They walked down the steps.

Under the stairs is a long corridor.

It is exactly the same as those corridors in the basement of Hogwarts that have not been used for a long time. The stone walls are very rough. I wonder if the money given to the decoration company was not enough, making it look like a cheap project.

Wooden brackets with a damp, musty smell were embedded in the wall. A rusty iron cone-shaped cage was embedded in the wooden brackets, with torches inserted inside.

At this time, torches were arranged in an orderly manner on both sides of the corridor. The flames were swaying and red because the underground oxygen concentration was insufficient and contained more moisture and impurities.

Are you doing something wrong by paying attention to science in an unscientific magical world?

Every once in a while, you can see a door, a very heavy door with iron bolts and keyholes locked on it.

These are the courtrooms of the Ministry of Magic.

The innermost room is the tenth courtroom.

The second time he came, Harry hated it even more.

Harry said: "This floor can be completely abolished. The court wants to be fair and aboveboard. Is this a gathering place for Death Eaters or a place representing legal fairness? Why is it so dark? We are wizards, not people in the stinking ditch.

Dirty rat. No wonder Muggles think that wizards in this novel are all sneaky."

"In many places, Muggles are worth learning from."

Dumbledore nodded. He already had some plans. First, after taking office, he would tear down the "Ministry of Magic" itself and rebuild it again.

"Albus, is this the good student you teach?"

Two people walked out in front, one was tall and fat, the other was very thin.

Their faces emerged from the shadows, Fudge Connelly and...Percy Weasley.

Fudge said condescendingly: "Mr. Potter, I know you grew up in the Muggle world, but don't think too highly of Muggles. Thank God if their intelligence is half that of wizards."

Harry smiled lightly and said, "You're right."

Fudge's brain capacity was too small to understand the sarcasm in Harry's words, so he smiled with a child's teachable satisfaction.

Percy hesitated to speak. He had been "trained" by Harry and could understand the meaning.

Dumbledore smiled and said: "Fudge, where are you going now? Isn't there going to be a court session later?"

Percy seemed invisible, and Dumbledore didn't see him at all.

Fudge said: "There are still a few wizards coming. I'll go up there and take a look."

He glanced at Percy and said: "Weasley, you should have something to say when you meet your old master, so I'll leave you some space."

Then slowly walked forward.

Fudge really tried his best to make Dumbledore look bad, even if his words and actions were equivalent to treating Percy like a dog...perhaps, he originally treated Percy like a dog.

Percy Weasley's face froze, but he hid it well.

With a flattering smile on his face, he bent down and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Minister Fudge."

Even though Fudge couldn't see his groveling gesture at this time, he still did it.

Percy said unnaturally: "Professor Dumbledore... I, I just wanted to recommend myself to Minister Fudge. Unexpectedly, Minister Fudge said that I could stay with him during the Christmas and Easter holidays to try

If I can still be a personal assistant... I can follow him after I graduate from Hogwarts..."

Dumbledore was smiling all over his face, not blaming him at all, not wanting to get angry because he felt betrayed. His eyes were gentle and he said, "Oh, it's okay, Percy."

"Everyone has the right to make his or her own choice, no matter what that choice is, but you must be deeply aware that you can only go along the path of your choice. What do you think, Percy?"

Percy met Dumbledore's kind eyes and suddenly felt even more guilty. He said, "Of course... of course, sir."

Then Percy ran over quickly, caught up with Fudge, and ran into the elevator. Before Fudge raised his hand, he quickly pressed the floor button with both hands, then nodded and stood behind Fudge's fat body, with his hands touching each other.

Harry took one look at Percy's performance and said, "This man... looks like a dog."

Dumbledore shook his head.

A soft and indifferent voice sounded: "It's such a bad fate. I finally thought I would be rewarded with a big leg. Unfortunately, it was a boat with a big hole in it. The water has overflowed. I can't get off the boat. I can only wait to die."

…

Inside the elevator, as the elevator starts to rise.

Percy looked at Fudge's back and hesitated for the first time whether following Fudge was the right decision.

