Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

By interrogating Sirius Black at this point, Fudge can obtain all the information he wants.

Questions such as how he escaped from Azkaban and how he evaded the pursuit of Dementors and Aurors can all be answered.

Most importantly, Fudge could use this opportunity to include the Black family in Sirius Black's criminal activities by confusing and misinterpreting certain concepts.

Where has Sirius Black been hiding for the past six months?

Does the Black family own some secret real estate? Is that why Sirius Black was able to escape capture?

How did Sirius Black make a living during all this time?

Isn't the Black family's wealth the perfect answer to this question?

Fudge realized that he was actually only one step away from taking control of the entire Black family.

Anyway, Sirius Black had used Truth Potion at this point, so he was delirious and unable to resist questioning.

He had to answer whatever Fudge asked.

Normally, the Ministry of Magic would prohibit the use of truth serum on suspects.

But isn't this a special case?

When Fudge arrived with the Aurors, Sirius Black had already been given the Truth Potion.

The blame for using truth serum can't possibly be pinned on Fudge.

As Eric said, the situation on site presented a rare opportunity!

Chapter 136 Black is an Animagus!

Before Amelia Bones could say anything more, Fudge interrupted her sharply: "Amelia! I am the Minister of Magic, and I am now invoking the powers granted to me by the Wizarding Wars Act to temporarily take over this place. Everyone must obey my orders!"

This sentence completely choked Amelie Boons.

The war bill that Fudge mentioned is similar to the relevant laws of the Muggle government.

During wartime, the head of government is granted extensive authority, possessing supreme decision-making power over matters including personnel deployment and resource allocation.

Although it is not a time of war, Sirius Black's special status cannot be ignored.

Strictly speaking, the War Act included the power to deal with Sirius Black.

Because Sirius's alleged crimes were committed during the last war!

The Ministry of Magic's previous arrest warrant for Sirius Black was based on the War Act.

The War Act has a very general function: it governs all personnel and matters related to wizarding wars.

At this point, this vagueness gave Fudge a great deal of convenience.

In theory, if Fudge were willing, he could indeed be the highest-ranking official in the area.

Amelie Bones was so angry that her face turned red, but she couldn't refute him.

She had no chance of winning, whether she used the extremely crude laws of the magical world or common sense and reason.

She really could only watch as Fudge did whatever he wanted.

Of course, the main reason is that we can't beat them.

Looking around at the Aurors Fudge had brought, all of whom were Fudge's confidants, Amelie Boynes chose to remain silent.

We have no choice but to endure it; if we do, we'll have a chance to turn things around later.

Amelie Bones, suppressing her anger, said, "I will keep a record of what happened today, and I will definitely launch an impeachment against you in the future, Minister."

Fudge scoffed, "Do as you please."

If we can get rid of Sirius Black today, no amount of impeachment will affect him, and his re-election as Minister for Magic is a sure thing.

So he didn't care about Amelie Bones's threats at all.

Seeing Peter slumped on the ground, Fudge stepped forward, and Eric immediately made way for Fudge to get closer to Peter.

Fudge patted Eric on the shoulder with satisfaction and whispered in his ear, "I will never forget your help."

Eric remained noncommittal, maintaining a smile on his face.

Amelia Bones watched this scene with fury.

Fudge walked up to Peter and asked, "Enough with the nonsense, Black. First question: how exactly did you escape from Azkaban?"

Peter's eyes glazed over, and he answered involuntarily, "Azkaban? I don't know, I've never been to Azkaban..."

Fudge said, "Never been there? Don't play dumb. Okay, let me try another way. I mean, do you have any methods to escape from prison without being detected by the guards?"

Fudge was anxious, but he had no choice but to be patient.

That's the downside of truth serums; they have many limitations on the scope of questions and the way questions can be asked.

Because people who take truth serum will be in a dazed state.

Essentially, the user is merely subconsciously answering the questioner's question and cannot engage in normal communication.

