Disclaimer: All rights belong to J.K Rowling and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended. I don't own anything.
Author's Note: This chapter takes place six years before the first chapter. For the sake of my plot Arthur and Molly Weasley had seven sons not six; Ginny Weasley does not exist.
September 1, 2007
King's Cross Station, London
"You know its not too late to change your mind...McGonagall would take you back. All you have to do is hop on the train."
Olivia Potter burrowed her face into the crook of Graham Weasley's neck and smiled. The youngest Weasley wrapped his arms protectively around his sweetheart's waist and squeezed as he rocked them back and forth.
They stood in the crowded mass that was Platform 9 and ¾ totally engrossed in each other.
"We've talked about this a million times," Olivia said looking up into his hazel eyes. For a moment she found herself lost in their depth. A dark ring of gray framed his mossy green irises, but the best part—in her opinion—were the streaks of amber around Graham's pupils, they reminded her of sun rays. "I'm staying in London. It's for the best."
Graham stopped their gentle swaying and his eyes narrowed.
"Best for you, you mean," he said, turning his head away.
Olivia reached up and rubbed Graham's jaw with the pad of her thumb. "I can't go back...I'm not ready."
The pair paid no attention to the passersby gawking at them.
Graham pulled Olivia tighter to him and kissed the top of her head which made them both sigh.
Cameras flashed and reporters who had come to cover the first trip back to Hogwarts since the war jotted down notes furiously with their quills as England's It Couple bid their farewell.
"I think facing it will be good for you," Graham insisted. "Plus, I'll be there looking out for you. And Hermione. And Nev and Luna."
With the help of witches and wizards from all over the continent, the damage Hogwarts Castle had suffered during the battle had been repaired in record time allowing students to return in the fall. Head Mistress McGonagall had offered The Golden Trio and all students who had fled last year with their families, for obvious reasons, to come back and retake their lessons and exams. Hermione, eager to return to take her N.E.W.T.S, agreed to return while Ron and Olivia both declined.
Olivia shook her head in dismissal and Graham tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "When I think about Hogwarts now all that comes to mind is pain and death. You lot are ready to go back and I think that's great...I'm just not there. Bill and Percy helped me find a decent tutor. I'll still come take my exams before winter break and in the spring with you guys."
Graham's lips curled up in a lopsided grin. "Where's the brave Gryffindor I fell in love with?" His tone was light, but Olivia couldn't help but notice the flash of irritation and disappointment flashing in his eyes.
"I've been brave my whole life because I didn't have a choice," she laughed bitterly. "Now I do, and I want to take a break."
"How are you supposed to take a break if you plan on going to The Death Eater Trials the second the Express takes off?"
A cloud of silence hung over the young couple and Olivia pulled back in shock while Graham stared down at her, his brows arched accusingly.
"Who told you? Hermione?" Olivia asked. She spotter her friend a few feet away, her faced being cradled and kissed by one Ron Weasley.
"Ron," Graham answered. "You know it's bad enough that you go to them first with all your plans and secrets. Were you really going to let me leave without mentioning it?"
Graham stared down at Olivia and she shrank into herself, feeling some what apologetic.
"If it makes you feel better, I only plan on going to the Malfoy's trial today."
"No," Graham grumbled, upset with her for dodging the question. "It doesn't."
Olivia could sense his famous Weasley Temper bubbling under the surface. In hopes to calm him, she rubbed her hands up and down Graham's back. She could feel the contours of his muscles under the fabric of his clothing and she wished she could feel the heat of his skin.
"I don't want to have a row," Olivia said defensively.
This was how they'd spent most of their summer: attending funerals and press conferences and arguing in circles.
"Well I don't want you marching off to the ministry sticking your neck out for the Malfoys," Graham raged as he pulled away. "How can you testify for them? They killed my brother!"
"Bellatrix killed Fred. Not them," she whispered as her eyes left Graham scanning the platform for George. Olivia prayed he wasn't within earshot. Luckily he was not, from the looks of it he was in a middle of a conversation with Luna and Neville. The young Ravenclaw and her new Gryffindor beau were holding hands, blushing at whatever the older Weasley was saying.
In an attempt to be affectionate, Olivia smoothed the shiny badge that shined proudly on the lapel of Graham's blazer. McGonagall had named him and Hermione Head Boy and Girl this year.
"Last year was hell for me Livvie," Graham whispered, his eyes burning with sincerity. "You took off during the attack at Bill and Fluer's wedding and I couldn't stop worrying about you while you were off having another adventure—"
"Saving the world," Olivia interrupted, she rested her hands on his biceps and gave his toned upper arms a squeeze.
