While the German wizarding world was abuzz with Director Andre's feat, a drama of mutual destruction was unfolding within the Silver Spears club, which had inexplicably been made a scapegoat. Within a single day, Thunderbird and Golden Knight effortlessly killed three leaders in the club's reception room using sneak attacks, all just to secure their own survival. Thus, in an organization like the Silver Spears, which seemed harmless yet was extremely selfish, collapse happened in an instant. Even those who usually worked diligently for the club's development would not hesitate to draw their butcher's knives when their personal interests were involved; of course, if given the chance, the other leaders would likely make the same choice.
Golden Knight, who had been busy all day, was now slumped exhaustedly on the sofa; he couldn't understand what had gone wrong. How had bad news kept coming within just a month, even causing the once thriving club to nearly collapse? But he had no time to think about these things now; tomorrow's hearing was the biggest hurdle he currently faced, and he could already foresee that those people would undoubtedly use the matter of the civilian organization as an excuse to attack him.
However, Peter calculated the power he currently held: three directors of magic and a large number of management wizards under them represented more than half of the Ministry of Magic's resources. With them supporting him, baseless accusations would not shake his foundation. As for those Wizengamot councilors, in Peter's eyes, they were all a bunch of ungrateful opportunists; ultimately, they would only side with whoever had the upper hand. Just like his encounter today, although those wizarding families were very cold toward him, they didn't dare to directly turn against him, clearly still wanting to act according to the situation.
Perhaps due to too much stress recently, Peter's thoughts at this moment were still leaning toward optimism. The main reason, in fact, was Alan's meticulous planning, which compressed every action tightly. Rescuing people yesterday and holding a public trial tomorrow simply didn't give Golden Knight much reaction time, and the confidentiality work was extremely well done, with information released very moderately. This kept Golden Knight in a state of unease, yet feeling as if the worst-case scenario hadn't quite arrived.
The next day, the Ministry of Magic.
A frowning Peter arrived at the Ministry early, and before him lay a newspaper from today, its content still related to those park wizards, detailing the severe inhumane torture suffered by the victims in prison and harshly denouncing the Silver Spears' brutality. As expected, the club's public reputation in Germany was undoubtedly ruined; it would be very difficult to attract collaborators under the name of the Silver Spears in the future. But he was also very helpless in the face of this situation; the club was not a legitimate organization after all and simply couldn't defend itself. In fact, if he dared to say a good word for the club now, he would probably be drowned in criticism.
Just as he was troubled, Michelle knocked on his door, "Minister, the public inquiry hearing is about to begin! It's in the First Courtroom!"
"Understood!" Peter immediately resumed a solemn expression upon hearing this and at the same time instructed Michelle, "Remember to call all the major and minor department heads; we must get through this together."
"Don't worry, I've already informed everyone; they are all your solid backing and will not let this incident bring you negative impact," Michelle knew what Peter was worried about.
"Mm, let's go!" Peter nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
And when Peter walked out of the Minister's office, dozens of wizards had already gathered outside his door, including the principal and deputy directors of the three departments of magic, as well as the heads and supervisors of various departmental offices. He then took the lead, guiding this large group of people grandly toward the First Courtroom; this was him demonstrating his influence to everyone through his actions.
By the time they arrived at the courtroom, it was already packed with people, including all the Wizengamot councilors, representatives from major wizarding families observing, Alan, and a large number of media reporters. When the people inside the courtroom saw Peter leading so many people, they were secretly astonished; this was more than half of the Ministry of Magic's management. And the representatives of those wizarding families also looked at Edmund with some trepidation; to be honest, the power Peter was now displaying made them somewhat hesitant—did they really have to oppose him this time?
However, facing Peter and the others entering the courtroom, Edmund and Director Andre both appeared very calm, as if this was already within their expectations; Edmund even had time to glance at the family representatives, giving them a reassuring look. And Peter, facing the grand setup before him, also showed no hint of abnormality, still wearing a warm smile, and calmly took his seat in front of the rostrum; the courtroom has always been presided over by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even as Minister, he had to observe from the side.
