Chapter 446 Trial Of Crouch
The atmosphere in the Wizengamot trial room of the Ministry of Magic is solemn and solemn.
There are no decorations or pictures on the walls of this hall, making it look bleak and gloomy.
The wizards sat in dense rows of benches, all focused on the trial seat.
In the front row were reporters from major newspapers and magazines, their automatic quills ready to record every detail of the trial.
Old Barty Crouch stood not far from the trial seat, his figure still upright and maintaining the dignity of a senior official of the Ministry of Magic. The originally wrinkled magic robe was deliberately smoothed, showing his usual neatness and dignity.
If one didn't pay attention to Tonks and the other two Aurors who were on full alert behind him, people might mistakenly think that he was just attending an ordinary trial, rather than being the subject of a trial.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence in the room.
The door at the corner of the dungeon slowly opened, and three people walked in - at least one of them was human, being held hostage by two dementors.
The two dementors—the two tall monsters whose faces were hidden by hoods—had their rotting, dead hands clutching the arm of the middle man.
The man didn't seem to be greatly affected. His face was pale and dull, without any expression.
However, when his eyes fell on Mr. Crouch who was standing not far from the trial seat, a trace of fluctuation flashed in his eyes.
As the dementors approached, everyone around them seemed a little timid.
Dementor 520 placed the man on the chained chair, then slowly floated out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them.
The trial of Barty Crouch Jr. went well and badly.
Fortunately, he calmly accepted all the charges read out by the judge without raising any objections;
Unfortunately, he said almost nothing and remained silent on any details of Wang's planned activities.
His attitude made the judges and observers feel helpless and frustrated, because it meant that they might not be able to understand the full picture and truth of the incident.
"I think we should use [Legilimency] or Veritaserum on him, so that we might be able to reveal whether You-Know-Who is really back, and more of the secrets of the Death Eaters
"Dumbledore stood up slowly, his old voice becoming rarely serious.
Fudge's expression changed, and he lowered his voice and retorted: "Dumbledore, I have said it before, I hope you will stop making such remarks, which will cause panic in the magical world."
"Fudge, you should know that everyone has the right to know the truth." Dumbledore said calmly.
"But, Dumbledore, this will plunge the magical world that has just regained its tranquility into turmoil again." There was a hint of pleading in Fudge's voice.
"Fudge," Dumbledore's blue eyes looked directly at Fudge, as if he could see through his heart, "the truth cannot be concealed, and your concealment will only cause the wizarding world to suffer greater harm without defense. 17
Fudge gritted his teeth, and the veins on his forehead popped out: "Dumbledore, who can prove that what you said is true? You have no evidence.
"That's why we need to use Legilimency or Veritaserum on him." Dumbledore pointed at Crouch Jr. who was chained to the chair.
"Sorry, Dumbledore, we can't do this. You know, both methods are easily tampered with by masters who are good at modifying memory, and cannot be used as evidence." Fudge stood up, his chubby face no longer had a smooth expression. smile.
He tried hard to shrink his belly and look more majestic.
However, the beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed the tremendous psychological pressure he was feeling in his heart.
Dumbledore did not give up. He took a deep look at Fudge: "Fudge, I know what you are worried about. But we must face the truth instead of escaping. Only in this way can we better protect France."
However, their conversation was interrupted by Jaina.
Compared to Fudge, the deputy director of the Department of Legal Enforcement is much more decisive.
"Now, I ask the jury to vote," Jaina Proudmoore's voice echoed in the silent dungeon, "that these crimes should be punished by the Dementor's Kiss.
civil!"
After saying that, Ms. Proudmoore raised her hand resolutely.
On the right side of the dungeon, the wizards all raised their hands as if they had been trained in advance.
The surrounding auditorium immediately burst into warm applause for them, and their faces were filled with cruel expressions of victory. Their relatives and friends were more or less hurt in the finals a few days ago. At this moment, they were eager to see Justice is served.
Seeing this scene, Dumbledore had no choice but to sigh and stop entangled with Fudge.
"You bastard!" Crouch (acbi) suddenly shouted as he watched the two dementors walking toward little Crouch who was tied to a chair in the middle.
His eyes were wide open, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets: "I told you a long time ago, stay safe at home!"
Crouch Jr., who was under the trial seat, had always been expressionless, as if the Dementor's Kiss was just a breakfast for him, but after hearing his father's words, his fists clenched and a trace of madness flashed in his eyes. of light.
"How can I stay at home with peace of mind?" he shouted hysterically. "He, my master, is much greater than you! He and I have a lot in common. We both had very disappointing fathers... ...It is extremely disappointing. We all inherited our father's name in disgrace. In order to ensure the rise of the Dark Lord's power, I will sacrifice anything, even your life!"
"You're crazy!" Crouch roared, "You're really crazy!"
"Am I crazy?" Little Crouch raised his voice uncontrollably, and his voice echoed in the dungeon, "We'll see! Let's see who is crazy. The Dark Lord has returned, and none of you can run away! "
The dementors had already walked in front of Crouch Jr., and they untied the scarf on their heads, revealing the big hole under the scarf. The entrance of the cave seemed to be a bottomless abyss, exuding the breath of death.
The Dementor leaned over to Crouch Jr., and the white substance floated out of Crouch Jr.'s body and was sucked into the Dementor's mouth as an air current.
Dumbledore couldn't bear to turn his head at this time - he had always opposed the cruel punishment of the Dementor's Kiss.
"Mr. Crouch, the idea you and your wife planned to replace him with yourself, was it decided before you tried him?"
Tonks, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked Mr. Crouch, "If you didn't care about him, why did you agree to let him go to the World Cup? Which led to his eventual escape?"
Crouch's back stiffened slightly and he did not look back. His attention was entirely focused on little Crouch.
Little Crouch's hand, whether because of anger or reluctance, was always clenched tightly.
But he didn't know whether it was because his soul had been sucked away, or because he heard Tonks' words at the last moment, and the hand had quietly let go.
"It's your turn now, Mr. Barty Crouch." Fudge turned his head towards Crouch.
The trial of Mr. Barty Crouch went extremely smoothly. He made no protest against the charges read out by the judge, such as helping Crouch Jr. escape from prison.
His silence seemed to acquiesce to all accusations.
When all the judges were voting with a show of hands, an accident happened.
It was obviously Gianna who sent Crouch to the trial, but when it came time to vote on Crouch's charge of colluding with dark wizards, she actually voted against it.
Officials from the same faction as her saw this and followed her wishes with a show of hands.
Fudge glanced at Jaina Proudmoore in surprise.
He didn't understand why Gianna would be merciful at this time and didn't completely knock Crouch down to the eighteenth level of hell.
"He is a good father, isn't he?" Jaina Proudmoore showed a rare emotional expression.
As a female politician, only in this situation will she show her weak side.
Fudge didn't care about this anymore, but he was happy to see Jaina Proudmoore have such a soft heart.
Whether as a political opponent or a colleague, he believed that it was better for Jaina to be weak than ruthless. .
