"What?! No, I am doing no such thing!" Fudge recoiled a step as he felt the weight of the gazes from the prominent family members present. He knew that if he accepted such an accusation, he would lose the support of the most conservative and powerful sectors of the wizarding world. "This is not a matter of honor; it is merely the game of a capricious child."
"It is not!" I said, but another voice took hold.
"Yes, it is!" my mother screamed, breaking into desperate sobs while, ironically, siding with the Minister. "It's just an imprudence! He doesn't know what he's doing!"
The murmurs intensified. Molly's betrayal, born of pure fear for my life, was a surprise to everyone. But while all eyes were on her, Dumbledore stared at me, a silent warning in his blue eyes, expecting me to surrender to my family's plea.
"NO!" My magic-laden shout imposed silence. "This is not a game! This is not a disturbance that can be forgotten with an apology!"
I locked my gaze onto Lucius Malfoy's grey eyes, which for the first time showed a crack of doubt.
"This is a formal and justified challenge to the House of Malfoy," I declared, throwing a parchment to the floor that unfurled with a magical snap. "The three acts of challenge have been delivered: the one for myself, present here"—I pointed to the parchment at my feet—"the one for the authority witness, delivered to the Ministry"—I pointed to a stunned Fudge—"and the one for the challenged, driven into the threshold of his own home."
I pointed an accusing finger at Lucius. The silence that followed was absolute, heavy as lead. Those present, especially those versed in the law, felt their blood run cold. The gears of an ancient tradition had just begun to turn, and there was no turning back.
"Red!" Arthur shouted, his voice thick with painful incredulity. "It isn't true! Ignore him! He is still an underage wizard before the law! He has no legal standing to invoke this kind of challenge."
My father stepped forward into the center of the cleared space, spinning on his heels to address the crowd with hands outstretched in a gesture of desperate supplication.
"Red, for the love of Merlin, retract this right now! Tell them it's a mistake before it's too late!"
"I cannot retract it, Dad. What is done, is done," I replied, raising my voice above his so that every spectator in the galleries could hear me clearly. "And if time were to turn back and I found myself in the same situation, I would drive that act in a thousand times over. I am not looking for a fight; I am demanding justice for my family!"
Chaos erupted in the Atrium. The murmurs rose in volume like a surging tide, becoming a roar of voices that prevented any communication. It was then that Dumbledore, with a fluid movement of his wand toward his throat, cast a charm followed by a cry of "SILENCE!" that cracked through the air like a whip. The effect was instantaneous: the hall fell into a sepulchral hush.
Seizing the power vacuum, Minister Fudge hurried past Dumbledore, determined not to let the Headmaster regain control of the narrative. With the servile nod of his retinue of assistants behind him, he looked at me with a mix of arrogance and false pity.
"Grand words for someone your age, boy!" Fudge exclaimed, puffing out his chest. "But if you are so sure of your right, you must know that challenges between families are not child's play. They cannot be invoked without a just and proven cause. And should the accuser fail to present sufficient evidence... the legal and magical consequences will be devastating for you and your family name."
A solemn nod rippled through the room. The heads of legal departments and the patriarchs of the old families present knew Fudge was right. Although many had come for the morbid thrill of blood, they knew the brutality of the law: if my accusation was declared frivolous, I would lose my magic or my freedom.
I saw the compassion in the eyes of strangers and the absolute terror on my parents' faces. No one in that Atrium believed a second-year student could have evidence of treason, homicide, or breach of treaties—the kinds of causes that justified a duel of honor. To them, I was just a child digging his own grave.
"Let him speak," Dumbledore ordered, his voice resonating with an authority that struck the assembly dumb.
It surprised even me. The old man was observing me with analytical intensity; he knew better than anyone that I was not the impulsive child the rest of the world saw. If I had provoked all this, it was because I had the pieces to win the game. Dumbledore wasn't going to intervene yet; he wanted to see the scope of my play before moving his own pieces.
"Thank you, Headmaster," I nodded with a measure of courtesy. Then, I turned toward the crowd, whose faces reflected a blend of pity and mockery. "I formally accuse Lucius Malfoy of attempting against the life of my sister and of conspiring to destroy my family's reputation!" I cried, and my words struck the walls of the Atrium like thunder.
A collective gasp ran through the hall. Spectators, officials, and even my parents stood petrified. It was a maximum-grade accusation. Lucius, though maintaining his aristocratic mask, felt a twinge of unease in the pit of his stomach; a bad omen.
"Slander!" Minister Fudge erupted, leaping to the defense of his primary benefactor. "How dare you launch such insults against a member as distinguished as he is in our community?!"
"Do you have proof, Red?" Amelia Bones intervened, stepping forward, her monocle glinting under the magical lights. Her gaze was stern but fair; she wasn't on my side, but her integrity prevented her from silencing a complainant. "Every wizard has the right to be heard and to present his charges before this Ministry."
