"Is this what you call a good deed?" Fudge was so angry that he laughed. "You don't even know how to make up a lie that is more convincing. We only need to check what liquid is left in your bottle and we can easily expose your lie."
He looked at a wizard in his thirties in the jury and said, "Damocles, I leave it to you."
The wizard nodded, walked down from his seat, and came to Peter first.
He carefully examined Peter's physical condition and mental state, then asked Peter a few questions in a low voice. After seeing Peter's expressionless face and unfocused eyes, he came to the conclusion.
"Mr. Minister, judging from Mr. Pedrill's performance, he has most likely taken an overdose of truth serum," said the wizard.
"Thank you for your hard work, Damocles." Fudge showed a proud smile on his face and looked at Dracula, "Professor Dracula, let me introduce you, this is Damocles Belby, the winner of the third-class Order of Merlin and the inventor of the wolfsbane potion."
"With the proof from this potion master, what else do you have to argue about? Law enforcement officers, control Dracula!"
Two Aurors stationed in the courtroom rushed forward, drew their wands at the same time, and shot two Stunning Spells at Dracula from their hands, one after the other.
Dracula shrugged and raised his hand casually, and the two Stunning Spells were easily deflected aside.
Then he spread out his palms, and the wands in the hands of the two elite Aurors flew out of their hands uncontrollably and fell into Dracula's hands at an extremely fast speed.
The two Aurors were stunned.
They were considered to be experienced Aurors with rich law enforcement experience. They usually encountered many powerful and brutal dark wizards as opponents, but they had never encountered a feeling of being completely unable to fight back like today.
Fudge was also shocked. He had always known that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was very strong, but he didn't know he was so strong... Two elite Aurors couldn't even defend themselves against a single move in his hands!
"Are you...are you going to rebel against the Ministry of Magic?" Fudge shouted in a cowardly tone.
Then, he turned his gaze to Dumbledore, "Dumbledore, your professor is openly defying the Ministry of Magic's law enforcement. Shouldn't you help us control this dangerous person? I think his threat is no less than that of Sirius Black!"
People like Fudge are often like this. Only when they sense danger will they think of Dumbledore's power and kindness. When the wizarding world is calm, he only wants to weaken Dumbledore's influence and prestige.
"Professor Dracula?" Dumbledore looked at Dracula with an inquiring look.
"I know my limits." Dracula curled his lips, "Don't worry, I won't make it difficult for you."
There was no need for him to fall out with the Ministry of Magic over such a small matter.
After all, ever since he sensed the power behind the mysterious door, Dracula has been thinking about secretly visiting the Department of Mysteries.
If there was a major conflict with the Ministry of Magic in advance and they were alerted, this matter might become much more troublesome.
"Relax, everyone. I was just defending myself as an innocent person." Dracula left his seat, chuckled, and handed the two wands he had just seized back to the two Aurors.
At the same time, he also earnestly warned, "Remember to hold your weapon tighter in the future..."
The two Aurors took back their wands and looked at each other.
Even if they got their weapons back, they simply didn't have the energy to fight Dracula again.
The gap is too big, how can we fight? It is better to believe that the professor is innocent, at least the Ministry of Magic can save face...
Fudge in front of the courtroom was so angry that he gritted his teeth until his teeth were sore, but he still didn't have the courage to continue to fight against Dracula.
He didn't know whether the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would have the same bottom line as Dumbledore.
"Don't be nervous, Minister Fudge." Dracula saw the embarrassment on Fudge's face and laughed happily. "Since I say I am innocent, I naturally have enough evidence to prove it."
"I won't be as unreasonable as Mrs. Petillo." He looked at the old lady with a meaningful look.
Mrs. Petillo wanted to retort, but Dracula immediately passed her by and walked over to Damocles Belby who was still standing on the field.
"Mr. Belby, right?" Dracula asked.
"Hello, Professor Dracula." Damocles smiled politely at Dracula with a hint of doubt on his face.
He didn't understand how Professor Dracula could turn the situation around when Peter Petillo was so obviously taking Veritaserum.
"Mr. Belby, I have great confidence in your potion skills." Dracula chuckled, "I think you can easily tell whether the residual liquid in this glass bottle is truth serum or ordinary water, right?"
"Of course." Damocles nodded confidently, "This is one of the most basic abilities of a potion researcher. I can't possibly make a mistake on this!"
"Very good. Then take a look at this bottle. What is the residual liquid inside?" Dracula handed the glass bottle in his hand to Damocles with a faint smile on his face.
Damocles took the bottle in confusion, opened the lid, reached out his hand and gently fanned the bottle mouth, sniffing the scent.
"This... doesn't have any smell?" After a moment, he opened his eyes wide in surprise.
He reached out his hand and dipped it in the bottle in disbelief, then put his finger in his mouth and licked it.
The next second, Damocles frowned:
"This isn't really any potion, it's just plain water."
"This is impossible!" Fudge stood up suddenly, "Damocles, could you be seeing things?"
"I have studied potions for so many years, and I can guarantee that the most basic things are correct." Damocles was unhappy when he was questioned, "If you don't believe it, you can come down and taste it yourself. These liquids have no medicinal power at all, and they are not even any kind of potion!"
Seeing that the third-class Order of Merlin had given such a guarantee, Fudge did not want to question his professionalism. However, he was unwilling to let Dracula, who had looked down on him, go, so he immediately changed his words.
"But Peter Pettigrew's symptoms are not fake. Dracula was the only one who gave him water just now." Fudge said, "I have reason to suspect that he prepared a different bottle in advance and hid the bottle containing the truth serum."
