Chapter 112 — Murder? Who Died?

Chapter 112: Chapter 112 — Murder? Who Died?

Chapter 112 — Murder? Who Died?

Another large sum of Energy Points was recorded.

Vesey almost laughed.

Sure enough, doing this really did earn her more Energy Points.

There was hardly anyone who couldn’t sympathize with her.

Even if they didn’t know what had happened before, once they learned what she had been through, they would naturally feel sympathy and compassion for Vesey.

Mr. Weasley was especially sympathetic toward her.

After all, Ron had also been captured by those people at the time, and Vesey had sacrificed herself to save him along with everyone else.

That made the entire Weasley family grateful to her.

If it weren’t for Vesey, Ron might have ended up like that innocent third-year student who was still being treated at St. Mungo’s.

Or perhaps, like Millicent, he might have been turned into a vampire wizard and placed under close surveillance, with almost no freedom.

"It’s all right. I understand. I’m here to convey Dumbledore’s message. He said he’ll be there soon, so you don’t have to be afraid..."

Mr. Weasley said sadly.

He had been rather puzzled when he received Dumbledore’s request earlier.

If Dumbledore was going to arrive soon, why had he needed Mr. Weasley to come and pass on the message?

Now, looking at the child in front of him, he finally understood.

This child was already so frightened. If she had to face the hearing alone, she would undoubtedly be even more terrified.

He even wanted to accompany Vesey into the hearing himself.

He simply couldn’t feel at ease leaving her in this condition.

But he could only accompany Vesey to the entrance of the courtroom. He was not allowed inside.

After all, he was neither a member of the Wizengamot nor a law-enforcement officer, and he wasn’t even a witness.

Tonks and the others couldn’t enter either, so they could only hand Vesey over to a witch who had come to escort her.

Fortunately, the witch was a woman.

She nodded at Vesey and motioned for her to follow.

However, after entering the hall, she didn’t take Vesey to a normal seat.

Instead, she led her to a chair with chains attached to it in the middle of the chamber.

"Sit here."

The witch spoke softly.

Then she turned and left.

Vesey didn’t pay much attention to the chair and simply sat down.

But she soon realized that she looked a little too calm.

So she began shifting uneasily in her seat.

Her face was as pale as paper.

She looked cautiously toward the front.

There were rows of seats, and they were already filled with people.

A long table stood in front of them.

Fudge was sitting in the middle, and beside him sat a witch dressed entirely in pink.

Vesey was almost certain at a glance that the witch was Umbridge.

One of the most irritating characters in the original story.

Umbridge was excitedly flipping through the documents spread across the table, occasionally leaning toward Fudge to whisper something to him.

Not long afterward, she deliberately coughed loudly, as though reminding everyone of something.

Everyone looked over.

Fudge finally spoke.

"So, today’s hearing will be about—"

Before he could finish, the door suddenly opened.

Dumbledore walked in.

Fudge’s expression changed.

"Ah! I don’t know why no one invited me to such an important event. I really don’t know why."

Dumbledore asked calmly.

Fudge opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Dumbledore didn’t seem bothered by his silence.

He looked around the entire chamber and smiled.

"Oh, my. Everyone is here. I see quite a few of my old friends as well. And all the seats are already taken..."

Laughter broke out around the chamber.

Some people invited Dumbledore to sit with them, while others sneered.

They were clearly mocking him for not having a seat.

Dumbledore paid them no attention.

He walked over to Vesey and seemed to reach out to touch her shoulder.

Vesey immediately squeezed her eyes shut.

She didn’t dodge, but her entire body began to tremble.

[Ding! Energy Points +101]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Dumbledore’s hand stopped.

A glimmer of moisture appeared in his blue eyes.

Even though he had once worried that this child might be another Voldemort, he still couldn’t bear seeing her reduced to this state.

"It’s all right. Don’t be afraid."

His voice was deep and reassuring, as reliable as ever.

Vesey nodded, as though desperately trying to suppress her fear.

Dumbledore wanted to comfort her again, but he was surprised to find that Vesey hadn’t cried despite everything she had been through.

She was so strong that it was heartbreaking.

He sighed softly.

Then he waved his wand, and a chair appeared beside Vesey.

"Dumbledore!"

Fudge shouted angrily.

Dumbledore sat down with a smile and looked at Fudge.

"Oh, I’m sorry. I saw that there wasn’t a seat for me, so I conjured one for myself. Surely no one has any objections?"

Fudge quickly glanced behind him.

There were indeed many people who disliked Dumbledore. That was why they had deliberately failed to notify him about the hearing.

Fudge had hoped those people would stand up and openly accuse Dumbledore.

But he had made a mistake.

They really were dissatisfied with Dumbledore. Some even whispered that he was old and had something wrong with his head.

But the important thing was that none of them dared say it out loud.

All they did was buzz among themselves like flies.

Fudge was so furious that he nearly had a heart attack.

He glared fiercely at them, but in the end, he had no choice but to ignore Dumbledore.

His gaze returned to Vesey.

He decided that she would be the easiest person to bully.

After all, Vesey’s face was pale and she was trembling.

She looked like the perfect person to push around.

He turned to a particular page in the documents and asked with a sneer,

"Vesey Potter, correct?"

Vesey nodded.

Fudge glanced at Umbridge.

Umbridge immediately smiled.

"Miss Potter, you need to answer the Minister aloud when he asks you a question."

She spoke in an affected, patronizing tone.

Vesey nearly got goosebumps from the sheer disgust she felt.

But with so many people watching, she could only nod timidly.

"Okay. I’m Vesey Potter."

Fudge was satisfied.

"You have been accused of conspiring with vampire wizards to kill people in the street. What do you have to say about that?"

What?

Vesey almost laughed in disbelief.

Good grief.

Fudge really had no shame.

She was clearly the victim, yet he was treating her like a criminal on trial.

But she also knew that Fudge was deliberately trying to provoke her.

She didn’t get angry.

Instead, she thought for a moment, pretended to be frightened, and almost stood up.

"Killing? Who died? When I left with them, hadn’t it already been confirmed that no one had died?"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Her words made guilt appear on many faces.

They were actually interrogating an innocent child who had willingly gone away with a group of criminals in order to protect so many other people.

And this child had only just awakened from a coma.

She had already suffered so much...

Some people blushed and covered their faces, wishing they could disappear from the chamber immediately.