***
There was noise and commotion in the Lestrange manor. Bellatrix was raging. Rudolphus had hidden his wife's wand in time, and thanks to Merlin, only the dishes and furniture had been destroyed so far. When the former Black lost her temper, everyone felt bad. Especially the Muggles, if they happened to be in the dungeons at that moment. Rudolphus, who didn't like wasting human resources so pointlessly, constantly lectured his wife, but she didn't care most of the time. And since Lord Voldemort had disappeared, Bellatrix had gone completely off the rails. In the desk in the study where Voldemort usually spent his time, she found records of the children of the prophecy. One of them was the Potter child, the other was the Longbottom child. The Lord himself was more inclined towards the first option, because the Potter offspring was a half-blood, like Voldemort himself. But Bellatrix was convinced that the child of prophecy could have been born to the Longbottom couple. Or, at the very least, they would know how and why the Dark Lord had disappeared. She rushed into the living room and cast a fiery glance at the Leystrange brothers, who were sitting gloomily on the sofa by the window.
"We have to do something," she began, almost breaking into a scream.
"What do you suggest?" Rabastan, the younger of the Lestrange brothers, looked at Bella hopefully.
"We need to visit the Longbottoms and ask them with all due respect where our master might be," she exclaimed with growing excitement.
Despite the absurdity of her reasoning, neither of the Lestrange brothers even thought to object. They too were consumed by anxiety and a desire to do something, anything, no matter how crazy it might seem. Without further thought, the three of them grabbed their wands and rushed out into the street. At that moment, Barty Crouch Jr. appeared in front of the estate gates in a flash of apparition. Having received no news from the other Death Eaters for two days, the young man decided to go to Lestrange Manor himself, where he knew Voldemort's residence was located. Seeing the Lestranges coming towards him, Barty asked where they were going and insisted on joining them.
Unfortunately, Frank and Alice had been let off duty early that day and had only just had time to shower and change. No sooner had the Aurors sat down at the table and started drinking their tea than a frightened house-elf suddenly appeared and reported that the mansion was under attack and the defences were about to fall. Bursting into the Longbottom house, the Dark Lord's best fighters quickly suppressed the resistance of the family, who had not expected an attack, and immediately subjected them to harsh interrogation using the Cruciatus Curse. Naturally, Frank and Alice, even if they could, said nothing to the increasingly enraged Devourers. Already losing consciousness from the unbearable pain, Frank only had time to rejoice that his mother and Neville had gone to St. Mungo's Hospital to check on the child's health, which meant they had safely avoided an encounter with the enraged Devourers. Getting no response and leaving the unconscious Longbottoms lying on the living room floor, the Death Eaters went out into the courtyard, where they suddenly saw a stocky man in a leather cloak standing in front of them, a strange blue eye staring mockingly at Leystrange, spinning wildly in all directions."Expelliarmus!" Moody barked, and the Death Eaters' wands were wrenched from their hands, and they themselves were thrown back onto the steps. Not expecting such power from the famous dark wizard, the Lestranges didn't even have time to be surprised before the next spell sent them into darkness.
"Ugh, scum," Alastor growled, "guys, check the house. Put these three in cells.
The Dark Wizards who had arrived at Moody's signal rushed inside.
Barty Crouch, who had lingered in the hall of the mansion, cautiously moved into the next room and jumped out into the courtyard on the other side of the house. Running far away into the garden, where the Dark Wizards' anti-detection dome no longer worked, he hurried to get away without saying goodbye. When Augusta Longbottom returned home a few hours later with her grandson in a portable cradle, she found traces of a fight in the rooms and an empty house. Leaving the child in the care of the house elves, she found out from them what had happened and hurried to the Ministry of Magic.
