Jon Hart naturally doesn't know what happened in faraway Albania, and he doesn't quite know what kind of change has taken place in Tom Riddle's mentality.

In fact, as a "new" Headmaster of Hogwarts for a few days, he is very busy right now. There are many bits and pieces that need to be dealt with urgently by him now, and there are also many "big shots" that he needs to know.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Headmaster Chris Evra on the portrait wall whispered, "Jon, you have to leave for the Ministry of Magic now, or you may not be able to make it in time." ”

"Okay, thank you, Chris!" Jon nodded, and got up from his seat.

After tidying up a bit and putting his bamboo wand in his pocket, Jon made his way to the large golden perch in the headmaster's office.

"Fawkes, wake up!" Jon urged softly.

The poor phoenix let out a few nasty screams, and then she flew slowly out of her perch.

With a flash of golden light—

Jon and the phoenix vanished completely.

......

A few minutes later, Jon Hart, who had arrived at the Ministry of Magic, was on his way to his destination.

First, I took the elevator of the Ministry of Magic and went all the way down. After sitting at the bottom of the elevator, Jon found another opening, leading down a staircase.

After walking down the stairs for about five minutes, Jon figured that he was almost two hundred yards below London, when the stairs finally came to an end and he was greeted by a corridor.

The walls on both sides of the hallway were empty, with no doors or windows. It's exactly like the hallway at Hogwarts Castle that leads to the underground Potions classroom: rough stone walls, torches stuck in brackets, and a slightly terrifying atmosphere.

At the end of the hallway was a black door, with a large iron lock hanging eerily on it, and a line of words crookedly written on the door: "Courtroom 1".

With a twist of the heavy iron handle, Jon stepped into the courtroom.

The walls were made of black stone, and the light from the torches was dim and eerie. On either side were rows of empty benches that were gradually rising, and in front of him, on the highest benches, many black figures appeared.

The figures had been seemingly whispering, but as Jon Hart entered, they fell into a brief silence.

Soon, however, louder whispers rang out, seemingly directed at him.

"Hope I'm not late, Minister!" Jon said calmly, ignoring the whispers, instead striding over.

The broad-bodied, square-chin witch sitting at the front of the crowd looked up, her gray hair cut short, a pair of monocles, and an intimidating expression on her face.

"Yes, you are punctual, Mr. Hart!" Minister Amelia Bones nodded with a serious expression, "Please take your seats as soon as possible, the interrogation will begin in three minutes." ”

"Okay, thanks. Jon glanced around and saw an empty seat next to Kingsley Shackle, who was sitting in the first row, and walked over and sat down.

Kingsley nodded at him, and Jon nodded in response.

The whispers had not subsided at all, and Jon suspected that most of the eyes in the room were now focused on him.

"I hope you'll be able to make a trip to the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters this afternoon. Kingsley, who was on the side, reminded in a low voice: "Many members of the Order of the Phoenix don't understand Dumbledore's decision before his death; you need to explain a little to them." ”

"Okay, I will. Jon responded.

......

"Silence!" said Minister Amelia Burns with some sternness.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Jon looked around with some curiosity, feeling that it was more like a dungeon than an interrogation room. There was a bleak and gloomy atmosphere in the room, with no pictures on the walls, no decoration, only rows of dense benches on all sides, which were arranged in a stepped manner.

The chair in the center of the room had iron chains on the left and right on the armrests, and the chain was clearly visible from all the seats.

"Take the first prisoner!" Bones ordered.

Only a burst of footsteps was heard. The door in the corner of the room opened (not the one Jon had entered), and three people entered—at least one human, held hostage by two Dementors.

The two Dementors—two tall monsters with hooded faces obscured—slowly walked toward the armchair in the center of the room, their rotting dead hands gripping the arm of the man in the middle. The man looked like he was about to faint.

The surrounding inquisitors were somewhat affected by the Dementors, but no one made any moves, only to see the Dementors slowly walk out of the room after placing the man in the chained chair, the door closed again.

The man in the chair was Jon's familiar face, Horace-Slughorn.

Slughorn looked much more emaciated than he had been a few days ago, the walrus had lost at least a lap of weight, and his otherwise decent clothes had become a little tattered by now.

The chains on the armrests of the chair suddenly glowed golden, and then wrapped like a snake around Slughorn's arm, holding him firmly there to prevent him from breaking free.

"Horace-Slughorn!" a very abrupt voice on the left said suddenly.

The voice was owned by Rufus-Scrimgourge, who had been sitting on the right side of the minister, but he had sat so far back on the bench that his whole body was in shadow for a moment to be noticed.

"You are accused of passing information to Voldemort's henchmen for the past year, and you are accused of being involved in the murder of Albus Dumbledore, and you are accused of attempted murder of Sybil Trelawney......" Scrimgeour's voice roared like an angry lion, "You are guilty!"

"Yes...... I don't deny it...... I also repent of what I have done in the past......" Slughorn said weakly but with some eagerness, "So...... I would now like to serve the Ministry of Magic. I'm willing to help...... I know the Ministry of Magic is ...... Hunt down the remnants of the mysterious man. I am willing to do my best to assist you ......"

"That's good...... Slughorn. Name the Death Eaters you know, and their whereabouts......" Scrimgeour's voice calmed a little.

"Snape!" Slughorn shouted, "Severus Snape!"

In the light of the torches, Jon could see him sweating and even shivering.

vertex