บท 383: Chapter 383

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First, there was the question of Hermione's guilt in the charges against her, then Daphne, and then Astoria. No one was willing to frame themselves in the situation and vote that they were "guilty."

This was followed by a discussion of guilt and the degree of this guilt in relation to the rest of the Slytherins. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were acquitted due to the fact that they did not want any violence, and they didn't use many spells - they were saved by the lack of skills from the verdict. Many got off with a fine, as they applied the minimum and refused the Veritaserum. Nott and Selwyn also refused such an honor, but when their sentence was about to be announced, it was clear to everyone what the consequences of using the Unforgivable were.

"Objection!" a slightly unhinged dark-haired man of medium build, a little over fifty years old, jumped up from his seat. "I don't agree with my son's guilt!"

"Mr. Selwyn!" Fudge tapped his gavel rather aggressively on the table. "Please remain calm..."

"Mordred to you, not calmness!" the man ran into the middle of the hall, looking at the members of the Wizengamot. The Aurors moved but did nothing yet. "This is all a crazy farce, and I, as the Head of the Selwyn House, call… Who is there defending this... Muggle-born... to a Duel of Honor!"

Selwyn pointed his finger at me in a rude manner. The hall murmured, the members of the Wizengamot whispered, and cheers of approval ran through the audience and the Slytherin parents.

"As I recall," smirked Fudge, "you, Mr. Selwyn, have only reached the rank of apprentice in various disciplines, have you not?"

"Indeed I have!" the man continued indignantly. "And this one-" he pointed his finger at me again.

"However," Fudge interrupted him, and Selwyn stared at him with question and indignation. "You can only challenge a member of the Wizengamot on condition of equal status and achievement. Simply put, you have no right to challenge Mr. Knight to an Honor Duel."

"Why all of a sudden?!" the man got angry, but he didn't make any sudden moves - the Aurors don't sleep. "An apprentice suddenly can't challenge another?"

"Mr. Knight," Fudge looked at me.

Rising from my seat, I took a step toward Selwyn, who immediately turned toward me. Holding out my hand with the Ouroboros ring, I smiled.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Master of Transfiguration, Maximilian Knight. And whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

The sneer in my voice could have been scooped up by buckets, and there was silence in the hall. Selwyn was snuffling angrily, but he managed to control himself and returned to his seat, and I turned to the Wizengamot.

"May I address, Your Honor?"

"Yes, Mr. Knight," nodded Fudge.

"Regarding the month of imprisonment in Azkaban for Mr. Nott and Mr. Selwyn. As you may have seen from the memories, Mr. Theodore Nott Jr. clearly has mental abnormalities. In this case, imprisonment even for a few days in Azkaban will lead to an irretrievable loss of adequacy. We, in turn, will lose the opportunity to return Mr. Nott to society."

"And what do you suggest?" Umbridge asked, somehow even smiling insidiously.

"I suggest that Mr. Nott undergo a mental health check at Mungo and, if necessary, undergo a full course of treatment and rehabilitation in the appropriate department."

The whole point of this proposal is that an appropriate attitude is needed for the use of dark magic. Either to clearly control emotions or to have an unstable psyche in order to sharply and powerfully disrupt it in the right direction. Of course, the first is extremely difficult, and the second is achieved by itself due to the peculiarities of Dark Magic. It is precisely that magic, which is based on sharp and vivid negative emotions, forcing the nervous system to stimulate the body to produce magic in a special mode, and the psyche to compose cruel mental images. Forced stabilization of the psyche will close the road to this power practically one hundred percent because after that, it is extremely difficult to learn how to evoke the necessary emotional state under control. Even if you succeed, there is a great chance to go crazy completely and irrevocably. And as you know, rabid dogs are shot.

"Perhaps," Fudge spoke up. "You would like to commute the sentence for Mr. Selwyn as well?"

"No. He showed no signs of instability and acted, by all appearances, clearly aware of his actions and risks."

I returned to my seat, and Fudge initiated another vote in which Nott was sent to Mungo. Selwyn was expelled from Hogwarts and sentenced to a month in Azkaban for using Unforgivable spells. Not for long, because his sentence was very, very noticeably shortened for being a minor.

In general, the hearing was somehow dull, and my preliminary and comprehensive preparation literally killed all interest. From the outside, it might seem that the lawyers practically didn't work, but I must give credit to Mr. Guber, who put all the documentation and materials in order, including building the wording of the charges, as well as the procedure for considering them by the members of the Wizengamot. Mr. Morris must have done some work as well, but, as I found out, both he and the Slytherins were counting on very different progress of the case, as was the composition of the Wizengamot.