The Trial Of Astoria Malfoy: As Told By Naomi
The snow covered ground made the whole scene look like something right out of a Fairy Tale. It was really too bad that nothing about today was anything like a fairy tale. Unless you're talking about the original fairy tales, where there's lots of rape and cannibalism, like in Little Red Riding Hood. That fairy tale would explain today a lot better than the sugar coated Disney versions.
"Nao, we have to leave," Lily said, taking my hand in hers, her face looking solemn. She was waiting for me to break, I knew that; but I refused to give my mother that satisfaction. I wasn't going to break again. Lily disapprated us away to the apparition point of the Ministry, where we met Harry, Amalie, and Roxanne.
"The trial will start in about a half hour," Amalie said when she saw us, and engulfed me into a hug which I melted into. She was more of a mother to me than Astoria Malfoy would ever be. My eyes then went to Roxy, she was my mind healer when I started Hogwarts right into my third year. I still saw her from time to time but I hadn't seen her since Christmas.
"Roxy," I said calmly, hoping she wasn't there for the reason I thought she was. "Why are you here?"
"The defence made me," Roxy said with a frown, confirming my biggest fears. She was there to talk about me. "But I can't say anything against your wish, you know that."
"That was before Veritaserum was passed through to be used," I said hotly. I couldn't believe the system sometimes, it really didn't make any sense why my personal life had to be broadcasted through the courtroom, when I wasn't even on trial. There was a pre-trial just last week, where the defence tested against the use of Veritaserum, saying that it was against my mother's human rights. I just had to laugh at that, my mother had human rights? She wasn't even human! No one that evil and vindictive could be human. Of course, the judge overruled the statement, but not before agreeing that Veritaserum would be used on everybody. Fair was fair, after all.
"I'm sorry," Roxy said, and I could tell that she truly was. I nodded and walked next to Lily down to where the courtroom was. I took a deep breath and walked in; my mother wasn't there yet, but there were people conversing in the stands. My eyes went to the one person I was looking for, chained to the chair and aurors sitting next to her - Bella.
"You've gotten so big," she said in a sad voice, giving me a small smile. I went to give her a hug only to be stopped by the Auror sitting next to her.
"No touching," he said with a nod, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Wattson, let her hug her," Harry said. I guess it helped having the Head of the Aurors as my foster father. I wrapped my arms around Bella, holding my tears in; it was the first time I've seen my sister in almost six years.
"Bella," a male voice said behind me, and I turned around to see my brother there with Albus.
"Scorpius," Bella said with a nod. Those two never really were on good terms. Something told me it had to do with my mother, and how she used to torture them.
"All rise," Minister Weasley said, interrupting all of us. "The trial of Astoria Malfoy, nee Greengrass, is about to begin."
We quickly got to our seats in time to see the floor opening to reveal my mother coming up. She was chained to her chair, much like Bella, but instead of Aurors she was in a magic-proof cage. She looked at me for a second, a mincing grin coming on her face as she looked away.
"Mrs. Malfoy," Percy started, "You have been charged with the murder of Draco Malfoy, causing the death of 9 Muggles, 3 counts of severe child abuse, and resisting arrest. How do you plead?"
"Not Guilty, Mr. Minister," she said with a grin. "I didn't do any of those things." Like hell you didn't, mother. Like hell you didn't.
"Very well," Percy said with a nod. "The trial may proceed, Prosecution, begin your opening statements."
"Wizards and Witches of the Wizengamot, we are here today to bare witness to the crimes of Astoria Malfoy, nee Greengrass, when she was the sole caregiver of her three children, Bellatrix, Scorpius, and Hydra." Ava Finnagan started looking up at the Wizengamot. "I will prove that not only did she kill her husband, but she is responsible for the murders of nine innocent Muggles, and she is also guilty of severe abuse of her three children."
My mother's lawyer was Jerolin Goyle, and something told me that he really needed the money, not that he thought she wasn't guilty. Jerolin was going out with Lily's cousin and wasn't long out of Hogwarts. Hopefully, he wasn't that experienced and the trial wouldn't take so long.
"Astoria Malfoy is the victim of many years of torture," Jerolin started, looking down at his notes. "Not only were her parents followers of Voldemort, her sister was a known Death Eater and she learned from a young age that violence was the answer. I will prove to you that she is not guilty."
"Professor Snape," Percy started, "Please bring in the Veritaserum, you shall be the distributor of the potion to the witnesses."
Professor Snape came into the courtroom, pushing a cart with two cauldrons of potion. How many witnesses were there exactly, if they needed two whole cauldrons?
"We call Scorpius Malfoy to the stand." Why was the defence calling Scorpius? Surely nothing he says would be of help to them. Scorpius looked just as confused as I was, as he made his way up to the stand, taking a small flask of veritaserum, and sitting down. "State your full name for the record."
