Chapter 146: Evidence

Upon hearing this, the Wizengamot members immediately cast suspicious glances at Fudge.

The Silencing Charm on Fudge had been lifted, and he glared at Alaric, loudly declaring, "This is slander, blatant slander against the Ministry. 

The Ministry has always strictly adhered to regulations. This is nothing but his lies."

"Your wand and alchemical tools were confiscated?" Madam Bones asked Alaric, her tone filled with utmost surprise. 

"There are no such regulations in the Ministry; I don't understand—"

"You don't understand, do you, Amelia?" Fudge interjected loudly. 

"Let me explain. He's really clever, isn't he? 

Discovering a Ministry oversight can make for a marvelous excuse. Truly remarkable. 

All the Aurors present were either injured or knocked unconscious, all of them sent to St. Mungo's Hospital. No one can expose his lies."

"Ah, yes," Alaric nodded casually. "Indeed, everyone is at St. Mungo's. 

But I remember a certain Auror named Proudfoot who came out unscathed, didn't he? Why don't we have him come and speak the truth about everything?"

"Proudfoot?" Fudge's expression darkened slightly upon hearing that name. 

From the Auror earlier, he already knew that if Proudfoot were summoned to the courtroom, he wouldn't cooperate. 

If Proudfoot were to testify truthfully after being summoned, wouldn't that be shooting himself in the foot?

"Enough!" Fudge exclaimed roughly. 

"Who can guarantee that Proudfoot isn't in cahoots with you? I'm sure you two have concocted a clever lie—"

But the members of Wizengamot looked even more suspiciously at Fudge. 

Many of them knew Proudfoot and were well aware of his character. 

They believed that, given Proudfoot's personality, he would never collude with an outsider. 

They were beginning to smell a rat.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Wizengamot quieted down once more.

"I believe it's possible for certain Ministry employees to engage in such activities," he said with a smile. 

"After all, the Ministry has had its share of employees who have gone astray. 

The Dementor attack at Hogwarts is a perfect example. 

I have reason to believe that certain Ministry employees would violate Ministry regulations and harm my students."

"Ah, Dumbledore, even you cannot make such accusations against the Ministry," Cornelius Fudge retorted angrily. "You have no evidence to—"

"Oh? Evidence," Alaric interrupted Fudge once again. "If you want evidence, I'll give you evidence."

He pointed a finger at his own head, then slowly extracted some silver substance from his brain, resembling both liquid and gas, like clouds.

That was his memory.

Muttering an incantation, Alaric then snapped his fingers. Instantly, all the wizards found their surroundings changed. 

They were no longer sitting in the Christmas-themed courtroom but were instead in the bustling atrium of the Ministry.

"This is..." Dumbledore looked at Alaric inquisitively.

"This is a scene from my memory."

This startled the members of Wizengamot. 

They had heard of Pensieve, a rare magical instrument that allowed one to observe memories from a third-person perspective.

But they had never heard of achieving this solely through incantations—and without a wand.

"Congratulations, Alaric," Dumbledore praised. "You have created yet another remarkable spell. Professor Flitwick would be proud of you."

Alaric smiled and nodded.

Now, everyone seemed to be in the busy atrium. 

They saw hurried wizards passing by, disappearing into fireplaces, yet when they reached out, they found that they couldn't touch these people at all.

"Hey, I saw Madam Eckmoff in the elevator," one wizard said with interest to others nearby.

"And Professor Phoebus Penrose from the Ministry Investigation Committee? 

He sneaked out during office hours, but my mom caught him," another person said with the excitement of discovering a great secret.

Soon, they were all drawn to what was happening next. Rufus Scrimgeour led the Aurors escorting Alaric, but they were stopped by Ministry security personnel. 

Subsequently, after inspecting Alaric, the security personnel confiscated his wand.

"I recall security personnel are only allowed to inspect visitors and issue permits, isn't that right?" Dumbledore questioned Fudge sternly. 

"They have no right to confiscate a wizard's wand, do they?"

"This can't be!" Fudge explained loudly. "It's fake, it's just an illusion he fabricated!"

However, no one believed his feeble explanation. 

The scene before their eyes was much more real than his words, with such specific details that it was impossible to fake.

Next, they saw Dolores Umbridge intercepting both the Aurors and Alaric. 

After Umbridge announced her authorization orders, Scrimgeour left in a fit of anger. Then came Umbridge's series of harassing actions toward Alaric.

"Oh, so Minister Fudge's so-called temporary dispatch of Madam Umbridge to receive Alaric was for these things," a voice in the Wizengamot remarked sarcastically.

Fudge felt even more embarrassed. If a door key appeared before him now, he would surely be tempted to touch it. 

At the same time, he harbored inner resentment toward Umbridge and Alaric.

He resented Umbridge for blatantly harassing Alaric in front of so many people, feeling it was more than enough to ruin his reputation.

And he hated Alaric because he had displayed all this embarrassment in front of so many people.

Next came the crucial scene: Umbridge first caused chaos by mishandling the Soundless Bell, then attempted to take away the Skyraider, leading to a massive fire when the Skyraider resisted.

"Was that really a flying broomstick just now?" someone suddenly asked.

Before Alaric could speak, Dumbledore answered for him.

"I can attest that this is indeed Alaric's broomstick," he said with a smile. 

"Not only is it his ride, but it's also his alchemical creation. He rode this broomstick to dominate our Quidditch Cup for two consecutive semesters. 

But I didn't expect it to have such capabilities."

His words elicited a wave of admiration.

But as the fire spread, the terrifyingly high temperatures of the golden flames changed the way they looked at Alaric.

Being able to create such a powerful broomstick indicated that his alchemical skills were no less than Dumbledore's, perhaps only surpassed by Nicolas Flamel.

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