Sirius Black's escape.
Peter Pettigrew's faked death.
The mysterious case from twelve years ago—the one that led to the deaths of James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black's imprisonment, and Voldemort's fall—
Every mystery was finally answered.
All of it pointed to the trembling, pathetic man on the floor.
Dumbledore slowly closed his wise blue eyes.
He did not interrogate.
He did not judge.
Instead, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
It was a sigh filled with regret, sorrow, and relief.
Regret for the cruel twists of fate.
Sorrow for a friend who had endured twelve years of injustice.
Relief that the truth—hidden for over a decade—had finally surfaced.
And the one who revealed it wasn't an Auror, nor a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
It was a student.
A student who had exposed the truth with absolute, undeniable force.
Dumbledore looked toward Lucian Thornwick.
The boy stood calmly, as if revealing the greatest injustice in recent magical history had been nothing more than a trivial matter.
In Dumbledore's eyes flashed a complicated emotion.
Relief.
Awe.
And something else.
Expectation.
Perhaps the era truly was changing.
The Aftermath
"All unrelated students—return to your dormitories immediately."
Dumbledore's firm voice broke the silence.
Soon, the Gryffindor common room emptied.
Only a few people remained:
DumbledoreSnapeLupinHarry, Ron, and HermionePeter Pettigrew (bound by magical restraints)And Lucian, quietly leaning against the wall.
"Severus," Dumbledore said calmly, "we will need Veritaserum. The strongest dose."
Snape stiffened.
He stared at Pettigrew with burning hatred.
"…Fine."
His robes whipped through the air as he stormed out.
The Truth Revealed
Half an hour later, inside the Headmaster's office.
Under the influence of Veritaserum, Pettigrew confessed everything.
His voice was dull and emotionless.
He explained how he had become the Potters' Secret Keeper.
How he betrayed them to Voldemort.
How he framed Sirius Black.
How he blew up a street and murdered twelve Muggles.
How he cut off his own finger to fake his death.
And how he transformed into a rat and hid with the Weasley family for twelve years.
Every word felt like a knife stabbing the hearts of those listening.
Harry closed his eyes as tears slid down his cheeks.
The man he had believed was his parents' murderer was innocent.
The real traitor had lived beside him for years.
Snape's face turned deathly pale.
One of the pillars of hatred he had carried his whole life had just collapsed.
Dumbledore looked deeply saddened.
Fudge Arrives
Suddenly the fireplace flared green.
Cornelius Fudge stepped out of the flames.
"Dumbledore! I've received reports that Sirius Black entered Hogwarts and attacked students! I've brought two Aurors and—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Dumbledore calmly pointed toward Pettigrew.
"Minister Fudge, before you make any decisions, perhaps you should meet this… 'hero.'"
"Peter Pettigrew."
Fudge froze.
His eyes bulged.
His hat fell from his head.
"P-Peter?! Impossible! He died! Black killed him! I personally awarded him the Order of Merlin!"
Dumbledore silently handed him the magical transcript of Pettigrew's confession.
Fudge read.
His hands trembled.
His face turned ghostly white.
Frame Sirius Black.
Betray the Potters.
Fake death.
The greatest scandal in Ministry history.
They had imprisoned an innocent man for twelve years.
And celebrated the real criminal as a hero.
Fudge's political career flashed before his eyes.
"This… this is fake!" he shouted weakly.
"A conspiracy!"
Dumbledore simply looked at him.
Then Fudge followed Dumbledore's gaze.
And saw Lucian.
Instantly, cold sweat covered his body.
The boy who had destroyed hundreds of Dementors with a single spell.
The boy who seemed to defy the laws of magic.
Fudge suddenly understood.
If someone could expose a truth buried for twelve years so effortlessly…
It could only be him.
Fudge's resistance collapsed.
The Public Apology
The next day, classes were canceled.
Minister Fudge personally held a press conference in the Great Hall.
Teachers, students, and reporters from The Daily Prophet filled the room.
Looking exhausted, Fudge read a statement prepared by Dumbledore.
The Ministry admitted their grave mistake.
Sirius Black had been wrongfully imprisoned.
All charges were officially dropped.
His reputation was restored.
Compensation would be provided.
Finally, Fudge turned toward Sirius Black—now dressed in clean robes—and bowed deeply.
"I, Cornelius Fudge, on behalf of the British Ministry of Magic, sincerely apologize to Mr. Sirius Black and the entire wizarding world for this grave error."
Camera flashes lit the hall.
History had just changed.
Meanwhile
Lucian Thornwick wasn't present.
He stood alone on the Astronomy Tower, overlooking the castle.
To him, exposing the truth was merely a trivial matter.
His mind was occupied with something else entirely.
Horcruxes.
The next clue.
The noise and praise below meant nothing.
Arrival of the Other Schools
Later that autumn afternoon, all Hogwarts students gathered outside the castle.
The guests were arriving.
Hoofbeats echoed in the sky.
A massive blue carriage descended, pulled by twelve winged horses.
Beauxbatons Academy.
Students in elegant blue silk uniforms stepped out.
Their headmistress, the towering Madame Maxime, followed.
Moments later, the Black Lake began to churn.
A gigantic ship rose from the water.
Durmstrang Institute had arrived.
Their students wore heavy red cloaks and fur.
At the back walked their calculating headmaster:
Igor Karkaroff.
The two delegations had completely different atmospheres.
Beauxbatons were elegant.
Durmstrang was fierce.
Lucian observed quietly from a window.
Through his enhanced perception, nothing escaped his notice.
The winged horses possessed enormous magical power.
Madame Maxime carried the unmistakable bloodline of a giant.
Durmstrang's ship radiated dark magic and necromantic enchantments.
And Karkaroff…
Lucian sensed the faint aura of a hidden Dark Mark.
A Death Eater.
Lucian smiled faintly.
The game was becoming interesting.
The Banquet
That evening, the Great Hall glittered brighter than ever.
Two extra tables had been added for the visiting schools.
Beauxbatons students sat beside Ravenclaw.
Durmstrang sat beside Slytherin.
Among the Beauxbatons students, one girl captured everyone's attention.
Fleur Delacour.
Her beauty was breathtaking.
Long silver-blonde hair flowed like liquid moonlight.
Her deep blue eyes shimmered like the summer sea.
Her pale skin seemed to glow under the candlelight.
"Wow…" Parvati whispered to Hermione.
"She's unreal."
Hermione frowned slightly.
Not because of Fleur's beauty.
But because of her unmistakable arrogance.
Fleur poked at her steak and kidney pie.
"Oh my… is this what they call food?" she muttered in French.
"It's greasy… and so crude."
"Couldn't they at least prepare proper French cuisine?"
Her friend giggled.
"Fleur, don't be too harsh. You can't expect these people to understand real cooking."
"You're right," Fleur said lightly.
She scanned the hall.
Boys stared at her with fascination.
She smirked slightly.
But then—
Her gaze stopped.
At the Gryffindor table.
A black-haired Eastern boy sat quietly.
Lucian Thornwick.
He wasn't staring at her.
He wasn't impressed.
He wasn't even looking.
Lucian calmly cut a piece of roasted lamb.
As if her presence didn't exist at all.
For the first time, Fleur Delacour looked surprised.
Her Veela heritage gave her irresistible charm.
Yet this boy remained completely unmoved.
His calmness was like a deep lake that no wind could disturb.
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