Chapter 31: Chief Wizard

"This, this is impossible, I didn't write it! That wasn't written by me!" Lucius continued to defend himself in a hoarse voice.

Murphy shrugged, facing the people on the Judgment Seat, "Everyone has seen the two letters, and I believe you all have formed a basic judgment in your hearts."

The wizards on the Judgment Seat whispered to each other, engaging in a noisy discussion.

No one stopped them, and Murphy let them discuss.

If possible, Murphy hoped they could directly determine Lucius's guilt through this single "evidence."

Although this evidence was actually forged by him.

The second demand letter actually existed; Murphy had seen it years ago, but later he lost track of where it was. What he just displayed was actually a forgery, just like the first letter, made by a Muggle expert in forging documents.

Anyway, Lucius's handwriting is easy to find, and for those document-forgery experts, imitating handwriting and aging paper are just basic operations.

But these techniques are extremely rare in a world where magic is extremely convenient.

Murphy's bet was that wizards lack document authentication experts.

However, he might have been overconfident.

"Murphy," a gentle voice suddenly sounded, "where did you find these two letters?"

Murphy instantly grew nervous, for the person who spoke was none other than Dumbledore, whom he least wanted to face.

"Um, in the old house of my family."

"Hmm, specifically, which part of the house?"

Murphy furrowed his brows, "On the second floor, inside an old chest."

Dumbledore nodded again, "Is there a river near your hometown?"

"Huh?"

"What the hell kind of question is this?"

"What does this have to do with the letter?"

Murphy's mind went into a tangle; what does the Headmaster mean? Could he have some magic to judge the authenticity of this letter?

But what does that have to do with whether there's a river?

Murphy couldn't determine what the correct answer to this question should be, so he could only answer truthfully: "No, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded, as if he had obtained an answer, then he said: "Based solely on the few words on this letter, we might find it hard to judge the writer's true intent; if we were to convict the defendant based only on this letter, I think he would certainly not accept it."

"Murphy, you just said you have two pieces of evidence; what is the other one? Rufus told me that you also accused Lucius of engaging in dangerous activities—is your second piece of evidence related to that?"

Murphy swallowed.

He suddenly felt a bit regretful; if he had known earlier, he wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it—reporting some other wrongdoing by Lucius would have been enough to achieve his goal.

He never imagined there was such a thing as a purge act, nor did he know that his report would summon Dumbledore.

Otherwise, he would have had to make these pieces of evidence look more substantial anyway!

However, once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back; at this moment he cannot retreat.

"Yes, Professor."

After saying that, Murphy looked at Lucius, "Lucius, a friend told me that your home hides numerous Black Magic Items, all placed in your cellar, neatly arranged on those shelves, safely protected by glass covers."

"He also told me that among these Black Magic Items, there is one that is completely different from the others."

While speaking, Murphy slowly put a glove on his right hand.

"Because, it was given to you by the Dark Lord."

With that right hand, he pulled out a black-covered notebook from his bosom.

"Lucius, you know what this is, right?"

Having heard Murphy's earlier description, Lucius was already terrified; and when he actually produced the notebook, Lucius felt as if all his strength had been drained, nearly collapsing.

How could this be?

How does he know the cellar's situation so clearly?

How did he get hold of that diary?

Shouldn't it have been burned together with the other things?

Could it be… that on that day he broke into his own home not for those Muggles, but actually for it?

Was he from the start intent on killing himself?

Lucius's heart was filled with shock and dread.

The Dark Lord's diary, imbued with strong Black Magic, is certainly a Black Magic Item; once proven to belong to the Dark Lord, his status as the Death Eaters would essentially be confirmed.

"No! I don't know it! That's not mine!"

However, as soon as he said that, Lucius saw the smile on Murphy's face.

"Oh?" the youth smiled, as if he had been waiting for those words.

"You're lying." the youth stated firmly.

Then he turned to the Judgment Seat, "I request to summon a witness, the house-elf Dobby."

"Clang!" Lucius truly couldn't hold up; his body went limp and he collapsed in the iron cage, not even feeling his back being sliced by spikes.

The house-elf was brought in, each arm held by one Auror.

"Dobby, I command you! Stop……" Lucius suddenly let out a hoarse, exhausted roar, but before he could finish his command, Dumbledore's right hand made a closing gesture, a light horizontal slash, and Lucius's mouth automatically shut, as if a zipper had been pulled up.

"Silence! Lucius. Here it is not your slave, but a witness. You must not interfere with the witness's speech."

"Thank you, Professor." Murphy gave Dumbledore a slight bow.

That silencing spell just now was really cool.

"Dobby." Murphy looked at the house-elf, "You don't need to be nervous; we're just going to ask you a few questions, answer them truthfully."

"Dobby… Dobby…" Dobby glanced at Lucius in the cage, then looked around at the wizards on the Judgment Seat, and suddenly charged toward the podium, headbutting it.

Murphy gasped, quickly reached out to block it, but the house-elf's large head knocked his hand against the podium, making him feel as if the bones in his hand might break into two pieces.

He grabbed Dobby, yanked him up by the torn pillowcase, and hoisted him into the air, shouting, "You fucking crazy?!"

"Dobby bad, bad Dobby… sob sob…"

That house-elf actually started crying.

Obviously he realized these people wanted him to do something detrimental to his master.

Murphy flew into a rage and slapped him, shouting, "Cry, you motherfucker!"

He glared at Dobby viciously, "I'll say it again, you motherfucker: I ask questions, you answer truthfully; if you dare lie, your master and his whole family will end up in Azkaban! Did you hear me?! Do you understand?!"

"Sob sob, go ahead and beat me, kill Dobby; Dobby can't do anything disloyal to his master, Dobby is a bad house-elf, Dobby would be better off dead…"

"……"

Damn.

Murphy was speechless; this thing might really have been raised on fear, and simply doesn't respond to intimidation.

He set Dobby down and looked helplessly at Dumbledore.

Headmaster, can you help?

(End of chapter)