Lucius had said the Ministry of Magic had no evidence against her, but their interrogations continued day and night without pause. Could it be that in just this short time, someone had already accused her?
Might there be evidence in that stack of files that would send her straight to Azkaban?
But surely she wouldn't be directly accused of being a Death Eater and murderer... In that case, she wouldn't appear at this public hearing at all—she'd be sentenced immediately, and Lucius wouldn't risk associating himself with her.
When the recess ended, the wizards gradually returned to their seats and quieted down, waiting for the next round of trials and votes.
The overly tight chains made Lys uncomfortable. She shifted a few times, only to be glared at by an Auror, so Lys fell silent and still.
She felt an uneasy guilt—every little detail from others made her feel as if they'd already confirmed her crimes.
Just as the judge was preparing to announce the start, the courtroom doors opened once more. This time, the figure who appeared was familiar not only to Lys, but to the entire wizarding world.
That long white beard, the vivid purple knitted beard-ring, those eye-catching purple wizard robes, pointed hat, and half-moon spectacles—
Albus Dumbledore!
Lys dug her fingernails hard into her palm.
Dumbledore?!
Who here was worth his personal appearance?!
Scanning the people beside her again, Lys felt a flutter of panic.
Her eyes began darting about. She started regretting that time she'd saved two children and exposed her involvement in Death Eater massacres.
Before Dumbledore had even taken his seat, Lys glanced several times at his back, growing more anxious with each look.
If she stood up and confessed now, would she get a lighter sentence than being accused and judged?
But just as Lys couldn't help wanting to call out to Dumbledore, the next phase of trials began.
Lys nearly gritted her teeth as she activated Occlumency, preventing herself from panicking and saying the wrong thing.
Fortunately, Lys's verdict passed without major incident. Many people here, after reviewing the first interrogation files, believed that someone of her background couldn't possibly be a Death Eater.
Moreover, up to now, everyone knew of only one female Death Eater—Bellatrix.
As for massacre? They considered the Patronus Charm powerful proof. If she'd killed so many people, Merlin wouldn't allow her to cast a silver Patronus.
Some expressed pitying sighs for Lys.
She barely needed to say much before half the people raised their hands voting for acquittal.
Dumbledore's continued silence also helped Lys relax somewhat.
But just as the chief judge was about to declare her innocent, a Wizengamot member raised an objection before the announcement:
"According to the Department of International Magical Cooperation's report, you signed off on numerous trade documents for Rodolphus Lestrange and related Death Eaters now confirmed as Death Eater members."
He glanced down at the parchment in his hand and continued:
"We now ask the interrogated Stalys Black-Lamb whether you used your authority to provide profitable trading opportunities for multiple noble Death Eaters, helping Death Eater financial development through favoritism."
Looking up, Lys didn't know who he was or how to answer this question.
Those signatures weren't something she could decide on her own. Above her were nobles, the Ministry of Magic, Lucius—one could even say the Death Eaters' chain of interests pressed down on her. When had such things ever been hers to decide freely?
After a moment's silence, Lys just felt something was wrong but couldn't think clearly about the specific reason.
The restrained Lys below wasn't that shrewd, but the chief judge above grew impatient.
He knew who this person wanted to drag down—Malfoy. This witch had been arrested together with Malfoy, and most of the documents she'd handled had brought greater profits to the Malfoy family.
Pinning the charge of profiting Death Eaters on her would mean Malfoy, who'd gained the most from those trades, would face renewed investigation.
But a twenty-year-old girl with a tragic background who could cast the Patronus Charm—even if she'd worked for the Malfoy family and signed some obviously biased documents, if she hadn't worked for the Malfoys, she'd probably have been crushed to death by the Black family right after graduation!
As for whether Malfoy was a Death Eater?
He'd walked out of the Ministry of Magic two days ago!
Had these Wizengamot and jury members all gone mad, pursuing this so relentlessly?
Trying to round up all Death Eaters at this moment—how was the wizarding world supposed to function normally?!
The Dark Lord had just disappeared. The British wizarding world needed recovery, not to have these nobles pushed to desperation... What if they fled the country with their assets!
Should the British magical world follow those bear-raising wizards in the East and split apart?!
Fortunately, though somewhat surprised, Lys managed to respond:
"What you've said isn't comprehensive. I can't deny that the aforementioned nobles made up a larger proportion of the documents I handled, but!"
Lys took a breath. "All documents came to me through the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and that was because of market demand. After all, Germany needed to make money too—I had no say in whose families they chose to sign with."
Hearing the increasingly noisy discussions below, Lys quickly added:
"And! There are other cooperating families you didn't mention. I question the completeness of your evidence."
The chief judge raised his eyes from the accusation that had been passed to him, glanced at Lys, then at the jury members on both sides.
He prompted Lys: "Please provide evidence. We will verify it."
Lys frowned, trying to recall: "The Abbott family's medicinal herbs and foodstuffs, the Smith family's crafts..."
Thank Merlin she'd actually taken those transactions and documents seriously...
The chief judge looked at Lys again, surprised by her composure. After all, being one step away from innocence only to be accused again would normally make people panic and only repeat denials, unable to properly refute or provide evidence.
He glanced at the Wizengamot member who'd questioned her and produced the data—this person had deliberately chosen this timing.
The clerk quickly went to the Cooperation Department for evidence collection. The chief judge verified the magical seals and displayed them for everyone to see, confirming Lys's claims.
Indeed, the document approval process was Ministry first, then to the interrogated Stalys Black-Lamb, and the beneficiaries weren't limited to the families the accuser had listed.
The single most profitable contract wasn't even the Malfoy family's, but the Abbott family's.
Finally, the chief judge quickly declared Lys innocent through voting.
When the wand fell on the scroll, burning in the proof record, the Auror beside Lys unlocked her alchemical chains.
Lys first glanced at the Wizengamot member who'd raised the accusation, but he didn't look disappointed at all—as if he'd merely raised reasonable doubts.
Lys lowered her eyes thoughtfully, easing her somewhat numb legs that had been constricted, then stood and nodded slightly to the chief judge before sitting in a seat to the side.
She only had to wait for all trials to end before retrieving her wand and leaving the Ministry of Magic.
She closed her eyes, listening to their trial of the next person. Today's trials were almost all formalities to let the public know the reasons for releasing suspects, so they proceeded quickly.
When only three people remained, Lys finally perked up—it was time for that Ravenclaw little pervert.
She wanted to know what would happen to him.
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