At 5:20 a. m.,
Outside of Hogwarts School.
Vincent grabbed Peter Pettigrew's leg, who had transformed back into human form, and walked with Hermione toward McGonagall and the others.
The long night is finally over.
However, in McGonagall's view, the severe damage to the British Museum was no small incident.
More than half of the Ministry of Magic's staff have been sent to Hogwarts, and now they're all hanging upside down everywhere.
The manpower of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and the Obliviator Headquarters alone is far from enough to cover this up. The Muggle Problem Mediation Committee cannot claim it was a gas explosion like it did 12 years ago, unless it has a reason that can convince the Muggle government.
Seeing the two young wizards looking guilty, McGonagall loosened her tightly pursed lips slightly.
"Mr. Wayne, Miss Granger, all of this is Peter Pettigrew's fault. I believe the Ministry of Magic will not come after you."
Fudge hasn't even cleaned up his mess yet, and now this serious incident that could expose the Wizarding World has happened. He won't be able to interfere in Hogwarts anytime soon.
Everything was resolved smoothly, except for the last and most important one.
In central London, which was crowded with fire trucks and engineering vehicles, a group of wizards dressed in incongruous clothes appeared one after another in the dimly lit alleys near Whitehall.
They entered the red phone booth, McGonagall, who was at the front, dialed the number.
"Hello, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please show your identification in an orderly manner."
"Minerva McGonagall".
"Remus Lupin".
"Severus Snape."
Vincent Wayne.
Hermione Granger.
"Harry Potter".
"Ron Weasley."
"Sirius Black —and Peter Pettigrew Black."
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The receptionist was clearly caught off guard as visitor badges emerged one after another from the coin slot.
"What! Sirius Black?"
After a gasp, the entire phone booth began to shake violently.
Ancient Runes appeared on the transparent glass, and the phone booth was soon completely isolated from the outside world.
Sirius Black kicked Peter Pettigrew, who was bound like a mummy in the corner, in a very annoyed manner.
Snape, even more annoyed than him, sneered repeatedly, causing Lupin to frown.
"Padfoot, if he dies, there will be no one left to prove your innocence."
Sirius Black kicked the glass covered in Ancient Runes. "I know what I'm doing."
He turned to meet Snape's cold eyes. "Snivellus, I know what you're thinking. You'd better behave yourself."
"Ho—"
McGonagall turned to the two of them. "Severus, Peter Pettigrew must live. That's what we agreed on before."
Snape snorted and turned his head away.
She then glared at Sirius Black and Lupin, "And remember what you promised me, to put aside all personal grudges for now."
The Dementors are probably catching up soon. We absolutely cannot start fighting among ourselves before we explain the whole situation clearly.
Both of them had been her students, and people from the Ministry of Magic had already arrived.
The Auror supporting the museum arrived one after another via Apparition, and they immediately surrounded the phone booth with murderous intent.
Scrimgeour stepped forward with an expressionless face, his gaze sweeping over the people inside one by one.
There are students and professors; could they be Sirius Black's hostages?
But the atmosphere inside didn't feel like a hostage situation at all; the only thing that did was the little guy in the corner who was tied up like a mummy.
Wait, this person looks familiar; I think I've seen him somewhere before.
One of the few recipients of the Order of Merlin, First Class?
Peter Pettigrew who was brutally murdered by Sirius Black along with 12 innocent Muggle nearly twelve years ago?
Could it be that Sirius Black has been captured by them?
No, his hands were not bound, and he was even holding a magic wand.
Could it be that he had a change of heart and voluntarily came to the Ministry of Magic to turn himself in?
Scrimgeour was utterly shocked.
Just then, Fudge and Umbridge appeared.
The two men walked up to him with smiles on their faces, but when they saw the situation inside the phone booth, countless questions arose in their minds, just like his.
Sirius Black walking right into the trap is a good thing; the outside world's attention will shift from the Ministry of Magic's repeated failures at Hogwarts to this escape artist.
They were all about to pop in the champagne to celebrate, when suddenly Peter Pettigrew came back to life?
Fudge felt a sense of foreboding as he thought about the Muggle museum terror attack that night.
"Knock knock—" McGonagall gently tapped on the glass, drawing all their attention.
"Mr. Minister, I hope you can calm down and listen to me."
Her expression was more serious than ever before. "The real culprit who blew up half of Muggle street 12 years ago was not Sirius Black, but Peter Pettigrew, who left behind a finger to fake his death."
"What!?"
Vincent raised the Wales wand. "Gentlemen, this is the proof."
Peter Pettigrew used it multiple times to cast the Blasting Curse, so the magical aura inside the British Museum must be a perfect match for it.
Fudge remained silent and looked at Scrimgeour beside him.
"Mr. Minister, the explosion at the museum was indeed caused by Blasting Curse."
Umbridge, with keen insight, raised her wand and pointed it at several Magical Runes, on the glass.
Vincent, being quite sensible, handed the evidence to the slowly emerging hole.
Scrimgeour took it in his hands and examined it with a solemn expression.
Not only were there remnants of the Blasting Curse, but there was also a very strong aura of Dark Magic.
"Mr. Minister, I need to confirm this again."
With a quick glance from Fudge, Umbridge promptly enlarged the small hole to adult size.
Sirius Black throws Peter Pettigrew is bound up like a mummy, outside.
Umbridge's eyes were extremely hostile. "Black! You—"
Fudge waved his hand, and she immediately shut her mouth.
Scrimgeour squatted down with a somber expression.
If Peter Pettigrew was the real culprit back then, then Sirius Black was an innocent victim.
It turns out it wasn't a confession, but rather a reversal of the verdict.
Although he thought it was unlikely, the magical aura on the evidence matched Peter Pettigrew perfectly.
Seeing his stammering, Fudge already knew the answer.
The former hero turned out to be the real culprit, and the escaped maniac who served 12 years in Azkaban was actually an innocent victim who had been framed.
Although he wasn't the Minister for Magic at the time, if the outside world knew about this, the already shaky public trust would likely disappear completely.
At that time, all sorts of marches and protests will appear at once, and the British Wizarding World will definitely be in chaos.
At that point, kneeling and apologizing won't solve the problem; being forced off the stage will be the least of your worries.
If used properly...
Fudge changed his tune, revealing a fake smile. "Mr. Black, we still have many questions that you need to answer. We would be grateful if you could come with us to the ministry."
Umbridge flashed the same smile and quickly removed the blockage from the phone booth.
Their attitude had become so polite that even Harry and Ron sensed something was off.
Everyone cooperated well, except for Snape, who remained indifferent throughout and never gave them a kind look.
After all, being arrested and detained for almost half a month as a suspect is understandable.