Mrs. Pettigrew's unique way of defending herself caught Dumbledore off guard.
Unlike the highly developed social system in the Muggle world, the wizarding world has a small population and relatively slow social development. The Wizengamot's trial methods actually still retain strong medieval characteristics.
Therefore, in most trials in the wizarding world, the subjective emotions of the jury account for a large proportion.
If Mrs. Pettigrew's defense method could stir up the emotions of the Wizengamot jury, perhaps many emotional wizards would be inclined to lean towards Peter's side.
After all, Sirius's brutal, rude and dangerous image has long been deeply rooted in people's minds, and it is impossible to change it in a short time.
In comparison, more people would definitely be willing to believe an old lady who cried sincerely in front of them, even if she couldn't provide any complete evidence...
"Professor Dracula, isn't this situation bad for us?" Ron asked in a low voice, secretly tugging at Dracula's sleeve.
Harry also looked at Sirius with concern and moved closer to Dracula.
"Professor, do you have any solution?" he also asked.
Dracula glanced at Mrs. Pettigrew with a headache and saw that she was still crying passionately, venting all her worries about her son.
One of the witches from the Wizengamot had tears in her eyes. She walked down from the jury seat despite all the dissuasion and put her arm around Madam Pettigrew's shoulders to comfort her.
"Actually, there is a solution." Dracula suddenly turned his gaze to Harry and asked without any context, "Potter, can you play the victim and incite sentimentality?"
"Huh?" Harry's mouth opened wide. "What does this have to do with me?"
"It's very important. Whether your godfather can be acquitted depends on you." Dracula said, "As long as you can cry out about the unfair treatment you received in your Muggle family, I'm sure many members of the jury will be moved by you."
"But...but I, I don't know how to cry." Harry was completely confused. He didn't know what Professor Dracula wanted him to do. "Although Aunt Petunia and the others did treat me badly, at least I can still survive..."
Harry always had a good attitude in Muggle society. Even when he was bullied by Dudley and his friends, he was able to find some fun in the game in the process of chasing each other.
On weekdays, Dudley was very good at secretly taking away unwanted game consoles, toys, televisions and other things to entertain himself. He even counted spiders as a form of entertainment when he was sleeping in the storage room under the stairs...
So it would be a bit difficult for him to force himself to make a miserable expression and talk about his experience at the Dursleys' house.
"This is indeed a problem. It's hard to arouse resonance if the expression is not right..." Dracula rubbed his chin and thought.
"Professor Dracula, there's no need to make things difficult for Harry. I can personally kill that traitor at any time!" Sirius stared coldly in Peter's direction and said viciously.
"No!" Harry couldn't help but almost raised his voice, "Sirius, if you really do that, the Ministry of Magic will really fight you to the death! It's not worth it for such a traitor!"
"Harry, they can't catch me, believe me." Sirius turned and smiled at Harry.
"That won't work either. Do you want to stay in the dark for the rest of your life?" Harry refused to give in.
"Okay, stop arguing. I've got an idea." Dracula interrupted the two people with an impatient look on his face. "Isn't it just that you can't find the emotion of sadness? Why don't I just create some for you?"
"Potter, when you start to act pitiful, I will cut a hole in the bag of Dementors towards you and let the Dementors suck away some of your happiness. I guarantee you will be in the mood immediately!"
"... Is this really okay?" Ron looked at the bag that Dracula had taken out of his hand with some concern.
Before Ron could say anything else, Harry agreed resolutely.
"Let's do it, Professor Dracula!" he said firmly and stood up from his chair.
Everyone present was attracted by the Savior's behavior and looked at him curiously, wondering what Harry was going to say at this time.
"I... I hope everyone can listen to me for a few words. I want to tell you about my childhood." Harry was not used to standing suddenly under the gaze of so many people, and stumbled a little.
But then, a familiar dark aura came from Harry's side.
The image of Voldemort walking into his parents' safe house in Godric's Hollow popped up in his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.
Fortunately, throughout the school year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, Dracula made the young wizards face Dementors in person countless times. Harry had also learned the basic Patronus Charm long ago and was no longer as afraid of Dementors as he was at the beginning, so he did not faint on the spot.
"I spent my entire childhood in a locker under the stairs." Harry gritted his teeth, his expression sad and his voice trembling as he said, "I didn't have the entertainment that other children should have, no delicious snacks, no new clothes, and no birthday presents..."
The entire place fell silent as the members of the Wizengamot looked at Harry in disbelief, listening in shock as he told the story of his time in Muggle society in a sad tone.
"… That's it. Until Hagrid found me in a shabby house on a reef at sea and delivered the acceptance letter, Uncle Vernon still tried every means to prevent me from returning to the wizarding world and wanted me to become a Muggle who would be mediocre and accomplish nothing all my life."
"If it weren't for the betrayal of Peter Petillo, I would have had a gentle and generous mother and an outstanding and brave father..."
As he spoke, Harry's eyes gradually filled with tears. He didn't know whether it was due to the influence of the Dementors or because he was truly sad about his life experience.
The eyes of the jury members in the courtroom all became somewhat sad, and the eyes of several older, sentimental witches were filled with a kind of maternal love, as if they could rush down from their seats at any time and hug Harry in their arms.
Before Harry told the story of his childhood, no one knew that this boy who survived a disaster had such an unfortunate fate.