Most of the inhabitants of England celebrated their deliverance from the terror of the Death Eaters, but in the small Longbottom manor, grief settled in for many years to come. Too much had happened to the not-yet-old woman, and if it weren't for little Neville, happily wriggling in his crib, she would probably have already put a bullet in her head. Frank and Alice settled in St. Mungo's Ward for a long time, and she vowed to raise Neville so that he would never decide to become a Dark Wizard.
***
On a quiet street in Kinshasa, Cassius was playing mancala with other children. Crawling in the dust and moving pebbles around the holes, the children chatted happily and teased each other. The game was old, if not ancient, but it was great for developing tactical thinking and was very popular with the locals. And since both adults and children played mancala, Cassius inevitably learned how to play it too. In general, children also loved to play football, but Cassius preferred to stand in goal rather than run around the field in the 30-degree heat. Although he had long since adapted to the local climate, even with the protection of his amulet, he could not compare with the local boys in terms of endurance. After relieving himself behind a dilapidated, peeling building, he suddenly saw an unpleasant sight. Two young kulunas with knives in their hands had cornered a young girl and were about to have some fun with her, as they imagined it. The victim, holding some kind of stick in her trembling hands, was not going to give up so easily.
"Mademoiselle," one of the men said in a common tongue, "drop your stick if you don't want us to decorate your face with this." And he played with the sharp knife in front of him, tossing it from hand to hand. The second bandit cautiously circled the girl from the side so that she couldn't escape at the right moment.
"Get out of here, you hyenas," said the girl. "As soon as my family finds out about this attack, you'll all be dead."
"How will they find out?" sneered the tall man standing in front of her. "We won't tell anyone, and you won't want to tell anyone either. Maybe you'll even like it and come back to us," he continued with a nasty grin.
Then, with a soft rustle, some construction debris fell from under Cassius's feet, and one of the gangsters turned around sharply.
"What are you doing here, kid?" the thug spat viciously. "Get out of here, now!" He even swung his knife at Cassius.
At that moment, several things happened at once. The boy decided that the gangster was about to lunge at him with the knife, and in fear, he swung his arm, and the kulunas who had turned towards him was simply blown away by a magical blast, leaving behind a cloud of bloody dust. The dark energy that burst out of the boy left the kulunas no chance of survival. At that moment, the girl standing by the wall threw a stick at the second attacker, and it turned into a snake in mid-flight, which clung to the gangster's face, cutting off his scream.
Cassius didn't even have time to be surprised before the girl was crucified on the wall, and Chibuzo Inu, the house spirit who had been invisibly guarding Cassius, appeared out of nowhere.
"Does the evil witch also want to harm the young gentleman?" squeaked the brownie, looking at the girl crucified against the wall.
"Stop!" Cassius immediately stood up for the girl in front of the belligerent brownie. "She definitely didn't want to hurt me, it's all the fault of these bandits. She was just defending herself, please let her go." The brownie snapped his fingers and disappeared again, and the young African woman slowly sank down against the wall.
"Who are you?" she gasped, trying to get to her feet.
"My name is Cass, we're playing here," replied Cassius, waving his hand vaguely towards the street.
"I'm Zola," smiled the girl, "I had a fight with my boyfriend and wanted to walk, but I didn't think that Gombe could be as dangerous as Masina, especially during the day.
"Well, it seems pretty safe here if you play in the main streets and courtyards," Cassius replied doubtfully, glancing at the gangster who had stopped twitching. "How did you turn a stick into a snake?"Is that some kind of cool magic?" he asked with childlike innocence.
"Just a simple transfiguration," the girl shrugged. "You're a wizard too, aren't you?" Zola smiled. "And a very distinguished one at that. Look at that evil brownie watching you. I didn't even have time to squeak before he immobilised me.
"Yes, I live in the house of my teacher from the Inu clan," Cassius replied.
"Chibuzo Inu?" Zola said with respect in her voice.
"Yes, him," nodded the boy, "I've been studying with him for a year now," he said proudly.
"My mother said that he used to teach at their school," Zola thought, "but now we have a different dark magic professor.
