"How about this, Cornelius? Since we were the ones who brought this matter up, we've increased your workload."
Headmaster Dumbledore had clearly noticed the exasperation in Fudge's tone, and a kindly smile appeared beneath his long white beard.
"How about I accompany you to escort Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black?"
Although it was phrased as a question, the certainty in Headmaster Dumbledore's voice left no room for refusal.
Fudge gritted his teeth, unable to voice any opposition, while Crouch and Robards next to him looked like they were about to raise both hands in agreement.
With Dumbledore by their side, wouldn't that be equivalent to having someone to take the lead?
If anything happened, Headmaster Dumbledore would certainly be the first to step up.
With him present, even they had to admit that their hearts would be much more at ease.
It was as if... everything would be fine; Albus Dumbledore possessed the strength and charisma that inspired unconditional trust.
Seeing Headmaster Dumbledore take the initiative to escort Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, the idea that had just surfaced in Amanda's mind instantly vanished.
According to her analysis, among all the Wizards she knew in the world, only three were capable of harming someone under Headmaster Dumbledore's watch.
One was trapped, one was currently in a state that was neither human nor ghost and lacked the ability to harm others, and as for the last one, she herself would definitely not do such a thing.
Therefore, with Headmaster Dumbledore in charge of the escort, it was absolutely foolproof.
With everything settled, Fudge clearly didn't want to stay in this place that annoyed him any longer.
He led the way out of the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory; of course, he really didn't have any more time to stay.
Didn't he hear what Amanda said? Tomorrow, a clause would be added to the Ministry of Magic's laws allowing Muggle video recordings as physical evidence.
He had no doubt about Amanda's words; hadn't he seen how the lawsuits of those Pure-blood families were being dragged out in the Ministry of Magic even now?
Either they didn't comply with this regulation or they lacked that document; every step was reasonable and followed the rules, but if they really did as those people stalling them said...
Then even by the time their next family heads passed away of old age, they might not see a court date.
So, it was better for him to go back early, gather his people to prepare, and pave the way for exonerating Black.
That way, when the report came out, he might even receive praise for actively correcting mistakes, which would save him from some verbal abuse.
Headmaster Dumbledore and Fudge's group of three left the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory with Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black.
Immediately afterward, Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and waved it toward Ron's bed, repairing his bed curtains and using Scourgify to help clean his bed.
"Mr. Weasley, can you sleep by yourself tonight? If you feel frightened, I believe you could—"
Glancing at Professor Snape beside her, Professor McGonagall continued, "You could sleep with Professor Snape for the night."
Hearing these words, Ron's face turned visibly pale, and Professor Snape's gaze turned cold as it shifted toward him.
He couldn't say anything to Professor McGonagall, but as for Weasley... if he said he was afraid and wanted to sleep with him, should he deduct points or give him detention?
"No need, Professor McGonagall!"
Fortunately, Ron could read the situation very clearly at such a moment; he raised both hands and waved them frantically.
"I wasn't frightened, really, I wasn't. There's no need to trouble Professor Snape. I can sleep by myself, really."
Professor McGonagall nodded hesitantly. "Very well, Mr. Weasley. Then, sweet dreams."
"Alright, children, all of you go back to sleep. There are classes tomorrow."
As she spoke, she waved her hand to the surrounding Little Lions. Hermione took the opportunity to pull Amanda over to Professor McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall, can I... follow Amanda back to her Dormitory to sleep? I—I'm a little scared."
As Hermione spoke, she tried hard to put on a frightened expression, but clearly, her acting wasn't convincing at all.
Looking at the expressionless Amanda being led by her, Professor McGonagall smiled knowingly.
"You can be direct about your thoughts, Miss Granger. I won't stop you from resting with Miss Amanda."
"However, it is already very late. Let me escort you back to the Ravenclaw Dormitory."
"Mhm! Thank you, Professor McGonagall."
Hermione nodded vigorously and happily hugged Amanda's arm.
