Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 188, Section 187: Retrial of the Sirius Black Case

Even if Harry thought about it with his back to the ground, he could guess who this old woman who hated him so much that she even made it out in the open was—Peter Pettigrew's mother, Mary.

He never expected that this old woman would jump out and sue Harry first, considering James's description of Peter's character and the fact that he betrayed him... well, you could only say it's a family tradition.

“You damned little beast, you should have died at Voldemort’s hands like your damned father, instead of tarnishing my poor child’s reputation by colluding with a Death Eater—you are defaming a true hero!” Mary’s eyes were almost tangible with malice as she stared at Harry, cursing incessantly.

“Whether Peter Pettigrew is a hero isn’t determined by what you say,” Harry sneered, “but by what he has done—but clearly there is far too much evidence to suggest that he was just a stupid, despicable, cowardly traitor who deserved to die the most cruelly.”

“You’ve enjoyed a false honor for far too long,” Harry said disdainfully. “And today, the truth will be revealed.”

In the whole affair, Peter Pettigrew's mother was originally innocent. After all, she could not control her son's behavior, nor could she make choices for Peter. She was also one of the deceived people. But obviously, Mary did not believe what her son had done. She even hated Harry and Sirius, and even hated James Potter, the victim.

Or rather, she was unwilling to go from being the mother of a hero to the mother of a traitor. She had lived under such praise for more than a decade and enjoyed the numerous subsidies that the Ministry of Magic provided to the families of war heroes.

Harry could see this easily, after all, the old woman had no ability to hide her thoughts, and her emotions were close to spiraling out of control.

Yes, Tauren do respect the elderly and their wisdom, but old age alone is not enough to define an elder; what is more important is their noble character and soul.

Only elders like this are worthy of respect and deserve the respect of the young oxen.

Harry would not respect an old woman blinded by honor and profit; in his eyes, her soul was like a shriveled, rotten piece of cheese, utterly repulsive.

"I'll kill you, you little beast!! Die!!!"

Provoked by Harry's words, Mary's eyes turned red. She lunged at the other side, her withered arms reaching out to tear flesh from Harry, but she was dragged back and pressed into a chair by the enforcers maintaining order.

Mary continued to struggle, as if her reason had completely left her body, so much so that the strikers had to press her down onto another chair, and the eager chains suddenly stretched out to bind her body, preventing her from harming innocent people.

"Isn't she crazy?" Sirius grinned slyly. Since his arms were also tied up and he couldn't move much, he kept making faces at Mary and spitting. "Ptooey! Peter Pettigrew is a shameless traitor! He betrayed James's trust in him, he deserves to be torn to pieces!! Ptooey!!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Sirius's words and actions drove Mary to even greater madness, to the point where she wanted nothing more than to devour him alive. At this moment, she looked exactly like one of those terrifying, mad old witches in Muggle fairy tales, enough to stop a child from crying at night.

Dang, Dang, Dang! !

Mary's commotion undoubtedly drew the attention of everyone in the stands, who began to discuss it amongst themselves. The sudden ringing of the bell silenced all the whispers except for Mary's frantic screams.

“...Shut her up,” Fudge ordered, turning his head to the side. He looked with disgust at the hideous, crazed old woman in the center of the courtroom.

In Fudge's view, even though Peter's mother took the initiative to sue Harry, acting as if she was completely innocent, the whole case was honestly beyond reproach.

The deceased's soul recounts the facts in its own words, and the person it wants to overturn is also a person who is generally recognized as the one who killed it—if this person is not innocent, then why would the murdered soul lie?
Picture what?
With a forceful attitude, the striker forced Mary to drink a potion. Harry could smell it through the air; it was a tranquilizer… It worked wonders. Peter's mother quickly calmed down, at least enough to allow the trial to proceed in peace.

“It seems you are all ready,” Dumbledore, sitting at the highest position, was dressed in a crimson robe today. His voice was somewhat too cheerful, quite different from the atmosphere in the courtroom. “To be honest, I can hardly remember how long I have served in Wizengamot, or how many cases I have tried—but to be honest, even in all these long years, today’s case is extraordinary.”

"Albus?" an elderly witch reminded him helplessly.

“I apologize, I may have been getting a little carried away with memories of the past, as is often the case with older people,” Dumbledore coughed. “Anyway, I am certain that today’s case will be recorded in the history of Wizengamor, because it may mark the beginning of a new way of trial—yes, today, the deceased will personally defend himself and identify the murderer.”

Dumbledore's words elicited laughter from the stands, good-natured laughter. Even many in Wizengamo couldn't help but laugh; they truly found it fascinating.

"Now that everyone is here, shall we begin, Minister?" Dumbledore said with a smile to Fudge beside him.

“Of course,” Fudge said with a smile, “I can’t wait… I mean, I can’t wait to see justice served.”

As he spoke, Fudge glanced smugly at the entire room. Unlike when he usually observed cases that had a significant impact on the wizarding world, Barty Crouch was not sitting in the stands—which was understandable, as the director of the International Magical Exchange and Cooperation Division should be waiting for a summons in the corridor outside the courtroom.

Who made such a serious mistake in Sirius's case?
Thinking about this made Fudge even happier.

Once today's trial concludes and the truth comes out, that damned Crouch will likely lose his position as director. Where should we send him then? Perhaps to a useless department like the Fairy Liaison Office? Haha.