Because he didn't see any wisdom and decisiveness in Fudge. On the contrary, in a short period of time, Percy discovered a lot of shortcomings in Fudge: jealousy of talents, narrow-mindedness, small belly, short-sightedness, lust for profit, lack of courage and plan...

However, this is an opportunity to reach the sky in one step.

Whenever Percy thinks about the fact that he is lucky enough to be Fudge's personal assistant, he can't help but get excited.

Other wizards may never reach this point in their lifetime.

At this time, he thought about the sudden and strange wind that he had read in many daily newspapers and magazines in the past two days, and thought that he should remind Minister Fudge.

"Minister Fudge, I noticed a lot of unfavorable remarks about you in the newspapers today. Do you want to pay attention to it? Let the Ministry of Magic warn them?"

Fudge was a little irritable, and it seemed that he didn't know anything about these things.

"A bunch of unscrupulous reporters are making up nonsense." Fudge snorted angrily.

"But don't worry, they can't do anything but write articles. I've seen this happen too many times and I've long been used to it." Fudge didn't take this matter to heart at all.

Percy, who loves power, has a very keen sense of politics. He secretly felt that something was wrong, unlike the usual petty quarrels. He said tactfully: "I see the direction of the wind. It is not just blaming you, but more...

...seems to be cheering for Dumbledore. Should we go find "those people" to discuss..."

In front of Fudge, mentioning "those people" made him look unswerving.

The only function of the existence of those people is to remind Fudge all the time: the Ministry of Magic is not a place where you are in charge, you just have a little say.

But Fudge laughed loudly, because Percy's worries made him laugh. He waved his hands and said nonchalantly: "It's nonsense, Dumbledore doesn't want to be the Minister of Magic at all. Those who have ulterior motives

People, even a squib, can make me sleep more restlessly than Dumbledore."

Percy wanted to say: Do you really know Dumbledore that well? People change.

But he knew that these words would only increase Fudge's dissatisfaction, because if he questioned his ideas, he would definitely be classified as the most unpopular person.

So Percy lamented in his heart, hoping that it would be as Fudge thought, but he might have thought too much.

…

The tenth courtroom is an eerie black door.

Dumbledore adjusted his tall hat, adjusted his robe, unscrewed the heavy iron handle, and went in.

Inside is a deep dark room.

The surrounding walls are made of black stone, and the torch light can only illuminate ten centimeters around them.

On both sides of the trial room are rows of raised stools, which are the seats of the trial panel and hearing wizards. Directly in front of it is a tall dark red table, on which two people are currently sitting. On the left is a broad-built, square-chinned witch with gray hair.

, has short hair, wears glasses, and the expression on his face is very similar to Professor McGonagall. Sitting on the right is a toad wearing pink clothes.

At this time, the seats on both sides were filled with wizards, and it was dark.

Dumbledore spoke using magic so that only Harry could hear it.

"Ministers of magic from all countries in the world are here, but don't think it's impressive, because most countries only have a few hundred or even dozens of wizards. The UK is the country with the most wizards in the world."

Harry looked at the ministers, the Minister of Magic who managed dozens of people? This... was so terrifying...

There were fifty people in the crowd dressed uniformly.

Wearing a purple-red robe, there is a delicate silver "W" embroidered on the left chest.

This is the Wizengamot, the highest court in the wizarding world.

The highest officer is called the Chief Magician of the Wizengamot, that is...Dumbledore.

Harry didn't pay much attention last time, but now he discovered that when he and Dumbledore walked in, among the members of the Wizengamot, there were several old witches who were firing at Dumbledore...

Right in the center of the room.

There are two chairs and two people sitting on them.

Sirius Black, Peter Wormtail.

There were chains on the left and right sides of the armrests of the chairs, trapping them tightly.

Blake seemed to have received no abuse and was in good spirits.

Peter's arms and legs grew back, but they were deformed, like a child's thin arms and legs, weird and ugly.

Seeing Harry, Black's face was filled with joy and he wanted to stand up.

"Crash."

Then I remembered that I was still tied up with chains.

Harry found a seat in the first row on the left.

There were very few people in the first row, and all the wizards crowded to the back. Some wizards were still standing, but for some reason no one came to sit down in the front seats.
Chapter completed!