Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

"Someone has put forward a theory..."

Lupin lowered his voice so no one else could hear: "Sirius and Peter both served Voldemort... Eleven years ago, James and Lily were murdered, and they brought out Sirius, while Peter went undercover waiting for his chance..."

"Eleven years later, Peter was exposed, and he was tasked with exonerating Sirius... to ensure that there was always a loyal Death Eater working for Voldemort outside..."

Even Wade was stunned for a while before saying, half-admiring and half-mockingly:

"They have quite the imagination... Didn't they ever think about why they couldn't have escaped together back then?"

"Yes, it's unbelievable that anyone would believe such an absurd claim."

Lupin could hardly contain his emotions: "Most importantly, the Ministry of Magic seems to support this view as well..."

"Who's so stupid?" Michael heard this and naturally joined the conversation.

"Minister of Magic Fudge, I heard he has given important testimony."

Lupin smiled wryly: "Back then, he was the deputy minister of the Department of Magical Disasters. After Peter committed the murder, they were among the first to arrive at the scene."

"He testified that... when the ground was littered with corpses, Sirius stood there laughing wildly, and he was still laughing when he was arrested, like a madman desperately seeking revenge for his master's failure..."

"Apart from Sirius Black, the Black family are almost all staunch supporters of pure-bloods, and have always supported Voldemort. Sirius Black has a younger brother who willingly joined the Death Eaters before graduating from school."

"So Fudge doesn't believe Sirius is innocent. He seems to think... if Sirius is released, he'll find a way back to Mystic, and this loyal yet mad servant will surely help Mystic rise again..."

"Hasn't the Ministry of Magic always firmly believed that the Man of Varian has been defeated and is dead?" Vader asked.

“That’s what they said during the publicity.” Lupin shook his head. “Fudge said… he only raised a possibility… a possibility that would send chills down his spine if he just thought about it for a moment…”

"No one, except the Death Eaters, wants the Mystic to come back."

Michael objectively stated, "Given this situation, the trial could go in an unfavorable direction."

"If they were even more despicable, they might have implied that Peter Pedirou should give testimony detrimental to Black..."

Lu Ping's face grew paler and paler, his brows furrowed, and he looked extremely heavy-hearted.

He whispered, "Wade, that thing we prepared before..."

Wade thought for a moment before nodding: "I originally wanted to suppress the news a bit more... but now it seems that perhaps now is the most appropriate time..."

Lupin's tense expression relaxed a little, and he couldn't help but say, "Luckily you were prepared in advance... I originally thought this was unnecessary..."

"What else did you do?" Michael asked curiously.

"I've found a few reporters, and I'm planning to make a big story out of it," Wade said briefly.

If we wait a while longer and let the news break when the Ministry of Magic holds a public trial, it might be more effective in damaging Fudge's and others' prestige and forcing them to step down earlier.

But that would introduce even more variables.

Most importantly, although Fudge appears timid, he is a ruthless man capable of silencing witnesses. If the situation becomes extremely unfavorable to him, he might have Sirius and Peter killed together.

It's not uncommon for criminals to "commit suicide out of guilt" in prison; Fudge could easily absolve himself of responsibility by hiring one or two "temporary workers." Even if Dumbledore was unhappy, what could he do then?

No matter how angry Dumbledore was, he couldn't possibly storm into the Ministry of Magic and kill Fudge. That's why the minister dared to repeatedly provoke the white wizard.

Before even returning to school, Wade contacted Marchionne.

Early the next morning, Machioni sent several newspapers to Wied.

France, the United States, Germany, New Zealand, Italy...

Similar news stories were published in the most popular newspapers in several countries, telling a dramatic and mysterious story that took place in Britain.

In the magical world, spatial distance is of little significance; the news reached Britain in the blink of an eye.

How could the mainstream British media tolerate someone stealing their front page headlines?

On the third day, the Daily Prophet published a news item in extremely conspicuous text—

Hero or Traitor? Peter Petillo's Crimes Exposed After Eleven Years!

Two huge photos were on the front page.

One is Sirius Black, with a sunken face and long, messy hair.

The other was Peter Pedirou, a bald man with a round face and a timid expression.

Wade was pleased to see that the reporter had almost entirely copied foreign reports, narrating the whole story in a way that was full of questioning and particularly captivating.

Those who read this report will likely come to their own conclusions—Peter Pedro, who once received the Order of Merlin, is the real traitor, and the Ministry of Magic made a huge mistake in this case.

After the newspaper arrived, the entire auditorium was abuzz with discussion, and the students almost lost their appetite.

