A/N: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. I hope you enjoy my take on things and my writing. Please review it! If I get a good number of reviews I will post another chapter.
Draco Malfoy stood outside the ominous wooden doors trying to distract himself with his own hair. First he pulled it forward letting his fingers slip through it and examining it with crossed eyes. Then he curled a small strand around his finger until it lost circulation and began turning funny colors. Finally, he pushed his bangs out of his eyes and flattened them atop his head.
I remember when I used to wear my hair like this, Draco thought, letting his bangs fall back into place. Of course, that was a long time ago. Back when his father was respected in the wizarding world--making Draco respectable by default. Back when Harry Potter was only the Boy-Who-Lived and not the Boy-Who-Lived-And-Then-Defeated-Voldemort-Once-And-For-All. Back before he had attempted to murder a man people regarded as one of the greatest wizards of all time.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy," said a short, thickset man coming out from behind the wooden doors, "the Wizengamot will now see you."
Draco quickly let go of the fistful of blond hair he was holding, took a deep breath, and then followed the little man into a rectangular room with a warm glow reflecting off the wood paneled walls.
Maybe this won't be so bad, he thought as he languidly flopped across the plush, maroon chair in the middle of the room, but then a familiar voice resonated from the judges' balcony in front of him.
"We will now begin the proceedings of case number 137 concerning the attempted murder of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore by one Draco Lucius Malfoy," Percy Weasley said as he pressed his horn rimmed glasses against the crook where his nose and forehead met. "The honorable Minster of Magic himself, Kingsley Almanzo Shacklebolt, will be presiding."
Draco felt his stomach--which had stopped twisting only seconds earlier--drop to his knees. Shacklebolt was presiding over his case? The ex-auror-made-minister whose formidable presence causes dragons to flee from him with their tails tucked between their legs? The same Kingsley Shacklebolt who, according to extremely accurate sources, wrestled the Giant Squid during his third year at Hogwarts, broke off one of its tentacles in the brawl, and asked the house elves to prepare it for his dinner?
"Draco Lucius Malfoy," said a sonorous male voice in the judges' balcony.
Yep, one in the same. Draco sensed that the tealeaves were not in his favor.
"Er. Yes?" Draco croaked trying to hide his apprehension and failing miserably.
"Let's get things started then, shall we?" Shacklebolt sounded almost friendly for a minute, but any amicable vibes Draco had felt immediately dissipated with the cold tonality of the question that followed. "Did you or did you not attempt to murder Albus Dumbledore?"
Draco swallowed, Shacklebolt's straightforwardness was alarming.
"I-Idid try to kill him, so I guess that makes me guilty but--"
"Did you or did you not engage in multiple attempts to kill Albus Dumbledore?" interrupted Shacklebolt. "Some of which caused harm to your fellow students?"
"Well, er, yes," spluttered Draco, "but I was sixteen. My father was in Azkaban, I was worried for my mum, I--"
"But in the end you didn't kill Albus Dumbledore, did you?"
"No, it was Snape."
"Yes," Kinglsey agreed.
With this said, silence crept into the courtroom like a Dementor. After a few minutes of unhappy cold, Draco's hand instinctively headed towards his scalp for another round of locks curling, but he caught himself before committing the act and instead addressed the judge's balcony.
"Is that... all, then?"
"Well, there is your punishment," Kingsley bellowed.
"And what would that be?"
"I'm glad you asked." A smile broke across Kinsley's stone face. "Send her in!"
At the sound of the dark, wood doors opening Draco turned in his chair just in time to see a girl hugging a large notebook to her chest and carrying a quill walk into the courtroom.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked with a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Ah, Allison. I wanted you to meet someone."
Kingsley nodded towards Draco and Allison's eyes darted to the blond boy with the slightly opened mouth.
"Allison Paige, meet Draco Malfoy."
Allison was looking as mystified as ever, but eventually walked over to Draco and extended her hand. Draco shook it absent-mindedly while he tried to understand what purpose this girl served.
What does this girl have to do with my punishment? Does the ministry hire teenage girls to relay punishments to criminals as a way to try and let them down easier? No, a pretty teenage girl couldn't make me feel better about being sent to Azkaban... Is she going to give me a lecture on how Albus Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizards of all time? Or even worse a lecture on the wizarding world's lord and savior Harry Potter? No doubt she is writing odes to his green eyes just like every other teenage witch is doing these days...
Draco Malfoy was clearly panicking and allowing his mind to dabble in madness.
Kingsley watched Draco with hint of amusement and then said, "Draco, your punishment is that you have to marry Allison."
"What?" Allison and Draco cried in unison.
"I don't even know her!" Draco exclaimed.
"I'm-- I'm a punishment?" Allison asked furiously.
Kingsley addressed Draco's concern first.
"Draco, Allison was in the same year as you at Hogwarts, but in Gryffindor house. You mean to tell me you don't remember her at all?"
"Well, no," Draco said, "There was Granger and that Patil girl and her friend... Lilac..."
"Lavendar," Allison corrected.
"Well in any case, the important thing about Allison is that both her parents are muggles."
"I thought the whole war we just fought was about how that doesn't matter," Draco muttered to himself.
Kingsley, having missed Draco's quip, continued.
"The Wizengamot believes we need to teach you that there isn't a difference between muggleborn and pureblood witches and wizards. The best way to do this, we decided, was to force you to be within close proximity of a witch or wizard of this nature at all times. Therefore marriage seemed like the best idea."
"Well that answers his question, but what did I do to get thrown into this mess?" Allison asked Kingsley while shooting Draco a look Voldemort would have coward from.
"Honestly Allison, love, you need to loosen up a bit," said a cool female voice.
"What!?" Allison's head turned sharply in the direction of the voice.
"This is just-- absurd! Who came up with this punishment?" Draco demanded
"I did," said the female voice again.
"And who might you be?"
"Sue Potter."
Draco's eyes almost fell out of his head.
"No relation to Harry Potter," the women added quickly.
"Order!" Kingsley boomed, not even needing to use the gavel. "The two of you will learn to love each other. The punishment is final. This case is dismissed."