It struck like a whip!
Pettigrew suddenly let out a pig-like shriek of agony!
His body bounced high into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
He rolled across the floor, convulsing uncontrollably!
"No, no! Please, Snape—Severus! Don't—I didn't mean to kill Lily—"
"How dare you utter that name!!! Crucio!!!"
Snape's roar swept through the Great Hall like a gale, his eyes blazing with raw, palpable fury!
He paid no mind to the students scattered throughout the hall.
His wand slashed through the air, and a crimson beam of magic shot out like lightning, striking Pettigrew with a sharp crack.
It sent him screaming in agony once more, snot and tears streaming down his face!
The students were stunned.
They huddled together in fear, their eyes wide with a mix of terror and eager gossip.
That gloomy old bat in black—was he really the angriest one here?
Something was off about this, definitely off!
Beam after beam of red light erupted, until Pettigrew collapsed into a quivering, messy puddle on the ground, reeking of foul stench.
Only then did Headmaster Dumbledore intervene.
"Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat lightly, waving his hand with casual ease. "Alright, Minerva, take Severus to rest for a bit."
"Yes, of course, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Professor McGonagall nodded blankly.
She glanced at the pitiful wreck that was Pettigrew on the floor, then quickly averted her gaze.
This wasn't one of her students, after all.
On the other side.
Seeing that the demon had finally departed, Pettigrew couldn't help but weep tears of joy.
Then.
In the next second.
Two faces loomed into his vision.
Harry, Sirius: Hey, hey, hey—here we come, buddy.
Pettigrew: ...
He forced a painfully ugly smile, choking out the words:
"C-can I just go to Azkaban?"
Sirius: "Dream on!!!"
"Bang!"
A heavy punch landed squarely on Pettigrew's face!
His nose bridge shattered instantly, and a jet of blood spurted out!!
"Ah ah ah—wait—"
Harry lifted his foot and stomped down in rage!
"No, please, have mercy—" "Bang!"
"I confess, I confess—" "Bang bang bang!!!"
Punches and kicks rained down.
The students watched in dumbfounded silence.
Ron's mouth hung open as he stared blankly at Harry, who had suddenly transformed into a berserker.
After a long moment, he murmured:
"Awesome..."
Ethan, what kind of monster have you turned our perfectly innocent little Savior into?!
When Harry and Sirius finally stopped.
Pettigrew was no longer recognizable as human.
"Alright."
Dumbledore clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.
Dumbledore: "I believe you've all just witnessed some truly astonishing events."
"Events that could very well overturn a critical judgment from the past."
Dumbledore's stern gaze swept over the Aurors in the Great Hall.
Their bodies tensed, and they lowered their heads in guilty shame.
Many among them had been swallowed by Ethan's giant deer Patronus.
And, like Harry, they had personally relived the sorrowful past depicted within the painting.
At this moment, they felt even more ashamed and distressed, unable to utter a word.
An older Auror spoke bitterly:
"When Sirius was captured back then, it wasn't just a 'hasty trial'—the Ministry didn't even hold a trial at all!"
He was thrown straight into Azkaban after being caught!
As if they were terrified of uncovering the truth.
And the one who approved that proposal, ultimately signing off on it, was none other than the current Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge!
It's hard to say if he gained something from that mess back then.
"I believe," Dumbledore continued, "we should hear from the one who revealed all of this to us."
With that, Dumbledore stepped back.
Yielding the podium to this young, outstanding Ravenclaw student!
Immediately.
All eyes focused on the "Memory Monster" who emerged from the shadows.
Hannah Abbott gasped.
A ferocious, ghost-like mask with bared fangs, resembling a judge from the depths of hell, appeared before them all.
Standing behind the brass owl podium.
He surveyed the silent crowd through his two dark, hollow eye sockets.
And slowly began to speak:
"There's no need to doubt it."
"What you've seen is the true history I've recreated through my painting!"
His first third-tier painting!
