A magical journey that begins in Azkaban.

Chapter 576 Scorched Earth Reconstruction Plan
"bad news?"

"Yes!" The therapist took a deep breath and nodded firmly. His eyes scanned the thick medical records, as if confirming something, "This so-called witch you sent here is actually..."

He paused to prepare the other party: "She is just a Muggle."

"This is impossible!" Harry and Sirius shouted in unison, looking at each other in disbelief.

"Gentlemen, I am only telling you the facts." The healer raised his hand to interrupt them, his tone firm and professional: "She does not have any magical talent, but the interesting thing is that there are traces of magic on her body. Traces of magic other than the Imperius Curse."

"Conservatively speaking, it is possible that a wizard cast a spell on it."

"I don't believe it. Give me the medical record!" Sirius suddenly became angry and snatched the book away.

In the densely packed medical records, the diagnosis of "Lily" was clearly visible. She was indeed under the control of the Imperius Curse, but there were traces of magical transformation in various parts of her body.

"Merlin's beard..." Lupin muttered to himself, his face turning pale. "Do you think it could be..."

Several people immediately thought of a possibility that Voldemort might have transformed other people into Lily's appearance specifically to disrupt them.

Unfortunately, he did not anticipate the wand and the betrayal of Bella and others, which led to his failure in the end.

"But, but..." Harry took the medical record with trembling hands and shouted in a state of collapse: "I can clearly feel that she is my relative. This feeling cannot be wrong!"

"Relatives?" The therapist frowned and thought, "You mean, you feel a blood connection?"

"If you use your immediate family members, such as uncles, you can achieve a similar effect." The other party's words were like a bolt of lightning, hitting Harry's heart.

Harry was stunned when he heard this. He staggered back and a terrible thought came to his mind. He vaguely realized who the "mother" in the ward was.

"Aunt Petunia..." He whispered the name, his voice trembling and almost inaudible. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over him, and the ceiling and walls began to spin before his eyes.

Although Voldemort disappeared, the troubles he left them with were far more than that.

In the newly opened courtroom, Batty Jr. was locked in an iron cage full of spikes, but there was no remorse on his face.

Instead, he shouted, "I'm not a criminal, I'm a hero who saved the wizarding world."

"Everything I do is to kill Voldemort!"

A member of the Wizengamot asked coldly, "Are you saying that the murder of former Minister Fudge, the murder of wizards and Muggles, and a series of other crimes were all for this purpose?"

"Yes, for a greater ideal." Little Batty nodded enthusiastically, with a crazy light in his eyes. "This is a way to gain trust. When you reveal that he is a bastard, we are ready to kill him."

The brightly lit courtroom suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at Dumbledore secretly. Barty Jr.'s view on ideals seemed to be the philosophy that the old wizard believed in.

The purple-robed wizards took turns asking questions, trying to expose Barty Jr.'s lies, but he always insisted that he was a hero. "Without our counterattack, Voldemort would never have exploded."

"Bella, where are Buck and the others? Why don't you run away with them?"

"I don't know." Little Barty spread his hands, looking like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water. "Maybe they think I am not qualified to escape with them."

Amelia sighed in resignation, realizing that she could get no more information out of this wily Death Eater.

She cleared her throat and announced, "Next, Cedric Diggory."

Cedric was escorted in by the Aurors, with a sunny smile on his face. He turned to the audience and waved to his father Amos Diggory who was sitting there with tears in his eyes.

Then he walked calmly to the judge's bench and sat down, waiting for questioning.

"Where were you on June 1995, 6?" Amelia pushed her glasses up and looked at Cedric with sharp eyes.

"I'm competing in the final match of the Triwizard Tournament."

"What exactly happened?" she asked calmly.

Cedric's eyes grew dark, as if recalling a distant and terrible memory.

He whispered, "Harry Potter and I touched the Goblet of Fire together. But it was no ordinary trophy, it was a Portkey. We were transported to a desolate graveyard."

"Cemetery?" People's hearts suddenly tightened, "Tell me more details."

Cedric nodded and continued, "That's Tom, the grave where Voldemort's father is buried. You should know that he is a half-blood and his father is a Muggle."

"His servant Wormtail set up a trick and captured me and Harry Potter. Well, mainly Harry. Then he used his blood to help Voldemort restore his body..."