Feeling the warmth pressed against her arm, Amanda turned her head to look at Hermione beside her.
She naturally understood why Hermione wanted to go back to Ravenclaw to sleep with her.
Because she had flown directly from the Dormitory, Senior Cho Chang and Senior Marietta would definitely be very worried, and it might even cause the entire Ravenclaw house to fall into an atmosphere of concern.
Now Hermione wanted to go back to Ravenclaw with her instead of letting her stay in Gryffindor, all to put the minds of those who worried about her at ease.
Hermione... was always so kind and thoughtful. The indifference on Amanda's face quickly softened, replaced by a wordless pampering and reliance.
However, Hermione was busy clinging to Amanda's arm as they walked out of the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory, so she didn't see this scene.
Leaving the Gryffindor Common Room, Amanda and Hermione followed Professor McGonagall toward the Ravenclaw Common Room.
On the way, Professor McGonagall intended to comfort the two girls, but every time she looked back, she saw their eyes fixed on each other. There wasn't a trace of fear or unease; instead, they were filled with trust and reliance on one another. She realized her intention was quite unnecessary.
As long as these two girls had each other by their side, they probably wouldn't feel any fear.
After safely delivering them to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room, Professor McGonagall nodded to them. "Rest early, Miss Amanda, Miss Granger."
"We will. Thank you, Professor McGonagall. Good night." Amanda looked back at Professor McGonagall and nodded politely to say good night.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. Good night."
Hermione also responded politely, then answered the bronze knocker's question and led Amanda into the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Sure enough, as soon as they entered the Ravenclaw Common Room, they saw Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, Penelope, and the seventh and sixth-year Ravenclaw seniors sitting there with their wands out, ready for anything.
"Good evening, everyone."
Seeing everyone clearly waiting for her, Amanda was stunned for a moment, then nodded to them with warmth in her heart.
"You're finally back."
Penelope breathed a huge sigh of relief. Amanda had suddenly flown out of the window in a hurry and had been gone for so long.
They were almost worried enough to have all the upper-year Ravenclaws charge into Gryffindor Tower together.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Cho Chang came forward to carefully check Amanda's entire body, while Marietta Eckmore looked Hermione over.
"No." ×2
Amanda and Hermione shook their heads in unison.
"That's good then," Marietta Eckmore said with a sigh of relief, pushing Amanda and Hermione toward the Dormitory. "We'll ask you for the details tomorrow. For now, hurry up and get some rest."
"We didn't want to interrupt the younger students' sleep, so we didn't wake them."
Being pushed into the Dormitory, Amanda and Hermione looked at each other and smiled, both feeling the sensation of being cared for so meticulously and kept in everyone's hearts.
Hermione was naturally even happier than Amanda; after all, Amanda had just shared a smile with her!
After lying down on their respective beds and saying good night to each other, the four girls entered the land of dreams together.
However, before sleeping, Amanda still remembered what she needed to do and wrote a letter to Senior Platt, who was helping her contact others outside.
Early the next morning, Amanda and Hermione got up early to wash up, waking their two roommates as well.
On the way to the Great Hall, they told their two seniors everything that had happened in the Gryffindor Boys Dormitory the night before.
"Sirius Black was framed?!"
"Peter Pettigrew isn't dead?!"
Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore had identical faces of shock, their eyes wide as they looked at their two juniors.
"Yes."
Amanda nodded without a change in expression. "If things go smoothly, Senior Cho Chang and Senior Marietta should be able to see the relevant reports in a bit."
After all, considering The Daily Prophet had been warned by her, they probably wouldn't dare publish false news again. They would report the case of Sirius Black truthfully.
They had to report it truthfully.
Things turned out exactly as Amanda said. This morning's Daily Prophet urgently published a report about the major error in the Sirius Black case and the beginning of the retrial.
This news shocked so many Young Wizards in the Hogwarts Great Hall that many failed to hold onto their spoons, resulting in them being splashed with cereal.
