Chapter 115 — Retrial

Chapter 115: Chapter 115 — Retrial

Chapter 115 — Retrial

Dumbledore tapped the photo ball with his wand.

The image appeared before them.

From the moment Vesey was taken to Riddle Manor until the Aurors arrived, everything had been recorded. The vampire wizards had quickly thrown the photo ball away when they heard someone approaching, but the entire sequence of events was still captured.

After watching it, Dumbledore removed his glasses and wiped the moisture from his blue eyes.

"I’m sorry, Severus. I think I really did misunderstand Vesey.

"That child was able to save an old Muggle man under those circumstances. I believe she truly is a very good child."

Snape smiled bitterly.

"I’d rather she were selfish."

If the child had been more selfish, she might have escaped at the time instead of staying behind...

Dumbledore sighed softly.

Then he looked at the photo ball again.

When he saw the scene where Vesey released that enormous burst of energy, his expression became more serious.

Others might have thought Vesey had simply experienced a magical accident.

But Dumbledore knew better.

If her magic had merely gone out of control, Vesey wouldn’t have been able to deliberately let the old man escape, much less erase his memories afterward.

This wasn’t a magical accident.

She was an Obscurial.

Dumbledore didn’t know whether he should tell Snape.

Obscurials usually didn’t live past the age of ten. Although Vesey’s Obscurus had manifested after she was already ten, Dumbledore still couldn’t be certain what would happen to her in the end.

Perhaps the child wouldn’t live much longer.

Perhaps she would be perfectly fine.

But everything depended on Merlin’s will.

He sighed softly and ultimately decided to keep the matter from Snape.

If Snape found out, those people might suffer an even worse fate, wouldn’t they?

Early the next morning, Vesey woke up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, a helpless expression appeared on her face.

She would never watch a tragedy like that in public again!

She had wasted the best opportunity to gain Energy Points.

After complaining to herself for a while, she checked her Energy Point total.

At that glance, she was stunned.

She had obviously slept through the entire afternoon, yet she had still gained thousands of Energy Points.

Most of the gains had been only one or two points at a time, but they had continued throughout the afternoon and evening.

Vesey guessed that these points had probably come from people who had seen the photo balls.

It was just that each person hadn’t given her very many points.

Of course, she had also received quite a lot of Energy while watching television in Dumbledore’s office.

She had probably been too absorbed in the show to notice the notifications.

She scratched her hair helplessly.

It seemed she really couldn’t let her guard down next time.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been alone with Dumbledore.

If he had suddenly asked whether the diary had anything to do with her, she might have nodded without thinking.

"Vesey, you’re awake?"

Just as Vesey was complaining to herself, Madam Pomfrey’s voice came from outside.

Perhaps she had been speaking from farther away, and Vesey’s hearing was still a little muddled from sleep.

Soon, however, she heard footsteps approaching.

"If you’d told me there was going to be another hearing today, I wouldn’t have given Vesey that potion last night. Judging by its effects, she should have slept until this afternoon!"

Vesey was slightly surprised.

Had she developed a resistance to Snape’s potions already?

She had woken up much earlier than expected.

Snape really was a devil.

His potions were so powerful that she could apparently develop resistance to them...

While Vesey was thinking about this, Madam Pomfrey walked in and immediately poured another potion into her mouth.

Vesey was startled.

She thought she was going to fall asleep again.

But as the potion took effect, she instead felt completely refreshed.

Taking advantage of the renewed energy, Vesey opened her eyes.

"Ugh..."

Her voice came out slightly hoarse.

Madam Pomfrey’s eyes immediately turned red.

But she forced a smile.

"Get up quickly. There’s another hearing today. Professor Snape is waiting for you outside."

She spoke very carefully, obviously worried that Vesey might cry.

But she didn’t.

Vesey smiled instead.

"Okay, I’ll go now!"

She climbed out of bed.

Seeing that Madam Pomfrey still looked worried, she added,

"Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’m actually very lucky!"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

Madam Pomfrey nodded vigorously.

She hugged Vesey, then quickly covered her eyes and hurried out.

She was afraid Vesey would see her crying.

Almost everyone had seen the photo balls.

When Madam Pomfrey saw Vesey in them, willingly staying behind in that terrible place to save an old Muggle man, she couldn’t help feeling heartbroken.

That child was simply too kind.

Even after being rescued, she hadn’t said a single word of regret.

The only time she had broken down was after returning yesterday, when she had stood in Dumbledore’s office and suddenly burst into tears.

The portraits had said that Vesey had begun crying out of nowhere.

Madam Pomfrey had nearly been unable to bear watching her cry.

And yet, even in that state, the child had immediately comforted her.

Vesey watched Madam Pomfrey hurry away and sighed.

She had originally wanted to act a little spoiled with her big sister!

After leaving the hospital wing, Vesey found Snape waiting outside.

He opened and closed his mouth several times as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

He simply took Vesey’s hand and led her toward Dumbledore’s office.

Once Vesey arrived, Dumbledore told her that Fudge had been dismissed.

His acceptance of bribes would be investigated thoroughly.

After all, those vampire wizards had exposed so much about Fudge in front of everyone and had even left evidence behind.

The evidence had been recovered almost immediately after the hearing ended.

Naturally, Fudge had been forced to step down.

He might even end up in Azkaban.

For the time being, the Ministry of Magic was effectively being overseen by Dumbledore.

He had asked Vesey to attend the hearing today, but not to interrogate her.

She was there to testify against the vampire wizards.

Of course, Dumbledore also told her that she didn’t have to go.

She had the right to refuse to be a witness.

Vesey, naturally, had no intention of refusing.

She wasn’t finished yet.

After all, she had already written in her diary that she would somehow end up at Nicolas Flamel’s manor.

It would be strange for her to simply remain at Hogwarts and then suddenly appear at the Flamel estate.

Although it was possible, it wasn’t the best approach.

So Vesey planned to go to the hearing and find an opportunity to use her Energy Points to teleport to Nicolas Flamel’s manor.

That opportunity could come from someone deliberately bumping into her.

It could be a vampire wizard’s family trying to retaliate against her.

Or it could even be some unscrupulous reporter trying to interview her and getting too close.

In short, she needed the right opportunity.

She couldn’t simply reveal that she had some mysterious way of traveling to Nicolas Flamel’s manor.

Especially not in front of Dumbledore.

That man was suspicious by nature. If he noticed even the slightest inconsistency, he’d investigate it immediately.

So all she needed was the right person to give her the opportunity.

Of course, if everyone behaved themselves and no one gave her an opening, she could always choose one of the vampire wizards to confront her.

It hadn’t even been a month since she had taken control of them.

They were still useful.

She could squeeze some more value out of them.

Thinking of this, Vesey immediately put on a determined expression.

She even smiled.

"I’m going to testify.

"Yes, I might be scared.

"But I want them to pay for what they did even more.

"I don’t want anyone else to fall into their hands again!"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]