"Do you study at Uagadu?" Cassius asked curiously. "Is it cool there?"
"Not bad," smiled Zola, "but the workload can be very heavy. When I received my sleep stone seven years ago, I was on cloud nine, but when classes started, there was so much to do that my joy quickly faded.
She sighed heavily:
"I'm already in my seventh year and will be graduating this year. But my profession as an astrologer doesn't involve active combat every day, so even though I was ready to fight back against those cocky kulunas, I was very scared when they suddenly attacked me with knives. I didn't even notice how I ended up away from the main street," she sighed guiltily. "My parents wanted me to join the family business. They own the Kongotex factory, which produces fabrics for all of Africa," Zola said proudly, her nose in the air. "But lately, business has been getting worse and worse, and my parents are looking for someone to sell everything to. None of the children, including me, want to go into business, and now this jerk has decided to break up with me," she waved her hand indignantly. "Anyway, thank you for your help, Cass," the girl said seriously. "You are a very brave boy and definitely worthy of your teacher.
Looking around, she pulled out her wand and waved it at the body lying on the ground. The earth beneath it began to sink rapidly, and in a few moments, only the dust that rose from the spot would have indicated that anything had been there.
"If you ever need to know anything about school or astronomy, come and see me," she said with a cheerful smile. "We live in Kintambo on Ave de la Sante, not far from the hospital. If you want, you can send an owl. As they talked, they went out into the street, where Zola went about her business and Cassius returned to playing with the other children. Everything happened so unexpectedly and quickly that the children didn't even notice that he had left.
In the evening, the boy excitedly told Chibuzo Inu what had happened, to which he only shrugged his shoulders uncertainly:
"You know, Cassius," Chibuzo said slowly, sipping his favourite tea, "in Zaire, human life is worth nothing. That's why you always have to be careful on the street. That girl, Zola, almost got hurt because of her carelessness. If you hadn't distracted the street thugs, who knows if she would have had time to get her wand to protect you. And it's difficult to use wandless magic when you're panicking. Not all wizards who graduate from Uagadu are fighters; there are plenty of ordinary wizards among us, too. They can also fall victim to a sudden attack by criminals, just like any ordinary Muggle. So always be careful when you're not at home. Now go and practise, telekinesis won't train itself," he grinned, waving his hand. Cassius sighed and went to training.
***
Antonin Dolohov and August Rukwood, an expressionless man who supported and helped the Death Eaters, sat in the Nott family's living room and looked curiously at their host.
"Let's wait for Malcyber and the rest of our people to arrive and then we'll start the discussion. In the meantime, I suggest we enjoy this wonderful wine," smiled Nott. His two companions reached for the bottle of Ogden's wine. The manor house was built in the old English style, an ancient castle now inhabited by only one member of the family. His wife had died in childbirth, and he had sent his son to live with relatives in Spain, believing that it was dangerous to keep his only heir close during the war. Therefore, little Theodore was staying with his second cousins. In the large hall, where Voldemort's closest associates were now sitting, the entire inner circle quietly gathered, with the exception of the Leystrendes. There was no news of where they had gone, but the manor was locked and closed to all visitors.
Waiting until everyone had settled down and poured themselves wine or firewhisky, Rukwood cleared his throat and said:
"Gentlemen, does anyone have any information on the whereabouts of our lord?"
"Apart from the nonsense that he was killed by the Potter's young offspring, which is now being shouted from every corner, no," replied Nott.
"It's highly unlikely that the Lord is dead," said Malfoy. "Even though the mark has faded, I can still feel its influence. What's more, that influence is growing stronger every day. I feel like killing, rushing somewhere, sowing chaos and destruction. I'm certainly not the most decent wizard in the world, but such behaviour is clearly uncharacteristic of me," he sighed and drained his glass of firewhisky in one gulp.