"Cedric, what did you do during this time?" The wizard on the podium held up a yellowed parchment, and his voice echoed in the silent courtroom: "There are clear witnesses and evidence that you defected to Voldemort and killed two Muggles. Do you admit this accusation?"

"I have to do this, or Voldemort will kill me." His fingers gripped the armrests of the chair as if they were his only support.

Under the podium, the clerk's quill pen wrote quickly on the parchment, making a rustling sound.

"That is to say, you admit that you have committed the crime of murdering a Muggle. Moreover, this was your spontaneous act and was not controlled by the Imperius Curse."

Cedric lowered his head, his eyes filled with pain and regret. He could choose to lie, but he finally confessed: "At that moment, I was terrified. For the first time, I discovered that there is something more terrifying than the Imperius Curse."

"Its name is fear, and it drives me to commit evil."

"Every night, I wake up from nightmares." He choked with sobs, "I can't forgive all the crimes I have committed."

"I am willing to accept any punishment." He slumped dejectedly in the chair.

This honest speech caused a commotion on the podium. The members of the Wizengamot were discussing and their opinions were clearly divided.

Some people called for severe punishment of Cedric, believing that killing Muggles was an unforgivable crime.

Others were more sympathetic, arguing that Cedric was clearly genuinely repentant and that the young man should be given a chance to mend his ways.

Amelia pondered for a moment, then banged the gavel loudly, the sound drowning out the noisy discussions.

"Due to the complexity of the case," she announced solemnly, "the court has decided to postpone the outcome of the trial. We need more time to weigh all the factors."

The gavel banged again, and the trial came to a temporary end. As Cedric was led out of the courtroom, his eyes met his father's.

Amos' eyes were filled with mixed emotions, but mostly unconditional love for his son. In the face of such love, the lives of a few Muggles were of no consequence.

The trial continued, and the third, fourth... surrendered Death Eaters were brought to the court one by one.

"Why not throw them to America?" An elderly wizard suggested after the interrogation. "There happens to be a volcanic eruption there."

"That's right. After Azkaban was abandoned, we lacked enough cells to hold the prisoners." Someone agreed, "And the prisoners already in custody are a considerable burden on the Ministry of Magic's finances." "But can the United States Magical Congress agree?"

"Them? Hey, America has been torn apart by a volcano. Does MACUSA still exist? Do we still need their consent?"

Amelia remained silent, and her eyes turned to Dumbledore, as if asking for his opinion. However, he just listened to the discussion quietly without expressing any opinion.

Perhaps Dumbledore was regretting it. If he had acted earlier, or even killed Voldemort himself more than a decade ago, perhaps these subsequent disasters would not have occurred.

He considered himself responsible for the crimes that Voldemort committed.

"I have an immature proposal for the final decision." Jessica suddenly raised her hand, her voice clearly echoing in the hall, "These Death Eaters joined Voldemort's camp for various reasons. Some were coerced, and some followed voluntarily."

"We may not be able to see their true thoughts, but their actions will not lie."

"what do you mean?"

"I think we shouldn't simply exile them. These people must pay the price for the mistakes they made." Jessica looked around and said firmly, "Everyone knows that Voldemort instigated the goblin Gnarlak to create a catastrophic volcanic eruption that is destroying the entire surface ecology of North America."

"When an avalanche occurs, no snowflake is innocent. No matter how they try to justify themselves, they must be held accountable for this catastrophe."

Dumbledore frowned upon hearing this. He wanted to say that the volcanic explosion had nothing to do with these Death Eaters, but when the words came to his lips, he found that he could not say this fact.

The souls of those who died tragically at the hands of the Death Eaters, as well as their relatives, would never accept a simple acquittal. And isn't exile a manifestation of the incompetence of the law?

Jessica raised her hand and pressed it down. "The Goblin King Bellinrum has already come up with a plan to stop the volcano from erupting. After the volcano subsides, we can send these Death Eaters to carry out the scorched earth reconstruction plan. Let them repair the land they once destroyed with their own hands."

"Scorched Earth Reconstruction Plan?"

The proposal caused a stir in the courtroom. Some agreed that it was a win-win solution that would punish criminals and help rebuild the country, while others opposed it, fearing that it might bring more pain to the families of the victims.

