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According to the established script, Cornelius Fudge should not have the right to ask questions proactively at this time.
At least in the public trial process that Albus Dumbledore saw, before completing the trials of "Who is the Double Agent" and "The Mystery of Hogwarts' Mortgage," all questioning should be initiated by "Albus Dumbledore," instead of being carried out by the Ministry of Magic.
But…
Otto Apocalypse narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the Hogwarts headmaster's amiable face.
The "Albus Dumbledore" who was supposed to recite the preset questions one by one was now sitting in the back seat with a smile, while the parchment containing the standard questions was in Fudge's hands.
As Cornelius Fudge moved the parchment in his hand and began to ask questions on his own initiative, it was clear that the situation was starting to get out of control. Dumbledore was well aware of the desire for power deep within the short Minister of Magic—though Cornelius Fudge had always believed he was hiding it well.
However, as the person responsible for guarding Peter Pettigrew, under the gaze of thousands of wizards, the poor Professor "Otto Apocalypse" could do nothing but keep signaling to "himself" not far away.
Just then, Peter Pettigrew's eyelids fluttered, and he began to answer the questions raised by Fudge.
"Because of a prophecy, the Dark Lord believed that there was a force within the Order of the Phoenix that could threaten him, so he asked us to find wizarding families that matched the description of the prophecy, and the Potter family was one of them..."
"What is the Order of the Phoenix?!"
"What prophecy?"
Before Peter Pettigrew could finish his sentence, Cornelius Fudge and Amelia Bones asked in unison.
Faced with two questions at once, Peter Pettigrew's face twitched, showing a hint of confusion. He opened his mouth and then froze there, as if he were a magical puppet that had temporarily crashed.
"Ahem, I'm sorry... Minister, please continue questioning..."
Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, glanced at the displeased Cornelius Fudge beside her, coughed apologetically, and retreated to her seat with a sheepish smile, though curiosity still flickered in her eyes.
Cornelius Fudge frowned, turned back to Peter Pettigrew, and asked again.
"Peter Pettigrew, what is this Order of the Phoenix you mentioned? And what is the prophecy?"
"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret society founded by Dumbledore, and only Dumbledore knows the total number of members. Its sole purpose is to fight the Dark Lord. Most of the people who sacrificed themselves were members of the Order of the Phoenix. As for the specific content of the prophecy, the Dark Lord never told anyone. We only know part of it... Families who have resisted the Dark Lord three times, born at the end of July..."
As Peter Pettigrew spoke, a trace of understanding flashed across the faces of Cornelius Fudge and the others. People subconsciously raised their heads to look at the shining names in the sky, finding the corresponding records under James Potter and Lily Potter.
In the stands in the distance, Harry stared blankly at the images of his parents in the sky.
The gazes pouring in from all directions were like sponges, squeezing him in the middle, making it difficult for him to breathe—so that's the reason? Just because of a prophecy?
After a few seconds of silence, Cornelius Fudge took a deep breath and nodded.
"I see, so the Potter couple was hunted down by the Dark Lord because they were the only wizarding family that met the conditions, and Harry Potter is the boy who could defeat the Dark Lord, right? What happened next?"
"No, at that time, there were actually two wizarding families that met the description—the Potters and the Longbottoms."
To everyone's surprise, Peter Pettigrew slowly shook his head and continued to answer.
"Dumbledore had some capable informants, one of whom revealed the prophecy to him. Therefore, the Order of the Phoenix knew about this before the Dark Lord and warned the two wizarding families separately, advising them to beware of the Dark Lord's attack. Dumbledore chose different responses for the two wizarding families."
Inform…ants?
Cornelius Fudge raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at the old wizard behind him, and resisted the question that almost escaped his lips—since Peter Pettigrew used "informants" to describe them, it meant that he couldn't get an answer from him. It wasn't a wise choice to provoke Dumbledore again for this question.
Silently noting this down, Cornelius Fudge cleared his throat and continued to ask.
"Responses? What kind of measures?"
"Regarding this, Minister, if you're interested, you can ask me after the trial is over. Let's not go into too much detail and go back to the case itself, asking more questions that everyone is more concerned about?"
Dumbledore coughed lightly, reminding Cornelius Fudge in a gentle tone.
