Advancing magic! Benefiting all wizards! That banner was far too rallying!
Lockhart had transformed from a fraud into a figure of "a man who had made mistakes in the past, paid the price, and now actively devoted himself to a great cause"—a repentant prodigal!
He even carried the tragic aura of a hero who sacrificed the lesser self for the greater good!
Fudge, seated at the chief judge's bench, had already been dissatisfied with Dumbledore's forcefulness. Seeing the crowd in the courtroom stirred up by Lockhart, his emotions churned. He rose excitedly, and the quill before him slipped from his hand and fell onto the desk, its feather tip pointing upward as its nib struck the edge with a short, sharp click. He reached for it, his fingers brushing the desk edge twice before finally gripping the shaft.
Feeling the gazes around him turn his way, he casually placed the quill back into the ink bottle. His eyes fell on Lockhart, then shifted away, as if searching for somewhere safe to settle.
He cleared his throat and began applauding with effort as he looked toward Lockhart. "Very good! Mr. Lockhart... your statement... was very... moving! The evidence you presented... is also extremely compelling! This... this truly concerns the future of the Wizarding World!"
The look he gave Dumbledore was full of dissatisfaction and reproach. "Professor Dumbledore, have you... have you become too fixated on past mistakes, while overlooking the possible... positive changes and significant contributions of the present?"
Dumbledore stood there like a lone peak amid a storm. His blue eyes stared fixedly at Lockhart, as though he wanted to see through him and the fathomless shadow behind him.
He could see the hidden mockery in Lockhart's eyes, the emptiness deep within those "witnesses'" gazes, and the darkness permeating the