The pink toad was carried away like a puddle of mud by two tall Aurors to face the next round of investigation. That smug face was now deathly pale, filled with confusion and despair. Her eyes stared vacantly into space, having given up all struggle.
There was no longer a place for her at the Ministry of Magic.
The Carrow couple was also "escorted" away, trembling all over. Their son was ruined. As a family already living off past glory, their complete downfall wasn't far off.
On the judgment bench, all officials remained silent as cicadas. Looking at that boy with his clean, well-behaved face, they never would have imagined that the final result of this trial would turn out like this!
Incredible to the point of being supernatural. It seemed that once that boy called "Ethan Vincent" appeared, everything started racing wildly in a direction contrary to reason!
This trial that turned everything upside down was destined to go down in history. It would also be deeply branded in the minds of everyone present, never to be forgotten.
Ethan observed thoughtfully: "Removing a tumor from the Ministry, letting ill-gotten gains from corrupt families flow back to society... Hmm, Minister Fudge, you did well."
Ethan looked up, smiling at the sweat-drenched Minister Fudge.
Fudge stared at him blankly. Ethan's tone, like a superior praising a subordinate, made his mouth twitch involuntarily.
Dumbledore, where did you find this talent?
"Ahem," Fudge stiffly forced a smile under Dumbledore's watchful gaze, "I'm very sorry, Mr. Ethan Vincent. Today's incident was entirely due to our Ministry staff's inadequate review. For this, the Ministry will compensate you three hundred Galleons. How does that sound?"
Ethan blinked and said innocently: "How did you know I just won the Secret Realm Tracking Challenge and received a thousand Galleon prize?"
Three hundred Galleons? Who are you trying to brush off!
Meanwhile, Ethan internally despised himself. Ethan, oh Ethan, you've changed. You're no longer that poor boy who didn't have a single Knut in his pocket! Now you actually look down on three hundred Galleons! Ron would cry!
Fudge stared at him speechlessly.
Professor McGonagall turned her head away, her shoulders trembling slightly with suppressed laughter.
"Then... then how about adding another hundred... four hundred Galleons?" Fudge gritted his teeth, showing a pained expression: "This isn't a small amount... If you like reading, you could even empty out an entire small bookstore... An ordinary Ministry employee's annual salary might not even reach this amount..."
Ethan stared directly at Fudge and said slowly: "But I was threatened with death, Minister Fudge. My mental and physical health suffered tremendous damage. I'm just a child!"
Ethan blinked innocently, speaking with complete shamelessness.
Now Fudge was sweating profusely. Trembling while wiping sweat, he stammered: "Then... then how much compensation do you think is appropriate, Mr. Vincent?"
Ethan declared confidently: "I want two thousand Galleons."
Fudge's eyes suddenly widened, his eyeballs nearly popping out. How much?! Two thousand?! Why don't you just go rob someone!
Ethan showed a pure and innocent smile: "After all, Minister Fudge wouldn't want to create a rift with Headmaster Dumbledore because of me, would you?"
Fudge trembled as he looked up at Dumbledore. The latter paused, then showed a smile identical to Ethan's.
Finally, after much pleading and negotiation, Ethan's final compensation was thirteen hundred Galleons. About the limit for what could be quickly processed. The Ministry would directly open a vault for Ethan at Gringotts to store this enormous compensation.
Ethan smiled with satisfaction: "What a pleasant conversation."
A thousand Galleons was enough for the Weasley twins to open a shop. So with over two thousand Galleons, he could buy two shops.
For pure-blood families with deep foundations, this might not be much. But this was Ethan's largest startup fund.
Ethan satisfiedly shook hands with the dazed Minister Fudge. Thinking to himself: Everyone at the Ministry is talented and speaks so nicely. I'll come again next time.
At this moment, blue text appeared before Ethan's eyes:
The Lamp Shows No Mercy
Under the radiance of light, all darkness is dispelled
You have transmitted your beliefs
Though barely perceptible, your words still lit small lamps in others' minds
When the lamp is bright enough, you can influence those connected to your light, no matter where they are
Current "Lamp" brightness: Glimmer
Ethan's eyes focused intently. He felt the small oil lamp in his skull brighten another degree. At the same time, extremely faint spider-silk-like connections appeared between him and some officials on the judgment bench.
Ethan noticed that one of these threads was considerably more solid than the others. Following this thread, Ethan saw a capable-looking witch. She had short gray hair, wore a monocle, and had a serious expression with no hint of a smile. Her demeanor was even more stern and sharp than Professor McGonagall, who taught and educated students.
The witch was looking down, concentrating intently on organizing documents.
Ethan had a thought. The thread seemed to be tugged, creating ripples. Then the witch seemed to sense something and looked up.
Ethan's breath caught. An effect similar to the Imperius Curse! But much safer and more morally acceptable.
Ethan could imagine that if achieving this ability were as simple as basic exercises, Voldemort would have mastered it long ago.
"Light up hidden places, discover treasures, connect with others, transmit the flame..." Ethan mused appreciatively. "Herpo, thank you for your research. You really made a great contribution to future progress!"
Ethan gave a mental thumbs up to Herpo, who had been completely obliterated by him.
On the other side, the witch whose attention Ethan had drawn nodded to him with a friendly smile. She directly packed up her things and walked down from the platform.
Giving the still-dazed Minister Fudge a cold nod, she said to Dumbledore: "If you had arrived a few minutes earlier, you could have witnessed Mr. Vincent's excellent speech."
Then she turned and introduced herself to Ethan: "I am Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I came to this trial intending to uphold justice. I didn't expect there would be no need for me to intervene."
Ethan replied politely: "Thank you for your concern, Ms. Bones."
The corners of Amelia's mouth lifted slightly. What an ambitious child, she thought approvingly. He'll surely achieve great things in the future.
"Your speech was very moving. I look forward to your future performance. Perhaps we could become colleagues at the Ministry."
Amelia didn't notice the strange expressions on Professor McGonagall's and Headmaster Dumbledore's faces after she spoke.
Amelia continued: "I heard you're very passionate about art? That's wonderful. I hope you'll continue pursuing it."
Although she had never seen Ethan's paintings, surely what a wizard his age created would be cute and childlike. Thinking this, Amelia's smile deepened.
She pulled something from her robes and handed it to Ethan, saying: "This is a ticket to an art exhibition... or rather, a Portkey. It's hosted by a reclusive goblin master, only open to specific insiders. The exhibition opens after Christmas, right during the holidays. I think you'd definitely be interested, wouldn't you?"
A goblin master?
To be recognized by wizards in this age when goblins had been defeated and become employed by wizards, the art created by this goblin must be truly spectacular.
Ethan immediately felt interested in learning and exchanging ideas.