More losses - 7

"Sit down over there and be quiet until I fill them in," Charlie barked, directing the Dursleys to the table at the back of the common room. The harsh tone of his voice caused all three Dursleys to jump and quickly take the offered seats. Ginny suspected it was the same commanding voice he used with stubborn dragons.

Mr. Dursley's skin turned a rather alarming shade of purple, but he managed to hold his tongue.

"Charlie, where's your brother?" her mum asked, clenching her hands.

"I don't know," Charlie replied, flinching.

"What do you mean, you don't know? He was there with you, wasn't he? Why didn't he and Fleur leave with the rest of you? What happened?" she asked, her voice rising shrilly with each question.

"Molly, why don't you sit down and have a spot of tea," Professor McGonagall said, briskly handing her mum a cup and saucer. "I think we all want to hear what Charlie has to say. I'm certain Bill and the others will be returning from the Ministry, posthaste."

"The Ministry is under You-Know-Who's control," Charlie said softly, suddenly appearing very drained.

Startled gasps arose around the room as everyone turned their heads, looking back and forth at each other. Only Ron, Harry, and Hermione remained still, starting stoically ahead.

"I think you'd better start from the beginning, Charlie," her dad said, rubbing her mum's back.

"Umbridge started the evening by basically telling everyone that Harry isn't the Chosen One, Dudley Dursley is," Charlie said, gratefully taking the drink Fred offered him.

"She said what?" Professor McGonagall asked blankly, her entire posture perfectly still. Her eyes briefly flickered to the quivering lump that was Dudley.

"That Dudley's the Chosen One," Charlie said, taking another shot of Firewhisky.

From the corner of her eye, Ginny caught Dudley sitting straighter in his chair and sticking his chest out while Mrs. Dursley clutched his arm, appearing ready to snatch him and run away.

"She claimed that the prophecy never mentioned Harry specifically, only his bloodline, and that Dumbledore hid Dudley from the Ministry all this time," Charlie spat.

"How is it you came in contact with Dolores Umbridge, Mr. Dursley?" Professor McGonagall asked, her eyes boring in on Dudley.

"Erm," Dudley replied, his voice cracking. "She just showed up at the house one day. She said one of her detection machines told her I'd been performing magic."

"Machines, you say?" her dad asked, his demeanor brightening despite the tense atmosphere.

"Not now, Arthur," her mum snapped, rounding on Mrs. Dursley. "Did you invite her to your home? Did you contact her for any reason?"

Mrs. Dursley blinked owlishly. "Contact her? How would I go about contacting her?" she asked, aghast.

"How would I know why you do anything you do? You abused your own sister's only child – I can't ever imagine understanding how you think, and I hope I never will," her mum said, snarling. "How did Dolores Umbridge find you?"

"I don't know," Mrs. Dursley snapped. "After the summer holiday, Dudley was in a wonderful mood. All the nonsense stopped, and we were ready to send him back to school after the Christmas holiday. Then, all of a sudden, something snapped again, and he reverted to making odd things happen whenever he got upset."

"Harry sent me a spellbook for Christmas," Dudley said, glancing at Harry, who didn't respond. "I tried some of the spells, but I didn't have one of those stick things, and I couldn't make anything work. I got really frustrated, and then I don't know what happened. The Playstation I was trying to float exploded, and a few minutes later, that Umbridge bird knocked on the door."