"What proof could this brat possibly have!" Lucius spat, stepping forward with an insidious look. "It is public knowledge that our families have had friction, but this crosses every line! Arthur, is there no ceiling to your son's lack of upbringing? I do not intend to stand idly by in the face of this outrage."
"Yes, small conflicts... until today!" I interrupted, raising my voice to dominate the space. "But tell me, Lucius... do you not feel even a hint of nervousness in the presence of the victim you attempted to murder?"
Heads turned in unison to where I was pointing. The crowd parted like the waters of the Red Sea under the pressure of a repelling charm. Through the cleared aisle emerged a young woman with electric pink hair walking with defiant confidence, shielding with her body a red-haired girl who cringed behind her with evident nervousness.
"Ginny!" my mother cried, her soul hanging by a thread.
"Mom!" Ginny replied, breaking into a run to melt into a desperate embrace with Molly.
The Atrium fell into a tomb-like silence as stares locked onto the two newcomers. Some recognized Nymphadora Tonks, the former Auror trainee who had disappeared from the ministerial radar. Tonks puffed out her chest with pride at the attention, but her bravado deflated upon locking eyes with Dumbledore. Under the Headmaster's scrutiny, the young woman showed a flicker of guilt, looking away and muttering inaudible apologies for having "kidnapped" a Hogwarts student right under the faculty's noses.
Ignoring the inquisitive gaze Dumbledore cast our way and the emotional chaos of my parents—who were surrounding Ginny in a protective hug, not yet understanding why she was here and not in the classrooms of Hogwarts—I continued my advance.
"Lucius Malfoy attempted against my sister's life, and that is cause enough to challenge him and his entire lineage," I declared, walking with a firm step within the circle of my guards. I made sure my eyes found those of the patriarchs of the pureblood families present. "Everyone here knows that family is most sacred, and even more so the sprouts that are just beginning to bloom. What kind of wizard attacks a girl who has barely crossed the threshold of Hogwarts? What kind of man can call himself 'noble' in the face of such acts of cowardice?"
"Lies! I have never attempted against her life!" Lucius roared, tilting his chin in a desperate attempt to impose his presence. "This is a crude framing, the fantasy of a child desperate for attention!"
"Exactly. What right do you have to accuse Mr. Malfoy of something so atrocious?" the Minister added, seeking support from the crowd. "No decent wizard would do such a thing, let alone someone of his standing."
Several voices from the crowd rose in support of Lucius. For the more traditional sectors, attacking a family's offspring was the ultimate taboo; it was destroying the future of the magical community. No one believed Malfoy was so stupid or so cruel as to risk becoming a pariah for an eleven-year-old girl. Lucius knew this, and he clung to that general disbelief like a shield.
"Oh, really?" I asked with a calmness that made the hair on the back of the observers' necks stand up. I pulled on a dragon-hide glove with slow, calculated movements. I reached into my robes and declared: "Then explain to me what this is!"
I raised my hand with a sharp movement. In it lay an old notebook, worn by time and covered by a thin layer of insulating material, similar to a transparent polymer. At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than an insignificant relic, but upon seeing it, Lucius felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. The fear he had tried to stifle since I mentioned my sister materialized in that object. Outwardly, he remained unperturbed, but his gaze turned tense.
The crowd watched with curiosity, but some reacted differently. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, who had just appeared after hearing of his former apprentice's arrival, fixed his magical eye on the object. His face contorted into a grimace of horror as he saw the clouds of black, rotting magic surrounding the notebook, barely contained by the barrier I had created. Dumbledore, beside him, stepped forward; his expression shifted from intrigue to a frigid seriousness he rarely showed.
One of my bodyguards conjured a platform in front of me. I stepped onto it, raising the notebook so that even the last spectator could see it.
"I assume some will remember the incident at Flourish and Blotts during Lockhart's book signing!" I shouted, sweeping the Atrium with my gaze. "That day, my father and Lucius Malfoy came to blows in the middle of the establishment!"
A murmur of shame and recognition ran through the witnesses. It was a humiliating detail for both men, but necessary for my narrative.
"And that same day, in that very place, was when Lucius Malfoy slipped this notebook among my sister's belongings!" I pointed at Malfoy with my free finger. "He used the chaos of the fight to plant this cursed object in the cauldron of an innocent girl!"
The Atrium became a hothouse. Glances swung like pendulums between Lucius's forcedly indifferent face and the black notebook in my hand. My parents looked at Ginny with a mixture of horror and revelation; if what I said was true, their daughter had been exposed to danger without them ever knowing.
Lucius was already scheming an escape, but sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead. He had not expected the notebook to appear there, let alone protected in such a way that it could not be easily destroyed or recovered. Beside him, Narcissa Malfoy looked at her husband with terrifying realization; she recognized that notebook from among Lucius's private belongings.