They all thought that Dumbledore sent the savior to the Muggle world to protect him, to let him enjoy life in a safe place and avoid revenge from the Death Eaters.
However, it turned out that they were all wrong.
Mrs. Pettigrew was originally crying in self-pity, but after hearing Harry's complaint, she stared at Harry in the plaintiff's seat in amazement and even forgot to continue crying.
She had never expected that such a little child would act pitifully, and his emotions changed so quickly, not at all inferior to an old lady like her.
Mrs. Pettigrew could not help feeling anxious as she saw the jury members' emotions gradually turning towards Harry.
She knew she had to do something and not let the opportunity she had just seized go to waste.
Mrs. Pettigrew stood up and shouted at Harry, "Harry, don't be bewitched by Sirius Black. He must have learned a lot of bewitching skills from the You-Know-Who and is best at deceiving others into believing him!"
"Child, Peter is your father's most loyal friend. You must think carefully before deciding which side you want to stand on!"
"How dare you say such things to a child?!" Sirius jumped up in anger. "If it weren't for that dead rat that betrayed James, how could Harry have had such a miserable childhood? And now you have the nerve to say that he is James' most loyal friend? Bah!"
It was also the first time that he knew that Harry's life at his aunt's house was so tortuous and rough, which made him feel so guilty that he almost burst out of his heart.
"Remind you once, Sirius Black!" Fudge banged the table with his hammer and shouted, "If you make loud noises and disrupt the order of the trial again, I will have to order the Aurors to remove you from the courtroom."
However, Sirius ignored him and turned to look at Harry with a hint of impulse, hesitation and entanglement.
"Harry, I am your godfather. Your parents appointed me as your guardian." He said softly, "If anything bad happens to them..."
Harry was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and a look of anticipation welled up in his eyes.
His heart was beating faster than ever before, and he was extremely hopeful that Sirius meant what he thought he meant.
"This is the first time I've heard of the way you were treated at your aunt and uncle's house, and I..." Sirius hesitated, "Well... Harry, I want you to think about this. Once I've cleared my name... if you want a... a different home..."
Harry felt as if something had exploded in his heart, and an irrepressible surge of joy went from his heartbeat to his brain, and finally to his face, where he broke into a huge grin.
"What... Are you saying, let me live with you?" He asked loudly, afraid that he had misunderstood Sirius's meaning, afraid that he had some hallucinations or was in a dream, "Can I leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, if you want," said Sirius quickly. "They're not worth living with after what they did to you. I think I could..."
"Are you kidding?" Harry shouted, his voice rising to a hoarse voice, "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Do you have a house? When can I move in?"
Blake also looked at Harry in surprise. He could still feel that everyone's eyes were focused on the two of them, but he didn't care.
"You are willing?" he asked. "Are you serious? I can buy a big house anytime. It will definitely not be worse than your aunt's house!"
"Yes, of course I am serious!" laughed Harry.
For the first time, a real smile appeared on Sirius's still thin face. Unlike his previous crazy smiles, this smile was actually very warm.
No one present had ever thought that Sirius could have such a warm, gentle and soft smile.
The effect of this smile was amazing, as if a handsome young man ten years younger than he looked was looking at Harry through the thin mask, smiling.
At that moment, Dumbledore, Peter and everyone who had ever known Sirius seemed to recognize in his face the man who had been the best man at James and Lily's wedding, laughing happily.
Mrs. Pettigrew's heart sank.
She felt that after Sirius showed this smile, the advantage of this trial was increasingly lost to her.
"Sirius Black, second warning!" Fudge roared angrily, "Don't discuss things that are not related to the case during the trial. If you do it again, you will be directly found guilty!"
Sirius finally calmed down.
He now wanted more than ever to restore his reputation, take his godson in to live with him, and get Harry out of the abyss of the Dursleys.
"Boy, he is lying to you, do you know that? Sirius Black is lying to you!" Mrs. Pettigrew still shouted unwillingly, "If you really live with him, you will end up like your parents!"
However, Harry no longer cared what the old lady was saying. He was completely immersed in the joy of being able to get away from the Dursleys and live with Sirius.
"Professor, can we win?" Looking at this scene, Ron asked Dracula in a low voice.
"The emotions of the other jury members are almost there, but Fudge and Umbridge are a bit troublesome," Dracula said. "Sirius must receive an overwhelming majority of votes to be safe."
As he spoke, he stood up from his chair and said, "Wait, I'll give you another dose of strong medicine."
Before Ron could react, Dracula suddenly appeared beside the flustered Peter, opened his mouth, and poured the half bottle of truth serum he had asked Snape for a few days ago into Peter's mouth.
“Cough cough cough…” Peter realized something was wrong and struggled desperately.
However, how could he compare to Dracula's strength? Soon, the effect of the truth serum began to take effect.
"What are you doing?!" Mrs. Petillo screamed and tried desperately to grab Dracula with her hands, but he slapped her aside.
Fudge also angrily hit the table hard with his hammer.
"Dracula, you used illegal drugs on the defendant in public in the courtroom. What do you think of the authority of the Wizengamot?" He gritted his teeth and said, "Where are the law enforcement Aurors? Arrest him!"
"Wait." Dracula was not panicked at all. He raised his hand to stop several Aurors who wanted to attack him. "I just saw that Mr. Pettigrew had been crying for too long and his throat must be dry, so I gave him some water."
"How come my humanitarian act is considered illegal in your eyes?"
…
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