Cornelius Fudge

"This is appalling... appalling... Albus, you didn't tell me any of this before we came..."

"Believe me, Cornelius, I didn't know much earlier than you..."

Kyle, who was standing at the door, listened to the conversation between the two people inside, raised his hand and knocked on the oak door of the Headmaster's Office.

The door was opened very quickly.

In the Headmaster's Office, Cornelius Fudge sat opposite Dumbledore, looking somewhat nervous...

Two days before the holiday, Dumbledore and Sirius finally returned. Without Kyle even having to say anything, Dumbledore wrote a letter to the Ministry of Magic, using a random excuse to trick Fudge into coming to Hogwarts.

Kyle initially thought Dumbledore could handle the rest himself, but just as he was about to go, Professor McGonagall ran over and said the headmaster was looking for him.

Looking at Kyle standing in the doorway, Fudge frowned and said, "Dumbledore, this is...?"

"Kyle was the first to notice something was wrong with that mouse," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "That's why I brought him along. If there's anything I can't figure out, he can help you."

"Oh, that's really amazing..." Fudge said absentmindedly.

Kyle noticed that the Pensieve, which had always been in the cabinet, had been taken out; clearly, the two of them had already seen Peter Pettigrew's memories before he came in.

"Albus, you've really given me a tough problem..."

Fudge glanced at Kyle and said hesitantly, "Peter Pettigrew has Order of Merlin, First Class for twelve years."

"And we've had Sirius Black captured for a year... If I were to tell everyone now that their identities have been wrong, I'd be bombarded with Howler."

"Minister for Magic isn't easy. I have a lot to deal with every day." Fudge twirled his top hat. "Is it possible that the mouse's memory is fake... and you also said it can't turn back, and no one can prove it's an illegal Animagus ... right?"

"You're right, Cornelius," Dumbledore sighed, agreeing. "It's eaten too many Mandrake, which is indeed a difficult problem to solve, and I suppose you probably can't do anything about it either."

It's a real shame for Sirius; not only was he imprisoned for twelve years for nothing, but he also had to be constantly hunted by Dementor.

Fudge looked up, somewhat surprised.

He had expected Dumbledore to argue with him, and he had even prepared excuses to back down. But things took an unexpected turn, and it seemed that Dumbledore wasn't going to get involved anymore.

"Well..." Fudge said calmly, "I've thought about it and I think you were right before. Dementor aren't suited to be so close to Hogwarts ... I'll take them with me when I go back this time."

"Thank you so much, Cornelius," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet and giving Kyle a subtle wink.

So Kyle stood up, cleared his throat, and muttered in a low voice that everyone could hear, "What a pity. Twelve years ago you weren't the minister, otherwise... I'm sure this mistake wouldn't have happened."

Fudge's expression froze for a moment.

Kyle's words suddenly reminded him.

Yes, twelve years ago, he didn't give the order to arrest Sirius, and he wasn't even involved in the whole thing.

Fudge thought about many things, but his expression remained completely unchanged.

"You two must have planned this together." He looked at Dumbledore with displeasure. "And I suspect it was your idea."

"I'm sorry, Cornelius, I don't understand what you mean." Dumbledore asked in surprise, "What have we done?"

"Stop pretending, you cunning fellow," Fudge laughed. "You're the one who taught Kyle to say those things, right? They seemed to be praising me, but actually they were just trying to get me to agree to a retrial of Black's case."

"You've misunderstood, Cornelius," Dumbledore strange expression. "I didn't teach Kyle to say these things..."

"Oh?" Fudge smiled, as if he saw through everything. "Kyle's a good kid, he doesn't have that many tricks up his sleeve."

Dumbledore's expression became even stranger.

Kyle seemed not to hear, or perhaps he was tacitly agreeing, "Minister, that's not what I meant... I really think you're a good minister."

"Well, I have to admit, I was fooled." Fudge sat back down in his chair and placed his top hat beside him.

"The matter of Black was indeed a failure of the Ministry of Magic, and as the current Minister, I also have a responsibility to correct this mistake."

"Cornelius, do you agree to a retrial?" Dumbledore asked.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted to see?" Fudge said. "But before that, we have to find Black first..."

Before he could finish speaking, a raggedly dressed man emerged from a corner of the Headmaster's Office.

It was Sirius Black.

Instinctively, Fudge jumped up from his chair in a panic, about to call for help.

But he quickly realized what was happening. His hand, which had been reaching for the wand, subtly veered away, unbuttoning a button on his collar. At the same time, he gave Dumbledore a strange look, as if to say... "You've even found the person, and you still say it wasn't your idea?"

Dumbledore did not refute this, but simply said:

"When I found him, he was dealing with two Death Eaters..."

"Wait a minute," Fudge interrupted him, asking, "Did Black steal someone else's wand?"

"Precisely because he didn't do that..." Dumbledore said, "The process was very dangerous, but fortunately he did it..."

Black dragged two unconscious people out from the corner. Their faces were covered in bruises, and it was obvious at a glance that they had been knocked out.

Fudge examined it carefully.

They didn't have the Dark Mark on their wrists, so they probably weren't important figures. However, since Dumbledore was here, it meant they were definitely Death Eaters. The Auror could confirm their identities with a glance.

"Because Black isn't able to move around much right now..." Dumbledore said, "So Cornelius, could you help bring these two back to the Ministry of Magic when you go back?"

This was also his own intention.

"I'll take it back?" Fudge's eyes lit up. "Oh, of course, no problem, it's my duty."

He seemed quite pleased. "Even while evading the Dementor, he still didn't forget to fight the Death Eaters. I'm starting to believe he was truly innocent."

"Whether he's innocent or not, we need to investigate further," Dumbledore said. "I'll watch over him for now, how about that?"

"That would be perfect," Fudge said, "But how should we investigate...?"

He glanced at the cage on the table. "Wizengamot won't believe a mouse's memory, and that's something even I, as Minister for Magic, can't change."

Moreover, even if Black were to request to Veritaserum, it wouldn't matter if he couldn't see Peter Pettigrew in person.

"You can rest assured about that," Dumbledore said. "We have found a way to restore Peter, but it will take some time."

"Of course, that's no problem." Fudge glanced at the two Death Eaters tied together. "If there's anything the Ministry of Magic can do to help, just say the word... Like I said before, this was a mistake the Ministry of Magic made back then, and I'd be happy to make amends for it."

Dumbledore slightly raised his head... Judging from Fudge's tone, he seemed to have already determined that Black was innocent.