"I think Lord was disembodied, but not completely killed," Dolokhov shrugged. "Some treatises on dark magic describe ways to linger in this world even after your body has perished. But there are no cases where a returned mage remained human. Usually, the returned become liches, undead creatures from the other side," continued Antonin.
Everyone shuddered.
"The mark is draining our strength, giving us only madness in return, and how long we can hold it back is anyone's guess. I wouldn't want to end my existence as some kind of infernal creature," shuddered Rukwood. "I suggest we surrender to the Ministry of Magic. Criminals of our calibre will definitely be locked up in Azkaban, they can't sentence us to the Dementor's Kiss, our people always wore masks. But it's easy to give someone time for a dark mark on their arm.
"But that's Azkaban, not a Muggle resort," cried Avery, who had been sitting quietly next to Malsiber.
"Yes, it's not a resort," Rukwood replied harshly, "but to some extent, everyone here has some knowledge of Occlumency, which means they can limit the Dementors' influence on their minds. In order to survive, we need to hide either in a place heavily saturated with magic, like Hogwarts, or, conversely, in a place where magic cannot be used without special amulets, like Azkaban. No one will let us into Hogwarts, especially not for a long time, so the only options left are Azkaban or madness. I think Malfoy and Nott will be protected by their ancestral altar, located at the source of magic, but the rest of us have no other choice, as not everyone is lucky enough to have their own source of magic.
"I would take you all in, my friends," Nott shrugged. "But without a connection to the ancestral source and joining my family, you can't expect any magic from my manor, it's useless.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"That leaves only Azkaban," concluded Rukwood, "especially since there are ways to implant protective amulets into the body that will allow us to survive in Azkaban for as long as necessary. They will be powered by the magic produced by our bodies. And with the help of the Malfoys and Nott, we can organise a decent existence for ourselves there. Either Lord will return to the living, and the effects of the mark will return to normal, or he will die completely, and then it will disappear. Besides, we'll have to talk to Malfoy about this. Our financier doesn't look like someone fighting off impending madness. On the contrary, when I saw him last, it seemed to me that he wasn't feeling the effects of the mark at all, or that he had managed to block it somehow. Perhaps it is his ancestral magic that is supporting him, but I have my doubts.
"Malfoy's always been the most devious of us all," Nott grumbled. "I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow wriggle out of this mess again.
"Abraxas looked extremely bad," Dolohov disagreed. "I got the impression that he doesn't have long to live. So if he ends up in Azkaban, he won't last a year. If he remains free, he'll go mad from the effects of the mark, and if he goes to Azkaban, he'll die from the influence of the Dementors.
"It won't be easy for us either," said Alecto Carrow sadly. "My brother and I are not as skilled in mind magic as you are, my friends. But we will be with you, whatever you decide. It's not right for the Knights of Walpurgis to scatter in different directions. Birds of a feather flock together. Her brother nodded in agreement, confirming her words.
"I'll try to escape to Bulgaria," Karcarov replied sharply. "I'll probably look for the Lord to speed up his return. I don't feel any particular changes in my psyche yet, but there I might find a safer way to deal with him than Azkaban. I think you've all gone a little mad if you want to live next to the Dementors.
"You're a newcomer," Nott shrugged, "maybe you'll manage. In general, you younger ones are less susceptible to this influence than those who started with Lord Voldemort a long time ago.
"Then let's not delay. Where there's a will, there's a way to survive," said Rukwood. "This week, we'll get everything in order, hide our assets in Gringotts, preserve our homes, and surrender to justice," he said with a sad smile.
"As particularly dangerous criminals, you will definitely be placed somewhere close to each other," said Nott. "So you will all have plenty of time to talk about everything.
At the same time, most of those present still hoped that since the young ones had not been affected by the mark, they would be able to remain free, and that Snape or Barty Crouch Jr., for example, would subsequently be able to greatly help the Death Eaters while remaining at liberty.