Everyone's subconscious and cognition are different. If the questioner happens to ask a question that is beyond the user's cognitive range, then no answer will be obtained.

Fudge thought he had asked the question incorrectly.

Peter mumbled, still half-asleep, "A way to escape from prison? I do have one..."

Fudge asked urgently, "What is it?"

Peter: "I can turn into an animal..."

"Turn into an animal?" Fudge said. "Your wand was taken away a long time ago. Who helped you turn into an animal?"

Peter's face showed struggle as he said, "Nobody's helping me. I'm an Animagus, capable of turning into a mouse..."

This statement caused everyone except Eric to gasp in shock.

The infamous Sirius Black is actually an unregistered Animagus!

No wonder he was able to escape Azkaban, no wonder he was able to sneak into Hogwarts!

The Dementors guarding Azkaban are blind and can only distinguish other objects by their emotions and smells.

As Minister of Magic, Fudge knew the conditions of Azkaban prison all too well.

The most common animal in that prison was a rat!

If Sirius Black could turn into a rat, he would be a perfect fit for Azkaban.

Then it makes sense that he was able to escape.

Hearing this answer, even Amelia Bones, who had been opposed to it, was stunned, torn between whether she should feel relieved or maintain her anger.

The Ministry of Magic couldn't use torture to extract a confession, and if Fudge hadn't asked him that night, they probably would never have found out the reason for Black's escape.

Fudge looked excited, a mocking smile playing on his lips, as he glanced at Amelie Bones, his meaning clear.

Amelia Bones remained expressionless, pretending not to see it.

Chapter 137 Avada Kedavra!

Fudge grew increasingly excited and continued to ask, "Why did you betray James and his wife in the first place?"

Peter said, “I’m scared…I’m scared of the Dark Lord, I’m scared he’ll kill us all…”

"When you betrayed the Potters, how did you manage to kill an entire street of people?"

“I was terrified of being caught... so I cast an explosive spell on the street... and everyone died…”

Fudge nodded; what he said matched the evidence at the scene.

A massive explosion did indeed occur at the scene that year. The Aurors who arrived later only found a finger belonging to Peter Pedyru, and Sirius Black standing there waiting to be arrested.

These all align with what Blake is saying now.

Fudge then asked, "Do you have any accomplices? Who are your accomplices? Where have you been hiding for the past six months?"

When Peter was asked this crucial question, his expression became increasingly ferocious.

But thanks to the effects of the truth serum, he still managed to say, "I have no accomplices... I turned into a rat and am hiding with the Weasleys... I'm a pet, the Weasleys' pet..."

Peter's voice sounded ethereal, as if it were floating in the air, making it difficult to hear clearly.

This answer immediately drew everyone's attention to Ron, who was being hung up by Eric on the other side.

Amelie Bones had just been wondering why Ron was here.

Now she understood; that was the reason.

Fudge exclaimed, "I never expected that after we searched for him so many times, he would just be hiding with Ron. No wonder we couldn't find him."

Fudge rubbed his hands together eagerly.

The superficial work has been done, and the outline of the matter is quite clear.

Sirius Black was an illegal Animagus who betrayed the Potters, killed his pursuers, and was eventually arrested.

Six months ago, he found an opportunity to escape Azkaban by turning into a rat, and now he has been recaptured.

If there are no unforeseen circumstances, this is the whole story.

From now on, Fudge needs to plan for himself.

He was about to begin questioning people about the Black family.

Fudge's eyes lit up; countless Galleons were laid out before him, within easy reach.

An Auror who was acquainted with Ron's father suddenly said, "Minister, I heard Ron's father, Mr. Arthur Weasley, mention that he does have a pet mouse at home..."

Fudge, eager to close the case, exclaimed, "That's it! That villain Black turned into a rat and hid in the Weasley's house when no one was looking."

“Uh, no, Minister…” the Auror said hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Fudge asked, puzzled.

Auror stammered, "Mr. Weasley mentioned that the rat had been in his house for at least ten years..."

what?

Fudge looked at the Auror in horror.