Harry had just finished explaining how the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts worked when the door he had come through opened again. This time a slender man with dark brown hair entered the room.
"Hello, my name is Liam Dantes," the man introduced himself when he was close enough not to have to shout. "Can one of you tell me why I received two summons to come here today?"
"I will be more than happy to explain, if you will answer one question for me first." Lord Perrivor told him.
When Dantes nodded, he asked, "What were the names on the letters asking you to come today?"
"One was for the House of Weyland and the other for the House of Ravenclaw."
All the Lords except for Potter rose to their feet stunned. One to the heirs to the Founders had been found! It had been thought for the longest time that between Grindelwald and Voldemort all the remaining heirs to the Founders of Hogwarts had been killed. Somehow it was very appropriate that one of the Founder's lines was going to sit in judgement on Minister Fudge, since some of his crimes had been against the school.
After Perrivor had explained the purpose of the summons and Dantes had agreed to sit in judgement, the configuration of the room changed. A curved table with seven high backed chairs each bearing the badges of the Houses the Lords represented appeared at one end of the room. The table had parchment and quills and a number of other things necessary for one of the tribunal judges to make notes and keep a trial on course. Three slightly smaller tables also appeared a few feet in front of it. Two with a pair of chairs each were set at a slight angle so they would be able to see each other and the table the seven Lords would sit at. The third was situated halfway between the curved table and the two smaller tables. On it there were three piles of parchment and quills. Behind the smaller tables about two dozen chairs appeared. Harry guessed they were for the witnesses who were to be called.
The Councillors took their places at the curved table and Lord Altren requested, "Lord Ravenclaw, since you represent the Oldest House here, you are by Law the Head Councillor, so would you please say 'We are ready to begin'? That will summon the remaining participants."
"We are ready to begin." Dantes announced in a clear, calm voice.
Harry watched in amazement as the three quills rose and were each poised over of a piece of parchment.
"That's a recording table. The High Council, Defender, and Protector will each receive a copy of the hearing, in case there are questions during or after the trial." Perrivor told him seeing Potter's amazed expression. "It's the only one in magical Britain. When the High Council was also a lawgiving body, sometimes the debates over proposed laws would go so fast and furious that the scribes couldn't keep up and this table was created as a result of that. It also had the advantage of allowing secret debates to remain just that… secret."
"I can see where that would be a good thing in some instances." Dantes commented.
A door appeared in the rear wall and the first person through it was a tall, slender, distinguished-looking wizard and he was followed by a slightly younger wizard, who looked as if he was still trying to outgrow that all elbows and knees phase of his life.
"That is Alesandre Delacour." Lord Perrivor identified the man to the other members of the council. "I was very surprised when he showed up in my office a few days ago to accept the position as Protector for this hearing. I had expected the magic that governs these proceedings would select Madame Bones the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to be the Protector for the wizarding world. She has an excellent record of remaining impartial and is interested in getting to the truth."
"Delacour," Harry looked thoughtful. "Is he by any chance related to Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour?"
"He is their Uncle, I believe." Lord Altren replied.
"Greetings my Lords," Alesandre Delacour looked up at the table where the High Council members were seated and spotted a potential problem. He double-checked his list of witnesses just to be sure. "My Lords we seem to have a bit of a dilemma."
"What is it?" Dantes asked since he had been told he was to be the Head of the Council for this hearing.
"Lord Potter is going to have to excuse himself from his seat on the Council." Delacour told them. "He is on my list of primary witnesses for this hearing."
Harry raised a single eyebrow in surprise. "I'm sorry Mr. Delacour, but did you say I am a witness?"
"That is correct, Lord Potter." Delacour replied. "Did you not receive the notice we sent to all witnesses?"
"No, I'm afraid I did not." Harry sighed.
"I think I know why you didn't receive your witness notification, Lord Potter." Longrim spoke up. "Given you had already been summoned to render judgement that took precedence over being a witness, given that at least a two-thirds majority of councillors are needed to even begin a trial for high treason."
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