Chapter 136 The Seventh Courtroom

It was a rather cramped room, and there was nothing in it except a small bed and a wall lamp.

The wallpaper on all four walls was peeling which made them look grubby. There were no windows in the walls, just a small vent installed in one corner.

The whole room looked dark and depressing.

Maca has been in the Ministry of Magic's detention cell for nearly a week, but no one has asked him to help with the investigation. Even the routine process of recording a statement was not followed.

His premonition seemed to come true.

Is it Lucius Malfoy? Or...someone else? Maca guessed secretly.

He knew that there was no rush for this matter, and now that he was outside, Dumbledore must be helping him arrange these matters. And that always takes time.

Although it was a bit rushed this time, everything was still planned.

Another few days passed, and finally someone showed up.

What came were two serious-looking wizards. Without saying a word, they led Maca through the corridor and into the elevator, and then the elevator kept going down and down again.

When Maca saw the number jump to 9 on the elevator, the retractable elevator protective door finally opened.

The two wizards held Maca on the left and right, walked forward silently, and soon came to a dark staircase descending.

Going down one more floor, Maca found that the walls on both sides of the corridor were replaced with rough stone walls, and a torch was inserted at a certain distance.

On either side of the corridor, heavy wooden doors lined up one after the other, all fitted with iron latches and gleaming keyholes.

The two brought Maca to the wooden door numbered 7, and one of them took out a key from his waist, inserted it into the keyhole and twisted it hard.

With a soft click, another person pulled the iron latch, and the door opened...

The environment inside is a bit dim, probably because of the traceless stretching spell cast, the space is very large, but it is illuminated only by torches, which makes people feel a certain dignified atmosphere invisibly.

There are rows of stepped benches on all sides, arranged in order from low to high, and all seats can clearly see this side.

At this moment, there were several witches and wizards in fuchsia robes with a delicate W embroidered on their chests sitting sparsely on it. Most of them looked solemnly, looking at this side calmly.

In the front row of these seats, Maca saw Dumbledore. His expression was also very serious, and he was staring at Maca carefully with his lips tightly closed, as if he was getting to know him again.

And right in front of Maca, in the middle of a not too big square space, there was a chair with a chain fixed to the ground.

There is no doubt that this is the seventh courtroom of the Wizengamot.

Maca didn't ask why she was brought here—the behavior was pointless. Perhaps after a while, he will naturally understand.

Interrogate, Maka McClain! shouted one of the wizards who had brought him beside him.

Sit down!

A cold man's voice kept echoing in the courtroom.

Maca glanced again at the chair in the middle of the room. The armrests of the chair were chains on the left and right. He walked across the rough flagstone floor and sat down with a calm face.

When his buttocks just landed on the cold chair, the iron chains around him suddenly sprang up, binding him tightly with the sound of clanging metal.

He frowned, but said nothing.

The second paragraph of Article 9 of the Law on the Reasonable Restraint of Minor Wizards stipulates that minor wizards can be tried without chains... A witch who looked very old suddenly frowned and said.

Yes,

That's right... However, the 'underage wizard' in front of you is a particularly dangerous subject to be interrogated, and the relevant regulations do not apply. The wizard who spoke before said in a cold tone.

Okay, he continued, Minister of Magic Fudge, please begin!

With a clear cough, Maca turned his gaze to Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Dumbledore in the first row.

Fudge was a big fat man who usually wore a lime green bowler hat, but today he didn't. In addition, the slick smile he always had on his face when he spoke before has disappeared today.

He stared closely at Maca who was trapped by the chains, and spoke loudly.

Very well, said Fudge, the defendant is here at last, let's begin . . . are you ready?

Of course. Maca replied indifferently.

His calmness about his situation seemed to have stimulated Fudge, who immediately began to read the pre-trial records impatiently.

Trial on June 24, Fudge said in a loud voice, and the secretary beside him immediately began to write quickly, the trial of the murder of Peter Pettigrew by Maka McLean, a third-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Rufus Buto Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office ...

After announcing some routine content of the trial, Fudge adjusted his bow tie and picked up a document on the table.