"Scorpius Hyperon Potter-Malfoy," Scorpius said.
Jerolin nodded. "Mr. Potter-Malfoy, when was the last time you saw your mother?"
"Almost six years ago."
"And how old were you at that time?"
"I was almost fifteen."
"When did your mother allegedly start getting abusive?"
"When I was seven," Scorpius said with a sigh. "Once Aunt Daphne got out of Azkaban."
"How was your mother before then?"
"Normal."
"So, she just started getting abusive?"
"Yes, when Aunt Daphne came over and my father wasn't around, she would suggest to my mother that we had to be disciplined."
"So it wasn't your mothers fault?"
"I didn't say that, no one made her do it, she was an adult."
"Is it possible that your mother was afraid of her sister?"
"I guess so."
"And could that be the reason that she listened to her?"
"I don't know why she listened to her; all I know is what she did."
"Do you believe Bellatrix killed the nine Muggles in question?"
"Yes."
"Then why is your mother guilty of it?"
Scorpius paused. "My mother was willingly in a relationship with my aunt, she didn't move or tell her to leave her alone, and she willingly let herself get sucked into her web. She was an adult and she knew she could and had many ways of making sure her sister didn't contact or see her again, yet she didn't do any of that. Instead, she beat the shit out of her kids and when that wasn't enough, she raped my sisters. Bella didn't have a choice and she lashed out when my mother raped her - and that's why those Muggles died."
Jerolin nodded. "When you were fifteen, how many abrasions were on your body at that time?" Change of subject much? What was he getting on with now?
"A lot."
"How many of them were caused by your mother?"
"All of them."
"I'll restate the question: did you cut yourself at that age?"
"Yes." Where the hell was he going with this?
"So is it possible that you merely want us to believe that your mother abused you, when really, you were abusing yourself?"
"No, that isn't possible." Scorpius' voice was so calm. I didn't have a clue how he wasn't shouting at the top of his lungs. Was this guy even for real? Why the hell would Scorpius lie about being abused? "For years my mother would torture me daily, not only with her fists or her wand, but with her words. She would put you down into the dirt and make you feel worthless and useless; when I was eleven years old, I started cutting to escape the pain of it all. I tried to kill myself multiple times but she had a spell put on me so that I wouldn't die from the pain she caused - therefore it wouldn't let me die. So I don't know what you're trying to prove here, Mr. Goyle, but whatever it is, it isn't going to work."
"Nothing further." Ha, that shut him up!
"Mr. Potter-Malfoy," Ana said. "Can you tell me what happened on the night of April 10, 2020?"
"I can't tell you what happened with Bella and Nao, because I wasn't there," Scorpius started. "But I can tell you what happened that morning."
"Go on."
"I got home for Easter the night before that and she was passed out drunk on the couch. When she woke up the next morning, she came into my room and dragged me out of my bed by my hair. She threw me down onto the floor and started kicking me relentlessly, shouting various things at me in the process." Scorpius shuddered as he recalled the memory. "She let me go just so she could come and find me, she used to always tell us that she didn't seek because she found. Once she found me, she forced me down into the cellar, where she held me under the Crucatus curse for what felt like forever. Once the curse was lifted, she told me she didn't want to see my faggot face anymore and she locked the door. That was the last time I saw her until today." I didn't want to hear this, I knew how horrible she was to my brother. I had witnessed it for years, but I didn't want to hear how broken he sounded when he recalled it. I didn't want her to hear it either. She couldn't know how much she affected us, then she would win.
"I have no more questions for this witness," Ava said sending, Scorpius a sympathetic look.
"You may step down, Mr. Potter-Malfoy," Percy said. "Next witness."
"The prosecution calls Mr. Potter to the stand," Ava said. Great, they were getting Harry to testify too? Were they going to get everyone to testify? Why did they have to do this? Why couldn't they just keep the veritaserum away from this stupid trial so we didn't have to say things we didn't want to? Why couldn't they just lock up my mother and be done with it? I started breathing rapidly; no, I wasn't going to have a panic attack. Not here.
"Nao," Lily whispered. "Are you okay?"
I shook my head: all of this was just too much. Lily took my hand and led me out of the courtroom, where I could finally breathe again. I wondered what was going on inside, but at that moment I didn't really care. Lily wrapped her arms around me and started to rock me gently back and forth. Although it made me feel like a small child, the rocking was actually pretty calming.
"It isn't fair," I whispered to Lily, my voice a lot smaller than I would've liked. "Why can't they just let her rot in Azkaban?"
"I know, Nao," Lily said sadly, "it'll be okay."
