Chapter 152: Cornelius Fudge

Professor McGonagall must have used Apparition to contact the Weasleys, as they arrived rather quickly. Wade stood by the window, watching as the group crossed the muddy grounds in the pouring rain to enter the castle. Filch is probably going to throw a fit again. Wade suddenly thought. Over the past few days, any student who ventured outside inevitably tracked mud into the school, leaving the place in a constant state of mess. Filch was furious about it, as he had to clean up each time (the house-elves only cleaned the castle at night). After Filch's loud complaints and threats of detention, fewer students dared to run outside in the rain. Before long, another group made their way across the grass, led by Hagrid. They held their wands aloft, shielding themselves with invisible umbrellas, keeping the rain at bay. "Wade..." Ron asked hesitantly, "Do you know what they mean when they say Scabbers... Peter was the Secret-Keeper? What's that all about?" "Peter faked his death eleven years ago, and Sirius Black was imprisoned," Wade explained. "And around that time, something happened that the entire wizarding world knows about..." "The fall of the Dark Lord... and Harry's parents died..." Ron muttered. "So... the betrayal they're talking about..." "You two can come in now," Lupin said as he opened the door. "The questioning is over, and the Ministry officials will be here soon." Wade and Ron entered to see Peter Pettigrew tightly bound to a chair, looking somewhat dazed. It was obvious he'd been given another dose of Veritaserum. Snape was staring at Peter with a venomous intensity, his gaze was as cold and hateful as that of a snake. Ron took one look and quickly looked away. As they entered, Snape shifted his glare to Lupin, his face was still full of loathing. Wade sighed inwardly. In the original story, the tangled grudges of ten or twenty years were only briefly mentioned, leaving much unsaid. As for the rights and wrongs of those events, Wade hadn't experienced them firsthand, so he could only speculate, not judge. When capturing Peter Pettigrew, Wade had considered whether to enlist Snape's help but ultimately decided against it. The reason was simple. Given Snape's deep hatred for the Marauders, if he were to catch the real traitor, Peter Pettigrew, he'd likely send him to his death with a single Avada Kedavra, rather than allowing him to be tried and clearing Sirius Black's name. Clearing an Enemy's Name? What a Joke! As far as Snape was concerned, Sirius Black deserved every bit of punishment he got. If he could, he'd happily send Lupin to join Sirius in Azkaban so they could "reunite" and spend the rest of their days under the torment of Dementors. With Professor McGonagall leading the way, the Weasley parents and a few Ministry officials entered the headmaster's office one after another. At the front was a short, stocky middle-aged man with untidy gray hair. He wore a deep green coat and pointed purple boots, and his expression was a mix of worry and sternness. "That's the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge," Ron whispered to Wade. "I've seen him before." Though Ron and Wade weren't in the same house and previously had only a nodding acquaintance, in the presence of so many adults, Ron seemed to view them as a team—the only two young wizards in the room—and felt a newfound sense of camaraderie with Wade. "His fashion sense is... unique," Wade did not reject him and replied quietly. Sharing this little critique of Ron's father's boss seemed to solidify their alliance in Ron's mind. When an Auror glanced over at them, Ron instinctively quieted and edged closer to Wade. "Ronnie!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly rushed over, giving her son a tight hug and inspecting him from head to toe. "I never imagined... I never thought that a pet rat would turn out to be an Animagus! Did he do anything to you?" Her enthusiasm made Ron feel a bit self-conscious, and he wriggled out of her arms and said loudly, "I'm fine, Mum, really!" "Good evening, Cornelius, Arthur, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I trust that Minerva has briefed you on what's happened." "Yes... I've heard everything..." Fudge kept his distance from Peter, and studied the shabby, gray-haired man with a skeptical frown. "Incredible... truly incredible..." Fudge shook his head. "To think Peter is actually alive! I felt so sorry for him when we thought he'd died... yet here he is! But... he didn't even appear when his mother passed away..." "He's really Scabbers?" Arthur Weasley looked shocked, his face was very pale. "Did he explain why? Why has he been hiding with us all this time?" "Please don't worry, Arthur," Dumbledore reassured him. "Peter was merely trying to gather information about the wizarding world from your family. He didn't harm the children." Only then did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seem a bit relieved. An Auror stepped forward to inspect Peter Pettigrew, confirmed that he wasn't someone else disguised by magic, and gave Fudge a nod. "Well, Dumbledore, I'll take him from here," Fudge said. "And Arthur, Molly, and young Mr. Weasley, I'll need each of you to provide statements regarding Peter Pettigrew." "Very