Before Lys could sort out her thoughts, her interrogation came up. She was led into a much larger interrogation room and bound tightly with chains—and with them, Lys's heart sank to the depths.
If this were just a simple inquiry, she shouldn't be treated with such caution.
"Stalys Black-Lamb, this is the Ministry of Magic's interrogation warrant. Please cooperate with the investigation into Death Eater attacks on wizarding families." The Wizengamot members on the bench looked strangely exhausted yet exhilarated.
"According to... testimony from two Death Eaters with confirmed evidence, you have been identified as a Death Eater. In both the Bones family massacre and the Naxstu family extermination case, witnesses reported a witch with physical characteristics extremely similar to yours and bearing the Black surname using the Unforgivable Curse Avada Kedavra to take wizarding lives—the most heinous of crimes."
The wizard in the chief seat opened a second scroll and displayed it to Lys. "Please account for your whereabouts during these two time periods and provide evidence."
What could Lys say? She had no way to respond. "I don't remember."
The chief wizard perked up: "So you cannot prove that the person those two Death Eaters identified wasn't you?"
"Your assertion is unreasonable and baseless. Wizards live convenient, fast-paced lives with countless daily trivialities—no one specifically records every moment of their existence. It's perfectly normal for me not to remember certain periods of my life."
Lys raised her head and stared directly into the chief wizard's eyes: "You should be trying to prove my guilt, not expecting me to prove my innocence."
That wizard looked at Lys, who gazed back calmly and directly, raised an eyebrow, and flipped to the final page of the scroll.
As some weightless evidence was listed, Lys's heart settled slightly, and she relaxed her Occlumency somewhat.
Without her wand in hand, maintaining high-intensity magical circulation was still quite taxing for her.
Lys simply shook her head. She didn't claim she wasn't a Death Eater—she just said their evidence wasn't sufficient and refused to acknowledge those criminal charges.
Several wizards present grew impatient. Though they knew their evidence was weak, still... "This is a special time. If we get approval and roll up your sleeve, we'll know whether you're a Death Eater. Your denials won't help then!"
Lys looked toward the deputy judge on those steps. Lys felt a touch of absurdity—this person was a member of the Bones family.
"I remember the newspapers published Laverny Bones's obituary at the time. Until the very end, it was the Order of the Phoenix who buried her and her family."
Lys's matter-of-fact tone was like tossing a firework into a bonfire—that Bones member nearly charged down, only to be restrained by the wizard beside him.
But the wizard restraining him also seemed to regard him with some contempt.
Ignoring the momentarily varied atmosphere, Lys continued: "I know why you're convinced I'm a Death Eater—because my former surname belongs to a family of fanatical followers."
Lys paused to organize her words: "But I don't want to be named Black either."
Lifting her chin in indication, Lys adjusted her sitting position. The chains that were just the right length for others felt cramped on her, making her somewhat breathless when speaking loudly.
She was stalling for time, trying to delay until recess. With so many people awaiting trial, she needed time.
She wanted to see if Lucius would try to get her out, or at least have more time to sort through the current situation.
Blinking, Lys lowered her head slightly and said:
"You should have already investigated that our family originally ran a reading room in Diagon Alley, and you should also be well aware that my father is a registered werewolf in Britain."
Apparently some weren't very clear on this, as whispers arose from the jury.
The chief wizard tried to tell the jury which page contained this information: "The materials are on page..." "Eleven," the clerk beside him prompted.
The sound of rustling pages filled the air. Some wizards even looked at Lys with open disgust and discrimination—a werewolf's child...
But this also significantly diminished their conviction that Lys was a Death Eater. The lowest status among Death Eaters was still pure-blood; the probability of a werewolf's descendant being a Death Eater was far too small.
What were werewolves? Before Newt Scamander proposed his advocacy, they weren't even considered wizards—they were non-human creatures! Filthy, base, cruel!
"My father was bitten by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback on August 30, 1962. St. Mungo's should have records—both my father's and mine." Lys tried to raise her left arm to display her arm guard, but only produced several sounds of chain friction.
The clerk reminded everyone of the page number where the evidence existed.
Ignoring the reactions above, Lys continued: "And Fenrir Greyback was sent by Walburga Black. Because my father was the illegitimate son of the previous Black family head."
The whispers grew louder. Many of them knew the Black family had produced a scandal in recent years—a werewolf bastard had emerged—but they hadn't expected it to be this witch's father. This werewolf was even their own Black family's doing...
These noble secrets interspersed throughout the proceedings helped them maintain reasonably good patience.
Several witches on the left side of the jury even showed traces of pity between their furrowed brows. "Merlin, the attack even happened on her birthday!" Lys was pleased someone noticed this detail.
"Our family didn't even know who had done all this at the time. After barely escaping with our lives and going into hiding, my father and I endured the agony of illness while my mother alone had to support a household—a household with a werewolf—for over ten years."
Lys tilted her head: "I don't want to be named Black either. At the same time, I don't want my decade or two decades of pain and suffering to be exposed for everyone to see just because of your insufficient accusations."
The chief wizard cleared his throat. Even he found it impossible that the Dark Lord, who was extremely obsessed with bloodline purity, would accept a Death Eater of such status.
No status, no background, no money, and unlike those notorious fugitives who had forcibly escaped—the Dark Lord's blades—there was really no way to convict Stalys Black-Lamb based on their vague accusations.
The people providing evidence didn't seem to hold high positions within the Death Eaters either. Among those they implicated, one was even revealed to have no Dark Mark at all when Aurors rolled up his sleeve—he wasn't even a noble.
The chief judge felt the evidence in his hands was perfunctory.
Moreover, the Ministry would never approve the application that Bones fool had just proposed.
Roll up every suspected noble's sleeve?
That would mean breaking with all the nobles. With the Dark Lord just vanished and the British wizarding world needing recovery, they couldn't push them to desperation.
And this Stalys Black-Lamb was even more troublesome—her Lamb surname was Italian nobility, and she was even the sole registered heir in Britain just a few years ago.
"Evidence insufficient—cannot pronounce guilt in court."
Rubbing his temples, the chief Wizengamot wizard decided to proceed with a show of hands:
"Suspend interrogation and await further evidence gathering—please indicate."
"Find this person innocent and release immediately—please indicate."
Before the clerk could record the numbers of those indicating on each side, Lys added: "I can cast a Patronus Charm—would you like to see?"
This piqued the interest of several listless old wizards in the back rows. The Patronus Charm wasn't rare, but for a wizard who had experienced the above ordeals to still be able to cast one was quite remarkable.
At the very back, the most stooped old wizard with the whitest beard and tallest hat pressed down his hand. The clerk who had been facing them to count immediately set down his counting board, turned, and whispered something to the chief judge.
Given that old wizard's transcendent status in the Wizengamot, though weary, the chief judge still followed procedure and requested additional Auror security and approval for the suspect's wand use. With this application, a long time passed.
Before noon, the chaotic Ministry finally dispatched Aurors.
The chain on Lys's right hand was unlocked, and she gripped her wand—the one she hadn't held in so long, the one Senna had disguised as oak.
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