However, Cornelius Fudge, who believed that he had gradually taken control of the trial, had no intention of stopping there.
"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, just as you said, these heroes and heroic deeds should not be forgotten over time. I think it's necessary for everyone to understand the beginning and end of the Dark Lord's downfall, which is closely related to each of us."
Before Dumbledore could protest again, Peter Pettigrew took another deep breath and continued to speak in a dull, flat voice.
"Because the Order of the Phoenix had limited manpower at that time, if they were evenly distributed to defend both sides, they would be defeated by the Dark Lord one by one. Therefore, Dumbledore decided to let James and Lily use the Fidelius Charm to hide temporarily, forcing the Dark Lord to choose the Longbottom family as the main battlefield for the final battle. Once the forces of the Order of the Phoenix and the Longbottom family were combined, even at the height of the Dark Lord's power, it would be difficult to gain any advantage in such an offensive battle.
The Fidelius Charm is an extremely complex spell that can magically hide a secret unknown to anyone in the soul of a living person. From the day the spell takes effect, unless the Secret-Keeper actively reveals it, this secret will never be known to more people—Dumbledore planned it well. As long as the Secret-Keeper doesn't speak, the Dark Lord could search for millions of years in the village where Lily and James lived and still not find them, eventually having to attack the battlefield that Dumbledore had prepared in advance."
Peter Pettigrew's eyelids fluttered, and a hint of excited smile seemed to appear on his face.
"But, this secret was eventually leaked. Why? As far as I know, the Secret-Keeper chosen by the Potter couple should have been Sirius Black, not you. How did the Dark Lord manage to do it?"
Cornelius Fudge asked in a deep voice, with a strong sense of confusion in his eyes.
Faced with Cornelius Fudge's question, a strange smile gradually appeared on Peter Pettigrew's face.
"That's right, at the beginning, James insisted on having Black as their Secret-Keeper. He told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than reveal this secret, and that Black would also hide and fight the Dark Lord—because only in this way could they convince Dumbledore to give up the idea of personally being James and Lily's Secret-Keeper..."
"Enough! Don't let him speak! Let me answer! Let me answer this question! I am..."
Sirius Black trembled all over, letting out a shrill roar.
However, before he could finish speaking, Snape raised his wand and waved it coldly at Black. An invisible magic instantly sealed Black's mouth, sticking his upper and lower lips together, so he could only make muffled sounds.
"Be quiet, Black, you stupid and arrogant fool! Don't interfere with the trial!"
Severus Snape's lips trembled violently, looking at Sirius Black with a mixture of contempt and hatred, seemingly losing his mind for a moment, shouting in a slightly hysterical voice.
Then, the man turned his head and continued to stare at Peter Pettigrew with a manic look, continuing to mutter to himself in a low voice.
"Speak... keep speaking... Don't worry... I know what to do..."
"Severus, calm down!"
Unbeknownst to him, Professor Otto Apocalypse had also drawn his wand, looking at the two wizards in front of him, whose emotions were gradually getting out of control, with a wary expression. A bitter look flashed across his wrinkled face.
Severus… Sirius… Alas…
On the other side, Peter Pettigrew's flat, dull voice continued, seemingly with a hint of glee.
"In the last period of time, Dumbledore seemed to have noticed something. He firmly believed that one of us had betrayed the Order of the Phoenix. Fortunately, I secretly mastered Occlumency and successfully deceived this legendary greatest wizard—yes, there were many people in the Order of the Phoenix who seemed unreliable. With so many dangerous violent people, who would suspect the clumsy, awkward, weak, and useless Peter Pettigrew, who followed James and them like a hanger-on?"
Peter Pettigrew's eyelids trembled violently again, shaking his head slightly, the smile on his face even stronger, as if recalling the most glorious and happy time of his life, continuing to speak slowly in a monotonous voice without any ups and downs.
"Without a doubt, James and Black also thought so. So at the last moment, they secretly changed the Secret-Keeper from Black to me, without telling anyone. They thought they had come up with a brilliant plan even better than Dumbledore's… a beautiful switcheroo… They believed that the Dark Lord would either choose to hunt down Black or fall into the trap… unfortunately…"
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Chapter One! Oh my!
【Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is.】——《The Three-Body Problem》Liu Cixin
【】Mobile address: m.. Share if you like