Chapter 183 The Order Of Merlin
The next morning, Evan had just woken up when he saw Ron endlessly apologizing to him, Harry, and Hermione.
Evan burst into tears and called himself a fool. He claimed to have been under the control of Peter Pettigrew. He expressed that he should not stop believing in everyone around him.
Although Evan felt that Ron had concealed some details, he eventually forgave him, as did Harry and Hermione.
After all, not everyone could successfully free themselves from the Imperius Curse.
Ron's actions of the previous night were enough to prove that he was different from Peter Pettigrew. He was worthy of being a hero.
Ron did not stay long at the school. Following Madam Pomfrey's suggestion, at 7 a.m. after breakfast, he was sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for a check-up. He would probably have to spend the rest of the Christmas holidays there.
Although everyone was very worried, Madam Pomfrey repeatedly promised that he would recover without any lasting effects.
Right after parting ways with Ron, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, entered the room accompanied by Dumbledore. Behind them stood three adult wizards, one man and two women, all in their forties and fifties.
Evan's eyes wandered among the three, and the lady following Fudge was wearing a black robe, she was a square-jawed witch with short gray hair and a monocle.
Evan had no impression of this person at all.
But upon seeing the witch next to her, he felt a knot in his heart, a bad feeling. Could it be the legendary Umbridge?
Umbridge was wearing a fluffy pink cardigan. She was a short, plump woman who resembled a large, pale toad. She had a wide, flabby face, a wide and slack mouth, and a small neck. Her bulging, sunken eyes.
Even the black velvet bow in her mouse-brown hair reminded Evan of a large fly, as if she was about to stick out her long sticky tongue to catch it.
Behind Umbridge, there was a stern wizard; an older man, rigid and upright, dressed in impeccably neat robes. The part in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his thin mustache seemed trimmed with a slide rule. His shoes were polished to the maximum. Evan had never seen a wizard as strict as him. If he didn't wear a robe but a suit, he could easily pass for a Muggle bank manager.
This man is undoubtedly Percy's idol.
From Evan's impression, only one person could be Percy's idol in this regard, that is, Barty Crouch, who was eventually killed by his Death Eater son, Barty Crouch Junior.
He looked at him closely, wondering if he had already hidden Barty Crouch Junior at home.
If possible, he would like to report it or say something about it, but he knew no one would believe him.
As an influential official at the Ministry of Magic, Bartemius Crouch had a very high reputation. If not for his son, he would probably be the Minister of Magic today.
As Evan looked at the three individuals, they also stared seriously at him, at Harry, at Hermione, and particularly at Harry, for a long time.
"Good morning, children!" Fudge looked tired and mentally worn. It seemed like he hadn't slept that night. He spoke in a low voice. "It's incredible. Everything was actually done by Peter Pettigrew. Black is innocent. Look what we've done, the Ministry of Magic is going to be the laughingstock, and the Daily Prophet will have a field day if others find out..."
"We are now the laughingstock, Minister!" interrupted Bartemius Crouch, with a hint of impatience in his voice. "We've truly locked Sirius Black in Azkaban for 12 years. Who knows how many innocent people are in there?"
"Yes, you are right," it seemed that Fudge understood what I wanted to say, hesitated, and said cautiously, "this is indeed a consequence of our negligence, but I remind you that you were the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the accusations against the Death Eaters at that time, all were presided over by you..."
"Thank you for reminding me, Minister," said Bartemius Crouch dryly, "Whether personally or within the Wizengamot, it is a shame that will never be erased. Fortunately, the children have given us the opportunity to amend this mistake."
"It is truly fortunate," Fudge did not seem happy at all. He pointed to the three wizards beside him and made a brief introduction of Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation; the two ladies were Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic."
Crouch did not look at them, he kept staring at Dumbledore. Bones smiled at Evan, Harry, and Hermione, displaying a more cordial attitude.
As for Umbridge, she had a false smile on her face, then greeted the three of them and let out a bell-like laughter. Evan's neck hairs stood on end.
Harry and Hermione had a displeased expression, especially Hermione. Under Umbridge's gaze, her small body shrunk as much as possible on the bed where she was reclining.
"Well, children, regarding the case of Black, the Wizengamot has established a special investigative team, and the five of us are members of it," Fudge said briefly, "although I just heard Albus mention it, we still want to know more about what happened last night."
Evan, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other, and finally, Evan spoke again about what happened the previous night. He deliberately concealed the details about Ron, the Time-Turner, and the centaurs, but mentioned that he caught Peter Pettigrew in the Forbidden Forest.
"It's shocking, at your age! I couldn't, on my own, catch a dark wizard." Umbridge looked at Evan, speaking in a shrill, faux-childish, and choppy voice.
"It's just luck, ma'am!" Evan responded cautiously.
"There's no need to be modest, Evan, you've always been excellent." Fudge adjusted his hat and continued, "Things are as I imagined. The problem now is if someone asks you how you caught Peter Pettigrew, you know..."
"I know, Minister," Evan nodded. He knew what Fudge was going to say. "Although I ultimately caught Peter Pettigrew, the Ministry of Magic made many efforts in this matter, like the Basilisk incident last year. I would have informed you if I had the chance."
"Thank you, Evan, you have helped us a lot," sighed Fudge. For him, as long as it did not affect the reputation of the Ministry of Magic and his career, there was no problem with Black's innocence.
"You have done very well this time. The three of you, plus the Weasley family's child, have just been mentioned. The Ministry is going to request the Order of Merlin, Third Class for the four of you!" Fudge continued, "Especially you, Evan, even if I have to fight for it; I believe the Second Class would be most fitting."