"Not guilty!"
At the moment Bones announced it, Sirius Black sat blankly in the judgment chair, his ears ringing with "Not guilty… Not guilty…"
Bones, Scrimgeour, and the Wizengamot members had already left, and the crowd in the spectators' gallery began to disperse.
Fudge came over and greeted Dumbledore and Sirius Black: "Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Barty Crouch acted on his own initiative back then, and for his personal reasons, he imprisoned Sirius Black in Azkaban without a trial. Now we have set things right, and Barty Crouch needs to pay for his personal actions."
Dumbledore looked at Fudge strangely, not expecting him to say such words, but after a moment of thought, he understood his intention.
Indeed, for Fudge, whether Sirius Black was innocent or not didn't matter, but for Barty Crouch, his biggest political rival, he truly wished him dead. He wouldn't miss any opportunity to strike at his opponent, and even the importance of stability, which he valued most, had to take a backseat at this moment.
And as expected, Fudge rushed off to find the reporters. Tomorrow's newspaper's front-page headline had to heavily promote how fair and just he, the Minister of Magic, was, as well as Barty Crouch's wicked deeds. This was a major matter that could not be delayed.
Harry also came to the center of the room at this time, gently squeezing Sirius Black's hand, and called out: "Godfather!"
Sirius Black felt the warmth from his palm and the cry of "Godfather," and the light in his dead eyes rekindled.
"You are… Harry?"
Looking at the face so similar to his dear friend James, and the eyes identical to Lily's, Sirius Black recognized Harry at first glance. But his tone carried a hint of hesitation, fearing this was a beautiful dream that would vanish like smoke upon waking.
"It's me!"
Harry released Sirius Black's hand, threw himself into his arms, and hugged him tightly.
After a long time, Harry finally released Sirius Black, looking a little embarrassed.
Sirius Black's stiff facial muscles twitched, revealing a rigid and ugly smile: "This is great… truly great… I never thought I'd see you again in this life, Harry. Last time I saw you, you were only this big." As he spoke, he gestured with his hand.
Harry quietly listened to him pour out his heart. Sirius Black mumbled for a while, then seemed to notice something: "Wait, Harry, you just called me godfather? You… you know I'm your godfather?"
Harry nodded heavily.
After a moment of silence, Sirius Black hesitantly and tentatively asked: "Then… then do you know that your parents entrusted your guardianship to me back then? I wonder if you are willing…"
"I am willing, of course I am willing." Sirius Black was interrupted loudly by Harry before he could finish, "I want to live with you, I want you to be with me always…"
Sirius Black's eyes reddened, and his gaunt hand stroked Harry's cheek as he murmured: "This is wonderful… truly wonderful… Back then, when James, Remus, and I were at school…"
Sirius Black, clearly not in his right mind, looked at Harry's face, so similar to James', and couldn't help but start reminiscing again.
Only this time, Harry turned his face away, Tom, who was with him, looked up at the sky in exasperation, and even Dumbledore was uncharacteristically awkward, as the scandalous stories of Sirius Black's school days had spread to an absurd degree at Hogwarts.
Seeing Sirius Black lost in his memories, Dumbledore had to interrupt him: "Alright, Sirius Black, you can reminisce about the past later, for now, you need a good rest."
Harry even pushed Tom forward to divert Sirius Black's attention: "Sirius Black, let me introduce you, this is my classmate and good friend, Tom, Tom Riddle. He is the greatest contributor to Peter Pettigrew being brought to justice and your acquittal this time."
Sirius Black gratefully clasped Tom's hand: "Thank you, Tom. Truly worthy of being Harry's classmate, what an excellent Gryffindor."
Tom expressionlessly withdrew his hand, pointing to the green emblem on his robe: "Excuse me, I'm a Slytherin."
"Uh…"
'What kind of eyesight is that? If it weren't for plotting the Slytherin locket, who would care if you lived or died.'
Finally, Sirius Black was taken away by Dumbledore to recuperate amidst the resentment of the 'foolish Gryffindor,' while the resentful Tom and the overjoyed Harry were helped back to school by Mr. Arthur Weasley.
The next morning, in the Great Hall, Tom received that day's The Daily Prophet.
Upon opening it, the front-page headline was indeed: "10-Year-Old Case Overturned, Peter Pettigrew Imprisoned, Sirius Black Acquitted."
No small number of students in the Great Hall received The Daily Prophet, and immediately there were gasps of surprise.
"Is it true, is Peter Pettigrew the traitor?"
"Oh my goodness, Sirius Black is actually innocent!"
"Where's Harry? Any inside scoop?"
Tom listened to everyone's discussion, which started normally, but gradually became stranger and stranger, especially among some of the girls.
"Does that mean Professor Snape and Sirius Black can reconcile? Happy, throw flowers~"
"No, no, James is Professor Snape's true love. No matter how miserable Sirius Black is, how can he compete with a dead man?"
"But I ship James and Sirius Black, what should I do?"
"Isn't anyone considering Lily?"
"Heresy! No love!"
Tom buried his head in the newspaper, what a sin, what a sin~
He could really swear to God that it was just a prank he played on a whim, he really didn't expect it to cause such consequences. Now he felt a bit embarrassed to face Snape, but what was with that urge to write a fanfiction?
Flipping through The Daily Prophet casually, an article caught Tom's attention.
"Shocking! Retired Auror Forces Hogwarts Junior Wizard to Duel, Is It a Moral Decline? Or a Distortion of Human Nature?"
It had the distinct flavor of a UC shocker headline, and a glance at the author's byline confirmed it was Rita Skeeter.
However, looking at his handsome figure in the report's photo, and his heroic deeds of defying power and resisting evil forces mentioned in the report, Tom immediately decided that next time he treated Rita Skeeter to a meal, he would definitely add an extra chicken leg for her.
As he was flipping through the newspaper, Tom's sixth sense seemed to prickle. He suddenly looked up, folded the newspaper and tucked it under his arm, then got up and left the Great Hall.
He made his way to the Owlery, and after confirming no one was around, Tom finally spoke: "Alright, no one here, stop hiding, come out."
A beetle buzzed and landed in front of Tom, then transformed back into the middle-aged woman with jewel-encrusted glasses and long, golden curly hair.
"Good morning, Ms. Rita Skeeter." Tom greeted her with a gentlemanly demeanor, "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tom Riddle, a first-year Slytherin student."
Rita Skeeter clearly had no patience for small talk with Tom: "I'm here, what do you want to discuss?"
Seeing this, Tom also chose to get straight to the point: "I want a personal mouthpiece. If I need public opinion in the future, I'll need you to step forward."
"On what grounds?" Rita Skeeter exclaimed in surprise.
"Because I know you are an illegal Animagus. If you don't want to be reported, you'd best agree to my terms."
Tom stared at Rita Skeeter with chilling eyes.
"Of course, you can also refuse. In that case, I don't mind letting you experience my methods, I guarantee it will be unforgettable!"