Chapter 34: My Wand is Bigger and Longer

Murphy glanced at the wand placed on the podium.

Over twelve inches, white oak... it was unmistakably his own wand.

When Lucius had disarmed him with the Expelliarmus spell, Murphy had used his backup wand to fight back. Due to the urgency of the situation, he didn't have time to retrieve his wand.

But later, his Fiendfyre spell destroyed everything, and Murphy thought this wand had been destroyed too.

Unexpectedly, Lucius managed to take it with him in that chaos.

He might be more meticulous than Murphy had originally thought.

Next, the judge used the Prior Incantato spell on the wand, and various spells were traced back from the wand.

Armor charm, Petrificus Totalus, Levitation charm, Disillusionment charm...

Clearly, before being disarmed, the wand's owner was indeed in the midst of intense combat.

Then came Apparition, Fiendfyre...

"Look! Fiendfyre!" Lucius shouted, "This guy can use Fiendfyre, and he's quite skilled at it, proof that he's a dark wizard!"

Then it continued.

Obliviate.

Legilimens.

Obliviate.

Legilimens.

Obliviate.

Legilimens...

Everyone was a bit confused. What was this person doing? Practicing spells?

Then the tracing continued.

Plenty of Apparitions, numerous Potion-related spells, occasional standard spells, and many everyday charms, which were all normal.

But soon, an attention-grabbing spell appeared.

Cruciatus Curse! "Look!" Lucius shouted again, "Cruciatus Curse! An Unforgivable Curse! Murphy! Still claiming you're not a dark wizard?"

The Prior Incantato spell reached its limit; it was the most powerful tracing wizards could perform, and tracing further back was virtually impossible.

"Murphy, what do you have to say?" Lucius finally looked triumphantly at Murphy.

Murphy just shrugged, "What does it have to do with me, this isn't my wand. And Lucius, dare you use the Prior Incantato on your wand? I bet we'd see even more astonishing things!"

"Don't twist the facts!" Lucius was slightly nervous, he certainly didn't dare let anyone trace his wand.

"I knew you would make excuses, but I have a witness who can prove that this wand is yours!" Lucius quickly shifted everyone's attention back to Murphy's trial, "Bring in Fergus Shaferik and Belinda Pound."

Soon, Murphy saw the slightly chubbier Belinda and Fergus with an additional scar on his face.

Poor Fergus, whoever treated him didn't use effective healing, Murphy thought. With his remedies, there wouldn't be any scars.

"Belinda Pound, do you know Murphy Darkholme? What is your relationship with him?"

"I know him, Mr. Malfoy. He was a former employee of the Pest Advisory Board, my subordinate. But I have no relation with this lazy guy!"

"Oh, how can you say that, fatty?" Murphy retorted unkindly, "I'm heartbroken. Have you forgotten how I praised you last time?"

Someone on the tribunal chuckled.

"You!" Belinda was red with anger.

Lucius, impatient with their banter, cut in, "Belinda, since you were his colleague, you must have seen his wand. Is this his wand?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. It's this one."

"Oh, Belinda, you silly pig, you know my wand is thicker and longer than this one," Murphy continued.

Belinda exploded with anger again.

Lucius decided to ignore them, turning to Fergus, "Fergus, you were Murphy's classmate, right?"

"Yes, Uncle Malfoy."

Damn! Don't call me uncle now, you fool!

"As his classmate, you must recognize his wand, is it this one?"

"Yes! Exactly, this wand! I've snatched it from him before."

"So, what did you use it for?" Murphy asked, "Did you stick it up your own backside, ugly Fergus?"

"Murphy!" Fergus was enraged, "Don't think I'm afraid of you!"

"Heh, ugly."

Fergus was about to explode but was held back by the judges and taken away. Belinda was also escorted out.

"Murphy, they both recognized your wand. How do you defend yourself now?"

"I don't need to defend myself. Both of these idiots hate me, and one of them is your nephew. They can slander me all they want. But I'll say it again, that's not my wand."

Lucius: "How can you prove that wand isn't yours?"

Murphy: "How can you prove I'm not your father?"

But despite the insults, Murphy decided to reason it out. He looked at the tribunal, "Gentlemen, there's a simple way to prove whether that wand is mine. Bring Garrick Ollivander here."

Being able to Apparate is convenient. Soon, Garrick Ollivander was brought in by two Aurors.

"Mr. Ollivander, is this your wand?" Lucius pointed to the wand on the podium.

Ollivander picked up the wand, "Oh, white oak, twelve and a half inches," he swung it in his hand, "unicorn hair core... Yes, this is my work, but strange, very strange..."

"Is this wand Murphy Darkholme's?" Lucius hurriedly asked.

"Ah?" Ollivander looked at Murphy and immediately shook his head, "No no, Mr. Darkholme's wand is not this one. I remember it's a fourteen-inch aspen wand, with a phoenix feather core, a very unique combination, I rarely make such bold combinations."

Murphy pulled out his new wand from his sleeve and handed it over, "Is this the one?"

"Yes, yes! That's it! This is Mr. Darkholme's wand."

"What?" Lucius was baffled, "Then whose wand is this..."

"I don't remember," Ollivander shook his head, seemingly puzzled, "It should be my work, I must have sold it, but I don't quite remember to whom."

"So it's not Murphy's..."

"No, Mr. Darkholme only bought one wand from me!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," Dumbledore finally spoke, "Now the facts are clear. Mr. Malfoy, since you can't prove that wand belongs to Murphy, do you have any other evidence to support your accusation?"

Lucius was obviously not satisfied, but since the wand evidence had been invalidated, he couldn't make more of it.

He thought for a moment, "I do, I have a second piece of evidence that can prove Murphy violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy!"

"You're no longer accusing Mr. Darkholme of attacking your home, are you?" Dumbledore asked.

"It was him! I know it was him!" Lucius grumbled a couple of times but finally said, "Yes, I drop that charge."

"Please present your evidence."

"Bring the house-elf Locket here!" Lucius demanded.