Time moved into January of 1994, and Hagrid's hearing, much anticipated by Lucius Malfoy, was finally convened.
The venue was once again the Wizengamot, located on the ninth level below the Ministry of Magic. Aiden, Dumbledore, and Hagrid arrived at the scene early, the air thick with tension.
"I'm truly sorry, Aiden, for making you come along with us," Dumbledore apologized, his usual twinkle dimmed by the somber atmosphere.
"You're just trying to increase your vote count, old man. Besides, the panel Lucius invited is already very watered down," Aiden mocked, his sharp eyes scanning the room.
Having learned his lesson from the previous Prewett and Weasley incident, Lucius had taken great care to pack the panel this time. He'd successfully proposed adopting a jury-like system, recruiting members from outside the Ministry to form the official panel. These recruits, along with the heads of several Ministry departments, would serve as the official review board.
As a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, Aiden was naturally within the scope of invitation. At the same time, Lucius had used Arthur Weasley's status as a Ministry employee to exclude him, further reducing Dumbledore's potential influence.
He has the right time, the right place, and the right people. Lucius is quite formidable, Aiden thought.
Before long, the members of the panel had mostly arrived. People from prominent wizarding families gathered in small clusters, engaging in the happy social games of the elite.
Aiden, finding himself utterly unable to fit in with their shallow pleasantries, walked directly up to the panel seats, heading straight for a man in platinum-white robes.
"Hee hee, Dragon, I knew you had me in your heart. Come, sit," the Director said, using a spell to clean the chair beside him with a flourish.
"I just find those people annoying, like a bunch of..." Aiden's good upbringing stopped him from finishing the thought.
"Exactly! What's the fun in being with those insects? How about joining the Department of Mysteries!" The Director winked with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"No," Aiden replied, rolling his eyes.
"Tch, no fun," the Director muttered.
With a flourish of dramatic background music that seemed to follow him everywhere, the doors of the Wizengamot swung open, and Cornelius Fudge entered, walking with an air of self-importance. Behind him were two jurors, the wrinkles on his face piled high from smiling so broadly. He seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits.
Seeing that face made Aiden feel an overwhelming sense of sleepiness.
He turned his head to the Director. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when it's over."
Then, the Manipulator openly detached his consciousness, drifting off to the one place where he could truly be effective.
The Director, understanding perfectly, shifted slightly forward to block Aiden from the view of the other panel members.
In the Collective Unconscious Sea, Aiden's main consciousness attached itself to a virtual personality and, following the familiar currents, slipped into Hagrid's consciousness island.
'Hagrid,' Aiden's voice echoed in the half-giant's mind.
"Oh?" Hagrid twitched involuntarily, causing those around him to look at him strangely.
Lucius Malfoy, certain victory was in his grasp, showed a contemptuous smile.
'Hagrid, don't move. I'm speaking to you in your consciousness right now,' Aiden instructed calmly.
'Aiden? What's going on? How are you in my head?' Hagrid communicated back, his internal voice filled with confusion.
'That's not important. I'll help you with their questioning later. Just respond according to what I say,' Aiden directed from his position within Hagrid's mind.
'Why not just completely take him over with a virtual personality?' the system interjected curiously.
'It would be discovered. This is the Wizengamot. There would be a subtle unnaturalness during a full possession. What if it's noticed?' Aiden explained patiently.
Seeing that everyone was finally settled, Fudge banged his gavel with officious satisfaction.
"Attention everyone! The hearing regarding the magical creature injury incident will now begin."
"Now, Mr. Malfoy, please begin your statement," Fudge said, nodding toward Lucius with practiced impartiality.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentlemen of the review panel, look at what kind of harm the magical creature raised by this damned half-blood giant has caused my child!"
From the very beginning, Lucius steered the topic toward race, pointing the finger directly at the magical creature while magnifying Hagrid's responsibility. At the same time, he produced a memory stone, displaying Draco's exaggerated injuries for the panel to see.
"Now, Hagrid, do you acknowledge that the injuries on young Mr. Malfoy were caused by the magical creature you keep?" Fudge asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'This feeling of the judge and the plaintiff being in cahoots is really awful,' Hagrid complained to Aiden on the consciousness island.
"Of course not, Minister. Buckbeak is a magical creature kept at Hogwarts. Part of his upkeep funds even came from the Malfoy family's donations, so strictly speaking, they are also one of his keepers."
Hagrid repeated Aiden's words verbatim, his voice surprisingly firm and clear.
Fudge and Dumbledore both frowned at the same time. This clever way of deflecting responsibility felt disturbingly familiar. They both glanced toward the young man with the monocle on the panel, only to find him sound asleep, leaning against the Director.
But how could a demigod specializing in the mind be so easily seen through?
Unable to find anything unusual about Aiden, Fudge's brows furrowed tightly. Dumbledore, on the contrary, relaxed his own, a hint of a smile touching his lips.
"You damned, lying half-blood giant! Malfoy is no longer a governor; it has nothing to do with us anymore!" Lucius spat through gritted teeth.
"Oh, that's really wonderful... no, I mean, what a pity," Hagrid replied with a touch of dark humor that was entirely out of character.
"Alright, Mr. Hagrid, don't beat around the bush. Young Mr. Malfoy was injured during your class. According to our regulations, shouldn't you bear full responsibility for this?" Fudge said, crossing his hands on the table to make himself look more imposing.
"Yes, Minister, but please allow me to present a document. This is a record of all accidents and student injuries caused by teaching at Hogwarts since its founding. Our regulations don't seem to have any special provisions for this, especially regarding damages caused by teaching. If you plan to use newly established regulations to judge me, wouldn't that violate the principle that laws cannot be applied retroactively?"
After speaking, Hagrid followed Aiden's instructions and tapped the table three times with his index finger, a small but powerful gesture of confidence.
'When did we get this document? No, when did you guys compile it?' Hagrid asked in his mind, completely bewildered.
'You really have to thank Hermione and Astoria for this. I didn't expect the two of them to be so powerful when they team up,' Aiden replied, lounging on the metaphorical beach of Hagrid's consciousness island.
"Uh, we'll need to study this matter further," Fudge said, giving a look to the staff member approaching to retrieve the document, clearly intending to stall.
"Minister, I have no less than twenty copies of this document right here," Hagrid said with a cheerful smile, flicking his small umbrella with a flourish.
Twenty-odd copies of the document flew toward the review panel, distributing themselves neatly before each member.
Fudge and Lucius were rendered speechless. "..."
Seeing that the situation was lost, Lucius decided to take one last, desperate dig at Hagrid.
"Well then, at the very least, according to our regulations, shouldn't we punish the magical creature that harmed a wizard?" Lucius glared fiercely at Hagrid, his voice filled with venom.
The panel had finished reading the document, and upon hearing Lucius's words, they nodded in agreement.
In reality, the hearing had already been downgraded from its original purpose. Lucius's goal was to get rid of Hagrid, Dumbledore's staunchest ally at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, thanks to the combined efforts of Hermione and Astoria, his scheme had completely failed.
The outcome of the hearing was now reduced from dealing with both the wizard and the magical creature to just dealing with the magical creature. The panel members, who viewed magical creatures as little more than property, were happy to give the Malfoy family this small concession to save face.
Soon, the execution of the Hippogriff was passed by a unanimous vote.