Vol 3 Chapter 494: Courtroom

　　 Jon Hart naturally doesn't know what was posted in far away Albania, nor is he sure what kind of change in Tom Riddle's mentality has taken place.
　　 In fact, as a Hogwarts principal who was "newly appointed" within a few days, he is very busy now. There are many bits and pieces that urgently need him to deal with now, and there are also many "big men" who need him to know.
　　 At a quarter past eight in the morning, Principal Chris Evra on the portrait wall reminded softly: "Jon, you have to go to the Ministry of Magic now, or you may miss the interrogation meeting."
　　 "Okay, thank you, Chris!" Jon nodded and got up from his seat.
　　 first arranged some outfits, then put his bamboo wand into his pocket, and then Jon came to the huge golden perch in the principal's office.
　　 "Fox, wake up!" Jon urged softly.
　　 The poor phoenix made a few unpleasant calls, and then she flew out from the perch slowly.
　　 With the golden light flashing
　　 Jon and Phoenix completely disappeared from here.
　　……
　　 A few minutes later, Jon Hart, who had arrived at the Ministry of Magic, was rushing to his destination.
　　 first took the elevator of the Ministry of Magic and went all the way down. After getting to the bottom of the elevator, Jon found another gap, leading to a step down.
　　 After walking along the stairs for almost five minutes, Jon estimated that he was coming to a depth of two hundred yards underground in London; at this time the stairs had finally reached the end and a corridor was greeted.
　　 The walls on both sides of the corridor are empty, with no doors or windows. This is exactly the same as the corridor leading to the underground classroom of the Potions at Hogwarts Castle: rough stone walls, a torch inserted into the bracket, and a slightly scary atmosphere.
　　 At the end of the corridor, there is a black door with a large iron lock hanging on it, and at the same time a line written crookedly: "First Courtroom".
　　 Twisting the heavy iron handle, Jon walked into the courtroom.
　　The surrounding walls are made of black stones, and the light from the torches is dim and gloomy. On both sides are rows of empty benches that gradually rise, and in front of him, on the tallest benches, there are many dark figures suddenly appearing.
　　 The figures seemed to be whispering, but as Jon Hart came in, they fell into a brief silence.
　　 But soon, louder whispers rang out, seeming to be directed at him.
　　 "I hope I'm not late yet, Minister!" Jon ignored the whispers, but strode over, saying very peacefully.
　　 The wide, square-chin witch sitting at the front of the crowd raised her head. Her gray hair was cut short, she wore a pair of monocles, and the expression on her face was daunting.
　　 "Yes, you are very punctual, Mr. Hart!" Minister Amelia Burns nodded solemnly: "Please be seated as soon as possible. The interrogation will begin in three minutes."
　　 "Okay, thank you." Jon glanced around and saw an empty seat beside Kingsley Shackle in the first row. He walked over and sat down.
　　 Kingsley nodded at him slightly, and Jon nodded in response.
　　 Those whispers did not calm down at all; Jon suspected that at this time, most of the eyes in this room were focused on him.
"I hope you can go to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix this afternoon." Kingsley on the side reminded in a low voice: "Many members of the Order of the Phoenix don't understand Dumbledore's decision during his lifetime; you need to be more sensitive to them. Explain a little bit."
　　 "Okay, I will." Jon responded.
　　……
　　 "Quiet!" Minister Amelia Burns said harshly.
　　 The surrounding area became quiet for an instant.
　　 Jon looked around with some curiosity. He felt that it was more like a dungeon than an interrogation room. There was a bleak and gloomy atmosphere in the room. There were no pictures on the walls, no decorations, only the dense rows of benches on all sides, lined up in steps.
　　The chair in the center of the room has an iron chain on the left and right on the armrest; and the chained chair can be clearly seen from all the seats.
　　 "Take the first prisoner!" Bones ordered.
　　 only heard footsteps. The door in the corner of the room opened (not the door Jon entered), and three people walked in—at least one of them was a human being held by two dementors.
　　 The two dementors—tall monsters whose faces are covered by hoods—slowly walked towards the armchair in the middle of the room, their rotten dead hands clutching the middle man's arm. The man seemed to be fainting.
The surrounding interrogators were more or less affected by the dementors, but no one made any actions; I saw the dementors put the man in the chair with chains and walked out of the room slowly. The door was closed again.
　　 The man on the chair is a familiar face to Jon. He is Horace Slughorn.
　　 Slughorn looks a lot more haggard than a few days ago~EbookFREE.me~ The walrus-shaped figure is at least a circle thinner; the decent dress on his body has also become a bit tattered at this time.
　　 The chain on the arm of the chair suddenly glowed golden light, and then wrapped around Slughorn's arm like a snake, tying him tightly there to prevent him from breaking free.
　　 "Horace Slughorn!" a very abrupt voice on the left said suddenly.
The owner of this voice is Rufus Scrimgeour. He has been sitting on the right side of the minister; but he sat so far behind on the bench that his whole body was shrouded in the shadows, which made a momentary not found.
"You have been accused of passing information to Voldemort's gang for the past year; at the same time, you have been accused of participating in the murder of Albus Dumbledore; and you have been accused of dealing with Sybil Te Lilawney's attempted murder..." Scrimgeour's voice was like an angry lion, roaring: "You are convicted!"
"Yes... I don't deny... I also regret what I did in the past..." Slughorn said weakly but eagerly, "So... I am willing to serve the Ministry of Magic now. I am willing to provide Help... I know that the Ministry of Magic is... hunting down the remnants of mysterious people. I am willing to do my best to assist you..."
　　 "Well... Slughorn. Tell me the names of the Death Eaters you know, and their whereabouts..." Scrimgeour's voice calmed slightly.
　　 "Snape!" Slughorn shouted, "Severus Snape!"
　　 In the light of the torch, Jon saw him sweating constantly, even shaking a little.