The British Ministry of Magic was located deep underground beneath Whitehall in central London. Its visitor entrance was a red telephone box in a gloomy alley near Whitehall. By dialing "62442" on the telephone, visitors could verify their identities, after which the telephone box would turn into an elevator and take them straight to the Ministry's Atrium.
Of course, there was more than one such telephone box, and aside from telephone boxes, there were other ways to enter the Ministry as well, such as the Floo Network. Harry and the others used separate red telephone boxes and took the elevators down to the Ministry of Magic.
The moment they stepped out of the red telephone box elevator, a vast hall appeared before them. Long walls stretched along both sides, with fireplaces embedded inside them. These fireplaces were all connected to the Floo Network and could accommodate many people at the same time. The floor was made of dark wood polished to a shine, while the ceiling was peacock blue, with golden symbols shifting across it.
In the middle of the hall stood the Fountain of Magical Brethren, a set of golden sculptures made up of a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. At the end of the Atrium were two golden gates, beside which stood the security desk. Behind the gates was a smaller hall filled with elevators.
When Harry and the others walked near the fountain, they ran into someone from the Daily Prophet selling newspapers.
At first, when the newspaper-selling wizard saw Harry's group, he instinctively shouted, "Latest issue of the Daily Prophet, gentlemen! Would you like to buy a copy?"
But when he saw Harry's face, his whole body immediately froze, and his expression became extremely stiff.
Harry noticed something was wrong, walked over to him, and smiled. "One copy of the Daily Prophet."
The newspaper-selling wizard wanted to refuse, but after seeing Harry's unkind expression, he immediately gave up resisting and handed Harry a newspaper.
After Harry saw the contents of the newspaper, he immediately understood why this wizard had reacted that way.
On the front page of the Daily Prophet was a striking headline:
"Is the Savior, Harry Potter, and Dumbledore mad, or just stupid? They are actually spreading rumors claiming Voldemort has returned."
"S-sir, this…" The newspaper-selling wizard anxiously tried to explain. He had long heard all sorts of rumors about the Savior, Harry. He also knew that although Harry was only fifteen or sixteen, he was already one of the most powerful wizards in the wizarding world. If he were hated by a wizard that powerful, perhaps one night, while he was asleep, he would die silently without ever knowing how.
Harry waved his hand and ignored the newspaper-selling wizard's thoughts. The wizard selling newspapers was not the mastermind behind all this. Making things difficult for him would serve no purpose, and Harry was not that bored.
The real masterminds should be the higher-ups of the Daily Prophet and Minister for Magic Fudge. As for Minister Fudge, there was no need to worry. This hearing would completely resolve the problem of Fudge. However, the higher-ups of the Daily Prophet needed to be dealt with specifically. This might not be the largest media organization in the world, but he could not keep letting it run unchecked.
The others behind Harry also saw the report in the Daily Prophet. Mrs. Weasley said angrily, "That foolish Fudge! Does he think that if he covers his ears and closes his eyes, the darkness won't spread? For the sake of that ministerial chair of his, he would rather let the entire wizarding world live inside a lie. All he does is send those flatterers everywhere to spread rumors, saying Harry is a liar and Dumbledore is plotting something!"
Mr. Weasley was equally furious. "Does he have any idea what this means? It means the people truly fighting against Dark Magic will be isolated. It means families like ours, with children out there in the world, will have to live in fear every single day! He doesn't care about the lives of witches and wizards at all. He's only afraid of losing that pitiful bit of power he has!"
Harry smiled and comforted the Weasleys. "Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, don't be too angry. Headmaster Dumbledore and I have already discussed it. This problem will be resolved very soon."
Mrs. Weasley asked in confusion, "Are you sure our plan will really work? How could those pure-blood families possibly help us?"
Mrs. Weasley did not know that some of the heads of those pure-blood families had already been controlled by Harry. The current Harry had a great deal of influence among the pure-blood families, which was why she did not trust Harry's plan.
Harry smiled mysteriously and repeated, "Don't worry."
Aside from Dumbledore, Harry had not told anyone about his control over some of the pure-blood family heads. He did not want his companions and relatives to mistakenly think he was a wizard who would use any means necessary.
The group took the same elevator to the lower levels of the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries. Hermione's hearing would be held in one of the rooms here.
Along the way, Hermione kept holding Harry's hand tightly. Right now, only Harry could give her any sense of security. By the time they arrived at the room, Harry could feel that she was trembling slightly. Although this young witch was usually very brave, a scene like this still made her nervous.
Harry patted her hand. His voice carried magic that could calm emotions as he said gently, "Don't worry, Hermione. Everything will be fine. I promise."
Hermione nodded heavily. She pushed open the door and walked into the room, then came to the defendant's chair.
At the same time, under everyone's gaze, Harry walked to the side of the defendant's chair. He would be attending this hearing as Hermione's defense counsel.
Bang, bang, bang!
Inside the quiet courtroom, a harsh sound suddenly rang out.
Fudge sat high in the presiding judge's seat, striking the gavel in his hand with force.
After everyone looked at him, he said solemnly, "The disciplinary hearing of August twelfth is now formally convened to examine the disciplinary case of Hermione Granger. Interrogator, Cornelius Oswald Fudge.
"Defendant Hermione Granger, you are charged with using the Patronus Charm without authorization in front of a Muggle on August sixth in the outskirts of London, seriously violating Clause Seven of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the Code of Conduct for Underage Wizards! Do you admit to the charges?"
After the hearing officially began, the members of the jury behind Fudge all sat up straight.
Umbridge sat in a side seat, a sharp smile hanging at the corner of her mouth. The quill in her hand was already scratching across the parchment, as if the verdict had long been written.
Meanwhile, Fudge's fingers rubbed the handle of his gavel, and the scrutiny in his eyes carried undisguised hostility.
Clearly, from the very beginning, this hearing had not been about justice. It was meant to serve as a warning to all "supporters of Harry and Dumbledore."
Being treated like this made Hermione even more nervous. At a loss, she looked toward Harry beside her, while Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. Still, he smiled at Hermione and signaled that she only needed to tell the truth.
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