"I don't want to spend another year apart from you. Worrying about you," he told her, getting to the root of his issues. "I want—"
Olivia cut him off by placing her lips over his.
"Graham," Olivia murmured, looking at him with wide, imploring eyes. "I still feel like I'm needed here. I want to look out for George and your parents and Teddy."
"What about me? I need you too."
His passion filled words shook her.
"You have me," she said, pressing her palms on her boyfriend's cheeks. "This isn't like last year. Voldemort's dead and I'm safe. It's over."
Graham surprised her by pulling her in for a heated kiss. His generous lips moved against hers and Olivia felt her insides flutter contentedly. The familiar screeching of the Hogwarts Express whistle alerted them that their time was coming to a close. She wished they had more time.
"I'm going to." Kiss. "Miss you like." Kiss. "Crazy," Olivia said against Graham's lips.
She pulled away for a quick second hoping that her kisses had quelled some of her boyfriend's angst and it did. Some.
"I'll write to you often," she promised. "And I'll come for Hogsmead weekends. All the guys will be so jealous of you, Weasley. Meeting up with your hot older girlfriend in the village. Hell, I bet all the girls will start following you around now that you've got a cougar under lock and key. You better not date anyone now that you're hot stuff. Hermione and Luna will tell me."
Graham's lips perked up in a genuine smile. "You're the only one I want."
Olivia looked up at Graham and wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged at the red hairs along the nape. "You better say that. Now kiss me again before you go say goodbye to your brothers. Quickly, before the train leaves."
:-:
The Wizengamot was headed by ministry appointed officials and some heads of the Twenty-Eight Ancient Nobel Houses that were still in good standing. After listening to hours of testimony and cross-examinations, it was clear to just about everyone that the Malfoy's had not gained much sympathy while each of them told their side of what happened during the war. Whatever Olivia said next would most likely decide their fate.
So once again, Olivia found herself looking up at witches and wizards seating in benches above her. Some of them still staring down their noses and others were still wearing the same looks of frank curiousness.
"For the official record, please state your name."
Olivia shrugged and rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the new Chief Warlock, Elphias Doge. It wasn't his fault, he was just following protocol. Based on what she'd seen today, Doge was doing a fair job at being impartial. She hoped that he'd be able to give all the Death Eaters and imprisoned sympathizers fair trials in the coming season.
"My name is Olivia Hyacinth Potter."
Lights from cameras flashed in her face and she tried not to scowl.
"And your business here today, Miss Potter?" Doge asked, undeterred.
Olivia shifted in her seat. A small part of her had hoped they would have invested in some upholstery for the witness chair. She was feeling mighty uncomfortable.
"I'm here as a character witness on behalf of the Malfoy family," she answered.
Many members of the Wizengamot and several of the invited press and public spectators gasped. Olivia tried to suppress another eye roll as she looked around the room. Many of the maroon-clad adults were whispering back and forth.
Yes, a Potter coming to the defense of not just one Malfoy, but three! Blasphemy! Olivia mused to herself.
Chief Warlock Doge uncharacteristically barked for order in the court room.
"Please Miss Potter," Chief Doge urged. "Tell the ladies and gentlemen of the court your relationship with the Malfoy family."
Olivia cleared her throat and reached to take a sip of the water that had been provided for her, but then paused. While Olivia had no reason not to trust the witches and wizards appointed under Minister Shaklebolt's administration, too much had happened in her short past. She wouldn't put it past someone to poison her. Peace in England be damned.
Constant Vigilance.
The courtroom waited on bated breath as Olivia smoothed the fringe from her forehead back.
"To be honest, I don't really have one," she said. "I would say that my interactions with the misters Malfoy have always been, for a lack of a better word, hostile. Before Lucius Malfoy was arrested three and a half years ago, I without a doubt would say that I believed him and his family to be committed to Lord Voldemort's cause. That was a large part of why I stayed away from them."
"What changed?" Doge asked.
"There were indicators that came to my attention during the school year of 2005 to 2006 and the fact that the Malfoy helped me twice in this war."
As Olivia spoke from the witness chair, she watched the Malfoys. They were sitting in the defendants box next to their lawyer, all impossibly blond and incredibly posh like glimmering, stoic, fashionable angels.
Oddly enough, three months of house arrest had been good for them, Olivia observed. The aristocratic family had looked stressed from the trial, but the manic and despair that Olivia had seen while she was on the run and during the final battle was gone.
