Courtroom Ten was completely silent, with only the sound of high heels striking the floor.
The sound came from Eda. She did not urge the people presiding over the case to continue. Instead, she slowly paced back and forth in front of Harry. Although she did not say a word, every step she took seemed to land heavily on everyone's hearts.
Dementors, Little Whinging, how was that possible?
The Ministry officials and Wizengamot members present did not believe that Dementors would go to Little Whinging, much less that they would attack Harry Potter.
The Dementors were supposed to stay in Azkaban, yet they had gone to a Muggle residential area and happened to encounter the only wizard in the entire area! What were the odds of that happening? Even the compulsive gambler Ludo Bagman would not bet on it.
This was simply impossible!
The people finally stopped remaining silent. The Wizengamot members on both sides began whispering among themselves, discussing this impossible incident.
Eda stopped pacing. She carefully observed Fudge's expression. From the day she learned that Harry had been attacked by Dementors, Eda had already concluded that Fudge was behind it, or at the very least, that he was someone who knew about it.
Judging from Fudge's expression today, however, the Minister seemed to have known nothing about it. Otherwise, his face would not have shown this expression. That fleeting look of shock could not have escaped Eda's eyes.
The Dementors under the Ministry's control had inexplicably attacked Harry Potter, while the Minister himself knew nothing about it. Then whose orders were those two Dementors following?
Was it Voldemort's informant within the Ministry? But hadn't Voldemort always been obsessed with killing Harry himself? Why would he suddenly have someone else do it for him?
This was getting more and more interesting.
"Dementors?" Madam Bones said, raising her thick eyebrows high. Her monocle seemed almost ready to slide down. "What do you mean by that, child?"
"I mean that two Dementors suddenly appeared in the alley and came straight toward my cousin and me!"
Fudge's shrill laughter suddenly rang out in the courtroom, followed by laughter from several others.
Fudge said, "That joke isn't funny at all. If you think this kind of nonsense will help you escape punishment, you are sorely mistaken!"
"Dementors are under the authority of the Ministry of Magic. How could they appear in Little Whinging?" Madam Bones said. "I still don't quite understand what you mean, child."
It sounded as though Madam Bones was questioning Harry from the Ministry's perspective and believed that he was lying. In reality, however, she was asking him to explain in greater detail while directing the blame toward Fudge and his allies.
Without Fudge's order, who could authorize the Dementors to attack? Or rather, who would dare to do so?
But Harry did not understand Madam Bones's hint. He took her questions as an interrogation. Of everyone present, Harry trusted only Eda.
"I'm not lying!" Harry shouted. His anger only made the words sound even more feeble and encouraged the others to laugh even more.
"There were two of them. They came from both ends of the alley and blocked us in. Everything became so dark and cold. My cousin touched one of them and desperately tried to run away..."
"Enough!" Fudge shouted angrily at Harry. "Stop repeating the lies you prepared in advance! All you're doing is insulting our ears!"
Fudge stood up from his seat, looking down arrogantly at Eda and Harry. It was as though he were looking at two weak insects.
"It does sound absurd and difficult to believe," Eda said. "But in fact, we have a witness. She isn't a Muggle, and she can prove that everything Harry Potter said really happened."
"There is only one registered wizard in Little Whinging, Harry Potter! And Muggles cannot see Dementors," Fudge said. His eyes bore into Eda, as though doing so would force her to back down.
Upon hearing this, Eda made an extremely sorrowful expression and said, "Our witness can see Dementors. Unfortunately, this lady was unable to become a witch."
She was not a Muggle, yet she had not been able to become a witch. There was only one possibility.
"So the witness is a Squib?" Fudge said arrogantly. "The testimony of a Squib is hardly convincing." He looked to the people on either side and asked, "Can Squibs see Dementors?"
As soon as they heard that the witness was a Squib, the Wizengamot members present all showed disappointed expressions. They likewise did not trust the testimony of a Squib.
There had always been a hierarchy of bloodline prejudice in the wizarding world, and Squibs were part of it. Their status was roughly equivalent to that of Muggle-born wizards and Muggles. Even if this particular Squib came from a highly distinguished bloodline, it was still the same.
