Although Yvonne thought she could explain herself even if she was exposed, Mrs Peter would be furious!
Ivan thought it best not to upset her, in case she passed out.
However, there was something strange about her, so he said, "Your Honor, I would like to ask how she was able to come in with a walking stick… No, I mean a wand?"
"Because Madam Peter told us that she would not be able to walk without this walking stick!" the presiding judge replied helplessly.
Ivan pursed his lips in displeasure. How could he not see it? The old witch had been very nimble when she tried to hit Sirius with her walking stick!
As Ivan mutters to himself, Mrs Peter asks to see Dumbledore's wand, hoping against hope.
The final result was also obvious, as neither wand showed any signs of Memory Charms being used in four days.
The only incident in between was the Auror's inability to force the Elder Wand to cast Backtracking Charms, which Dumbledore had to do himself.
"Your Honor, I'm sure Mrs. Peter has no further doubts. Now that the evidence is clear, shall we sentence her?" Dumbledore asked, looking up at the Chief Judge.
Off to the side, the old witch seemed to be in a daze, mumbling something to herself.
"Ah! It seems so…" The presiding judge looked at the old witch in disappointment. As a judge, he could not be too biased, so he could only speak up.
"We heard Mr. Harls's testimony loud and clear. However, we will need to hear the testimony of others in order to confirm Mr. Peter's guilt! Mr. Harls, you may go back. Now, please bring up the next witness!"
As soon as the presiding judge finished speaking, an Auror approached Ivan and gestured for him to follow him.
Ivan was glad to see that he had nothing else to do. He nodded politely at the crowd and left the sealed courtroom.
As soon as he stepped through the threshold of the waiting room, Harry and the others who were sitting inside rushed up to him and bombarded him with questions.
"Ivan… you're back! How did it go?"
"Have we won the case?"
…
Ivan had no intention of hiding the truth, so he briefly explained what had happened at the meeting, glancing at Ron's wand as he did so and feeling very grateful.
Three days earlier, at the observatory, she had used Ron's wand to cast the Memory Charm, so there was no way that Mrs Peter could have found out.
"Mr. Harry Potter, please come with me!" the Auror behind Ivan said sternly, interrupting the conversation.
"Me?" Harry pointed to himself, expecting it, but nervous about actually playing.
"Go on, it's all right, Dumbledore and Sirius are there!" Ivan assured her with a smile.
It seemed to him that the outcome of the trial had already been decided, so Harry and the others went through the motions.
Relieved to hear this, Harry followed the Auror to the interrogation room.
Ivan sat in the waiting room chatting with Ron and Hermione while waiting for the verdict.
After more than an hour of waiting, Ron and Hermione were called out one after another, and Harry, having finished his statement, returned to the waiting room.
Harry, however, had a strange expression on his face. He looked at Ivan, who was about to speak, but stopped himself.
"Ivan, what did you say to them in court? I get the feeling that a lot of people are looking at me funny, and a strange lady is asking me if I want to move in with her!"
"Nothing, just a little bit about your life at your uncle's, and they were a bit sympathetic!" Yvonne replied with a laugh.
"That's all in the past!" Harry said nonchalantly. "I've discussed it with Sirius, and we'll move into the Blacks' mansion this summer!"
Ivan opened his mouth to retort, as Dumbledore would never let Harry leave the Dursley household.
Ivan, however, quickly shut up. Dumbledore would tell him anyway. There was no need for him to be the villain…
They sat in the waiting room for a long time.
As Ivan grew impatient and began to complain about how the proceedings were taking too long, Hermione and Ron were finally led back into the waiting room by Auror with good news.
"Really? How's it going?" Harry asked, jumping to his feet.
"Sirius was acquitted, and Peter Pettigrew was found guilty of the murder of thirteen Muggles, exposing the existence of the wizarding community, war crimes, and more than twenty other charges…" Hermione recounted what the presiding judge had said.
"That's great!" Harry was practically jumping for joy at the news.
"Did the presiding judge say how to punish Peter?" Yvonne was curious.
"Of course he did. Peter will—"
Hermione started to speak, but someone beat her to it.
"The Ministry wanted to hold him for the rest of his life, but Peter was an Animagus, and it would not have been easy to hold him, and the Ministry could not very well keep Aurors on him every day, so they decided to give him a Dementor kiss in seven days!"
They turned to see Sirius entering the room, the shackles on his hands removed.
Although he was covered in dirt due to his previous incarceration, Sirius was beaming…
"Congratulations, Sirius, you're finally free!" Ivan congratulated him.
"Thanks a lot, Harles!" Sirius was grateful, having learned about Ivan's activities over the months from Dumbledore, Harry and the others.
Sirius was well aware that he owed much of his success to this young wizard.
Otherwise, he would have had to worry about the Ministry of Magic every day, and would have been lucky enough to sneak into Hogwarts and kill Peter.
Ivan waved his hand, dismissing Sirius's concern that he was merely fulfilling a promise, and added teasingly, "Besides, I've got a Firebolt on me, so of course I have to do something…"
"Hahaha… I'll buy you a few more if you like!" Having cleared his name, Sirius seemed quite pleased with himself, as if he didn't care about money.
(PS: The third chapter is customary after eleven.)