Prologue
A dry tongue swiped over equally dry lips in hope of wetting them, but the fact was, Draco Malfoy was nervous. Nervous enough, in fact, for his entire mouth and throat to feel inexcusably dry. Only a month ago had the war ended. He'd been on house arrest since, alone with his mother and the house elves in that forsaken Mansion. He swore that if he made it through this day, he'd find a house for himself and his mother that didn't hold so many terrible memories.
He closed his eyes to those memories, trying to block out the scenes of torture, death, and so much more that had happened at the Malfoy Mansion during the Second Wizarding War. All those months with the Dark Lord under their roof had been torture for Draco and his parents, but now they were free. At least, as free as they might ever be again.
His father, Lucius, had not been so lucky. His crimes as one of Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters during the war were well known, no one, not even Lucius himself, could deny that. No, Lucius Malfoy had spent the last month in a cell in a dementor free Azkaban with many other Death Eaters. The only reason Lucius' wife and son had been so lucky was because of the Savior of the Wizarding World himself, Harry Potter.
Draco's blood ran cold at the thought of Potter, his enemy and own personal savior. Potter had rescued him from a fate like that of Vincent Crabbe's. He'd turned back when he could have kept going and let his childhood nemesis perish to the ruthless fiendfyre. But no, he'd turn back, reached out, and taken the hand of a boy that needed his help. Always the Gryffindor, that Potter. Always the hero.
"Draco Malfoy." A voice called, snapping Draco out of his thoughts. He turned wide, fearful grey-blue eyes to an Auror that stood between him and the room where his fate would be decided for him. "You're up." The older man told him, frowning deeply.
'At least he's not trying to make me burn with his eyes.' Draco thought as he stood, a little shaky in fear of what was about to happen. 'At least he's not hoping I'd just collapse at this moment and die.'
The Auror held open a door for Draco, allowing the boy to step forward into a circular room with a lone chair in the center.
"Please sit, Mr. Malfoy." A voice from above him said simply, causing the blonde to look up and gulp.
A large crowd sat in the bleachers above and around the circular space that he currently stood in. The person that spoke was the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt himself, who looked at the boy with a look of pity. In any other situation, Draco would have scowled at the idea of being pitied. But now, he feared what the Minister would say next as he sat down, for the next words to be spoken in this room would decide his fate.
Once seated, Draco quickly looked around at the people above him. He took in the Wizengamot, all looking at him with either hatred or pity in their eyes. He took in the faces of all the others, but when his eyes stopped, they stopped on the familiar face of the Wizarding World's most famous.
Harry Potter, for once dressed decently in simple black robes, watched Draco with a small frown on his face for a few moments before his attention was called away by a girl with strikingly golden brown hair beside him. A girl that Draco slightly recognized, but could not remember how exactly he knew of her.
Draco tried to wet his lips once more, but it seems as though his mouth was even drier than it had been before.
"Draco Malfoy."
The blonde's head turned to look at the Minister again, that look of pity still in the older man's eyes.
"You have been charged with the crimes of torture, allowing several well-known Death Eaters into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during your sixth year, and the use of two of the three Unforgivables." Shacklebolt started, his eyes, like the eyes of the majority of the people in the room, on Draco. "There were many who spoke against you today, but also some who spoke for you. But with memories provided by Mr. Harry Potter, we saw you lower your wand when you were issued to kill the late Albus Dumbledore, as well as the fact that you would not reveal his identity in Malfoy Manor a month ago."
Draco swallowed dryly, not really wanting to remember either time, for they only held bad memories for him that he would rather forget.
"And due to memories you yourself provided, the Wizengamot has decided that you are not guilty for two of the three crimes you were charged with. Still, you allowed Death Eaters into Hogwarts, and we can't overlook that. And so, you will serve community service from tomorrow to the 5th of June, 1999, a year from today. Your community service will be with St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. You will be assigned a supervisor by the Hospital Administration. This supervisor will report with you here next year at the end of your community service. It will be up to what this person tells us about your work at St. Mungo's that will decide your fate from then on. Also, your magic and actions will be closely monitored by the Auror Department. If any flags pop up between now and the end of this one year probationary period, you will be immediately sent to Azkaban Prison while investigations are put in place to see why a flag went up in the first place."
The blonde nodded absentmindedly, too shocked to think properly.
"Finally, you will be on house arrest for the next 90 days." Kingsley continued. "You will only be allowed to travel between St. Mungo's and your home. When you are not at the hospital, you are only to be at home." He stopped, watching the blond. "You're free to go Mr. Malfoy. Good luck."
He swallowed and stood shakily. 'I'm free.' He thought, glancing up to look around him quickly. Many were still sitting and whispering to one another, but Draco noted as Potter and the pretty stranger he sat with got up and left, him leading her towards the door by the hand.
The Auror that had brought him into the court room let Draco back out, offering a small smile. 'He must have kids.' The blond thought as he stepped out into the hallway. 'Can't imagine what it would be like if one of his kids were in my place.' He scoffed quietly, but couldn't even bring himself to place that signature Malfoy smirk upon his lips. He'd just gotten away with his life. He was lucky.
His eyes widened when he suddenly felt something crash into him. His first thoughts were his mother or Pansy, but he didn't recognize the golden blonde hair that was currently in his face.
"Keira!" A familiar voice called, followed by the sound of footsteps. The golden blonde pulled away from Draco and smiled at him.
Draco visibly froze when he spotted the Boy Who Lived Twice over the strange girl's shoulder.
"Thank you." She said, shocking both Draco and Potter. "If it wasn't for you, I probably never would have gotten the chance to meet Harry properly."
The blond was blinking rapidly, eyes widening when the girl kissed his cheek. "Thank you, truly."
"Ugh…"
"Keira…" Harry sighed.
She turned away from Draco to face him. "You should thank him too. He saved your life!"
"Keira!"
"Don't you 'Keira' me, Mr. Potter. You owe him your thanks."
"I nearly killed him once and saved his life another time."
"Then apologize, thank him, then say you're welcome." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
The raven haired young man sighed and looked at her, then Draco. "…I'm sorry for nearly killing you in sixth year."
"I deserved it." The blonde said quietly, feeling slightly amused. 'Who is she?'
The girl, Keira, had opened her mouth to say something before it was covered by Potter's hand. "And I'm thankful that you didn't give me away at the Manor last month. You probably did save my life then. And that's why I was here today in your defense."
Draco nodded, unable to bring himself to thank Potter for his time today.
"And I guess I should just say you're welcome for the Room of Requirement incident." Potter added. "Though I know you aren't going to thank me. It's just not in your nature."
Draco watched him for a long moment. "You've grown up in the past few weeks." He drawled.
Potter smiled. "Actually, I grew up over this past year. I just wasn't around for you to notice." He said, then looked at Kiera. "Are you done now?"
She nodded and bit his fingers, causing him to pull his hand away quickly. "Keira!"
She smiled sweetly and looked at Draco. "My mother's a Healer at St. Mungo's." She told him. "My family was neutral in the war, so if you're lucky and get to work with her, no one will get a chance to try to harass you about the whole Death Eater thing. Her name is Contessa Hale. Good luck."
The blond looked at her for a few moments before nodding. She smiled at him, then turned to Harry. "Come on, we have to meet my parents for lunch."
Potter groaned, letting her take his hand. "Your father is going to interrogate me, isn't he?" He asked as they started to walk away, both waving to Draco.
"Only because I'm his youngest daughter." She said, smiling as she kissed his cheek. "And you'll live."
Draco blinked suddenly. 'He's not dating a Weasel….'
June 5, 1998