Some wizards even regarded Squibs as a disgrace to the wizarding world, beings that deserved to be eradicated even more than Mudbloods and Muggles.
"In fact, they can see them!" Eda stepped forward and said loudly, "Minister, what you just said is truly disappointing! Even if you cannot treat them equally, as the leader of the wizarding world, you should not so directly insult and discriminate against them."
The word "Squib" itself was an insulting term. It might not be as vicious as "Mudblood," but it was still a derogatory term.
The fact that the Minister for Magic openly discriminated against and insulted such people was enough to show how serious discrimination was in the wizarding world.
Eda's words failed to cause any ripples among the people in the courtroom. They felt that the Minister was right. The testimony of a Squib was not convincing. As for the discrimination and insults Eda mentioned...
So what if they discriminated against them? So what if they insulted them?
"Everyone here has valuable time, and we don't have time to listen to a Squib spout nonsense, Twist. If you have nothing else to submit, I think we can deliver the verdict..." Fudge said maliciously.
Eda began pacing back and forth in front of Fudge again, making the Minister increasingly irritated.
"No. According to the Wizengamot Charter of Rights, the defendant has the right to call witnesses to testify," Eda looked at Madam Bones. "Isn't that right, Head of the Department?"
"That is correct," Madam Bones said. "It is indeed so."
"We don't want to listen to some Squib's nonsense!" Fudge said viciously. "The evidence that Harry Potter performed magic in front of a Muggle is conclusive. Stop trying to argue!"
Eda took another step forward. She was now standing even closer to Fudge, close enough to give him two solid punches.
She said, "I don't know why the Minister is so eager to convict Harry Potter, even going so far as to skip the proper hearing procedures. Isn't a trial supposed to be fair and impartial? To ensure fairness, we should follow the normal procedures. If necessary, part or even all of the proceedings should be made public."
"You have merely activated this courtroom, which is normally used for serious criminals, just for a minor incident of performing magic outside school, and now you're telling me that your time is precious... I don't really understand your concept of time. And besides, you clearly just want to throw Harry Potter directly into Azkaban and leave him to fend for himself, just like Sirius Black. If that's the case, then why bother holding a hearing at all?"
Eda stopped looking at Fudge. Her gaze swept across the elevated benches on both sides before she continued, "Now, I am filing a lawsuit with the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Wizengamot, accusing Cornelius Oswald Fudge of attempted murder. He has wasted my precious time and squandered my valuable life."
Her words rang out with force. The Ministry officials and Wizengamot members present fell silent once again.
They had originally thought that Dumbledore would come today to defend Harry Potter. Instead, only one of Dumbledore's students had come. They had originally thought that this young lady would be scared into wetting her pants, and that this was simply another foolish move by senile old Dumbledore. They had originally thought that this young lady was merely good at fighting. They had not expected that she was not only good at fighting, but also very good with words, and that everything she said was well-reasoned and well-supported.
From the moment she entered the courtroom, Eda's performance had been excellent. She had not crossed the line even once. She had neither shown contempt for the Wizengamot nor disrupted the proceedings. Even when faced with Fudge's aggressive pressure, she had not behaved improperly in the slightest. She had won the favor of quite a few Wizengamot members.
After all, who wouldn't want such an outstanding child to be from their own family? If only Dumbledore were not involved, it would be perfect...
Just as everyone was developing a favorable impression of Eda, she suddenly opened her blood-filled maw and revealed her sinister fangs.
She was accusing the Minister for Magic of attempted murder simply because Cornelius Fudge had wasted her time... This... Surely we heard that wrong!
At this moment, everyone present finally understood why Dumbledore had sent her to defend Harry. She was not here to defend him at all. She was here to take Harry Potter away, while taking the opportunity to slap the Ministry of Magic in the face.
Dumbledore, his intentions were truly unforgivable!
"Oh my... I forgot. This is Britain, where one person holds absolute power..." Eda's voice rang out in the courtroom once again. For no apparent reason, her words sent a chill through everyone.
But Eda had no intention of stopping.
In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, she said to herself, "If I am lucky enough to walk out of the Ministry of Magic alive today, I will definitely file a complaint with the Ministries of Magic of other countries and the International Confederation of Wizards. This matter is not over!"
...
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