"Hermione Granger!" A voice boomed as the blindfold was removed from her eyes. Hermione blinked as she looked around her. She was rather liberally chained to the chair. No amount of magic in the world would release her from that chair. Theoretically anyway. Hermione knew she could, but she already had a plan up her sleeve and it didn't involve fighting her way through a hundred death eaters.

She blinked her eyes at the sudden onslaught of light. Her eyes took in everyone there. She could see Percy Weasley seated beside the Minister of Magic ready to take notes. Harry Potter was seated six seats down from him, with Ron by his side. Both were immaculately dressed. Ron refused to meet her eyes, and looked angry. Harry was torn between sadness and anger. Neither understood the circumstances. Hermione did not blame them, nor did she expect them to.

"You have been charged, Hermione Granegr, with the murders of sixteen student-" The Minister started before being interrupted by Hermione.

"By association." She said coolly. "I would never lower myself to murdering children. Especially one's I grew up with."

"Yet you despised a few that were murdered. Draco Malfoy for example." Martisse answered sternly peering at the young witch.

"While it is true that I did not like Draco," Hermione replied unruffled, "I did not wish him dead."

"How do you feel about their deaths?"

"Indifferent."

Gasps rose as quills scurried over parchment. Hermione shot a glance towards Ron. He was looking furiously at the spot beside her chair.

Hypocritical prick! She thought to herself. She knew for a fact that he was not the least bit perturbed by Malfoy's death. She knew of his and Harry's argument over the matter.

"With all due respect," A young woman whom Hermione did not recognize spoke up from the second row, "was she not by the dark lord's side when he gave the order?"

"Indeed." Martisse mused as he stared at the witch bound to the chair. She did not look the least bit afraid, he noted with surprise. "Does she have the dark mark?"

"You know I do not." Hermione cut in sharply. "My entire body has been bereft of charms and spells that may have been used to cover such a mark. I do not, nor have I ever, carried the dark mark."

"Were you at the Dark Lord's side when he gave the orders?"

"No sir, I was standing behind him." Hermione answered, using technicalities of where she was standing.

"So you were there, did you make an attempt to rescue your fellow students?"

"No, sir. I did not."

"Why not?"

"Because sir, one does not negotiate with Dark Lords. My position was precarious enough as it is."

"What position did you hold?"

Hermione paused thoughtfully as she thought about what position she had played. "I was at first his prisoner, then his master researcher, and finally the leader of his troops." She stated quietly.

"Yet you do not bear the Dark Mark?" Martisse did not look as if he quite believed her.

"No sir."

"SHE LIES!" A cry rose from farther up the aisle. "She would have to have had one to lead the death eaters!

"Have you sworn under veritaseerum?

"Yes sir, I have. I do believe you have a pensieve if you wish to review them."

Martisse appeared to have decided to go on another vein of thought. "What did you think of the dark lord?"

"Truthfully?" Hermione asked staring up at the minister. He nodded, meeting her eyes. She still did not appear too terribly worried. "Very well. I thought he was a stuck-up, hypocritical, self-important, moronic prick."

A pin could've been dropped; the audience chamber was so still. Lord Voldemort had been called many things, but never that. Especially by someone who was supposedly allied with him.

"That's….Unexpected." Martisse said shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Do you wish to add anything?"

"No sir."

"Very well." Martisse picked up another piece of parchment and perused it before laying it down and looking back at Hermione. "Why did you murder Ginny?"

"Who said I murdered her?" Hermione asked with a puzzled frown. She wasn't puzzled because she hadn't killed Ginny, she had with great pleasure done exactly that, no she was puzzled because she wasn't aware any had known of that.

"This file does. Am I to understand that you did not murder her?" Martisse asked, while glancing between the parchment and her.

"Not at all, I was just wondering how you came upon that since I was under the impression I'd hidden the fact quite well." Hermione answered calmly. Had her hands not been bound, Martisse suspected that she would have likely leaned forward and pulled a Dumbledore with her fingertips.

"Muggles found her body." He said easily, "But that is not the point. Why did you kill her?"

"Mutual hatred." Harry frowned at that pronouncement. What had bothered him about his best friend murdering his girlfriend was that he'd thought they were friends. "We both loved Harry, Ginny was a little more violent towards me about it." She smiled thinly. "As you can see, I got the final curse in. It wasn't nearly enough to make up for the verbal abuse, nor the hexes thrown at me when no one was looking, but it helped."

"Thank you." He turned around to look at the rest of the wizengamot. "Anyone else have anything to add?"

Headmistress McGonagall rose to her feet. "I would like to say before you administer justice, that Hermione Jane Granger has been expelled from Hogwarts." She sat down again. Silence reigned before the minister turned forward in his seat.

"Very well. I shall now pass judgment." He rose to his feet. "Hermione Jane Granger, because of your actions, I, Minister Michael Martisse, condemn you to the Dementor's kiss, to take place next Thursday at eight O'clock. All in favor?"

A resounding clap was taken up, only a few did not. Harry Potter was one of those few. Ronald Weasley was not. He noted that Hermione's expression had not changed one bit.

The chains retracted from her arms and she stood, stretching as two dementors glided over. Her eyes once more roved over the crowd of standing and now chattering wizards present. She was searching for one in particular.

Warm brown eyes met hers. He smiled at her, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod back to him. The wizarding world wouldn't know what'd hit them by the time she was through.

I know. I know, it's short. It's a prologue, Sue me. Did you like?