Chapter 193: First Visit to the Ministry of Magic, Meeting Lockhart Again
Two Aurors entered the cell. "Gilderoy Lockhart, come with us. Your trial is today."
They worked in practiced coordination. One kept his wand trained on Lockhart, ready to stun him if he resisted, while the other opened the cell door and secured specially made chains around his wrists.
Once he was bound, they escorted him out.
"Gilderoy Lockhart? Same name? Or is it actually him?" prisoners in the neighboring cells called out in surprise.
When Lockhart had first been brought in, the Aurors hadn't announced who he was.
And in the days since, Lockhart hadn't offered his real name either.
He'd been using aliases to talk with the other prisoners, fishing for tips on reducing his sentence or finding ways to prove his innocence.
So the inmates who'd spent the last seven days locked up alongside him had no idea who he really was.
"Which Lockhart? The one who writes the books?"
"Who else could it be?"
"You're sure it's him?"
"Definitely him in person. He's looking a bit haggard now, but I recognize him."
"He looked the same as before, but what was that name he kept calling himself? It just slipped my mind."
"Didn't he say his name was Draco Jones?"
"Right, right, right, that was it. Lied to us for seven days!"
"But why's he locked up? Didn't he just announce last July or August that he was going to be a professor at Hogwarts? School shouldn't be on holiday yet, right? Something happen?"
"Don't you know what subject he teaches? The professors keep getting swapped out every year. Everyone knows about it."
"I've heard about it. They say it's cursed by that person, so no one can make it through a full year."
"That person? You mean..."
"Yikes. Let's drop it." The speaker shuddered.
"Let's not talk about this. We'll find out what's going on when Lockhart comes back."
"What if he can't come back? What if the court lets him go or he ends up in Azkaban? Then we won't get any information at all."
"Well, even if he can't come back, we'll know what happened when we get out of here."
"I've only got two weeks left on my sentence. Should be soon."
"True. But I still have a month. It's rough."
At these remarks, the famous author's somewhat pale face flushed red.
Lockhart tried to quicken his pace, eager to escape this uncomfortable place, but two Aurors grabbed his robes.
"No rush. Slow down."
Lockhart didn't want to hear their comments, but they made sure he heard every word. They found it deeply satisfying.
In truth, there was no direct animosity between the Aurors and Lockhart. It was simply that their wives were die-hard fans of his books.
They bought every one of Lockhart's books the moment they came out and wrote him letters gushing with admiration.
On top of that, their wives couldn't help comparing their Auror husbands to Lockhart. This didn't sit well with either of them, since their wives insisted that everything they had accomplished paled in comparison to Lockhart's legendary exploits.
Now, seeing Lockhart in such a sorry state, all that pent-up frustration finally had an outlet. Of course they weren't about to let this opportunity slip by. They wanted to see him humiliate himself even more.
There was no rush. They escorted Lockhart at a leisurely pace toward the courtroom just down the hall.
By the time Lockhart was brought in for his trial, Ethan and the others had also arrived at the Ministry of Magic.
After meeting up with Ohajian and the rest at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, the six of them took turns using Floo Powder. With a soft poof, they tumbled out of the emerald green flames into a grand hall.
The fireplace they stepped out of was gilded, set into dark wood panels that gleamed like black oil. Directly opposite stood several more fireplaces for departing the Ministry, each with a line of people waiting to leave.
"Move aside a bit. Others are still waiting to come through," Dumbledore said, pulling Harry back from the fireplace entrance.
Just as several people walked away, a wizard appeared beside them, stepping out of the fireplace.
Ethan took in the Ministry of Magic reception hall: dark wood floors polished to a mirror shine, a peacock-blue ceiling inlaid with golden symbols that constantly shifted and changed, like a massive overhead notice board.
"This is the Ministry of Magic's main hall," Dumbledore told them.
And in the middle of the entrance hall stood a fountain.
This fountain consisted of a group of statues surrounding a circular pool.
Perhaps to match the Ministry of Magic's decor, the sculptures were pure gold and larger than life.
