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The lawyer of the Slytherins, Mr. Morris, began to voice this very testimony, which, in brief, stated a simple position: "The guys gathered together and decided to scare the girls. Yes, not seriously, yes, inappropriate behavior, but nothing that had been said before." This is in short. In addition, on behalf of the Slytherins, it was said that: "Hermione allegedly attacked them immediately upon seeing them, and they were confused, and indeed beating girls is a mauvais ton."
Of course, all this was also submitted to the members of the Wizengamot in writing, and the defense and prosecution of the Slytherins were based both on influence and on the fact that there is no real evidence at all.
"We have heard testimony from both sides, and now we move on..."
"Permission to ask a question, Your Honor?" Mr. Morris spoke again.
"Permission granted," nodded Fudge with obvious irritation.
"We've already figured out why the honorable members of the Wizengamot are meeting in full, but what does Mr. Maximilian Knight have to do with this case?"
"He has a direct relation to this, Mr. Morris. Have you not read the requested materials of the case?"
"I'm sorry, Your Honor, but the request was filed only a few hours ago, as was the application itself. My clients, like myself, couldn't even expect such a quick review of such an ordinary case."
"This is not a Wizengamot problem, Mr. Morris," Fudge said as if cut off. "And Mr. Knight is here as Miss Granger's mentor, responsible for the mentoring contract. And yes, anticipating your next completely pointless question, Mr. Knight holds the minimum rank of apprentice for a valid mentoring contract, and was granted apprentice status himself almost immediately after the Three Wizards Tournament, which, dare I remind you, he won."
"No further questions, Your Honor," Mr. Morris nodded. Though he tried to keep a face, he was clearly angry at the lack of information. After all, a quick response was the right decision. Otherwise, their strategy could have been completely different.
"In that case, since no one else has any questions about the testimony of the defendants in the case, let's proceed directly to the materials provided," Fudge summed up, and Mr. Morris was surprised again.
There were quiet, disgruntled whispers behind us, too, but they blended into an unintelligible cacophony of sounds.
"Bring in the projection Pensieve," said Fudge loudly, and two Aurors moved from the second exit, carrying between them a rather large, and unlike what stands in Dumbledore's office, a big basin.
After carrying the Pensieve to the center, the Aurors let it go, leaving it to levitate above the floor. Next, a man in a gray robe without any insignia entered the hall, and you couldn't see anything under his hood. This time it was Amelia Bones who spoke, giving an icy note to her voice:
"At the request of Mr. Guber, the lawyer of Mr. Knight and Miss Granger, an examination of the memoirs attached to the case materials was carried out."
A wave of outrage, incomprehension, and indignation swept through the hall, and Fudge tapped his gavel loudly a couple of times.
"Silence!" he shouted.
"Permission to speak, Your Honor" Mr. Morris interrupted the process once again, causing another slight irritation of Fudge. "What's the point of that? Memories aren't proof, are they? Why should we consider them?"
"They are not proof, certainly," nodded Fudge in agreement. "They are, however, a reason to look for new evidence and testimony. With Veritaserum, for example..."
Another wave of indignation swept through the hall, and the parents of the Slytherins shouted loudly, "You can't! They're just kids!"
"Of course," Fudge continued with a soft smile. "Strictly with the permission of their parents or guardians. However, it should be borne in mind that the refusal to testify under a Veritaserum and if there is a reasonable reason for such a requirement on the part of the Wizengamot, should be regarded as agreement with all the charges."
The hall fell silent.
"If," the minister continued, "in the course of reviewing the memories provided by Miss Granger, Miss Astoria, and Daphne Greengrass, a reason for questioning the others, as well as the Misses themselves, through Veritaserum, the honorable members of Wizengamot, just like me, in the person of Chief Warlock, we hope that there is no point for the defendants in the case to refuse if the charges they are accused of are lies, isn't it?"
Apparently, Mr. Morris has decided to back off for now. An unknown man in a gray robe took out bottles of memories from the inner pockets of his robe. Four of them. One by one, he poured them into the Pensieve, and it glowed with a soft blue light. The light in the courtroom became less bright, and a misty cloud began to grow rapidly over the Pensieve, following the gestures of the unexpectedly removed wand of the man in gray, quickly occupying a couple of dozen cubic meters of space. It was in this cloud that the girls' memories began to spin, pictures replaced each other, sounds spread through the courtroom, and at Fudge's behest, the man in the gray robe would sometimes rewind them to the right moment and allow a detailed look at what was needed.
After reviewing the girls' memories, Fudge spoke up:
"The memoirs of a witness who wished to remain anonymous are attached to the case materials. However, in order to understand the overall picture, they should also be considered."
The minister nodded to the man in the gray robe, and he performed another gesture with a wand, and in the fog over the Pensieve, my memories of the Slytherin conversation in a separate office were already spinning, where of the important ones were mentions of the Dark Lord and his errands, along with Nott's confession that he had put an Imperio on Daphne.
"Any objections?" Fudge addressed everyone present. "Petitions? Anything else?"
"As I said earlier," the Slytherin lawyer stood up. "Memories are not evidence of guilt or innocence, and therefore they cannot be considered as such."
"Very well," nodded Fudge.
The Slytherin lawyer sat down. Somehow everything is going quietly, and I was expecting a more lively discussion. But here, perhaps, the lack of preparation on the part of the Slytherins and the expectation of a completely different approach to a case on the part of the Wizengamot is working for us. In a good way, there is nothing much to oppose to the material provided, as well as to the testimony, and if Fudge were to go only on the side of the law, then everyone would just walk away, innocent of the charges.