Draco Malfoy leaned on the railing in front of him, gazing out at the forest that lay below. A lot had changed for him the past 6 months. Voldemort was gone, his family shamed, and his life left in limbo. For the past 6 months the Daily Prophet had published nothing but the reconstruction of Hogwarts(it had been decided that the school wouldn't reopen till the spring semester), The Ministry of Magic trying to put itself back together, and the trials of Death Eaters. His family had laid low, remaining at their manor. Then the letters, each one calling them to stand trial. His father's was to be first, Draco's last. He had watched the start of his father's trial with anticipation. But his father had been there before he laid names and hiding places before the jury and was set free, with several stipulations. Lucius was to remain at his estate for the remainder of his life. The ministry was to be allowed to search the entire estate for any magical artifacts. His father also now bore a charm on him that would notify the ministry of any magic that Lucius did. It was a rather ingenious charm Draco thought. If was removed or altered by anyone but the casters it would kill the bearer of the charm.
Then it was Christmas and the trials went on recess till after the holidays. On January 2nd his mother, Narcissa, and him received letters from the Department of Magical Law stating when their trials would convene in the coming weeks. Their trials and sentencing were expected to be short. Everything that had happened in the past few years came crashing down on his. He ran. Draco hadn't known where he was going at the time, he just wanted to get as far away as possible. He didn't want to confront everything he had done.
That's how Draco had ended up in America. Standing on a platform overlooking a valley below. He had found a wizard hotel that existed in someplace called Santa Fe, New Mexico. Got himself a room and wallowed in his thoughts for the past week. He read the news papers following his mothers trial. It was to conclude that day, her sentencing handed. His trial was to start in two days, the Daily Prophet was already speculating on where exactly he might be since had not been attending his mothers trial.
Draco was so absorbed in his thoughts that at first he didn't notice the young women who leaned on the rail next to him.
"Beautiful spot isn't it?" She asked. Of course today of all days someone would try to interact with him.
"Bugger off," is all that he could muster up. He small her smile a bit. Somehow that made him borderline furious. "What could you possibly find funny about I telling you to scram?"
He finally turned to face her. He was put off for a moment. Leaning against the rail was a young women he estimated to be about his age, dressed in athletic apparel, blond hair pulled back into a pony tail. She looked like any normal muggle he'd ever seen.
Draco saw her smile widen just a bit before it disappeared altogether. "I saw you standing there staring off into space. Thought maybe you were some east coast lad who had come to see his girlfriend or something and things had gone terribly wrong. You looked so…." He saw her try to come up with the right word. "Distant. As if you were a thousand miles away. Now I see you are. You aren't some east coast lad, no you're from Europe. If I were to guess I would say somewhere in Great Britain."
Draco just stared at her. Obviously she wasn't going anywhere. She continued speaking "You know what they call this spot? It's called thinker's ledge. The story goes that anyone who stands here for more than a minute is contemplating something very serious."
Draco had to admit that she had intrigued him just a bit. "Whys that?"
"Well look at the view its not very appealing."
For the first time Draco actually noticed the view before him. It was rather unappealing. The snow seemed to have melted away even though it was still cold out. Most of the trees looked dead and the ones he supposed were alive but missing their leaves grew at very odd angles. The earth was in odd patches of green grass, dead grass, and patches of mud.
"It is a rather dreadful view." He saw her smile.
"That's the story though. Nobody stands there to admire the view that's for sure. Well except maybe those of us who know the real story behind the valley below."
Draco had to admit that she was intriguing him just a bit his annoyance petering away. He arched an eyebrow. He saw her flash a smile before she continued.
"The story goes that two great wizards long ago had a duel in that valley. It was a long and bloody duel; I believe it was fought over a girl if I'm not mistaken. Anywho so much magic was cast that day that it permanently scarred the land leaving it like we see it today."
Draco stared at her for a minute trying to figure out if she was serious or not. Finally, he did the only thing he could think of He asked, "You can't be serious? That sounds like utter hogwash to me."