The tallest of the group was a noble-looking wizard, holding his wand high and pointing it straight at the sky.
Beside him stood a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf.
The witch stood shoulder to shoulder with the wizard, her wand extended forward and angled slightly downward.
The centaur, goblin, and house-elf were all deliberately sculpted slightly lower than the wizard and witch, stylized to look as if they were gazing up in admiration at the two magical figures.
Shimmering streams of water jetted from the tips of the wands of the wizard and witch, the centaur's arrowhead, the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears.
"Who are these two wizards? Merlin and his wife?" Ethan asked Dumbledore, pointing at the statues' heavily stylized faces.
"No, they simply represent witches and wizards in general, not specific figures." Dumbledore shook his head, dismissing Ethan's guess.
"Right. These statues are a bit of a stretch. At least goblins and centaurs wouldn't look at a wizard like that." Ethan shrugged.
"Heh." Dumbledore let out a small chuckle, but said nothing else.
The entrance hall was packed with people, and the noise was considerable. Along with the steady chiming of the fountain and the splashing of water came the soft pops and cracks of Apparition and the footsteps of hundreds of witches and wizards.
Still weighed down by a Monday morning commute, they walked toward the gate at the far end of the entrance hall.
Following the old man, the others fell into step with the crowd heading toward the gate.
They passed a fountain, coins glinting at the bottom of the pool.
A slightly faded sign stood beside the fountain, reading:
"All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren are donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
"Wait." Seeing the sign, Ohajian called for the others to stop. He pulled a few coins from his pocket and tossed them into the pool.
Ethan thought for a moment, then fished a Galleon out of his bag and tossed it in as well, adding to the scattering of golden coins already at the bottom.
"Let's go." After bowing his head to make a wish, Ohajian gestured for them to move on.
Dumbledore brought them to a desk beside the golden gates.
A sign hung above, reading "Security Check."
A wizard in green robes sat at the desk, reading a newspaper absentmindedly.
Seeing Dumbledore, he stood up to greet the wizard held in unusually high regard throughout the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore smiled in response, then pointed to the five people behind him. "We're here for the nine-thirty trial. These are the witnesses."
The wizard's face lit up with recognition. "The Lockhart trial?"
"That's right, Bob. I've already put them on the list. You'll need to issue them visitor badges."
"Right away." Bob reached over and pressed a button beside him. With a mechanical rumble, five silver badges clattered out.
Ethan picked up his and read, "Ethan Jones, attending trial as a witness."
After several of them had pinned their badges to their robes, they submitted to Bob's security screening.
He raised what looked like a car antenna, a slender but sturdy golden rod, and swept it over several of them from front to back.
Beep beep. The device beeped as it passed over Ethan and two adult wizards.
Bob seemed accustomed to this. "What magical artifacts are you carrying?"
"Amulet." Ohajian showed off a wolf-tooth necklace around his neck. Finnerty held up a beaded bracelet on her wrist as well.
"Undetectable Extension Bag." Ethan held up his own small bag.
"Registered?"
"Yes, bought it in France, already registered."
"Alright, open it up and let me take a look."
Ethan pulled out a few pieces of parchment. He had already left his other belongings in the dormitory, especially the Horcrux and his spare wand.
"Looks good." After a quick scan, Bob waved the group through security.
"Finally, I need to register your wands."
The Ministry of Magic device worked like something you'd see at an airport. Once he placed his wand on the single-pan scale, a narrow strip of parchment soon printed from the bottom, displaying the wand information for everyone in the group.
"Take your wands back." Bob stamped each piece of parchment on a brass spike in turn, then handed the wands back to their owners.
Once the process was finished, Dumbledore said, "We'll be on our way then. Thank you, Bob."
"Not a problem at all."
Six people walked toward the golden gates.
"Harry Potter! That lightning-shaped scar. It has to be him!"
"Can't wait to go back and brag to everyone. I actually saw the legendary Boy Who Lived!"