And those who support Crouch also need to be cleaned up... Seeing the ugly expressions on the faces of those who were usually close to Crouch in the opposite stands, Fudge's mood became even more cheerful.

The recorder is already in place.

"The trial of October 17th," Dumbledore proclaimed, "is to retry the case of Sirius Black and the case of Mary Pedro suing Harry James Potter for defaming a war hero. Given the similarities between the two cases, they will be tried together."

"Interrogators: Albus Percival Woolfrick Bryan Dumbledore, Chief Wizard of Wissengamor; Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bornes, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Trial Recorder: Mia Smith."

"The trial will now officially begin," Dumbledore's expression turned serious. "Sirius Orion Black, according to the case file, twelve years ago, you betrayed James Potter as his trusted friend, and as the Keeper of the Secret, you sold a secret to Voldemort, resulting in the deaths of the Potters. You then destroyed a street of Muggles and killed twelve Muggles, as well as your friend Peter Pedro, whose only remaining finger was missing. Do you admit to all of this?"

“I don’t believe it!” Sirius shouted. “Peter is a damned beast! He betrayed James! He’s the real Secret Agent!! That despicable Wormtail, that damned rat!! That shameless bastard!!”

Sirius Black lost control of his emotions. At first, he tried to recount the events of that year normally, but after mentioning Peter's name, his words turned into pure cursing and swearing, filled with anger.

His series of descriptions and curses about Peter enraged Mary Pedro on the other side. However, the attack was swift; a silent curse silenced Mary, leaving her only able to glare at Sirius with hatred, wishing she could tear his flesh out with her eyes.

Unaffected by Sirius's emotional outburst, Harry's gaze was deep, and he keenly caught the word in Sirius's words... Wormtail, rat.

really.

So, Sirius Black is also one?

Sirius's disruptive behavior in court could not continue, and it wasn't long before he received a bottle of tranquilizer, which made him appear much more stable.

"...Everything you've said is different from what the world has known for the past twelve years." Taking a fair stance, Dumbledore continued, "What exactly happened back then?"

“…It’s all my fault.” Sirius Black lowered his head in anguish. Every time these things were brought up, it was like rubbing salt into his wounds. “I was the one who persuaded Lily and James to use Peter…to replace the Secret Keeper with the inconspicuous Peter…I thought Voldemort would definitely come after me. Everyone knows that I am the Secret Keeper, it couldn’t be Peter…”

"...but little did I know that Peter had been working for Voldemort from the very beginning..."

Sirius's desperate voice echoed throughout the First Trial Chamber. He was recounting a secret that no one knew back then, as well as his regret and resentment.

"So, after learning of James Potter and Lily Potter's deaths, you realized Peter's betrayal," Dumbledore's voice remained unchanged from the beginning. He continued, "Then how do you explain the deaths of those Muggles? You practically blew up an entire street to kill Peter."

"I didn't do that," Sirius's voice became somewhat low under the influence of the tranquilizer. "When I found him, he was screaming, 'Lily and James, Sirius, how could this be!' and then he pulled out his wand and blew up the whole street. I was knocked unconscious by the blast."

"Wait, were you knocked unconscious by the explosion?" Fudge couldn't help but ask. "But according to the records, when the Aurors arrived, you were still laughing maniacally while holding your wand."

“All that’s left in the street is a deep pit, a finger, and a bunch of Muggle corpses,” Amelia added. “But what he said was exactly right, matching the information the Aurors collected from the Muggles around the street afterward. Those Muggles only heard that one sentence.”

"I was indeed knocked unconscious by the explosion, but I woke up quickly," Sirius Black defended himself. "I thought he wanted to take me down with him, and he did, but I didn't die. My magical abilities are much stronger than Peter's, and I protected myself."

“Then why didn’t you say all these things twelve years ago, or defend yourself?” Amelia’s sharp gaze stung Sirius. “If you were innocent, and Peter was the traitor, why didn’t you identify him then? Instead, Peter was posthumously recognized as a martyr and became a hero, while you became the most notorious prisoner—I don’t find the environment of Azkaban attractive at all.”

“Because—because—” Sirius choked up, large tears streaming down his face, “Because I’ve let them down, I’ve let James down, I’ve let Lily down, and I’ve let Harry down…it’s all my fault, all my fault…”

"...If I hadn't suddenly decided to change the secret keeper...if I had remained the secret keeper, I swear on my soul that even if I fell into Voldemort's hands and was tortured to death by him, I would never have revealed a single secret...why wasn't it me..."

"...It's all my fault...I must be punished..."

The pain and regret that had tormented Sirius for twelve years poured out with his tears and words. Many of the more emotional jury members in the stands even secretly wiped away tears—they could feel the sincerity in Sirius's words, as if they were experiencing it themselves.

A soul filled with remorse wants to atone for what it has done.

“That makes sense,” Amelia said to Fudge. “Actually, after I learned that the case was to be reopened, I looked up the records from back then, so I’ve always been wondering why Sirius Black surrendered so easily to the Aurors back then.”

"If it was out of loyalty to the mysterious man, shouldn't he have done everything in his power to resist and escape? Judging from the timeline, he had the opportunity to Apparate away before the Aurors arrived, but Sirius didn't do so."

(End of this chapter)