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Ralph glanced up at the enormous wizard, his face pinched with anger and trepidation. He looked around the rest of the room, from face to face, ending with his father. "All right, then. Dad, why are you here?"
De
"All right. Yes," he said, having composed himself, "I told Prescott. I sent him the Chocolate Frog and the GameDeck. I'd used it to communicate with somebody on the school grounds, somebody who went by the name Austramaddux. Once I'd done that, I knew that Prescott could locate the school with his GPS."
Ralph's face was frozen with disbelief and misery. "But why, Dad? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Oh, Ralph. I'm sorry. I know this looks bad to you," De
"But you never got the money," Merlin said in his low, rumbling voice. "And that wasn't the real point, was it?"
De
"But there will be no program now," Merlin said quietly.
"You thought it'd be worth selling out the whole magical world just to help us get by for awhile, Dad?" Ralph said, his voice not accusing, but truly questioning. It broke James' heart to hear the disappointment in the boy's voice.
"No, son!" De
"Besides what?" Merlin asked calmly.
De
Ralph's face was a mask of unhappy consternation. "What are you talking about, Dad? You're not a wizard. Grandma and Grandpa died before I was born. You were as surprised as me when we got the letter from Hogwarts."
De
De
"No. My father invented that name for me," De
"What is your given name, sir?"
"Dolohov," Ralph's father answered, his voice growing distant, almost dead. "My name is De
There was a moment of very cold silence, and then McGonagall spoke. "Mr. Dolohov, do you realize that what you've done could send you to Azkaban?"
De
Sacarhina coughed lightly. "Perhaps, Mr. Deedle, you'd prefer to refrain from answering any more questions until your legal representation can be present."
"Why?" De
"It would be for your best interests, sir," Sacarhina interrupted.
"You said I was doing the world a favor!" De
"Sit down, Mr. Deedle!" Sacarhina said, her voice icy.
"Don't call me that! I hate that name!" De
"Miss Sacarhina," Harry said, producing his wand, but not quite brandishing it, "what do you have to say in response to this man's accusations?"