well, Minister," Arthur Weasley agreed, motioning for Ron to come to his side. Noticing Wade nearby, Fudge asked, "And this young man is...?" "This is Wade Grey, a Ravenclaw student. He was the one who captured Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form as a rat," Professor McGonagall explained. "Oh?" Fudge's gaze sharpened. "And why would you go after a rat?" "I instructed him to," Lupin answered. "Peter and I were once friends, and I'm very familiar with his Animagus form." "If you'd like a detailed account of the capture, I'm happy to provide it," Wade offered politely. He had, after all, stayed for precisely this reason. "Oh, oh, we'll get to that later," Fudge replied, seemingly uninterested in the details. Turning back to Lupin, he asked, "You're not an unregistered Animagus yourself, are you?" Snape let out a sudden, cold laugh. Lupin's expression tightened slightly as he answered vaguely, "No... I'm not." Dumbledore nodded. "I can assure you of that." Snape's face twisted and his expression darkened as he shot a furious look at Lupin. "Alright, if you say so..." Fudge said, twisting his wand thoughtfully. "But why does Pettigrew look like this? He appears as though he's undergone... well, let's say, less-than-legal questioning." "Given the severity of this situation, we had no choice but to administer Veritaserum to get the truth out of him," Dumbledore said calmly and took responsibility on Lupin's behalf. "Pettigrew confessed that he was the true Secret Keeper for the Potters and that he was the one who disclosed their location to Voldemort..." Fudge shuddered involuntarily. Dumbledore, seemingly unfazed by Fudge's discomfort, continued, "After Voldemort's fall, Pettigrew became a fugitive in the magical world. He framed Sirius, killing a dozen Muggles in front of witnesses with a single spell before faking his own death." "Hmm, well, we'll certainly investigate this thoroughly," Fudge said smoothly. "The Ministry has its own duties to fulfill, after all. We can't simply... accept what we're told at face value, can we?" "After all," he added, "you yourself once assured the Ministry that Sirius Black was the Potters' Secret Keeper... Now you're saying you want to overturn that? The public might find that hard to accept. We'll need... well, more substantial evidence." Wade could tell that Fudge wasn't actually questioning Dumbledore's truthfulness; rather, he simply didn't want to appear as if he was blindly following the headmaster's lead. Given that re-investigating the matter was reasonable, Dumbledore had no objections. "Minister, just questioning Pettigrew would be enough to prove Sirius's innocence..." Lupin couldn't help but interject. "Hmph!" Snape suddenly scoffed, sneering. "I can personally attest that Sirius Black showed murderous tendencies as early as sixteen! He once attempted to kill me! For all we know, he and Pettigrew both joined Voldemort, and their later conflict was nothing more than infighting between comrades..." He shot another venomous glare at Lupin and he withheld Lupin's identity as a werewolf only because Dumbledore was standing right there. "Severus!" Lupin said angrily. "Locking an innocent person in Azkaban is not an act of justice!" "Innocent?" A mocking smile twisted Snape's lips. "Sirius Black is anything but innocent..." "Alright, alright, gentlemen," Fudge interjected, trying to defuse the tension. "There's no need to argue. I can assure you that the Ministry will conduct a thorough and serious investigation. We won't wrongfully accuse any good people, nor will we let any villains escape..." His tone quieted both men. "Thank you, Minister," Snape replied in his hissing voice like a snake's tongue. "I'll be waiting for the outcome of the trial..." It was as if he was saying—if the Ministry fails to adequately punish Pettigrew and Sirius, he would personally send them both to hell. "Severus..." Dumbledore sighed. Snape didn't respond. He opened the door and strode out of the headmaster's office. Fudge soon took his leave as well, taking Pettigrew, the Weasleys, and Lupin with him. Only two Aurors remained behind to take statements from Wade and Ron. With Lupin now nominally in charge, Wade's role as a "tool" was quite limited, and his involvement seemed minimal. He briefly recounted how he captured the rat and explained his relationship with Lupin, after which the female Auror indicated he could leave. They likely thought a second-year student wouldn't know much. Ron's questioning took much longer. Standing in the hallway, Wade opened his palm and looked at it in the light from the window. In his palm lay a small rectangular piece of parchment, on which a tiny dot was slowly moving. -------------------------------- ????????Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!! Your support is greatly appreciated! Available on my P@treon page for just $4!! Early access to the following translations:- ⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +137 Chapters & 2 Chapters/Day ⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460 ⭐Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +165 advance chapters ⭐Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450 [email protected]/Lightreaper457 --------------------------------