Inside the Tenth Courtroom, a large crowd of Wizengamot members, all dressed in the same dark purple robes as old Barty's, had already gathered.
But the moment Link and old Barty pushed open the door and entered, the members who had been chatting and laughing instantly fell silent and turned to stare at the two of them.
Among them, at the very back of the courtroom, Cornelius Fudge, surrounded by a group of council members, looked at them with eyes that burned especially hot.
And clearly, he knew perfectly well who the real authority between Link and old Barty was. That's why, unlike the others, his gaze stayed fixed entirely on Link from beginning to end.
"Ah, my dear little Link!"
Fudge was the first to speak. As he spoke, he came forward and gave Link a brief hug. "Such a pity that your good friend Harry Potter has committed such a terrible crime. You must be terribly anxious, right?"
"Actually, not at all." Link brushed off his clothes with distaste.
"Harry is completely innocent. Those so-called accusations are nothing more than the meaningless targeting of certain incompetent, shameless fools."
At those words, Fudge clearly froze for a moment.
Then, forcing an awkward smile, he leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
"You don't actually think you can win, do you? You and that loser of mine? This is my territory! You lot are only fit to be crushed into the mud!"
"Nice line."
This time, it was old Barty who spoke, imitating Fudge's tone, "'This is my territory!' Perhaps later I should share this famous quote of yours with the reporters from the Daily Prophet, so that the public can understand just how their elected Minister sees the Ministry of Magic, as his personal property instead of belonging to the people."
"Heh!"
Fudge snorted coldly and turned back toward the judges' bench.
His meaning was clear enough, he was only willing to speak as an equal to Link. As for old Barty, the Fawley family's representative, he wasn't even worth a reply.
The atmosphere in the courtroom grew even heavier and more serious.
After a short while, whispers began to rise again. A small group of council members broke away from the crowd and came over to greet Link and old Barty.
They all wore flattering smiles, eagerly trying to cozy up to the two.
Surrounded by them, Link and old Barty were led to the upper left corner of the courtroom.
If one were to look down from the ceiling right now, it would be clear that the Wizengamot members attending today's trial had already divided themselves into three distinct factions.
The group gathered around Link and old Barty formed, naturally, old Barty's faction.
Opposite them, clustered around Fudge, was the Fudge faction.
And in the center sat the neutral members, chatting and laughing like they were attending a senior citizens' social rather than a trial.
It was worth noting that the ones gathered near Fudge were, on average, significantly older.
Most of them were long-entrenched beneficiaries of the current system, bureaucrats who had fattened themselves under Fudge's leadership, the old guard of the Ministry of Magic.
In contrast, the members around Link and old Barty were relatively younger, though "young" was relative, since anyone qualified to sit on the Wizengamot was at least in their forties or fifties.
These were capable people, but ones who lacked strong family backgrounds. Inside the Ministry, they were the "young comrades who still need more experience," perpetually suppressed by the old bureaucrats with little hope of advancement.
Naturally, they were exactly the people old Barty, with the Fawley family's support, had been working to recruit.
Now that they'd met Link, the true financier behind it all, they became almost nauseatingly obsequious, some to the point of disgust, all hoping to earn more benefits and favor from him.
But despite their shameless behavior, Link didn't look down on them in the slightest.
In fact, to Link, each one of them was a wolf, ambitious, capable, and ruthless.
Because siding with Link and old Barty at this stage was a real gamble, a high-stakes one.
If they won, they'd rise to glory alongside old Barty and the Fawley family.
But if they lost, their careers, and possibly even their lives, would be over.
Their fawning behavior only further proved that they were indeed a pack of hungry wolves.
For now, they might call themselves old Barty's supporters, but every one of them was also showing off their obedience and competence to Link.
Given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate to leap forward and replace old Barty as the Fawley family's new agent.
Both Link and old Barty understood this perfectly, and neither minded.
Link intended to use these "wolves" as a check and warning against old Barty.
Old Barty, meanwhile, used them simply to reassure Link.
As for the risk of being replaced by these wolves, that didn't worry old Barty at all.
After decades navigating the political seas, his experience and cunning weren't something those men could easily surpass.
"The time's almost up."
After chatting with those "young" members for a while, old Barty leaned close to Link's ear and said quietly, opening a scratched silver pocket watch to show him.
The hands pointed to five minutes before eight o'clock, the official start time of the hearing.
At his words, the members who had gathered around them all fell silent.
Link could easily guess what they were worried about, and said flatly, "Relax. There won't be a problem."
Old Barty nodded, but didn't close the watch, keeping it in his hand and checking it every so often.
The other members were just as tense.
As the minutes ticked by, the watch's hands finally reached eight o'clock, but the defendant, Harry Potter, was still nowhere to be seen.
The neutral members, mostly elderly wizards and witches, were beginning to show their displeasure.
Unlike the others, they were only here to observe a trial. For Harry not only to fail to arrive early but to actually be late was, to them, a blatant show of disrespect toward the Wizengamot.
Fudge and his supporters, on the other hand, began to smirk.
Fudge himself shot a smug, triumphant look at Link and old Barty.