"This is a reconstruction plan for the New World." Jessica waved her wand, and a thick stack of parchment flew to everyone present. "According to our conservative estimates, if left unchecked, the impact of the magma and volcanic ash will last for at least half a century."

"During this period, the entire American continent was unsuitable for survival by Muggles and ordinary creatures."

"According to this plan, Little Barty, Cedric and others will return to that scorched earth and use magic to restore the natural ecology."

"This is both a punishment and atonement. They must prove with their actions that they deserve to be accepted back into the magical world."

Dumbledore read the scorched earth plan carefully, his blue eyes behind his half-moon glasses flashing with thought. He vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't grasp the key point for a while.

"What? Bellinrum is asking for the right to use the wand back?" A sharp voice broke the contemplation. "How dare he!"

"Cunning goblins! They are taking advantage of the situation. I would rather the Yellowstone volcano erupt for a hundred years than allow the goblins to pick up their wands again!"

"If it really erupts for a hundred years, I'm afraid none of us wizards will survive."

"Apart from goblins, is there nothing we wizards can do?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Dumbledore at the same time. Their eyes were full of expectation, hoping that this great white wizard would stand up and say something reassuring, and it would be best if he could personally go to the American continent to subdue those violently erupting volcanoes.

"I agree with Lady Jessica's scorched earth reconstruction plan." Dumbledore did not respond, and said in a gentle voice, "Regarding the right of goblins to use wands, I personally tend to lift the ban."

"Looking back at history, every time the goblins rebelled, it was due to the frequent oppression of the wizarding society. If we can welcome them with an equal attitude, I believe that the goblins will become a trustworthy member of the wizarding world."

"Impossible..." The old wizard stood up suddenly. After realizing his mistake, he quickly changed his words, "I, I mean that goblins will drain the wizard's wallet."

"They stick together tightly and are good at lending money. Without effective supervision, goblins would dare to sell a piece of bread for 50 Galleons."

"No way!"

"Of course not. They are the most cunning and greedy goblins."

There was an uproar in the courtroom, with voices of support and opposition rising one after another. The focus of the debate quickly shifted from punishing Death Eaters to the rights of goblins.

Amelia had to bang the gavel to draw everyone's attention back: "Regarding the issue of the goblin's wand, we can arrange a special meeting to discuss it."

"As for the treatment of the Death Eaters." She paused and took a deep breath: "Please raise your hands if you agree with the scorched earth reconstruction plan."

brush brush...

The pure-blood wizards all raised their arms in unison. Their movements were so consistent that it made people suspicious.

The other wizards frowned and repeatedly looked over the plans in their hands, trying to find loopholes in them, but found nothing.

This reconstruction plan has no conspiracy, only naked conspiracy. When the wizards restore the scorched earth to normal, they will never allow Muggles to get involved.

In the end, with more than two-thirds of the votes, the punishment was passed on Batty Jr. and others.

"I won't go!" Cedric shouted after learning the trial result, "I was in America before the betrayal, and I was still in America after the betrayal. Wasn't that a betrayal in vain?"

"Mr. Diggory, please correct your words! You are not betraying, you just happen to be on the side of justice!"

"So what!" Cedric raised his arms and clenched his fists in resistance, "I'm going to report it. I'm going to report Bella and the others' plan!"

"They kidnapped Newt and want to build a pure-blood city in the Arctic Circle!" His words were like a sledgehammer, shattering the tranquility in the courtroom.

"what!"

Everyone was startled, and Dumbledore stared at him closely: "Cedric, please tell me more."

Cedric was unmoved: "You must set me free!"

"It depends on how important your intelligence is."

Cedric pondered for a moment, as if he was weighing the pros and cons. Finally, he decided to tell the whole story: "Bella and the others built an underground city with the goblin Narlak."

"They held Newt's family hostage and forced Newt to create a suitable living environment. Just like his suitcase, it contains various terrains."

"How did you know?"

"I...I overheard it." Cedric responded immediately, his eyes twinkling, "I promise it's true. If that's not enough, I have..."

He wanted to say something, but found that his soul was shaking violently. It seemed that if he uttered one more word, he would die.

(End of this chapter)