The defendant is charged with the following crimes: Because of his involvement in the hogsmeade homicide on June 1, when the law enforcement officers of the Ministry of Magic rounded up the suspect, he intervened without authorization in the search and round-up operation, and killed the suspect on the spot in the chaos. The Auror Command verified that the suspect was not the real murderer of the homicide case, and the defendant confirmed that it was intentional homicide...

Three days ago, the identity of the suspect was identified. On November 13, 1981, Sirius Black destroyed Muggle streets and massacred Muggles, Peter Pettigrew, who narrowly escaped from death—

As soon as this sentence came out, the members of the Wizengamot review team at the scene suddenly went into a commotion, and almost everyone started talking to each other in low voices.

Silence! The wizard with a cold tone suddenly said loudly, and the scene immediately calmed down a little.

At this moment, Fudge raised his head, looked at Maca and asked loudly: Are you the third-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Maca McClain?

Yes. Maca nodded.

Did you intervene in the roundup of suspects by the Ministry of Magic's Aurors and Strikers in Hogsmeade that day?

Maca pursed her lips, but still nodded, Yes.

So, did you finally kill Peter Pettigrew?

I didn't know it was Peter Pettigrew at the time. He was filled with black air— Maca said calmly, I only knew that he had already endangered my life at that time, and I had to resist to protect myself.

However, according to the statements of the law enforcement officers who were present at the time, there was no black air at that time! Moreover, the law enforcement officers had already stopped you at that time, but you didn't stop immediately!

Not far from Fudge's left, a wizard with a stern face, sharp eyes, and long brown hair suddenly spoke.

May I ask who you are? Maca looked at him, looking at him unceremoniously.

I am Rufus Scrimgeour, currently the head of the Auror Office. The wizard answered his question seriously.

As far as I know, an isolated confession does not have the force of evidence, Maca said calmly, Please provide relevant evidence to support your account.

The defendant's request is valid, please provide specific evidence of validity. The cold male voice reappeared.

Scrimgeour nodded, and said loudly: I apply for the admission of witnesses.

agree.

After a while, the wooden door was opened again, and a wizard that Maca didn't know was brought in.

Witness name?

My name is Edmund George Wells. The wizard looked a little scared, and he replied timidly.

What testimony do you want to confess?

Oh... yes, Wells shrank his neck, There were a lot of dementors patrolling Hogsmeade that night, and there were teams of Aurors coming and going, our family couldn't sleep... …It must have been around 11pm, I was reading a book by the window of my bedroom, and then I heard a fierce fight outside...

He tremblingly described the situation at that time, and most of what he said was actually correct, but when he explained the situation after the flame on Peter's body was extinguished, he said with certainty that there was no black energy wrapped around Peter's body.

Moreover, he also mentioned the situation of law enforcement officers blocking.

He said it so emphatically, as if it were true.

Does the defendant dispute the witness' account?

... Maca was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said, May I ask the witness, how did the flame on his body go out?

Uh... just, just a gust of wind? Wells said, even he felt a little inappropriate, and then added nervously, It's a strong wind! I can see it from a distance.

While he was speaking, Maca's eyes kept wandering on the faces of those members of the review team.

I don't have anything else to ask. He looked away and ended the question abruptly.

Then you plead guilty! Fudge demanded loudly.

I don't admit the charge of intentional homicide, because I don't recognize Peter Pettigrew's appearance. Maca replied calmly, Peter Pettigrew was a character who was active more than ten years ago, when I was just born; For years, as an obscure wizard, there was no way I would have known him.

Perhaps you happened to hear it from somewhere else? cried Fudge, unable to restrain himself.

Please provide relevant evidence. Maca looked at him and said.

Fudge opened his mouth, and then looked at Scrimgeour, the director of the Auror office, but saw him shake his head slightly.

Then... you did kill someone, isn't that right? Fudge had to take a step back.

Maccar paused for a moment. He glanced at Dumbledore, who was always silent, and then nodded and replied, Yes.

Not long after, after a show of hands vote by the review team, Maka was convicted of manslaughter and received a final punishment of five years in prison and half the amount for minors.

As for the place of execution, it was naturally Azkaban Wizard Prison.

The laws of the wizarding world are indeed much more imperfect than the Muggle world... Maca, who was brought back to the detention room, was still in the mood to think about such an insignificant matter.