Lucius’s Defense Against Conviction

"I would like to present the facts as follows…"

Standing in the dock, Lucius began his account with a calm expression.

When he learned that he still had to stand trial, Lucius had indeed been afraid.

To Lucius, the word "trial" did not mean judgment for one’s crimes. Such trials had never fallen upon the Malfoy family.

In his understanding, there was only one kind of trial that could befall him: after a war ended, the victors placed the defeated upon the table and feasted upon their flesh and blood.

Lucius was not surprised by this, nor was he unfamiliar with it. The Malfoy family had suffered a massive loss because of it after the last wizarding war. But why was he being served up on the table again this time?

He had clearly abandoned the darkness and joined the light this time!

Lucius hurriedly sought out Professor Gandalf. To his surprise, Professor Gandalf told him to accept the trial and said that the Ministry of Magic would handle him fairly.

At the time, Lucius’s heart had gone cold. Everyone knew that when a group of people who had always been black-hearted suddenly said they would deal with you impartially, it usually meant they had given up on you.

Lucius had nearly figured out how to write his will when the situation suddenly took a turn. Professor Gandalf came to him and told him how to defend himself in court.

Lucius breathed a sigh of relief. So it was just going through the motions and accepting "fair" treatment. He knew all about that. They should have said so sooner. They had scared him half to death…

Yet after reading that testimony, Lucius fell silent. This statement… seemed… to really be a fair handling after all.

"First, I would like to explain the circumstances under which I joined the Death Eaters. At the time, Voldemort returned to Britain and officially began expanding his power under the banner of restoring pure-blood glory. My father was one of those deceived by his slogans, and I, who was then studying at Hogwarts, joined the Death Eaters as well…"

Voldemort’s name was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds, but few people actually knew his history. They did not know that Voldemort’s rise to power had actually occurred in two stages.

The first stage took place while Voldemort himself was attending Hogwarts. He recruited fellow Slytherin students under his command, forming the earliest prototype of the Death Eaters.

The second stage came after he returned to Britain following ten years of traveling the world. This was when the true Death Eaters were formed. By then, Voldemort had begun using Dark magic to alter himself. His appearance had developed inhuman changes, but his power had also grown stronger, far surpassing that of ninety-nine percent of the world’s wizards.

These scattered fragments of hidden history made everyone listen intently to the statement of this rather notorious Death Eater criminal.

In Lucius’s account, his entry into the Death Eaters had not been of his own will, and his life among them had not been pleasant either.

"Mr. Bernard, I request that Anubis’s Scales be used on this criminal!"

Arthur Weasley could not help rising to his feet again.

As an old member of the Order of the Phoenix who had joined during the previous wizarding war, his hatred for the Death Eaters was extraordinary. Bernard did not reject his request.

"Lucius, are you willing to use Anubis’s Scales to prove that all your statements are true?"

"I am."

Lucius took a deep breath and watched Bernard use Anubis’s Scales on him. Under an invisible force, his heart left his body and fell onto one side of the scales, while an ostrich feather naturally appeared on the other.

Then Lucius repeated his previous statement.

Arthur stared at the scales throughout the entire process, but even at the end, they did not tip to either side.

"How is that possible?"

"How is it not possible? Did you think I enjoyed serving a master who used the Cruciatus Curse at the slightest excuse to punish subordinates for poor performance, while the usual reward was Dark magic? I never even went to the battlefield. What use did I have for that sort of thing?"

Lucius spoke bluntly.

He was the head of the Malfoy family. What was useful to him was not knowledge of Dark magic, but power and money. Yet from beginning to end, Voldemort had done nothing but spend the Malfoy family’s money. Lucius had practically never seen any of it come back!

As for power, Voldemort had not won. And his pure-blood supremacy was merely a slogan casually shouted to justify torturing Muggles, so naturally there had been none of that either.

Unlike his sister-in-law, who had been wholeheartedly devoted to Voldemort, Lucius was a refined, self-interested businessman. He only wished to choose the side more beneficial to himself. Unfortunately, his entry into the Death Eaters had not been voluntary, and he had realized Voldemort’s true nature too late.

Arthur was stunned by Lucius’s sudden barrage of questions, especially since Lucius’s heart remained on Anubis’s Scales throughout it all, and the scales still remained balanced.

He was not lying!

Lucius continued, looking at Bernard.

"Mr. Bernard, after Voldemort died and the Death Eaters were arrested, I voluntarily turned myself in. Before that, I had already left the Death Eaters and taken a position at Hogwarts as a teaching assistant. I hope these actions can earn me a reduced sentence. At the same time, if my sentence permits it, I would also like to apply for probation."

If the previous remarks had still been within everyone’s understanding, Lucius’s next words directly made the brains of a great many people in the courtroom short-circuit.

"Furthermore, my home—Malfoy Manor—was illegally occupied and destroyed by Voldemort after I left the Death Eaters and entered Hogwarts. I hope to file a claim against the Death Eaters and recover part of my losses."

Wait… that was allowed?

Everyone could not help looking at Bernard.

"That is a reasonable request."

Bernard glanced at Anubis’s Scales, privately thinking that the scales could indeed only determine whether someone was lying, not uncover the truth of the matter. Yet his voice remained as steady as ever.

"Since property losses caused by the Death Eaters throughout the Wizarding World are still being assessed, the determination of such losses, penalties, and compensation will be handled collectively at the end. This court will take your claim into consideration."

The court clerk at the side carefully recorded this point.

The questioning and statement concluded. Lucius, who had not lied at any point, watched his heart return to his chest and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Though he knew he had not lied, watching his own heart beat somewhere else was truly horrifying. It was impossible to get used to.

"Now, this court will announce its verdict for the defendant, Lucius Malfoy!"

At that moment, everyone’s gaze was fixed upon Bernard.

"Lucius Malfoy has confessed to his crimes. However, considering that he voluntarily surrendered, that he was coerced during the commission of those crimes, and that he did not personally cause anyone’s death throughout the entire process…"

Even Bernard could not help casting Lucius Malfoy a strange look at this point.

Lucius had been a prominent figure among the Death Eaters, yet he had truly stayed in the rear the entire time, merely providing money and never personally killing anyone. It really was… perhaps Voldemort had been reluctant to let this moneybag risk an accident on the battlefield.

With that thought in mind, Bernard added Lucius’s sentence.

"He is sentenced to thirty years’ imprisonment, eligible for probation. However, during this period, the defendant must work at Hogwarts. Travel beyond Hogwarts and his residence must be reported in advance, and he must regularly cooperate with inspections by the Ministry of Magic…"

Bernard explained the conditions of probation one by one. Essentially, Lucius’s prison cell had been replaced by his home and Hogwarts, with the restrictions somewhat relaxed.

Of course, that was how Lucius saw it. In the eyes of those who knew what the new Azkaban was like, the conditions of his confinement had been loosened enormously.