Chapter 437: Fudge is a Good Minister
Chapter 437: Fudge is a Good Minister
Kyle paused in his stride and turned back to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stood calmly, waiting until Harry and the others had left before speaking. "Don't worry, Sirius. There won't be any Dementors here, and you don't need to maintain your Animagus form."
Sirius, now back in his human form, stood like a student who had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Headmaster. I just haven't figured out how to face you yet."
Dumbledore felt a sense of dizziness as he looked at Sirius' disheveled appearance and sunken eyes.
But in the end, he said nothing and simply waved his hand.
A table appeared in front of Sirius, filled with steak, bread, and roasted potatoes.
"I think you need this right now... Don't be shy, go ahead and eat."
Sirius' throat moved, and he reached for a piece of bread.
He seemed to be trying to maintain his composure, but whether it was due to hunger or the fact that he hadn't eaten normal food in a long time, his eating speed increased, and within minutes, he was devouring the food.
Dumbledore didn't mind and added more bread and pumpkin juice before walking over to Peter's cage. He bent down and examined Peter carefully.
Peter had woken up and was curled up in the cage, shivering.
"Another Animagus disguised as a pet," Dumbledore said slowly. "It seems we need to conduct a thorough inspection of students' pets... I wonder what his purpose is, Kyle."
"He probably wants to stay informed about the wizarding world," Kyle replied after some thought. "By staying with a wizarding family, he can always be the first to know about any developments."
Dumbledore continued, "But I doubt Peter expected someone to use Mandrake leaves to brew a pet tonic... Honestly, even I was surprised by your generosity when I heard about it."
"For a friend..." Kyle said, "It's just a few leaves. I can afford it."
"Don't worry... I'll compensate you!" Sirius mumbled with his mouth full, "The cost of the Mandrake leaves... I'll cover it."
Sirius was confident.
He had plenty of gold, so a few Mandrake leaves were nothing to him, and he could even eat them if he wanted to.
Kyle raised his eyebrows. It was good to have someone else cover the costs, but it wasn't the right time to discuss this.
He looked at Dumbledore and asked, "Professor, what do you plan to do?"
"Don't worry, I need to confirm something first," Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on Peter. After a moment of thought, he drew his wand.
The blue light from Dumbledore's wand illuminated Peter, and he visibly grew larger... but only for a moment before returning to his original size.
Seeing that Dumbledore couldn't transform him back, Peter lay in his cage, seemingly in complete despair.
"Oh!" Dumbledore was surprised but said nothing. He turned his wand and gently lifted Peter's head with the tip, pulling out a silvery object.
Dumbledore quickly walked to a stone basin in the corner and placed the memory from his wand into it.
The silver light swirled in the meditation basin, and Dumbledore placed his fingers on it, narrowing his eyes slightly.
It didn't take long for Dumbledore's initially calm expression to gradually turn grim.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly oppressive, and Sirius felt as if there were hundreds of Dementors around him. Unconsciously, he lowered the whimpering memory he was holding.
Fox, sitting on Kyle's shoulder, let out a soft call.
"Thank you... I'm fine.
Kyle scratched the feathers on the fox's neck and fed it some herbs.
Time passed slowly.
After about ten minutes, Dumbledore, having finished reviewing the memories, opened his eyes.
He glanced at the cage without expression, and Peter immediately let out a sharp cry, banging his head against the cage as if trying to escape.
He continued until he knocked himself unconscious, but the cage remained intact... Of course, to prevent Peter's escape, Kyle had used an iron cage, merely covered in a layer of wood.
Dumbledore took a deep breath and said softly, "I saw it all... including how he betrayed you and framed you. You've been waiting for this day for a long time..."
Sirius clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving violently. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and let out a low, mournful whimper. The sound grew louder until he could no longer hold back, and he began to sob uncontrollably.
However, the portraits in the Headmaster's Office seemed to be asleep, their eyes closed as if they hadn't heard the loud crying.
Do portraits need to sleep? Kyle stared at them and soon noticed one portrait quietly opening its eyes—Phineas Black, the least popular Headmaster in history.
Upon noticing Kyle's gaze, he decided to stop pretending and opened his eyes, shouting loudly.
"I've said it before—a Black would never do such a despicable thing!"
"Nonsense!" A bearded wizard showed no respect, immediately exposing the truth. "You've always considered Sirius a disgrace to the family and even wanted to disown him!"
"I, I never said that!" Phineas stiffened his neck. "You're slandering me! You're slandering me!"
"Oh, I can testify that you did say those words," said a nosy, chubby wizard. "You also said there would never be a place for Sirius in the Black family..."
"I can testify to that too..."
"I've heard it as well, tsk tsk..."
As he saw his secrets being exposed one by one, Phineas became furious and yelled, "Nonsense! You're all talking nonsense! I never said that!"
However, his excuses sounded feeble in the face of so many Headmasters.
"It's all that damn little Pettigrew's fault! That despicable, shameless guy..."
Finally, Phineas changed the subject, turning to Dumbledore. "Albus, you can't just stand by and do nothing. You must find a way to clear Sirius's name! If you don't, I'll make sure you can't work in peace every day..."
"Phineas, when did I ever say I'd stand by and do nothing?" Dumbledore's face regained its smile.
Sirius also lifted his head. "You're really willing to help me?"
"Of course I'll help you. There's no doubt about that," Dumbledore said. "But the problem is, how do we go about it?"
He tapped the table with his fingers. "Although it's not easy to say this, the Ministry of Magic was negligent in their initial judgment of you, and Peter has been a First Class Order of Merlin recipient for twelve years. If they suddenly realize their mistake now, it would be a huge loss of face for the Ministry.
It's unlikely they'll accept this."
Sirius's excitement gradually faded from his face.
He had only thought that exposing Peter would reveal the truth, but he hadn't considered the involvement of the Ministry of Magic.
Yes, those people valued their reputation the most. Would they really care about his innocence?
Sirius's heart began to fill with apprehension...
"Professor, I think you're all overthinking it," Kyle suddenly laughed. "The current Minister of Magic, Mr. Fudge, is competent and fair. I believe he will definitely help clear Sirius's name."
...
(End of Chapter)
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