Mrs. Malfoy sat between her husband and son, a delicate gloved hand on her husband's lap and the other on Draco's shoulder. She looked beautiful. Her nearly white-blond hair was set in low bun with finger-waves framing her porcelain face. Olivia found it appropriate that the matriarch of the Malfoy family had chosen an indigo dress to wear this afternoon. It was the color of compassion.
"Please, continue Miss Potter," Doge probed, he was leaning forward from his perch and Olivia could make out his pronounced Dragon Pox scars in the dim light of the courtroom. He looked utterly fascinated and she hadn't even gotten to the hard facts.
"Before I knew that Draco had joined the Death Eater ranks in our sixth year, I was already more than curious about what he was up to...
I remember happening upon Draco and Mrs. Malfoy while I was shopping in Diagon Alley with my friends. We followed them to Borgin and Burkes. He and some of the Death Eaters were all standing around an object. At the time I didn't know it was the Vanishing Cabinet—"
"For the official record, can we clarify that this cabinet you're referring to, is the twin cabinet Mr. Malfoy confessed to repairing in order to fulfill his task of gaining Death Eaters entry into Hogwarts in 2006?" Doge interrupted while the court stenographer scribed meticulously.
"Yes," Olivia said. "Though I do have reason to believe that he fixed the cabinet against his will."
Olivia stole a glance at Draco. He was staring at her solemnly, an expression she'd never seen him wear before. His blond hair had grown out and hanged just below his ears. Mrs. Malfoy gripped his shoulder and Draco placed his larger palm over hers and squeezed.
"Against his will, you say. Please elaborate."
Olivia nodded. "Yes, I overheard a conversation once between Draco and Professor Snape that year. Draco had seemed determined to complete his task, but he it looked as though it was weighing him down. There was also the night during dinner just after winter holidays when I followed Draco into the lavatory outside the Great Hall."
"You followed a boy into a lavatory?"
There was giggling and Olivia shrugged.
"I must admit that I spent a great deal of time that year snooping after Draco. I believed that he was up to something," Olivia confessed unabashed.
"Was there anything about Mr. Malfoy's behavior that made you so bold as to follow him into the bathroom that evening, Miss Potter?" Doge asked.
"My teammate, Katie Bell was bewitched by a necklace before winter hols. I had accused Draco, but no one believed me. Katie came back to school during that dinner feast, I remember the look of horror on Draco's face. He ran out of the Great Hall the second he saw her and that was when I followed him. When I found him there, he looked as though he was having a mental break down."
"A break down, Miss Potter?"
"Draco was hunched over a sink, weeping hysterically. I was hoping to catch him. To make him confess, but I just couldn't. I'd never seen anyone look so scared and sad...when I think about it now, there might have been relief as well."
"Relief?"
Olivia's emerald orbs caught Draco's mercury ones, but she found no emotion in them.
"I think that he was resigned to hurting Dumbledore, but Katie was only meant to deliver that necklace. I think he might have found relief in the fact that Katie had lived."
"Katie Bell was one of the students whose health was compromised in one of Mr. Malfoy's failed attempts to assassinate Albus Dumbledore?"
Olivia shifted in her seat again. "Yes, Sir."
"We've heard from Mr. Malfoy earlier this afternoon that you were present the night that Albus Dumbledore died. For the official record, let it be known that this event has been dubbed The Battle at the Astronomy Tower. Can you give us your account of that evening Miss Potter?"
"Well," Olivia sighed. "Professor Dumbledore had just hit me with a stunning spell and placed me under a disillusion. Draco had come in, meaning to kill Dumbledore, but the professor could tell that Draco's heart wasn't in it. They talked instead of fighting."
"Hmm," Doge hummed, tapping his fingers on his chin. "Did you agree with Albus? About Mr. Malfoy not being committed to his mission."
"I've never known a Malfoy to do anything halfway," Olivia said with a sardonic laugh and she could have sworn both Mr. Malfoy and Draco smirked. "Even though Draco wasn't a fully mature wizard, I think if he really wanted to kill someone then he would have succeeded."
"Miss Potter, are you able to confirm Mr. Malfoy's story? Was it really Severus Snape who killed Albus?"
"Yes," Olivia's voice was rich with conviction. "Dumbledore was already sick, terminally ill. Professor Snape was a double agent, loyal to Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wanted Draco to kill him so, he ordered Snape to gain Draco's trust, to help him with whatever needed to be done that year and when the time came to simply finish him off. Dumbledore wanted to spare Draco the guilt of taking a life because he knew that wasn't the kind of person Draco was."
The courtroom was silent, every witch and wizard transfixed by the details Olivia was reiterating.