"And that's the inventor of the Wizarding Cards beside him, too. I heard he's hosting an All-UK Wizarding Cards Tournament soon. Wonder if I could get close to him, maybe get some inside information."
Bob muttered to himself as he watched them go, picking up his newspaper again but unable to bring himself to keep reading.
Passing through the gates, they came to a smaller hall. Inside, at least twenty elevators stood behind golden grates. A large crowd of wizards waited in front of them, ready to head up to various floors.
Their destination, however, was clearly different from that of the wizards heading upstairs. They were bound for a courtroom on the tenth floor.
Harry pressed the Down button and waited quietly for the elevator to arrive.
Soon, an elevator clanked and rattled down to a stop in front of them.
The golden grate slid open. Several people stepped inside.
The doors closed, and with the rattle of chains, they began their slow descent.
"Department of Mysteries."
A cold female voice announced their arrival. The elevator doors opened.
"This way. The courtroom is one floor down, but there's no direct elevator. We'll have to walk from here."
They passed through a corridor with no doors or windows and arrived at a black door.
"The Department of Mysteries. The most mysterious department in the Ministry of Magic. Few people know exactly what we research here." With that brief explanation, Dumbledore approached an opening in the wall beside them that led to a staircase.
"The courtroom hasn't been used in a long time. This case involves foreign wizards and an Order of Merlin recipient. To reflect the gravity of the proceedings, we've selected the deepest level of the Ministry."
Along a corridor resembling Hogwarts' dungeons, they reached a black door with an iron lock hanging from it.
"Perfect timing. Five minutes to start. Let's go in." Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch, checked the time, then turned the iron handle and stepped into the courtroom.
As they entered, Ethan's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. This was the courtroom where prisoners were tried, a tall, spacious chamber. The walls were made of black stone. Torches cast a dim, gloomy light.
Beyond the entrance, rows of empty benches rose in tiers, with only a central aisle leading to the accused's chair.
Directly facing the door, on the highest benches, many dark figures were already seated.
"Dumbledore, you've come," a voice called from the highest seat.
"Yes, Fudge. Now that they've taken their seats, the trial can begin."
Dumbledore directed several people to take their places on the empty benches beside him, then walked to the highest seat himself.
With a wave of his wand, his blue robes transformed into the plum-colored robes of the Wizengamot.
"Good, then let's begin." Fudge nodded and pressed a button.
Soon, two Aurors who had been standing nearby escorted Lockhart through the main doors.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Lockhart began to tremble. He stood frozen in place, too afraid to move.
With the Aurors nudging him from behind, he finally shuffled forward to the chair, where two people forced him into it.
This was the first time the courtroom had been used since the fall of Voldemort in the 1980s, during the trials of the remaining Death Eaters. The proceedings were therefore highly formal. Many high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic had come.
Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge; Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation Barty Crouch; Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones. They sat beside Dumbledore, participating in the trial as interrogators.
Looking at Lockhart, Ethan whispered to Harry beside him, "Our professor really is pitiful. He hasn't changed his clothes in days. Compared to how he was at school, it's like night and day."
"You can say that again. I bet he hasn't bathed, let alone changed his clothes," Harry murmured in agreement, eyeing Lockhart's disheveled hair.
Enid nodded along with them both, practically vibrating with enthusiasm.
She would have loved to snap a photo to show her roommates. She just didn't have a camera with her.
She thought regretfully: *If only I could tell the girls back in the dormitory how their once-worshipped Professor Lockhart looks now. I wonder what they'd say.*
She'd already lost her illusions about Lockhart. Only a few people in the dormitory still harbored any lingering fantasies about this professor who seemed so charming on the surface but was so detestable underneath. If she had photos, she could certainly shatter those remaining illusions.
Just then, Lockhart noticed the spectators too.
Spotting Ethan and the others seated in the front row, Lockhart felt uneasy. He couldn't figure out what they were doing there. But when he saw two adult wizards behind them, he went rigid with nerves.
Dumbledore's gaze swept across the seated crowd below. "Everyone's in position. This trial officially begins!"
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