Once everyone had taken their seats, the entire courtroom was packed, but the scene fell into an extremely oppressive silence; even the reporters felt this strange atmosphere, making them afraid to utter a sound.
Director Andre scanned left and right, then calmly stood before the judgment stand and loudly declared, "Since everyone is here, let's not waste any more time! Because this consultation hearing is to ascertain the true circumstances of a malicious imprisonment incident targeting wizards and Muggles that occurred the other day, it is not a formal trial; please do not be too nervous, and please do not interfere with the relevant interrogators."
After Director Andre said this, everyone was unimpressed by his attempts at humor, and many couldn't help but roll their eyes; with the current setup in the courtroom, you tell me not to be nervous? Are you sure you're not joking?
Director Andre ignored everyone's reactions and went straight to the point, "Alright, I declare the public inquiry regarding the malicious imprisonment of 537 wizards and Muggles officially open! Please welcome the first party involved, Jason!"
Following Director Andre's words, a large door next to the circular courtroom opened directly, and Jason, now dressed in formal attire, walked out. To be honest, as an ordinary wizard, this was his first time seeing such a scene: wizards in luxurious attire sat on the circular high platform like a tiered classroom, while he stood alone in the center of the hall, which made him feel somewhat nervous.
After Jason stood still, Director Andre smiled at him, "Today is just to understand the situation from you; please don't be nervous. Now, please state your name, where you are from, and your former occupation."
"Yes, Director Andre!" Jason's voice was a bit loud due to excitement, which caused many people to cover their mouths and chuckle, leading Jason to continue with a red face, "I am Jason, a resident of West Berlin, graduated from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and I used to work in an unknown breeding park."
Director Andre nodded upon hearing this, "Alright, please describe in detail the entire process of your illegal imprisonment, starting from the day you discovered you were imprisoned."
"Yes!" Director Andre's steady voice calmed Jason considerably, and he then meticulously recounted, "That day, I was resting in the park's dormitory when my residence was suddenly broken into by two Silver Spears guards, and then…"
Jason recounted in detail everything that happened to him, from being attacked, discovering his imprisonment, what he saw and heard in prison, and how he made up his mind to escape, even explaining the entire escape process and his encounter with Director Andre and others after escaping, clearly and thoroughly. At first, he stumbled a bit due to nervousness, but he quickly adapted; since these were all things he had just experienced, he spoke vividly, making everyone present feel as if they were there.
And after hearing Jason's specific description, many people in the hall were impressed by his courageous actions, and at the same time developed a sincere aversion to the Silver Spears. Initially, many people were dismissive of the exaggerated content in the newspapers, but it turned out that his experiences were even more outrageous than what was seen on paper, so how inhuman must these Silver Spears guards be to commit such brutal acts.
"Finally, with the help of Mr. Wilson, I successfully returned to the prison with Director Andre and others, and under Director Andre's leadership, after a fierce battle, we finally rescued the rest of our companions. Many of them are still recovering, and we owe our freedom to Director Andre, as well as Edmund Schmidt, Mr. Wilson, and a host of Aurors."
At the end, Jason humbly bowed deeply to Director Andre on the high platform, and the surrounding observing wizards, seeing this scene, couldn't help but give a warm round of applause, including Peter himself; in fact, his applause could be said to be the most enthusiastic, as if he was truly moved by Jason's story.
"I merely did what I, as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, ought to do. You should truly thank yourself, for without your and Bob's heroic performance, we would not have had the opportunity to extend a helping hand to you." Director Andre smiled and reassured him, then became serious again, "However, we still need you to explain some details from your narration. Let's start with your previous work. You mentioned you used to work in an unknown breeding park, could you explain that in detail for us?"
Hearing Director Andre's question, everyone immediately turned their gaze to Jason in the center of the hall, and Peter's heart also sank, knowing that this was the main event.
"Yes…" Jason had not had any communication with anyone before coming, so he had no psychological pressure; he just knew that he only needed to answer whatever Director Andre asked.