Harry Potter And The Betrayal

Umbridge's testimony had taken about two hours. It would've gone quicker if the toad hadn't felt the need to choose her words with such care forcing Delacour to repeat or rephrase every question until he got the whole truth out of her. The woman was trying to avoid admitting to any more crimes than she already had. Harry personally considered it a wasted effort, given she probably wasn't going to see the outside of Azkaban while she was still alive. Given that fact what were a few more years added on to her sentence?

The High Council decided to call for a lunch break after Umbridge was escorted from the witness chair. As soon as they did the configuration of the room changed. Along one wall a table with all kinds of different food appeared and as soon as the members of the court headed toward it, to serve themselves, the chairs were replaced by table and chair sets of varying sizes around the room.

Harry chose one of the two seater tables against the far wall as did Dantes, though not the same table.

For the most part Dumbledore left Harry alone during lunch however Dantes was another matter. Having recognized the House badge on Dantes' robes as that of Ravenclaw; Dumbledore felt he needed to speak with him. If he could get the current Head of the House Ravenclaw on his side, Hogwarts would be a lot easier to run. Knowing how difficult it was to find a copy of the charter that had ceded control of Hogwarts to the people of Magical Britain, Dumbledore doubted that new Lord Ravenclaw had read it. It had taken Dumbledore months to locate the copy that was kept at Hogwarts and he had started looking for it when Fudge had tried to take over his school. The Headmaster was determined prevent the Ministry from ever gaining control of Hogwarts again and with Dantes' help as one of the Founder's heirs, the Ministry's influence would be all but eliminated.

"Lord Ravenclaw," Dumbledore stood on the other side of the table and gestured to the empty seat. "May I join you?"

"No." Dantes said not looking up from the document he was reading.

"I would like to discuss a business matter with you." Dumbledore tried again.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?" Dantes asked looking up. "I would like to enjoy my meal in peace, but you are interrupting it, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"I do apologise," Dumbledore told him. "I will leave you in peace then, but I would like to ask if you would care to meet with me sometime in the next few weeks. I do have a very important matter I would like to discuss with you."

"If it will get you to go away, I will think about it!" The brown haired man growled.

Dumbledore nodded graciously and made a mental note to send Dantes an owl in a few days to remind him.

...

Ginny had finally been able to convince her mother to put her down and now she was going to go find Harry. She wanted to have lunch with him. With everyone still seated having lunch it was a lot easier to move around without the risk of being kicked or stepped on. She was determined to find Harry. She was going to have lunch with her boyfriend!

Her nose led Ginny to two tables on the far side of the room and both of them had a chair with Harry's scent on it. She stared back and forth between then for several minutes before her nose picked up a familiar scent: Headmaster Dumbledore's ! The Headmaster must've been trying to talk Harry into changing her back, as he had done so earlier when her mother had demanded the court to intervene. He would after all have no reason to want to talk to that Dantes person who smelled enough like Harry to fool her for a little while.

Hopping up into Harry's empty chair, Ginny stared at the food on the plate. It looked like rice and meat in some kind of bitter smelling sauce. While the partially eaten meal looked appetising, the sharp bitter smell made Ginny's currently sensitive nose burn. Why would Harry want to eat something that smelled so bad?

Figuring that if Harry liked it and he must given that half of it was gone, Ginny decided to ignore the messages her nose was sending her and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls. She knew that even though Harry was mad at her right now because of what she'd done to that meddling bitch Luna, he wouldn't mind sharing with her. After all he had often shared his treats off the train trolley with her before so this was no different.

Ginny had just taken another mouthful when a pair of unfamiliar hands plucked her off Harry's chair and a voice she recognized as belonging to that Dantes fellow who smelled a lot like Harry, shouted. "What do you think you are doing?"

Ginny's stomach didn't react well to the sudden movement. Just before the contents started coming back up the way they had gone down, she felt like a seeker who had executed a Wronski Feint from too high up. A moment later her body started ripple and heave as she opened her mouth and gave out a couple of hacking doggie coughs followed by a deep long aggggghhh. The next moment the partially digested meal was adorning Dantes robes and sliding down them to the floor in a drippy gooey mass.

The smell of the regurgitated curry was almost enough to make Dantes want to vomit. Hearing a sound like there was going to be more heaving, Dantes quickly held the dog-girl at arms length only to catch sight of a lime green robe hurrying toward the rest room. Dantes quickly buried the feeling of satisfaction he felt at Fudge's reaction to the vomit and vented his anger at the girl's stupidity. "Are you that stupid?! Do you not know there are some foods a dog is not meant to eat? Did it not cross your tiny little mind that Curry just like chocolate is not meant to be eaten by dogs."

"Vernon's sister Marge, if she didn't kill her first, would've had a bitch that stupid fixed, if she'd seen her do something like that." Harry commented as he came over to stand by Dantes. "She definitely wouldn't have allowed a bitch that stupid to breed."

Molly Weasley stormed over and pulled Ginny out of Dantes' hands. Glaring at Potter as though she wished he were dead. "My daughter is not stupid!"

"Well she definitely doesn't use her brains, madam." Dantes couldn't resist commenting. "After all her nose should've told her that curry is not meant for a dog. Not to mention the fact that she shouldn't have been trying to steal other people's food. If she were really a dog I might've expected that kind of behaviour, but given she is a human turned into a dog, she should know that taking something without permission is wrong. Or didn't you teach your children right from wrong?"

He gazed speculatively at her. "I'm beginning to wonder if your Great Aunt Muriel was the only rotten apple in the Prewitt tree."

Molly Weasley's mouth opened and closed several times, before she spat out. " How dare you impugn my family's honour? You will pay for that Dantes. If it is the last thing I do you will pay for your comments."

Dantes simply yawned in her face before turning his back on her.

"I challenge you to a Wizard's Duel?" Molly Weasley ground out from between clenched teeth.

Dantes turned to look at her in disbelief. "A Wizard's Duel? Are you serious?"

The room had gone silent at Molly's challenge.

"Yes," Molly refused to back down. "You have insulted my family and my honour for the last time."

"Very well madam," Dantes agreed lazily. "Lord Potter, will you act as my second?"

"Certainly." Harry agreed.

"Who will be your second, madam?" Dantes asked.

"My husband will be?" Molly told them.

"And when would you like to do this, madam?"

"Now." Molly told him.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Mrs. Weasley." Lord Altren spoke up. "The wards on this chamber once they are raised prevent any kinds of offensive magics from being done."

"We will have this duel a week from the day the hearing ends, at 10 am." Dantes told her "and it will be a paintball duel. I think the best place for it would be at Hogwarts in the Great Hall since my Second will be back there. Will that be acceptable, madam?"

"Paintball?" Molly stared at him in confusion.

"We hit dodge and fire colour splatter hexes at each other." Dantes explained. "The loser is the one covered in the most paint or colour."

"I'm talking about a proper wizard's duel," Molly countered angrily. "That is not a game."

....

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