Confidently denying the influence of the Dark Mark on his psyche, Igor Karkaroff could think of nothing better than to simply go to the Ministry of Magic to purchase an international portal to Bulgaria. He did not participate much in raids and torture of Muggles, working mostly as an instructor and teacher of basic combat transfiguration for Voldemort's young followers. In addition, wearing a silver mask during attacks on Muggles seemed to guarantee him protection from any suspicion by the authorities. So he simply walked into the Ministry of Magic as a regular visitor. But near the table with the wand-checking device, he was accosted by a rude and slightly mocking voice. Looking back, Karkarov was surprised to see Moody limping towards him.
"Sir," said the dark wizard tensely, "please show me your left forearm.
A wand instantly appeared in Moody's hands. Igor sighed heavily and reluctantly rolled up the sleeve of his robe. Even slightly lighter than the main tone of his skin, a dark mark glowed accusingly on Karkarov's forearm. And even though it had lost its colour, it still stood out clearly against the Bulgarian's tanned skin.
"Stupefy!" Moody barked as soon as he saw the image. "The Devourers have become insolent; they're everywhere in the Ministry of Magic now." He kicked Karakara, who was lying on the floor, hard in the ribs with his artificial leg.
"Levitate him to my office, guys, we'll sort this out," Alastor chuckled, limping forward.
"Not a day goes by without a feat, that's him," the officer on duty shook his head.
Two Auror officers slowly followed Moody, Karakara's limp body floating in front of them, his arms spread wide.
Bolgarin denied everything during questioning, so Moody, not wanting to resort to torture and earn a reputation as a misanthrope, simply sent him to Azkaban to await trial.
***
Dumbledore sat in his office, pensively stroking the soft back of Fawkes the phoenix. The magical bird enjoyed the simple caress and nestled its neck against Dumbledore's arm. Meanwhile, Albus was thinking about the fate of a foolish boy.
"Severus Snape," thought Dumbledore, "the youngest master potion maker of this century. Of course, I have bound him with all manner of oaths, and he will now be forced to serve the cause of light faithfully, despite his mark, but it would be best to nurture a sense of guilt and gratitude in his proud heart. After all, feeling guilty for Evans' death, he will punish himself every minute, which will surely lead his soul to the light. Besides, if I get him out of Azkaban and place him at Hogwarts, he will surely be grateful to me and, because of his painful pride, will serve not out of fear, but out of conscience. Rome wasn't built in a day. So, gradually, this confused boy will become my loyal follower, and his mastery of the mysteries of potion-making will come in handy for the Order of the Phoenix more than once. And I'll figure out how to get him into Hogwarts.
Having made up his mind, he sent Moody information on how to proceed.
Severus Snape sat in his house in Spider's Alley, drinking for the umpteenth day in a row. Occasionally, he would crawl out to the neighbouring Muggle shop and stock up on semi-prepared food so as not to starve to death. The madness caused by the mark was exacerbated by the constant intake of alcohol in huge quantities. As a result, Severus periodically lost touch with reality. Even now, he thought he heard the sound of apparitions right outside his door.
"Who would need to Apparate in Spider's Alley?" a lone thought lazily crossed his mind. That's why Severus didn't even notice the insistent knocking on the door at first. Somehow managing to extricate himself from the table, where he had been sitting hugging another bottle of cheap booze, Snape went down to the door, pushed it open, and swung it wide.
"Stupefy," was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.
"Right, another bastard Death Eater captured," Alastor smiled to himself. "Even if Snape is needed for some reason, a little time in Azkaban won't hurt him."
And Moody, shrinking the wizard's body into a small statuette, took him in his left hand and apparated to the coast. Leaving Snape in the care of the warden of Azkaban, Moody apparated to the Ministry of Magic with a sense of duty fulfilled.
