Several peaceful days passed, and then a piece of news exploded across the British wizarding world.
Every column of The Daily Prophet that day was dedicated to what they called the "Trial of the Century" in the Wizengamot.
The trial was initiated by the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, and—with the approval of Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore—she summoned the full Wizengamot, along with nearly the entire upper echelon of the Ministry of Magic, including Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch.
Then, right in front of all the wizards present, she announced that she had captured Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail.
The moment the name "Peter Pettigrew" was spoken, the entire courtroom erupted. Many people thought they'd misheard—until Peter and Sirius were brought into the courtroom together.
Bones gave the jury no time to raise questions. She directly lifted Wormtail's sleeve and revealed the Dark Mark on his arm for all to see. At the same time, she asked Sirius to roll up his own sleeve and show the jury his arm—covered in hair, but completely unmarked.
Faced with such a stark contrast, the wizards of the jury began to waver.
After all, not every Death Eater bore the Dark Mark. It was a "gift" reserved only for those who had made significant contributions to the Dark Lord.
Peter Pettigrew instinctively tried to talk his way out of it, but the potions Rhys had been forcing him to take over a long period had severely damaged his mind.
His thoughts were sluggish and muddled—no match for Bones, who refuted him so thoroughly that he couldn't even form a coherent response.
In the end, Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore even provided Veritaserum. Under its effects, Peter confessed to everything.
With irrefutable evidence laid bare, all of Peter's honors were stripped away, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Sirius, on the other hand, was cleared of all charges and regained his freedom—with the Ministry of Magic even paying a substantial sum in compensation.
Of course, the "Trial of the Century" wasn't just about that one case. What followed was a series of shocking developments...
Barty Crouch was impeached for dereliction of duty. Back then, he had sentenced Sirius to life in Azkaban without a trial, which was a serious violation of Ministry protocol. As the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he had to bear primary responsibility.
Though many had supported his actions at the time, there was no avoiding the fallout now. Given the hasty and aggressive approach he had taken back then, the blame naturally fell on him.
When the Wizengamot passed the motion for his impeachment, the elder Barty Crouch seemed to age decades in an instant. In the end, he offered no resistance and resigned from all his positions according to the ruling, managing to exit the stage with some remaining dignity.
As Crouch walked out of the Wizengamot courtroom, Cornelius Fudge instinctively thought the storm had passed—after all, during the Sirius Black case, he had only been the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
By right, responsibility shouldn't fall on him...
But he was being naïve. If no one were to be held accountable for the Sirius case, then what about the Dementor intrusion at Hogwarts?
After overturning a grave injustice and forcing the resignation of a powerful department head, Amelia Bones—riding the wave of her sweeping victory—launched an impeachment motion against Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.
When Bones announced the motion to impeach him, Fudge's entire face contorted—he never imagined this day would come so soon.
Fudge thought he could at least hold on until Christmas this year. And why couldn't they have discussed it with him in advance?
He thought bitterly: If someone had just offered me a little incentive, I would've stepped down willingly! A comfortable chairmanship in some committee, and he would've retired peacefully to enjoy his old age—why go through all this disgrace?
Amelia Bones had indeed considered that approach at first, but Jamison Greengrass firmly opposed it. He believed such a move would only alert Fudge prematurely, and if Fudge managed to find some leverage or reversal, things would turn sour.
That was the official reason.
The real reason was that Jamison knew Fudge had gravely offended someone he never should have. And that person certainly wouldn't want to see Fudge living a cozy retirement. So, Jamison pushed for the most ruthless, uncompromising resolution.
Fudge had initially wanted to defend himself, to say a few words in his favor—but the moment he opened his mouth, loud boos rang out from the stands. They came from the very parents who had opposed him before. Many of them had already reached a private agreement with Bones. Now, they just wanted Fudge to fall—fast.
When Dumbledore cast an abstention vote, Fudge knew he was finished.
Following Crouch's downfall, Fudge too was swept out the door in disgrace. All things considered, it was already a decent outcome.
After all, he was still alive and in one piece—a remarkable feat given that he had managed to offend both Slytherin and Hufflepuff and still walk away.
The final case of the trial was a rather trivial one: Sirius Black was fined for failing to register his Animagus form with the Ministry.
Upon learning that Sirius had only been fined, Professor McGonagall was indignant: Why did I obediently register with the Ministry back then?! She couldn't help but feel that not registering was actually the mainstream choice for Animagi.
…
"When Fudge tried to say a few final words after being dismissed, two Aurors immediately stepped behind him, and he shut up," Jamison recounted vividly to Rhys at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, describing the scene of Fudge's downfall in detail.
With Fudge's downfall, Jamison Greengrass's behind-the-scenes influence rose dramatically, approaching that of Septimus Malfoy in the late 18th century—who had wielded immense sway over the Ministry of Magic at the time. Many believed that then-Minister Anchises Osbert had merely been his puppet.
How far Jamison would ultimately rise depended on the outcome of his "power duel" with Amelia Bones.
But that wasn't something Rhys wanted to see. Once he realized neither of them would gain a swift upper hand, he dismissed the idea of making Bones into Jamison's puppet—it simply didn't align with his interests.
What he needed was a unified, efficient Ministry to handle the increasingly severe challenges ahead, not more internal factional struggle. If it came to that, he might as well have left Fudge in place to serve as a glue stick for the reactionaries.
If Bones became too uncooperative, Rhys wasn't worried—he had his own excellent solutions in mind...
"Jamison, I see you're quite eager to advance," Rhys said, taking a sip of tea from his cup, then immediately wrinkled his brow and pushed it aside. He fixed his gaze on Jamison.
Jamison: ???
A faint sense of foreboding suddenly crept up on him.
"You must be joking. Back in the day, when our ancestor Adrian studied magic under you, he already used up all the Greengrass family's room for advancement. What's left for me to strive for now?" Jamison, typically laid-back by nature, deliberately sidestepped Rhys's remark.
But how could Rhys possibly be swayed by a few evasive words?
Wearing a smile, he replied with utmost seriousness, "I am a Seer, and the signs tell me that the next Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation must be you. Don't bother refusing."
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