The professors in the faculty section each had a newspaper in hand and occasionally discussed it in hushed tones—aside from a few who had participated that day, most of the professors at the university were still unaware of Peter Pedirou's arrest.

After quickly finishing his meal, Wade returned to the House of Requirement and opened the slightly warm Book of Friends.

[Marchioni: A reporter contacted me; Fudge was very unhappy with their reporting. The Ministry of Magic forbade them from portraying Sirius Black as an innocent, suffering hero, which put a lot of pressure on the newspaper.]

[Wade: Wasn't it Barty Crouch of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who put Sirius Black in jail without trial? If we shift the blame to him and downplay Fudge's role, the Ministry of Magic probably won't object so much.]

[Marchoni: Aren't you trying to undermine Fudge's authority?]

[Wade: It's just a stopgap measure. There will be plenty of opportunities to bring this up again later.]

Marchionne carefully drew a thumbs-up on the paper and then wrote:

[Marchoni: This will reduce the resistance significantly, and I will persuade them to cooperate.]

[Wade: Tell them I can add more money.]

Marchionne: ...Then there's no problem.

[Marchoni: But I have another question, may I ask?]

[Wade: Please speak.]

[Marchionni: Why are you going to so much to exonerate Sirius Black? You don't even know him.]

After a long while, Wade finally wrote on the paper:

[Wade: Laws are established to protect the innocent. If the law is not upheld, order will collapse.]

[Wade: If those in power arbitrarily use the law to persecute innocent people, and if we have the ability to change it but choose to turn a blind eye, who will speak up for us when such persecution befalls us as well?]

After a long while, Marchionni's reply appeared:

[Marchoni: Looking forward to seeing you next weekend, Vader.]

[Two chapters combined, one update today]

I'll be busy these next few days, so updates might be a bit unreliable.

If I need to take leave, I will explain it in the work-related section.

Chapter 154 Halloween

As long as there are enough incentives, there will always be journalists who dare to publish articles that those in power don't want to see.

Fortunately, after the blame was pointed at Barty Crouch, the Ministry of Magic's initially tough stance softened.

Barty Crouch was once the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic and was considered the most promising Minister for Magic.

In other words, it was Fudge's former strong competitor.

However, after Voldemort's downfall, Barty Crouch's son was discovered to be a Death Eater, and he personally sent his son to Azkaban.

This incident caused Barty Crouch to gradually lose prestige and fail to become Minister for Magic, instead serving as Director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation.

This position is similar to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a Muggle government, but its importance is incomparable to the latter. Most of the time is spent dealing with trivial matters such as "the thickness of imported crucibles" and "differences in the standards of prohibited items in various countries".

The journalists were not worried at all that Barty Crouch would retaliate against them, and they freely described Crouch during the war as a ruthless tyrant, and began digging up other people who had been sent to Azkaban without trial.

The Ministry of Magic was happy to have Crouch take the blame. During a press interview, Fudge wiped away tears in front of the camera, confessing that he had "trusted the wrong person."

The Ministry of Magic remains ambiguous on the issue of releasing Sirius Black. However, public opinion is overwhelming, pressuring the Ministry to make a decision quickly, and Dumbledore has been working tirelessly on this issue.

"Lupin said that the trial should begin after Halloween to retry Sirius Black's case."

Harry told his friends, "Many people believe he is innocent and has a high chance of being acquitted."

Michael knew that Harry had only ever understood the most optimistic part. He whispered to Wade, "Is that really true?"

Wade nodded: "This time it's for real."

Only a small portion of the Ministry of Magic insisted that Sirius should not be released; most people were indifferent to the matter.

Machioni told Vad that most of the prisoners in Azkaban went insane within weeks and were unable to maintain even the simplest thoughts.

Therefore, many people believe that there is nothing to worry about in releasing a madman who is likely to lack self-awareness, especially since he was wrongly accused.

The students at the school are completely unaware of the changes in public opinion and the pressure from all sides.

They only saw the newspapers filled with reports about Sirius Black's story, sometimes interspersed with photos of the young wizard from his school days.

The boy's handsome appearance and tragic fate aroused the sympathy of almost all the female wizards, who then provided him with unexpected assistance.

Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think this was a hot topic he could capitalize on. For once during his Defense Against the Dark Arts class this week, he didn't have his students perform plays, but instead talked at length about his friendship with Sirius Black.

Although the four Raiders were almost graduating when he enrolled, they shared a deep mutual respect in Lockhart's story.

“I could tell at a glance that Peter Pedirou was a treacherous fellow, and I even warned them, but unfortunately no one paid any attention to me.”

“Alas, I was as young as you are now. Despite my exceptional eyesight and keen insight, I did not receive the respect I deserved.”