Chapter 84:
Harry actually let his incredulousness show. Rough housing? Rough and tumble? The coot was delusional.
"To take the boy from his only family would be a mistake. Harry needs to grow up in a place where he is treated normally, to grow up where he can hide away from his fame, to have a retreat."
Harry clenched his hands into fists before he realised his nails were starting to cut into his skin. How dare he? Dumbledore was staring intently at the crowd, looking both genial and humble, his periwinkle eyes twinkling behind his half-moon glasses. Harry saw as some of the crowd started to be swayed and he wondered just how many people Dumbledore had manipulated in his time. Remus and Sirius sure, but what about the rest...?
Seeing how some in the crowd looked like they agree with the old coot, Harry had to start going through all the exercises he'd read about to keep his magic locked and stop it from lashing out.
Dodge, however, didn't look ruffled at all and calmly passed Dumbledore as he re-took the floor.
"What Professor Dumbledore fails to see is that, family or not, the Dursleys are not only abusive but negligent and dismissive of Heir Potter-Black. They didn't and don't want to be his guardians in the first place and, according to them and in their own words, he was 'forced on them'."
A copy of the letter Flitwick received at Christmas appeared and Harry saw as the crowd read and, in some cases, re-read the note.
"You can clearly see that the Dursley family holds no concern or care for Heir Potter-Black," Dodge said once the majority of the crowd was finished.
"Growing up, Heir Potter-Black was subjected to physical, verbal, and mental abuse for things which, in a normal, happy, and healthy family, would have been celebrated. His accidental magic was met with physical violence and stretches of starvation. Something which we all hold sacred and celebrate resulted in him having broken bones."