"He's trying to get her off, Lily," I said, standing up and pacing the hallway. "What if he actually manages it? What if she doesn't go to Azkaban?"
"That's his job Naomi," Lily said. "No one in their right mind will keep your mother out of Azkaban."
"I hope you're right," I said with a sigh.
Lily nodded. "Come on, let's go back in." I nodded and followed Lily back to my seat. Thankfully, Harry was done testifying and now Audrey Weasley was up on the stand.
Jerolin cleared his throat. "Mrs. Weasley, can you tell me what happened to you in your seventh year of Hogwarts?"
"I was jumped by a group of Slytherins, brought to their common room where I was tortured and raped," Audrey replied with a frown. "I couldn't do anything to protect myself because I had left my wand in the common room. They knew it too because one of them would taunt me, saying 'just try to stop me, hufflepuff.'"
"And who were these people?"
"Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass."
"Was my client present?"
"Yes."
"And what was her role in your attack?"
"She was one of the ones who raped me."
"Well, why didn't you mention her first?"
"Because she was twelve years old, she didn't know any better."
"I see. Mrs. Weasley, do you think my client wanted to do that to you?"
"Not at the time, no."
"And why did she?"
"She was afraid of her sister; if she didn't do it Daphne would have hurt her."
"So she was hesitant?"
"Yes," Audrey paused. "She didn't want to do it, but Daphne didn't give her much of a choice. But that doesn't excuse her for doing it to people when she knew the difference."
"So you think she would have done it if she wasn't forced too?"
"I don't know."
"Nothing further."
What just happened? My mother was forced to rape someone when she was only 12? What kind of dark, sick, twisted- well those are three words to describe my Aunt Daphne, and my mother for that matter.
"We would like to call Naomi Malfoy as our next witness," Ava said and my eyes grew wide. No, I would not testify. I was not going to be humiliated on that stupid stand just because people don't believe my mother is at fault for what she did to me and my siblings. No.
I walked towards the stand and sat down while Professor Snape passed me the Veritaserum, which I didn't take.
"Please take the Veritaserum, Miss Malfoy," Percy said kindly and I shook my head.
"No. I refuse to."
"Miss Malfoy," Percy said with a sigh, "if you refuse to go by court orders, I'll have to find you in contempt of court."
"I don't care," I said, my rage building by the second. "Why do you want me to drink it anyway? So I can sit up here and tell you every humiliating thing that's ever happened to me in my life? You want me to sit here and describe what horrors went on in Malfoy Manor when no one was looking? Do you really want to hear how my mother would force me down onto her bed and do unspeakable things to me? Do you want to hear about how I lost my virginity at five to some stranger that I didn't even know? Do you want to know how she used to force me to watch her fuck Aunt Daphne and when I closed my eyes she would make me take her place? Do you want to hear how she told me that I was a horrible tease? Do you really want to hear about that, Minister?"
My breathing was rapid and tears were streaming down my face, the courtroom quieter than a mouse. I got up and went back to my seat, no one saying anything to me.
"Let's continue," Percy said, after a long moment. "Miss Malfoy is excused from testifying, and if I'm correct, the only one left to hear from, is Mrs. Malfoy herself."
"Mrs. Malfoy, I only have a few questions for you," Ava started. "Did you abuse your children?"
"No, I merely showed them love and discipline." Love and discipline my ass!
"I'll restate: In the eyes of the law, did you abuse your children?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill Draco Malfoy?"
"Yes."
"Did you have sex with your daughter on the night of April 10, 2020?"
"Yes."
"Did she want too?"
"No."
"When Mr. Potter found your children, did you flee?"
"Yes."
"No further questions."
And of course, now Jerolin had to make everyone think my mother was a victim and didn't have a choice in any of the matter.
"Mrs. Malfoy," he started, "Did your parents abuse you?"
"Yes."
"Did your sister rape and torture you?"
"Yes."
"Did you kill the nine Muggles?"
"No."
"Do you believe you are responsible for killing them?"
"No, I didn't make Bellatrix do it."
"How did your husband die?"
"The killing curse."
Jerolin paused and went through his notes, by the look my mother was giving him, I don't think he was supposed to ask that question.
"Uhm, no further questions."
"Alright, the Wizengamot will converse and have the verdict with you shortly."
I took a deep breath and went outside with everyone else. I received numerous hugs and kisses, but I couldn't sit still. What were they going to say? Were they going to say she was guilty? Did they think she wasn't guilty, even though they had proof she was? It seemed like forever when Percy came out of the room with a grin on his face.
"Guilty," he said, and everyone around me erupted in cheers. It was done. It was over. My mother was convicted and going to rot in Azkaban, and for the first time in my life, I was free.