She smiled and replied. "You got me. I just made that up. No one really knows though why that piece of land looks like the way it does though."
She settled into silence seemingly deep in her own thoughts. Draco fell back into his own thoughts almost forgetting she was there for a time. After some time, she spoke again this time it was quieter more like she was talking to herself and not him.
"Isn't funny how after a tragedy everyone mourns those who were lost but nobody mourns for those who survived. Nobody mourns for those who lost love ones and have to learn to live without them. Nobody mourns for the loss of innocence. Not just of the victims but of the one who cause the tragedy. Nobody thinks about how hard it is for everyone to find forgiveness. The victims to forgive their attacker and the attacker to forgive themselves if they so choose.
Draco looked at her startled. "Why do you mourn for the attacker? They were they bad guy."
She turned to look at him straight in the eye with a hint of a smile, "You know for a guy who wanted me to 'bugger off' not long ago you sure are asking a lot of questions." Her smile faded quickly though as she kept speaking turning back to look over the valley,
"I see the loss of innocence. Many of those who committed crimes were victims themselves. Whether it was they way the were brought up or a tragic event that happened to them as. There's always a back story."
They slipped back into silence. Finally, Draco spoke again, "You think they can really be forgiven?"
"Yes and no. Like all things it takes time. Hate and disgust will be the first things they will feel from those around them. I believe that certain crimes can never be forgiven but a victim can come to understand why the attacker committed those actions. But the attacker must show some kind of remorse. Show that they still have humility left in them."
Draco pondered what she said. Without knowing it she had stumbled upon the very reason he was standing there today. The very reason he was struggling to understand. Draco came from a very proud family, one that never admitted their faults. What he had done during the second wizarding war was wrong he knew that. Even if he couldn't admit it to himself. It was sometime before wither spoke again and when Draco did it was with great trepidation,
"I ran away. That's why I am here." He spoke quietly at first. "When I got the notice that my trial was to be held I just bolted. I left my mother to go through her trial alone"
He stared off into the distance not looking at her. Draco waited for her reply.
She spoke after a time, "Whatever you did doesn't matter. What matters is if you can live with yourself. Ask yourself why you did it, not the superficial one but the deep down the real reason you did it. You bolted, obviously no one knows where you are. Can you live with yourself if you continue to hide instead of facing the jury for your crimes? Can you live with yourself knowing that whatever you did caused the loss of innocence in someone else…..and in yourself."
She looked down at her watch and back up at him. "I am afraid I must go I have a job interview in a couple of hours and it is quite a distance from here."
Draco looked at his own watch and was surprised by how much time had passed. When he looked back up she was positioned with her back to the rail right next to him, leaning over she whispered in his ear,
"I would be careful on how obvious you were with that thing." She nodded in the direction of his pocket where his wand was sticking out. "M.A.C.U.S.A doesn't take kindly to wizards exposing magical objects to no-maj's. And no-maj's here are harder to fool than their European counter parts."
She quickly shoved off the railing and started to walk off as Draco whipped around in surprise. She was halfway down the path till he came up with anything to say, "I never did get your name!"
Draco grimaced that probably was the cheesiest thing he had ever said in his life. Still she turned around jogging backwards and answered, "Anthea!"
He turned back to the railing pondering what Anthea had told him when his brain finally caught up to everything that had just happened. He turned back around to run after her but he couldn't see her anywhere. In the moment he didn't see it but there was a bird right around the spot where she had been. Draco began the walk back to the inn he was staying at. Anthea had to be a witch that would be the only thing that made since. He thought about the evidence before him. She obviously knew what his wand was. They had been standing outside for over an over an hour in 25-degree weather, she had only been dressed in running pants and a sweatshirt hardly thick enough to keep a stationary person warm. Plus, she hadn't shown any signs of being cold. She must have charmed hers left to stay warm. That's what he had done after all.
On that long walk back to his room Draco's mind began to wander back to their conversation. By the time he had reached his room he had made up his mind.