Written for Round 11 of the QLFC
Team: Pride of Portree
Position: Seeker
Word Count (excluding author's note): 1112
Prompt: Write about a second chance on a rainy day
The war is over.
We lost.
There isn't much more to say really. The Dark Lord is gone and now his Death Eaters are on our own.
We got away with it the first time. Lucius claimed Imperius and I pleaded ignorance. Many people think they went easy on me because of little Draco. I kept him with me through all the interrogations. People said it was a tactic for gaining sympathy, but in reality it was simply because there was no-one I could entrust him to. Bella was insane, and, later, incarcerated. I hadn't seen Andromeda in years. Lucius, of course, was facing his own trials. No-one else was willing to stick their necks out and be seen as close enough to a Death Eater to care for their child.
The Aurors didn't shout, and listened to what I said without interrupting, glancing at the child on my lap each time the conversation grew heated. A benefit to keeping him with me that I had not expected, but a welcome one nonetheless. Eventually they dismissed the charges, with no proof I had participated in anything even remotely illegal.
This time, however, I do not think I will be so lucky.
There are plenty of witnesses who will confirm that the Dark Lord himself resided in our home for most of the final year of the war. I was seen at his side by the prisoners he kept in our basement. Lucius has already been arrested once, and broken out of Azkaban. He is pleading guilty; there's no point in doing anything else.
Draco is to be tried too. He will not be with me, keeping both myself and the Aurors calm and collected. I fear for him more than for myself. The greatest punishment they could give me is to take away my son and leave me free to keep my sanity and knowledge of what is happening to him. He is the light that drives me. He is the reason I live, and I cannot cope without him.
It's raining outside. Of course, I can't see or hear it in the ministry holding cells, but the Aurors guarding us are bedraggled and complaining, and I can smell the moisture in the air as they walk past the bars of my cell. Glancing at the clock I can see that there are only a few hours left until Draco's trial. I have been permitted to watch, although I suspect it is a punishment more than a kindness. The Aurors are confident he will be found guilty.
I am escorted to the courtroom. It's one of the newer ones on an upper level. On the windows I see the raindrops trickling down, mirroring the tears I can feel on my face. I do not bother to wipe them away. Draco is sat in a chair in the centre of the room. Although there are no chains binding him, he sits as stiffly as he would if he was restrained. There is no hope in his eyes.
The evidence against him is presented, and his lawyer stands little chance of refuting it. Draco allowed Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts, attempted to kill Albus Dumbledore on multiple occasions, participated in raids and fought on our side at the beginning of the final battle. Witnesses come from among his school friends, telling tales of how he vocally supported the Dark Lord in the Slytherin Common Room, recruiting from the inside. They are out for themselves, hoping for a lighter sentence in exchange for the information. I cannot find it within me to blame them. I would have encouraged Draco to do the same, although I suspect his integrity would have held him back from that path.
When the room is asked if anyone would like to speak in Draco's defence, I do not expect anyone to come forward.
"I would."
The voice startles me, and I whip my head around to see who spoke. Harry Potter is walking down from the back of the room, amid whispers from the audience.
"Draco saved my life. He refused to identify myself, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger when we were captured by Death Eaters. He said he didn't know us, even though he clearly did. He also did not kill Professor Dumbledore. His attempts were, frankly, rubbish. None of them got anywhere near the headmaster, and none of them were lethal for the people who did get hit by them. Really, hiding poison in the office of the Potion's teacher, and asking him to deliver it to Dumbledore? Even if it had got there, there was no way that Slughorn wouldn't have been the best qualified person to save him."
I know Slughorn. Snape would have been far more capable. Still, the jury are muttering amongst themselves and I am not about to look a gift thestral in the mouth.
"Honestly, I think he just put on a damn good show of being a Death Eater, doing the bare minimum that he had to in order to survive. Which, if you think about it, is what we all did during the war, regardless of which side we were on."
Draco is crying now. It is all I can do to stay in my seat and not endanger us both by rushing to him.
"I, Harry Potter, am willing to personally vouch for Draco Malfoy."
Potter looks uncomfortable using his own status in this way, but the jury now look confused. For the first time in weeks I find myself hopeful. I do not understand why Potter would do this, but I am grateful nonetheless.
Later, Potter comes to see me in my cell.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" I gush.
"You saved me," Potter replies, running a hand nervously through his hair. "Without you I would be dead. I figured speaking up for Draco was the least I could do. Besides, everything I said was true. He never had the heart to truly be a Death Eater."
"And without you my son would be in prison," I say. "Because of you, he has been given a second chance, and I could not be more grateful."
"Well, I'll see you again next week, at your trial. Hopefully, after that, you'll be able to go home with him."
When Potter leaves the room I fall to my knees in shock. I did not suspect I would ever get a chance to see the outside world again, let alone my son. I hope that, if they release me, it is raining once more, so that I may feel it on my face as I walk away as a free woman.