"Merlin's beard... this, this is too shocking!"
"Peter Pettigrew was the real culprit who betrayed The Potters?! He was the one who blew up a street and killed thirteen Muggles!"
Exclamations and cries of surprise rose one after another in the Great Hall. Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore also looked up from their copies of The Daily Prophet toward Amanda, who was sitting to their left enjoying her pumpkin juice.
There was no other reason than that The Daily Prophet had specifically noted, under Headmaster Dumbledore's invisible supervision, who had discovered this major error.
Amanda's name was written clearly and unmistakably in The Daily Prophet.
There was no doubt that after this newspaper publicity, Amanda would certainly possess her own prestige within the Wizarding World.
Coupled with the fact that she already controlled the commerce of the entire British Wizarding World, she and Hermione were one step closer to their goal.
Regardless of how shocked the other citizens of the British Wizarding World were, the Y Country Ministry of Magic, under Headmaster Dumbledore's urging, completed the retrial of Sirius Black's case with the utmost speed.
With the video evidence provided by Amanda and the Ministry's new regulation that Muggle recordings could serve as physical evidence...
The retrial was completed in less than an hour.
The day after Sirius Black was taken back to the Ministry of Magic, he was declared innocent.
The Ministry of Magic promptly contacted The Daily Prophet to release the report of the retrial results, which successfully reduced the number of Howlers sent to the Ministry in a fit of rage.
It could only be said that Fudge, as the Minister for Magic, was quite accurate in his guess regarding the behavior of the British Wizarding World's public.
Seeing the report of the completed retrial for Sirius Black just one day later, Penelope, who was eating dinner at the Ravenclaw Table, frowned with a mix of complexity and disdain.
"So, as long as they want to, they can be fast. Then what were those previous trials that dragged on for months or even years?"
"It's just Fudge's incompetence."
Cho Chang shrugged, and Marietta Eckmore, sitting beside her, nodded vigorously in agreement while chewing on her mashed potatoes.
"But this time, we've also let them taste the feeling of being dragged to death."
Amanda swallowed her pumpkin juice and spoke with an unchanging voice.
Yet, despite the lack of emotion in her voice, Penelope and the others could hear the underlying hint of playfulness.
Their junior was truly getting better, improving a bit more every day.
The three of them looked at each other with relief, while also glancing toward the Slytherin Table with a bit of amusement.
The Little Snakes at the Slytherin Table were also whispering about the case.
They didn't have any opinions on this particular case, but that wasn't what Cho Chang and the others were looking at.
Their gaze mainly lingered on the gemstone hairpins on the Slytherin girls' heads and the gemstone brooches on the boys' chests.
The Little Snakes of Slytherin changed these items almost once a week, and a few, like Malfoy, changed them every day.
This was both a symbol of their family's wealth and a way to give them a different sense of freshness every day.
"According to data analysis, if we exclude the impoverished Pure-blood families in Slytherin and take the House of Malfoy as an example, under current conditions, it would take approximately one hundred and fifty years to exhaust their liquid assets."
"Hiss... that long? Truly worthy of an established pure-blood family."
Hearing Amanda's analysis, Penelope and the others couldn't help but gasp. Only spending and no income, yet spending so much, and they could still last a hundred and fifty years—that was truly impressive.
Amanda blinked blankly and looked down to take another bite of her steak.
There was one more sentence she didn't say: that was assuming no accidents occurred.
If an accident happened... like Voldemort's resurrection, the Pure-blood families supporting him would inevitably have to take a massive financial hit for it.
Add to that the reckoning after Voldemort's defeat, and they probably wouldn't be able to hold on.
Indeed, Amanda could basically analyze through probability that the likelihood of Voldemort's resurrection was as high as sixty-five percent; however, by contrast, the probability of his intentions succeeding again in the face of the current Wizarding World was only a measly fifteen percent.
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