The trial continued.
Hodge knew he had offended Fudge, but that was no big deal—there was one thing Fudge had gotten right: his name would spread across the world along with Sirius's case, especially when Voldemort truly revealed himself. Provided, of course, that he handled the current situation first.
"Hodge Blackthorn, state your evidence."
"Pettigrew Wormtail—he's still alive."
Hearing this crisp and direct exchange, the crowd was greatly shocked. "What—?" The fire in the courtroom burned fiercely, its light illuminating faces that were surprised, frowning, or lost in thought. Hodge took it all in, his mind seeming to empty out again, floating up high, embracing the entire courtroom like observing an ecosystem in a bottle, noting everyone's emotions.
He turned somewhat indifferently toward the witness stand and waved to Ron, who was huddled in the corner.
Who? Me? Now? I thought you'd keep debating with the judge! Ron wanted to point at his own nose but felt it wasn't appropriate in this setting. Then his face paled as he remembered what Hodge had said that morning—more precisely, how Hodge had guided him step by step to reach the conclusion himself.
Ron stood up. For the honor of the Weasleys... he silently cheered himself on, trembling as he walked to Hodge's side. When he mustered the courage to look up, he met Sirius's gaunt face and deeply sunken black eyes. He quickly glanced away, only to see a sea of dark-clad figures, and suddenly forgot how to breathe.
"Ronald Weasley?" Amelia Bones read a name from the files.
"Thanks to Ron, he helped me unlock the final piece of the puzzle." Hodge said loudly. Liar, Ron thought, though he could finally breathe again. Liar... Harry thought the same.
Their inner thoughts didn't affect Hodge's eloquent narration in the slightest—
"At the beginning, I knew Voldemort was still alive, in a way that's hard for people to understand: half-dead, weak, powerless... So, when I heard the news of Sirius Black's escape from prison, a thought popped into my head: catch him myself. In fact, I wasn't the only one thinking that." Harry's face felt a bit hot; he admitted he'd had similar ideas. Hodge continued: "I started gathering information—from old newspapers, professors, the castle caretaker's accounts of past events, and of course, the ghosts—they're more objective. In short, I pieced together an image of Black's brilliant student days that was completely different from the newspapers."
Hodge was executing the second step of his plan—displaying his "journey of deduction." He packaged his current actions as conclusions drawn from peeling back layers, rather than a whim. He wanted others to know that every word he said now was carefully considered, including his earlier seemingly sharp remarks.
Hmm, slamming Fudge was to bring up Voldemort, and bringing up Voldemort was to force Fudge out—that was step one of the plan. Of course, a Minister for Magic wouldn't step down just like that. Hodge's statements today would at most add another brick to the impression of Fudge's mediocrity, making it sink deeper into people's minds. But Fudge's image of incompetence had already been built into an advertising wall over his dozen years of "diligent" work—everyone knew it. Unless—
Hodge glanced around. The Wizengamot members before him were the most influential people in the British wizarding world. As long as they believed peace was over, the wizarding world would truly teeter on the edge. At that point, people wouldn't tolerate an incompetent man staying in the Minister's seat.
"...Brave, clever, full of vitality. Of course, most traits have two sides, and that was especially true for Black: reckless, impulsive, arrogant, self-centered." Hodge avoided looking at Sirius's bulging ox-like eyes. "But a person like that—especially after breaking with his family—wouldn't be likely to betray his best friend."
"Some might counter that maybe we're dealing with a poor wretch who struggled but ultimately reverted to family traditions. I thought that too at first. But for someone like him, betrayal needs a reason. So I wondered, could there be some unknown, deeply hidden conflict with James... The result was nothing, but instead, it led me to discover someone else who fit that profile perfectly."
Hodge smiled at Remus Lupin, making him uneasy and wondering if his werewolf identity had been exposed. These years of poverty had made him somewhat familiar with Muggle society; he knew there was a type of character called detectives, and Hodge's performance today was just like those sleuths on TV who expounded endlessly. More crucially, these detectives, when revealing the truth at the end, always uncovered everyone's carefully hidden secrets along with it, even if unrelated to the truth...
"I'm sure you've guessed it—that person is Pettigrew Wormtail. As the weakest one in their campus group, he always trailed behind James Potter and Black. He longed to be one of them but always lacked real courage and confidence, until the final act of his life. I read similar descriptions in old newspapers, though they called it an 'awakening of courage,' a true heroic deed. So, I could only put a question mark on it for now, since there were no follow-up clues."
"The turning point came not long ago."
"As Sirius Black broke into the castle, the newspapers once again ran endless reports on the old news. I suddenly realized something—Pettigrew Wormtail was blown to bits, with the largest remnant being just a single finger. A single finger..." Hodge sneered: "Yeah, a hero's body reduced to nothing—anyone should be outraged, right? Very reasonable, isn't it?"
"But I still doubted it, doubted that Pettigrew Wormtail faked his death to escape. That at least makes the story sound more logical... Yes, I approached it from a story angle. Suppose Sirius is innocent... Following that line, many contradictions resolve themselves. But there were still questions, like why did Sirius escape from prison?"
Hodge paced back and forth in the courtroom, everyone captivated by his tale. "Oh, I see some confusion. You're wondering why Sirius pleaded guilty? Because there's another possibility: Sirius bore some dishonorable role in the Potters' sacrifice, felt guilty himself, and was willing to die for it."
The Wizengamot members were greatly shocked, looking incredulously at the man sitting in the chair—disheveled hair, skin and bones, skull-like head... They couldn't believe he'd endured all this just because he felt guilty?
————
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