***
Bartemius Crouch had been working towards this moment, his moment of triumph, for a long time. His grandiose efforts to strengthen the Ministry of Magic's power among the magical population of England were already bearing fruit. His allies had guaranteed that the next minister would definitely be the most worthy candidate, namely him, Bartemius Crouch. And as soon as he officially became minister, he would be able to continue his reforms to strengthen his political power on the wave of popular support. By throwing the Aurors a bone, allowing the Dark Wizards to use unforgivable spells when arresting the Death Eaters, Bartemius secured unprecedented respect among the security forces. Crouch responded to Voldemort's terror with even greater terror from the Dark Wizards. His unwillingness to turn to the International Conference of Wizards for help in dealing with Voldemort and his servants further elevated his authority in the corridors of power, especially when the Dark Lord disappeared. Now there was only one step left to take before his popularity among the people became overwhelming.
As head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemius Crouch organised trials to give the Death Eaters' trials wide publicity and sentence them all to life in Azkaban, and all property of these families, if there were no heirs untainted by collaboration with the Death Eaters, would be transferred to the Ministry of Magic. He naturally appointed himself chairman of the Council for Magical Legislation. Of course, Dumbledore, as a representative of the Wizengamot, and Alastor Moody, as the most influential Auror who had captured most of the Death Eaters, were also present at the court hearings. Today, the case of the most odious servants of the Dark Lord, the Lestrange family and several other Death Eaters captured by Moody, was heard.
A young black-haired man with a slightly prominent nose and piercing black eyes was led into the courtroom.
"The case of Severus Tobias Snape, suspected of dark magic and participation in the Death Eaters, is now open," Crouch solemnly announced.
A dark mark was presented to the court, and Bartemius was about to deliver a guilty verdict when Dumbledore suddenly asked to speak and announced that Snape had originally been infiltrated into the Death Eaters to fight for the cause of light, and he requested that Mr. Snape be released under his responsibility. After exchanging glances, the judges delivered a verdict of not guilty, and Severus was released right there in the courtroom.
The trial of the Lestranges passed unnoticed. The brothers sat silently, staring at a single point, while Bellatrix raged and gnawed at the bars of the cage in which the particularly dangerous terrorists appeared before the panel of judges today.
"He'll be back," Bellatrix screamed, "The Lord will return, and you will all be washed in blood.
The Devourer behaved like a madwoman, and unable to bear her piercing screams, interspersed with insane threats to everyone around her, she was silenced with a "Silencio." The result was a life sentence in the upper levels of Azkaban and the confiscation of all property, including their well-known businesses and safes in Gringotts.
When Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott were brought into the courtroom, they behaved with remarkable restraint and composure. To all the charges brought against them by the court, Nott replied that all illegal actions were committed only under the influence of a compulsion spell. And he accepted the mark voluntarily, but back when the Death Eaters were just a club for young wizards with similar interests, not a terrorist organisation. Lucius rolled up his sleeve, showed his completely clean forearm, and said that he had been under the Imperius Curse the whole time and that he and his vassals, who had been forced to join the Devourers by their ancestral oaths, were completely innocent. Practically drowning in generous donations from the defendants, who had been bribed in advance, the members of the court, except for the chairman himself, were surprisingly unanimous and lenient. Therefore, Nott and Malfoy were acquitted right in the courtroom, and Crabbe and Goyle were also released, with a hefty fine imposed on them, which Lucius Malfoy, true to his feudal duty, immediately promised to pay in a timely manner.
The next defendant to appear before the court was Bulgarian terrorist Igor Karkarov. Bartemius Crouch rose and once again solemnly pronounced:
"You have been brought before this court today to receive a just sentence. You, Igor Karkarov, are accused of a crime that could lead to life imprisonment in a wizard's prison.
Having spent time in Azkaban awaiting trial, albeit not in the upper levels, Karkarov was ready to sell his own mother just to avoid returning there. Therefore, as soon as the court gave him the opportunity to say something in his defence, he began to betray everyone he knew personally among the Valpurgian Knights, hoping to be deported to his homeland, where he had good connections, rather than end up in Azkaban forever.
