Because the fugitive Sirius Black had been the first prisoner ever to escape successfully, the Ministry of Magic reacted much faster than usual.
Even Minister of Magic Fudge rushed over at the first opportunity.
They met amid the bathroom ruins where the battle had taken place, which also gave the Ministry officials a chance to make a rough assessment of the situation.
Fudge wore his hat, his expression rather grave.
After surveying the battlefield with his trusted aides and several important department heads from the Ministry, he couldn't help sighing.
"I never thought the thing we feared most would still happen. Sirius Black infiltrated Hogwarts and caused such extensive damage. Thank you, professors, for helping capture him. You can hand Sirius over to us now. Since Azkaban can't hold him, we'll make sure he receives the harshest possible punishment."
Fudge set the tone, speaking with absolute certainty.
Although Sirius hadn't been given his wand back, he wasn't restrained either.
The earlier misunderstanding had been fully cleared up, so there was no reason to restrict him.
He was simply still in the 'drunken' state that followed taking Veritaserum, and his head wasn't clear.
He kept mumbling that he was guilty.
When Fudge accused him, he didn't have the energy to argue. Instead, he started crying.
But Harry, who already knew the truth, hurriedly spoke up.
"Oh, Sirius is innocent. Wormtail Peter was the one who did all that back then. Didn't the professors tell you?"
Harry turned to look at McGonagall, who had gone to notify them earlier.
"I believe I made it clear when I contacted you: Wormtail Peter was behind all of this. We also have concrete evidence. We recorded everything that happened, and we questioned him with Veritaserum. There's no way we could be mistaken."
Professor McGonagall's face