Chapter 247 Pettigrew's Verdict
Neville's challenge was his low self-esteem. Due to his parents' situation, Mrs. Longbottom's high expectations, and his own magical struggles, he had been plagued by losses and self-doubt without realizing the hidden courage in his heart.
Nonetheless, he would gradually grow as time passed.
Evan and Hermione kept Neville's parents a secret. If he wanted them to know, he would have informed them himself.
Ron recovered the next day and was discharged from the hospital. That afternoon, Evan, Harry, and Hermione went to The Burrow. The Weasleys warmly welcomed them.
Evan thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the Christmas holidays.
Since the Sirius incident, he had not been as relaxed as at that moment, free from conspiracies, dark wizards, vampires, or any threat of death to face.
He discussed Muggle contraptions with Mr. Weasley and followed Fred and George to work on new joke products in secret.
On New Year's Day, Sirius took some of them to watch the match between Puddlemere United and Wimbourne Wasps.
The game took place deep in the mountains, and they all planned to camp outdoors that night, but Puddlemere United's Seeker caught the Golden Snitch in just twenty minutes.
Though the game was short, it remained highly thrilling.
The technical skill and high level of competition surpassed what Evan was accustomed to witnessing, keeping his eyes wide open as the teams performed.
Wimbourne Wasps fans wore yellow and black wizard robes, with a wasp sewn on the chest and back. Whenever a player scored, they performed a wave, buzzing rhythmically in a spectacularly coordinated manner.
When Puddlemere United's Seeker caught the Snitch to end the game, the entire Quidditch field sang their team anthem "Repel those Bludgers, boys, and chuck that Quaffle here!" The joyous melody resonated throughout the audience, and even Evan murmured along with them.
For avid fans like Harry and Ron, the game ending so quickly was certainly unsatisfying.
Evan paid no mind to this. He focused on the Quidditch field's setting, the advertisements placed around it, and the souvenirs, badges, and other items from both teams sold by the staff. He considered whether it would be possible to reference these experiences in the Hogwarts Quidditch competition.
In addition to these activities, Evan spent most of his time in the shop on Diagon Alley, where everyone worked together to clean and repair the store.
Lupin, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley primarily managed this. House-elves Dobby and Kreacher assisted. Every morning after breakfast at The Burrow, Evan and the others flew to Diagon Alley to help.
According to Evan's plan, the store's ground floor would mainly sell Weasley's joke products.
Therefore, Fred and George were the most active individuals. They designed and decorated the place according to their own ideas. If it weren't for Mrs. Weasley, they would have definitely spent a couple of nights in the store.
Although Evan did not directly participate, he was not idle.
He and Hermione wrote numerous promotional articles, used two sections in the "Hogwarts Magic" newspaper to advertise the store opening in a week, and even purchased ads in the "Daily Prophet."
With everyone's efforts, the store successfully opened on the last day of the Christmas holidays.
The store's ground floor was filled with exquisite, numerous, and diverse products.
All of them were made by the wizards from Hogwarts, and Evan had contacted them and gathered with his classmates in the latter days through owls and Dobby.
Among them, Fred and George were the ones who crafted most of the prank products.
Through Evan's and Mr. Weasley's persuasion, Mrs. Weasley reluctantly agreed to let Fred and George continue their research on Weasley magic tricks, as long as she could review those things to ensure their safety and as long as it did not affect their studies.
Mrs. Weasley quickly found an assistant. She and Hermione joined forces to rigorously inspect the prank products Fred and George were preparing to sell, such as stink bombs, binge boxes, Canary creams, and all the items prohibited on the list.
Most of the prank products currently in the store were mild, non-hazardous, and highly hygienic.
Fred and George complained more than once to Evan about this, stating that it was restraining their mischievous inspiration.
However, they did not give up on developing other mischievous products that they themselves referred to as "truly valuable," but they went underground.
Fred and George were determined to strive and save money to later open their own joke shop.
In addition to the various things made by the young wizards, in a corner of the main floor, Evan also deliberately opened a small space to sell Muggle items, such as lightbulbs, video cameras, game consoles, and other products rarely touched by wizards.
Evan was uncertain of how well this would work but was ready to give it a try.
These items were highly practical and would surely be intriguing to some individuals. And based on Evan's understanding of wizards, they would not venture into the Muggle world solely to purchase them.
On the other side of the main floor, there was a spacious wooden staircase leading to the first and second floors of the shop. It served as the headquarters of the Hogwarts Magic newspaper, mainly led by Lupin and used as a space for the newspaper's daily operation and advertising contacts.
To commemorate the successful opening of the shop, Evan also printed a special edition featuring the event's highlights and Sirius's experience when he escaped.
He even drew inspiration from Lockhart to convince Sirius to sign autographs at the shop on the opening day to attract more visitors.
Despite all the preparations, Evan was taken aback by the number of customers waiting outside the shop on the first day of business.
Many wizards gathered outside the shop, including thousands of people, among them many foreign wizards, nearly all drawn by Sirius.
After all, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew's case was the hottest topic in the magical world, especially as it was linked to Voldemort's secret. Everyone was deeply intrigued.
Two days before the shop's opening, the Wizengamot, following a lengthy trial, finally sentenced Pettigrew to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Evan heard from Mr. Weasley that most Wizengamot members had initially planned for Pettigrew to receive the Dementor's Kiss as his sentence, but many peace organizations outside were protesting and writing to the Ministry of Magic against such a cruel judgment.
Given the current low support rate, Fudge was concerned that this incident could cause unnecessary trouble and ultimately decided on a more conservative trial, keeping Peter Pettigrew in Azkaban indefinitely.
After all, such a sentence had a precedent to follow. Following Voldemort's downfall, many dark wizards were also punished in the same manner.
For Fudge, the most crucial aspect was to avoid being questioned by the masses.
It is said that after Peter Pettigrew heard the sentence, he instantly collapsed to his knees, like a child, weeping on the ground.
Not out of fear, but out of overwhelming joy.
He did not expect to escape death, and although Azkaban, as bad as it was, was better than losing his life or having his soul sucked out by a Dementor.
He even harbored some illusions about the day Voldemort would return.
For all the Death Eaters trapped in Azkaban, as long as they were alive, there was hope!