"That suspicion is not without reason." Dracula nodded with interest, then spread his arms casually, "In that case, let's check to see if I have any other bottles on me."
"You two, go search Professor Dracula." Fudge said to the two Aurors.
"Wait a minute." Dracula suddenly interrupted him.
"Why, has Professor Dracula changed his mind?" Fudge asked happily.
"I just want to know, if it is proven that I don't have any other bottles, then how will Minister Fudge apologize to an innocent person?" Dracula laughed, "Does this mean that the Minister of Magic can do whatever he wants?"
Fudge's face suddenly turned as purple as an eggplant.
"If...if this body search proves you innocent, I will personally apologize to you and will not pursue any further violations of your conduct in the courtroom," he said through gritted teeth.
"Okay." Dracula nodded nonchalantly and looked at the two sweaty Aurors. "What are you waiting for? Come over here and search me."
The two Aurors felt that they were extremely unlucky today as they were assigned to be on duty in the courtroom today.
It was obvious that neither the Minister of Magic nor this powerful professor could be offended by them.
"I... I have a plan." An Auror hesitated for a long time, and finally thought of a plan. He said tremblingly, "We can directly use the Summoning Charm to find the glass bottle, so there is no need to search the body..."
He glanced at Dracula's expression and saw that he seemed not unhappy. He then continued carefully, "As long as Mr. Dracula agrees, we only need to open up all the spaces that have been cast with the Traceless Extension Spell."
"You are quite smart." Dracula chuckled. "Okay, then use the Flying Spell to find the glass bottle of the so-called truth serum."
Another Auror cast a small spell and confirmed that there was only one traceless extension spell space on Dracula's body. Dracula then opened his pocket.
However, what everyone present did not see clearly was that when Dracula's fingers hooked open his pocket, a dark moon as small as a crystal ball flashed across the opening of his pocket...
In a way, Fudge was not wrong.
Dracula did prepare two different glass bottles, one containing truth serum and the other containing poured water. After pouring the truth serum into Peter's mouth, he quickly replaced the other glass bottle in his own hand.
However, Fudge and the others could never have imagined that in a place like the Ministry of Magic where the Anti-Apparition Spell was cast, Dracula could break through the space and teleport the glass bottle to another place.
At this time, the Auror who suggested using the Summoning Charm to find the glass bottle had no idea that the bottle had already returned to Hogwarts Castle, and was still holding his wand with a nervous look on his face -
"Accio Glass Jars."
The bottle with water in it flew over in Dracula's hand, but after waiting for a long time, no other bottle flew out of his pocket.
The Auror breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Fudge with a questioning look.
"Mr. Minister, Professor Dracula does not have another glass bottle of the same kind on him," he said.
"Yes, Mr. Minister, isn't it time for you to fulfill your promise?" Dracula said to Fudge with a smile.
Watching this scene, Fudge's chest kept rising and falling, and his lungs seemed to be about to explode.
However, when he saw the increasingly dangerous look in Dracula's eyes and the increasingly strong magical aura around him, he decisively backed down.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Professor Dracula, I wronged you." In front of the whole audience, Fudge felt that he, the chief magician, had completely lost face.
"Well, what next?" Dracula asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"The Ministry of Magic will not pursue any violations of yours in this trial..." Fudge said through gritted teeth.
"Okay, thank you for your generosity, Mr. Minister." Dracula suddenly laughed, and the dangerous look on his face disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed.
But Fudge knew that Dracula was definitely threatening him in a subtle way.
He also knew that Dracula had definitely poured the truth serum into Peter's mouth, but they couldn't find any definite evidence.
Watching what was happening right before his eyes but being unable to find the key evidence made Fudge feel extremely depressed and he even wanted to throw up his sleeves and leave the courtroom.
At this moment, another witch beside Fudge who had not spoken from beginning to end suddenly spoke.
"Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed James Potter and Lily Potter twelve years ago?" asked Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, indifferently.
Her sudden question caught Fudge and Mrs. Pettigrew off guard.
The next moment, Peter, under the effect of the truth serum, replied expressionlessly:
"it's me."
The entire courtroom suddenly fell silent.
"After Voldemort's fall, did you kill dozens of Muggles and fake your death to escape?" Amelia Bones asked.
"Yes."
"Very good, it seems that the truth of the matter is already very clear." A faint smile appeared on the director's serious face.
"No, you can't do this!" Mrs. Petillo covered Peter's mouth like a madman and shouted loudly, "Shouldn't the conclusions drawn from interrogations with illegal drugs such as Veritaserum be invalidated?!"
"That's true in theory..." Fudge hesitated and responded.
"That's right, so we shouldn't take Peter's testimony as evidence." Amelia Bones nodded.
Mrs. Petillo breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the director's next words made her completely collapse emotionally.
"Please raise your hands if you agree that the charges against Peter Petillo are true." Director Bones said in a loud voice, and she was the first to raise her hand.
In the courtroom, hands were raised one after another, gradually forming a dense sea of raised arms.
Damocles Belby and the two Aurors standing in the audience looked at each other and raised their hands silently.
Even though the truth serum cannot be used as evidence for a final judgment, it is enough to make all the wavering jurors make the final decision.
After Peter confessed his heinous crime, no one was willing to give him the slightest sympathy...
In the end, only Fudge and Dolores Umbridge did not raise their hands.
Fudge looked around and realized that he could no longer achieve his goal, so he raised his hand weakly.
Mrs. Petillo collapsed to the ground in despair.
Sirius and Harry hugged each other joyfully.
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