'Minerva, please wait for them in the Entrance Hall and lead them here directly' said Dumbledore.
Hearing this, Prof. McGonagall walked out.
They didn't have to wait long enough. Soon, the steps were heard and in came Prof. McGonagall followed by a woman in her early forties and eleven men and women in Auror uniforms.
'You sent for us, Min-', the woman cut off mid-sentence as she glanced at the prone figure and did a double-take.
'Barty Crouch Junior!' said the man. Instantly his wand was in his hand pointed at the unconscious Death Eater.
'Yes, Rufus, he was apprehended by Mr. Potter here', said Prof. Dumbledore pointing at Harry, before the Minister could get in a word, 'We would all like to know how he escaped imprisonment and then we will hear Harry's statement. As you will no doubt want to hear the entire truth, Severus has kindly provided me with Veritaserum.'
'As it was brewed by him, a non-Ministry person, I cannot allow it. I want to use the Ministry-brewed Veritaserum' said the Minster angrily not liking being ignored by his own officials in favour of Dumbledore.
'Fine, we have it handy' said Amelia Bones, 'Rufus?'
'Here, Ma'am', said the man who could only be Rufus Scrimgeour, handing over a vial of crystal clear liquid.
Amelia Bones poured three drops of the potion into Barty Crouch Jr.' s mouth and then pointing her wand at him, muttered, 'Rennervate'.
Crouch opened his eyes, blinking once. Harry saw that they were glazed over.
'What is your name?', asked Madam Bones grabbing a chair and sitting in it.
'Bartemius Crouch Junior', said he.
'How come did you escape from Azkaban?' she asked next.
'My father out of his love for my dying mother who asked for it as her last wish did so.'
'How did you come to be here?'
'The Dark Lord freed me from my home where I was kept a prisoner under the Imperius Curse by my father. He had learned from Bertha Jorkins whom Wormtail had captured that there was one servant who was still alive and loyal to the Dark -'
'Nonsense! You-Know-Who is dead! He died at the hands of Harry Potter thirteen years ago.' screeched Cornelius Fudge.
'He is alive', said two voices at once. They all looked to see that it was both Crouch and Harry who had spoken.
'What do you mean, Mr. Potter?' asked Amelia.
'We will all get to hear what Mr. Potter says in his statement but I think we should finish with Crouch first', cut in Prof. McGonagall.
'Yes, let's finish with this first', agreed Prof. Dumbledore.
'Continue, Crouch. What happened after your Dark Lord heard about you?' asked Amelia.
Crouch narrated the whole story of how his Master had come to his home one night in the arms of his servant, Wormtail, how they captured Moody and so on.
The Minister tried interrupting him when he talked about Lord Voldemort but was told to hold his questions until the end of story.
As soon as Crouch finished the story, the Minister could not hold it any longer, 'This is all rubbish. Clearly, his mind's been unhinged by his stay in Azkaban and by being under the Imperius Curse. You-Know-Who is dead. He cannot be back!'
'He is back. I saw him. I fought him and his Death Eaters at the graveyard in Little Hangleton where I was illegally portkeyed to.' said Harry quietly, thinking that there was no point in losing his temper at the Minister. It would take a lot to convince him of the truth.
'Nonsense! Dumbledore, do you believe this boy? I would not, after reading the things in the newspaper about him. A Parselmouth, and what with his scar hurting now and then. His ability to speak to snakes clearly suggests he could become a Dark wizard too and his scar hurting means he has gone off his rocker. It is a dangerous combination! An insane Dark wizard in the making, and now, he is also telling lies about You-Know-Who's return. Do you choose to believe him, Dumbledore?' screeched the Minister.
Everyone looked first at Harry and then at Professor Dumbledore.
'Yes, I do. His Parseltongue ability is an after-effect of Voldemort losing to him that night all those years ago and his scar hurts when Voldemort is near or experiencing a strong emotion such as anger.' said Dumbledore quietly.
'Do you all choose to believe this?' asked Minister looking around.
'Before we turn to the undoubtedly important question of whether He Who Must Not Be Named is really dead or not ', said Amelia raising her voice and taking charge of the situation in that instant and then turning to Crouch who would be the only one incapable of lying thanks to Veritaserum which still maintained its hold on him shown by the glazed eyes, 'I would like to know who is this Wormtail whom Crouch's Master trusted.'
'Peter Pettigrew', said Crouch Junior unblinkingly.
'Preposterous' cried Cornelius Fudge, 'Pettigrew is dead. Sirius Black killed him.'
'He isn't dead. I tried to tell you that last year but you chose to believe his story of a Confundus Charm' said Harry pointing an accusatory finger at Snape. 'Last time, I was hindered by a lack of proof but this time, I can. I can prove that not only is my Godfather innocent but also that Voldemort is alive and has risen again now.'
'How, Mr. Potter?' asked Amelia.
'I can show you my memories of the events in the Headmaster's Pensieve and after that, you may even question me under Veritaserum, if you want to' said Harry.
'That's settled, then. We will all go to my office for this.' said Dumbledore.
'No, Professor. We will not use the Pensieve in your office but a Ministry-approved one,' said Rufus Scrimgeour speaking after a long time. 'This way, there can be no doubts about the memories' authenticity.'
'Yes, Rufus. You are right,' said Amelia looking at the Minister who seemed to have been on the verge of interrupting after Dumbledore spoke. 'Marty' she called out and with a CRACK, a house-elf wearing a uniform bearing the Ministry logo appeared and looked at her.
'Madam Bones be's calling Marty' asked the elf.
'Yes, kindly, fetch the Pensieve from my office and bring it to the Headmaster's office in ten minutes. We will make our way there till then.' said Amelia and with another CRACK, the elf vanished after bowing low to her.
'Let's go' said Amelia and they all headed out.