His tactic of moving the trial time forward, though underhanded, was clearly effective.
By regulation, Harry would have to be more than fifteen minutes late before Fudge could declare that he'd forfeited his right to defend himself, but even if Harry arrived within that time, the damage was done. The neutral members' impression of him had already soured.
And those same members would later have the right to vote on the verdict.
"Phew."
Old Barty let out a faint sigh and snapped his watch shut.
The members around him all wore grim, expressionless faces, gone was their earlier warmth toward Link.
That was to be expected.
They'd only taken sides because they believed in Link and old Barty's competence. But now, before the trial had even begun, their defendant was late?
Such a blunder naturally made them doubt the pair's abilities.
Link didn't care in the slightest. His gaze remained fixed on the courtroom doors.
He had never expected integrity from politicians. They were all fair-weather friends, ready to hand you an umbrella when the sun shines, and snatch it away the moment it rains. The finest specimens of humankind, scum.
Bang!
A loud crash echoed, the door burst open.
Panting and drenched in sweat, Harry stumbled into the courtroom.
His arrival silenced the whispers instantly. Every eye turned toward him.
That intense, towering scrutiny pressed down on him so heavily that he froze up completely, barely able to breathe.
Fudge looked disappointed. He shook his head ever so slightly, then said sharply, "You're late."
"I'm sorry," Harry stammered. "I... I didn't know the time was changed."
"That's not the Wizengamot's fault. We sent you an owl early this morning," Fudge said righteously.
But clearly, he also knew better than to push the topic further, in case the neutral members realized how underhanded he'd been. So he quickly added, "Alright, sit down."
He pointed to the large chair at the center of the courtroom.
Harry eyed it warily, the thick chains hanging from its armrests made him nervous.
He sat down gingerly.
Thankfully, the enchanted chains only shifted a little but didn't bind him like a dangerous criminal.
That small relief lasted only a moment before it was crushed again under the weight of dozens of Wizengamot members' stares.
Harry could see every expression, some curious, some angry, most indifferent and severe.
In a few moments, these were the people who would decide his fate.
The tension made his head spin, his stomach twist.
And then, unexpectedly, he spotted a familiar face.
Link.
Link was among the council members, and even winked at him.
Harry nearly shouted with joy.
Nothing could have lifted his spirits more in that moment than seeing Link here.
"Good, the defendant has arrived at last. Let's begin." Fudge called out toward the chair. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, sir."
A familiar voice answered, and Harry, startled, realized it was Percy Weasley, one of Ron's brothers.
Percy sat in the front row, quill in hand, focused entirely on the parchment before him. No matter how much Harry tried to catch his eye, Percy's face stayed blank, as if he didn't even know him.
"Trial of August the twelfth," Fudge declared loudly, while Percy hurriedly began taking notes.
"Hearing the case of Harry Potter, residing at Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, accused of violating the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy."
"Interrogators, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones, and Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. Court scribe, Percy Weasley..."
"For the defense," Fudge's voice faltered slightly, "Albus Dumbledore."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the courtroom doors opened again.
Dumbledore walked in, dressed in deep blue-black robes.
Harry turned sharply toward him, as did nearly every council member in the room.
Under their collective gaze, Dumbledore approached Harry's side and looked up, meeting Fudge's eyes on the high bench.
Because of the flickering torchlight, Fudge couldn't see Dumbledore's expression clearly through those half-moon glasses, but being under that calm, unwavering stare still made his heart clench uneasily.
The council members' reactions were no less dramatic.
Fudge's supporters looked utterly dejected.
While Link's side broke into smiles, unable, and unwilling, to hide their delight.
Now they understood why Link had told them not to worry earlier.
So that was it, he'd known all along that Dumbledore himself would appear to defend Harry Potter.
At that point, what trial was even necessary? They might as well declare Harry the winner now.
After all, Dumbledore rarely involved himself in politics, but his prestige within the Wizengamot was legendary.
Two elderly witches in the neutral faction were already waving at him in greeting.
"Ah, Dumbledore," Fudge said, clearly flustered. "Yes, er, so you did receive our message about the change of time and place?"
"In fact, I did not," Dumbledore replied calmly. "By a stroke of luck, I made a small mistake and arrived three hours early. So, fortunately, I caused no inconvenience."
As he spoke, his eyes wandered around the courtroom, as though searching for something.
Seeing no spare chair, he casually drew his wand and conjured a floral armchair beside Harry, then sat down.
During his scan, he had also spotted Link, but their eyes met for only an instant before quickly breaking away.
Dumbledore's composure was just as cool as Percy's had been earlier.
"Well then… alright…"
Fudge, having taken it all in, fumbled through the papers on his desk, muttering meaningless sounds.
Finally, he pulled out a parchment and read loudly, "The accused is charged as follows..."
"The accused has previously received a written warning from the Ministry of Magic for a similar offense. This time, being fully aware that his actions were illegal, he deliberately, knowingly, on the evening of August the second at precisely nine twenty-three, cast a Patronus Charm in a Muggle neighborhood, in the presence of a Muggle. This act constitutes a violation of Clause Three of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery (1875) and Article Thirteen of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy."
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