struggle

In the spacious principal's office, Fudge tugged at his tie, his anxiety causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

Arrogant, the Minister of Magic, stood silently beside him.

He had gray hair, bright eyes, and his right hand was always positioned where he could easily draw his wand, making him look very much like an Auror.

Just as Fudge's patience was about to run out, Dumbledore's voice finally rang out: "Minister, I apologize for the delay..."

“No, no, no, Dumbledore,” Fudge cried out, as if a drowning man were grasping at a straw. “These are all trivial matters… I just want to know, is Black truly innocent?”

Fudge waited anxiously for Dumbledore's answer, sweat pouring down his face.

"...There's a high probability they're innocent..."

Faced with Dumbledore's answer, Fudge seemed to have lost his last breath and slumped helplessly into his chair.

Dumbledore lowered his head and took a sip of tea to refresh himself, after all, staying up all night was not a fun thing.

After a long pause, Fudge tentatively asked in a low voice, "How many people know about this?"

Dumbledore frowned, immediately understanding what the other person meant, and said coldly, "About 20."

"What?" Fudge looked like he was about to faint.

In a daze, he seemed to see his miserable state after stepping down from the stage.

Merlin, all I want is to live out my term peacefully!

"Miss Dorothea Black proposed that the Ministry of Magic should convene a trial as soon as possible, and Mr. Harry Potter agreed."

"this--"

Fudge was filled with regret; he should have just fainted.

The two fell silent again. "...I understand. Please tell Miss Black and Mr. Potter that the trial will be held..."

Before Fudge could finish speaking, a girl's clear voice rang out from the office doorway, giving out commands.

"Good morning, Minister!"

"...Good morning, Minister."

Thea and Harry greeted Fudge first, which made Fudge sweat even faster.

Anyone with a brain would know that the arrival of these two is definitely not a good thing for Fudge.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, Professor and Minister, but Potter and I are eager to hear the Ministry's opinion on how to deal with Sirius Black."

Thea spoke gently, but everyone could see her determination.

Seeing that Dumbledore remained silent, Fudge could only grit his teeth and repeat his previous statement, "...If Mr. Black is innocent, then we will hold a trial to determine the truth..."

"A trial?" Harry exploded instantly. "But I heard that when my godfather went to jail, there wasn't a trial according to legal procedures! If there wasn't one then, why are we having a trial now?"

"...No, Mr. Potter, those were special times, and now...I hope you can understand..."

Thea had been observing Fudge and Dumbledore's reactions the whole time. Seeing Dumbledore blink, Thea immediately picked up where Fudge left off.

"Then, Minister, when is the earliest the trial can be held?"

"Well...the court hearing needs time to prepare..."

"But my godfather never went through a trial..."

Upon hearing that Fudge was stalling for time, Harry immediately brought up the old issue again.

"This...this really takes time; it can be held within half a month at most."

Fudge gritted his teeth and gave a time.

Thea looked at Dumbledore again, and Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

“No! That’s too long!” Harry shook his head.

Thea added, "We hope the trial can be held tomorrow morning. After all, my uncle has been carrying this charge for 12 years, and one more day won't do."

"No no no!"

Fudge was so shocked his eyes almost popped out. Is this how you bargain?

"How about the day after tomorrow? Is that alright?" Thea took a step back.

Dumbledore sat in his chair, watching Thea haggle with great interest.

Sure enough, it was so satisfying to watch her wreak havoc on others!

"This really won't work..."

Before Fudge could refuse, Thea threw out her trump card: "Regarding the truth about Sirius Black's imprisonment, I think the Daily Prophet is more eager to know the truth than the Ministry of Magic..."

"Alright, alright! The trial is the day after tomorrow morning," Fudge said resignedly.

When there were only three people left in the office, Thea offered to borrow the Pensieve.

Dumbledore readily agreed.

A ray of silver light was slowly drawn out from Thea's temple by the magic wand.

After Thea put down her wand, Harry also stepped forward and stored his memories in the Pensieve.

"Alright, children, you should go back and rest now."

Dumbledore smiled and urged the two to go back.

"Thea, do you think the trial will be successful?"

Harry asked nervously.

"Yes, even if the memory isn't enough to prove my uncle's innocence, I have other ways to clear his name!"

Thea said with a determined look.

Harry was intrigued by Thea's words, but seeing Thea's pale face, he ultimately didn't ask.

The two strolled slowly back to the medical wing—Madame Pomfrey had repeatedly instructed them to come to the medical wing tonight for observation.

"Thea!"

"Harry!"

Hearing the door open, Draco and the others, along with Hermione and Ron, all looked towards the doorway in surprise.

Thea and Harry stared in astonishment at everything that happened that evening: the neatly arranged hospital beds in the medical wing had been stacked on one side of the room, and a huge round table filled with various foods had been placed in the middle of the empty space.

"...How did you manage to persuade Mrs. Pomfrey?"

Thea simply couldn't understand why such a serious witch would agree to such an absurd request.

"Of course, it's all about strength!"

The people in the room said in unison.

Thea didn't ask any further questions; her hunger had been completely aroused by the food on the table.

"By the way, where's the Godfather? Where's Professor Snape?"

As the group devoured their meal, Harry finally realized something was amiss.

"...He said he didn't want to bother us... He just ate something and went to Professor Lupin's office to spend the night. Professor Snape went back after he woke up."

Ron mumbled through a chicken leg.

Draco was sitting right across from Ron. He frowned at Ron's complete lack of table manners, but thinking about everything that had happened that night, he ultimately said nothing.

Thea slowly drank a glass of hot milk.

She saw Draco and Harry rolling their eyes at each other, but they weren't as hostile as before.

Seeing Hermione and Gellar teasing each other about Trelawney's unreliability and the difficulty of writing ancient rune papers...

I saw Daphne and Pansy discussing their vacation plans together...

Seeing Ron excitedly recommending to Harry the pumpkin pie for tonight...

Seeing Theodore and Zabini sharing information they'd gathered from other Slytherins about who would win this year's House Cup...

Perhaps the feeling of fullness tonight made Thea too relaxed, or perhaps the atmosphere at the moment made Thea momentarily immersed in it...

"...Harry! This year's House Cup still belongs to Slytherin!"

Harry looked up and saw a smug and arrogant smile on the girl's face—a Thea he had never seen before…

"……Congratulations"

Harry picked up his wine glass from the table, and the others followed suit.

"To Honor!"

"To our hard-won victory!"

Everyone assumed that Thea's "victory" meant that Blake was exonerated, but Thea was thinking about the dark four years that followed...

Looking at the smiling faces of the people around her, Thea vaguely thought: If only time could stand still at this moment...