[Name: "Lily: Love Eternal"]
[Type: Portrait]
[Tier: Third-tier · Blue Precious]
[Description: She truly lives in the painting you created, constantly experiencing joy, enduring death... then waking up in bed.]
[Effect: A painting inspired by a real piece of history, comparable to reality. It can draw others into the painting to observe, and make them forget memories outside the painting.]
[Rating: Has special effectiveness against a certain person]
A "comic strip" drawn using several pages from Little Tom's diary.
To be honest.
Ethan felt that this painting was already perfect enough.
But it was only a medium rating!
Third-tier paintings, as expected, have stricter requirements.
Just as everyone began whispering among themselves.
A figure suddenly tumbled into the Great Hall with a thud!
It was the Auror, John Delice, who had been recuperating in the school infirmary!
He'd clearly tripped in his haste, scrambling to his feet with a flushed face under everyone's stares.
He looked up at Ethan on the stage and shouted:
"By order of the Ministry of Magic, you are under arrest, Ethan Vincent!!"
The shout echoed through the Great Hall.
A dead silence fell.
Even his colleagues stared at him blankly.
As if they were looking at a loyal dog pushed to exhaustion.
Upon hearing this, a spark of desperate hope ignited in Pettigrew's eyes!
To Azkaban! Please, just let me go to Azkaban!!
Unfortunately.
Ethan would never allow it.
"What's the reason?"
Ethan looked down at this Auror—the Minister for Magic's last desperate gambit—and spoke slowly:
"Pettigrew certainly bears the Dark Mark; you know that."
Delice parroted the same line: "His final judgment must be decided by the Ministry of Magic—"
But this time, he was cut off mid-sentence!
"But what if I don't want the Ministry of Magic to decide!"
A sharp, low voice thundered through the Great Hall!
In an instant.
A colossal pressure erupted from Ethan's body!
A fierce wind whipped up.
Candles extinguished one by one with a whoosh.
The Great Hall plunged into eerie dimness!
Everyone was buffeted by the gale, struggling to keep their eyes open.
They stared in shock at Ethan, who was slowly levitating in mid-air at the center of the podium.
Watching his black hair whip wildly, his robes billow like storm clouds.
A golden radiance emanated from around him.
Distorting the very air.
In a daze, it seemed as if countless indifferent eyes had opened in the void!
Pettigrew's face drained of all color.
This—what was he planning to do?!
Delice collapsed to the ground.
Looking up at the ferocious ghost mask on Ethan's face.
A wave of terror surged from the depths of his soul!
Making him tremble uncontrollably, barely able to grip his wand.
As if an ant were facing down an elephant.
At this moment.
Delice realized, far too late:
How could he possibly arrest Ethan?
They weren't even on the same level!!
Ethan: "That year, the Ministry of Magic announced to the world that they'd captured the traitor who betrayed the Potters—Sirius."
"And so, they locked an innocent man away in Azkaban."
His thunderous voice echoed through the Great Hall.
Resonating in everyone's ears.
Through the water screen.
It spread to every corner of the British wizarding world.
Minister for Magic Fudge gnawed on his finger, watching the scene in horror.
Staring at the twisted ghost mask, he heard Ethan declare, word by word:
"I will no longer trust the Ministry of Magic."
"I will judge him myself!!"
The next second.
Screams erupted from everyone in Hogwarts!
The floor, the walls.
They suddenly began to shake violently!
With a deafening bang.
Hogwarts' floors and walls trembled fiercely!
As if a massive drill were churning upward from deep underground!
Headmaster Dumbledore's heart skipped a beat.
A deeply ominous premonition flooded his mind.
He watched as Ethan raised his arm and shouted:
"Come forth! The Judgment Staircase: 'Roller Coaster to the Land of Radiance'!!"
Merlin will forgive you.
And I will send you to meet Merlin.
Boom! Suddenly, the surroundings plunged into darkness.
A straight upward track burst through layers of floor and ceiling.
Almost at a ninety-degree angle.
Extending all the way to the top, vanishing beyond everyone's sight!
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