"We've never been friendly," she said without missing a beat. "but I know Draco as a student and a fellow athlete…he's always been determined, intelligent and sometimes cruel, but I can tell you without a doubt that he is not a murderer. He did not murder Albus Dumbledore. That whole year he was a miserable wreck. Voldemort threatened to kill his whole family, he didn't have a choice but to try and play along for their sake. He was a sixteen year old; what was he supposed to do?"
A quiet murmur buzzed throughout the courtroom.
Doge banged his little gavel. "Order," he commanded. "Explain to the court how the Malfoys helped you during the war Miss Potter?"
"At end of April my friends and I were captured by Voldemort's secret police—"
"By secret police, you mean the group called Snatchers?"
"Yes, Chief Doge. The Snatchers caught us and brought us to Malfoy Manor. Hermione Granger put a jinx and a hex on me that messed up my features. No one knew who I was for sure, but Bellatrix Lestrange was convinced that I was Olivia Potter. She wanted to summon Lord Voldemort straight away, but Mr and Mrs Malfoy wanted to be certain. Draco was the only person who could identify me, but he didn't."
Chief Warlock Doge and the stenographer paused and riffled through the notes, whispering back and forth. None of the Malfoys had been asked about this night during their testimonies.
"The way that he looked at me that night made me believe that he knew who I was. Draco could have sold me out and restored favor within the Dark Lord's circle, but he chose not to. If it weren't for Draco, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and I wouldn't have made it to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts."
There was another quiet roar of chatter echoing through the courtroom dungeon.
"Can you tell the members of the Wizengamot how the Malfoys helped you on May the 2nd?"
Olivia leaned back in her chair and tried to recall that night. Minister Shaklebolt and Olivia felt that the true events of how she had come to defeat Voldemort should only be known on a need-to-know basis. The only people who knew the all the gory details about the prophecy and the horcruxes, that were still alive, were the Minister, Ron, Hermione and Olivia.
"I had gone into the Forbidden Forrest, prepared to surrender. Voldemort and I dueled, he hit me with the Killing Curse, but I didn't die. The blast of the spell knocked me backwards several feet...as I laid on the—"
"Miss Potter," Doge gasped. "Are you confirming Mr and Mrs Malfoy's testimony? You were hit with the Killing Curse again and you did not die?"
Minister Shaklebolt and Olivia also agreed that since so many Death Eaters had witnessed her being hit by the Avada Kedavra spell, it would just fuel the mystique of the Girl Who Lived if the public believed she was simply immune to the curse rather than let everyone know about horcrux within her that spared her life. That last thing that anyone needed was another Tom Riddle.
"As I said, I was hit with the curse and I didn't die," Olivia confirmed, ignoring the shocked faces before her. "Mrs. Malfoy was the closest to me. She leaned down and asked me if her son was alive. Mr and Mrs Malfoy hadn't been participating in the battle. From what I know, that didn't participate in the war at all. After I let Mrs. Malfoy know that Draco was live, she told the Dark Lord that I was dead."
"Why do you think Mrs. Malfoy helped you? Lied for you? Would you say that she and her husband switched sides?"
Olivia paused, her eyes gazing across the courtroom.
"I don't think it was about that," she said. "Again, based on my own conclusions and the testimony we've heard from the Malfoys today, I think that they defected from Voldemort because they were more loyal to each other than they were to him or me...but I don't think that's a bad thing."
More camera's flashed and Olivia was distracted by the scratching of furious quills on parchment notepads.
"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are parents who were held captive in their home. Their lives and the life of their only son were at the mercy of a psychopath. I believe they wanted to be reunited. They wanted to be free. They did what they needed to do to ensure their survival. The two times I thought for certain that I was done for, it was a Malfoy saved my life. Their assistance, regardless of their true allegiance, was critical and I will be eternally grateful to them."
Chief Doge banged his gavel with three sharp taps. "Thank you, Miss Potter. The court has no further questions. You may step down."
In order for Olivia to make it back to her seat she had to pass the defendant's box. As she walked by the Malfoys she was stopped by someone gripping her wrist. Startled, Olivia paused and looked down to find Lucius staring at her. She arched her eyebrow in question to his bizarre behavior only to be further surprised when the Malfoy patriarch whispered a simple, "Thank you."
Author's Note: What do you think of Graham?(Just to be clear, no Ginny Weas in this fic. Arthur and Molly had Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Graham). And Lucius —Malfoy's don't do gratitude. I've decided that this story will jump from the present to the past a lot. Do you want to see more of the past in the next chapter or do you just want to know who the baby daddy is?