The courtroom murmured a little when he named Augustus Rukwood, an employee of the Department of Mysteries, among the Death Eaters, but this did not cause much of a stir among the members of the court, since just a week ago, all those whom Igor was now shamelessly betraying had surrendered themselves to justice and were now settling into the uncomfortable cells of Azkaban on the upper level.
Nott, Malfoy and his vassals, and Lestrange, whom he had handed over, had already appeared before the court by this time, and Snape had taken them under his wing, using the authority of the great wizard Albus Dumbledore. And now, after the guilty verdict had been handed down, Karkarov, wandering around the hall with eyes wide with horror, shouted that he accused Barty Crouch, who was present, of collaborating with the Death Eaters. At first stunned by such a vile and unexpected accusation, the Dark wizards were about to simply drag the insane and resisting Karkaroff out of the room when they noticed that he was pointing not at the presiding judge, but at the gallery where Barty Crouch Jr. sat, pale as chalk. Jumping up, he tried to run out of the courtroom, but was caught by the wizards surrounding him. After a short struggle, Barty's left forearm was exposed, and those around him saw with horror a pale but clearly distinguishable skull with a snake. An unimaginable scandal erupted, Crouch Jr. was detained, shouting something in praise of the Dark Lord, while Bartemius Crouch Sr. sat silently in his chair, mourning the collapse of all his hopes and political ambitions.
Dumbledore placed his hand on his shoulder in sympathy and support. Finally, gathering his strength and hoping to salvage his political career, Bartemius Crouch Sr. stood up and, after delivering a passionate speech about how everyone is equal before the law, with an unsteady hand sentenced his only son and heir to life in Azkaban, thereby depriving his family of any chance of continuing their lineage. The members of the court and all the magi present at the hearing left the courtroom in shock and silence.
Thus passed the most sensational trials of the twentieth century, but the consequences were not as impressive as society had expected. Instead of Harold Minchum, Millicent Bagnole, a Ravenclaw graduate who had promised to soften the laws that had been passed during the war and lead society to prosperity and peace, was elected Minister of Magic of England. Bartemius Crouch was not even nominated, as his son, the Devourer, had disgraced his good name. The goblins, as the main administrators of the wizards' funds, flatly refused to hand over the contents of the Devourers' safes to anyone, including the Ministry of Magic. The business of the Walpurgis Knights was sold to neutral families or hidden away among front men.
In the end, Bartemius Crouch Sr.'s idea to strip those accused of supporting Voldemort of all their property failed, which the wizarding community was undoubtedly happy about, as who knows what other ideas the Ministry of Magic might come up with tomorrow, and no one wanted to lose their wealth, which had sometimes been accumulated over centuries. Therefore, while condemning the decision in words, everyone nevertheless ardently supported the goblins' decision.
Another closed court session was held with a reduced panel, at which, despite obvious reluctance, the former famous athlete Ludo Bagman was acquitted. who had been implicated in allegedly being acquainted with one of the Death Eaters and sentenced to life imprisonment, Sirius Black, who was clearly in an insane state at the trial and only wheezed in response to all questions that he was responsible for everything.
Therefore, despite the lack of a mark and Walburga Black's insistence on her son's innocence, he was convicted without the right to pardon. The distraught elderly woman was sent to St. Mungo's Hospital, and Sirius was returned to Azkaban on the same day, where he was also placed on the upper level with the other notorious Death Eaters.
Acquitted Lucius Malfoy, with the support of Nott and other pure-blood wizards, figuratively speaking, gave Dumbledore a slap on the wrist at Wizengamot meetings for wanting to grab all the financial flows and influence of the former Death Eaters for himself, thereby forming a weak, but nevertheless, opposition to the victors. And despite the fact that after the disappearance of the Dark Lord and the end of the civil war, the country faced difficult years of rebuilding, most wizards looked to the future with a certain degree of optimism.
***
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