Lucius Malfoy stood across from her in his expensive robes and looked bored. Dolores clenched her fist tightly around her wand. There weren't many options left to her. Fighting Malfoy would be humiliating, but apologizing to the Lovegood freak and her pet mud blood would be horrific. She looked over at the two witches and suppressed the urge to scream.
"This is wrong." Dolores stomped her foot on the dark stone under her feet. "Granger isn't some baby, new to our ways. She was married into a pure house. She rejected our values by divorcing her husband, by turning away from tradition. How can you, Lucius Malfoy, defend such a one?"
"Your assessment of the facts are skewed by your own bigotry." Lucius sighed and shook his head slightly. "This witch was treated poorly by the Weasleys. She was not married into their magic. They did not claim her. She was forced to live amongst them but always apart. A heroine of the last war was shunned by those she had hoped to hold closest to her heart. I can not condone such behavior. How can you, Madame?"
Dolores examined the wizard in front of her and knew her end was nigh. He wouldn't kill her, just her political career. Rage bubbled up from within her, and her fingers twitched on her wand. Every slight, every sneer, every moment when her life had not gone to plan raced through her mind. It wasn't the Lovegoods or any mudbloods that had caused her grief. No. It was Malfoy and his ilk. They had the power. They were pureblood, but they were also something more. They held the power to elevate, to approve. She had done all she could to be good enough for them, but she had never been so blessed. The Malfoys, the Blacks, the Rosiers, the list went on and on. All of them better than her.
She'd emulated them. She'd pursued power. There was no crime in that. She'd done everything to prove her worth, but they didn't see it. No one ever appreciated her, and now they were accepting some uppity mud blood.
She glared at the curly headed witch. Hermione Granger was nothing. She had no history, no blood, but they wanted her. Lucius Malfoy was championing a dirty blooded, magic stealing freak. Rage poured down her arm into her wand and escaped as a pink flash.
She saw her target dodge the spell and felt the wrap of chains tightening around her. Each breath She felt her wand snap against her thigh as the links continued to press into her flesh.
"Her life is forfeit." One of the Wizengamot members called out. "To aim a curse at a championed citizen is reprehensible."
Perfectly shined, Hebridean black shoes stepped into her vision. Dolores wanted to scream, but the chains binding her were obviously enchanted to keep her silent. She'd missed cursing Granger and was now left to the mercy of Lucius Malfoy, a wizard with none to be found.
"Her life is mine. I am the victor in this battle." The cultured voice of Malfoy reverberated around the chapter. "She has done far worse than challenge me and been given nothing but a slap on the wrist by this august body. The laws did not give us the right to punish her as she so richly deserved. Taking her life seems far too simple."
The whispers running around the room mocked her. No one stood in outrage. No one jumped to her defense. She didn't need to see them to know she was alone.
"What do you propose, Lord Malfoy?" A younger voice called out. "Death by blood quill?"
"Very cold blooded, Lord Potter." She heard the amusement in Malfoy's voice. "I do not think that I should stand in judgement of her. This chamber should judge her."
"We haven't given a witch or wizard to the stones in centuries." One of the older men gasped. "It's barbaric."
"It is still the law, one of the few we cannot remove. Our ancestors swore to protect magic and to revere it." Malfoy stalked across the floor. "Let magic be her judge. Let it be ours."
"Should we let the stones judge the case of the Lovegood adoption and their claims against Ronald Weasley?" A female voice called out. "Should magic sit in judgement of us all, Lord Malfoy?"
"I think it should." Lucius Malfoy's voice echoed through the chamber. "Magic is more than a tool for us to use. It is woven into our bodies and souls. We have become complacent and lazy. We allowed a wizard grown to use our laws against a worthy witch. We allowed power to confound us all. I fell victim to it and my father before me. Houses fell because they did not respect the gift of magic. I offer myself for judgement now."
Dolores pushed herself up and saw the stones begin to glow around Lucius Malfoy's feet. Fear flooded through her. There was no safety in this.
"I, Lucius Malfoy, swear to uphold my family's bond with magic and to respect the gifts it gives to me. I will accept and protect all those that magic sees fit with which to grace my family." Malfoy looked around the room. "On my magic, so mote it be."
Flares of white, silver, and gold light spun up from the floor dancing around Malfoy until he was wrapped tight in their hold. Dolores frowned. Everyone in the room had fallen silent. She swallowed and dropped her eyes from his unmoving form. She didn't know what this meant for her. If he survived this trial, he would be untouchable. Even those that doubted him would be reassured. She sagged against the stones and watched as light shot out from his cocoon to the Malfoy chair.
The dark wood began to glow. Ornate figures rose up from the wood grain and draped themselves along the chair's arms and back. The ebony arm rests appeared to be peacocks carved by a master's hand while the back of the chair had become a flowering tree. The murmurs around the room became a constant hum as the members watched on.
Dolores forced her eyes open as the light started to recede a bit. Lucius Malfoy was absorbing the light. He stood before them all, glowing. The magic slowly faded leaving the man looking more powerful than he ever was before. He looked at his audience and raised a brow.
"Let her find her place amongst us again as I have." Lucius Malfoy's voice rang through the room. "Don't let her mediocre skill with a wand be her end. Let the chamber judge her."
"You stood as champion for House Lovegood." The Chief Warlock looked tight the two witches. "Do you consent to this?"
"We do." The blonde witch smiled up at the wizards and witches arrayed around them.
"May magic have mercy on her soul." Hermione Granger nodded and looked at her with pity. Dolores glared at her until she felt something rise up. It slid along her skin and set it to tingling. She glanced down and watched in horror as the stone rose up in a dark grey wave and swallowed her whole.