As Christmas fell on a Saturday this year, Draco and I are able to spend Sunday together before he has to go back to work on Monday. We spend the entire day lounging around and playing with Skylar, as well as giving our Christmas gifts a closer examination. By the time the day has ended, we've learned how to and have successfully stored more than a dozen memories in our pensieve and have found places for all our gifts and put them away.
Still being exhausted from all the Christmas excitement yesterday, we go to bed very early. We are awoken around four a.m. by the sound of Skylar's crying from the nursery next door, which Draco amplified with a Sonorus Charm a while back. When I start peeling the green covers off myself to get up and see what the baby needs, Draco tells me to stay put; he says that he'll take care of Skylar so I can go back to sleep. I protest and insist that I've got it, since Draco has to be up early in the morning for work and therefore needs his rest. Draco will have none of it, however, and I eventually give in to his persistence and my drooping eyelids and fall back asleep.
Though I'd love to go straight back to sleep when Draco accidentally wakes me as he's getting ready for work Monday morning, I force myself to get out of bed, remembering that Narcissa and I have a very busy day today; we have to go to Diagon Alley to order the flowers for my and Draco's wedding. As the wedding is only a month and a half away, Narcissa and I are going to be extremely busy from here on out as we try to make the final preparations; we weren't able to get much done before Christmas because I was recovering from giving birth to Skylar. Now, however, I'm nearly one hundred percent better and was cleared by my healer, Mrs. Taylor, at my eight weeks post-delivery checkup to get back into the swing of everyday activities, including the frantic wedding preparations.
As soon as we've finished dressing, Draco and I go downstairs to have a quick breakfast with Lucius and Narcissa, after which the men leave for their jobs at the Ministry of Magic and I go upstairs to feed Skylar and get him ready for the trip to Diagon Alley with Narcissa and me. The three of us spend nearly the entire day in the Alley, choosing beautiful purple flowers and various other wedding decorations, before finally making our way home around three p.m.
When Draco and Lucius return from work a couple of hours later, Draco half-heartedly asks how the wedding shopping went with a crease in his brow and a troubled look on his face. Instead of answering him, I immediately ask what's wrong. Draco refuses to answer, however, but assures me that he'll explain everything later. Temporarily satisfied but still curious, I begin describing the day's activities to him in the hopes of lightening his mood. The Malfoys and I eat dinner a short while later, after which I entrust Skylar to his grandmother's care and practically drag Draco up to our bedroom, hoping that now he'll tell me what's on his mind.
We take a seat next to each other on the sofa that sits at the end of our bed, and Draco lets out a heavy sigh; I take his hand reassuringly and urge him to tell me what's wrong. Without looking at me, he states simply, "They've set a date for the trial."
"Oh," I say suddenly, sounding much calmer than I feel. For some reason, my heart feels as though it's in my stomach as I begin to think about the trial Draco's mentioned, as well as the events leading up to it.
Back before Christmas, when Skylar was only a week old, a very scary-looking man broke into Malfoy Manor and tried to take him from me. As Draco and Lucius were home at the time, no harm was done, and the culprit, a werewolf, was apprehended. Before Lucius used the killing curse to end the werewolf's bloody life, he and Draco got as much information from him as they could. They discovered that the plot to take Skylar had been formulated by none other than Fenrir Greyback, the most notorious and feared werewolf known to wizard kind. Draco was unable to discover the reason for Greyback's interest in our son, but he did discover the name of another of Greyback's accomplices.
One of Draco and Lucius' coworkers within the Ministry, a man by the surname of Savage, had apparently helped the intruder gain access to the Malfoy Manor grounds. Immediately after ending the intruder's life, Lucius had gone straight to the home of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic and one of his close friends, and demanded Savage's arrest and punishment, the first of which he received the very next day. As the Christmas holiday had been rapidly approaching at the time, however, no date had been set for the trial at which Savage's punishment would be determined. Apparently now, however, that has changed, and I have very mixed feelings about it.
The Malfoys and I have been anxious to see justice done upon the man who assisted in the almost-kidnapping of the newest member of the Malfoy family. It is strange, then, that now that a date has been set, even though I don't know the date yet, I'm nervous. I don't exactly know why I'm nervous, and I really have no reason to be, but I'm nervous nonetheless. Completely lost in these feelings and my thoughts, I haven't even noticed that Draco's sensed my uneasiness and has been calling my name for the past several minutes. He finally shakes my arm gently, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to the current situation.
"Oh, sorry!" I reply quickly with a blink of my eyes and a shake of my head. "I guess I spaced out for a moment."
"It's all right, love," he replies, still seeming concerned. "I was just asking you how you feel about the news."
"Fine," I lie quickly. "How long have we got before the big day?"
"That's just it," Draco replies cautiously, "we don't have to attend."
"Draco, that man was almost responsible for our son being kidnapped… of course we're going to the trial!" I reply, shocked at his implication.
"Darling, you're missing my point," he says softly as he looks deep into my blue eyes. "What I'm saying is that I'm going to the trial… but I don't want you to."
Knowing Draco the way I do, I know he's only suggesting this was a way to protect me, but that doesn't make me feel any less shocked or hurt. "What?" I ask immediately; I notice Draco wince as I do so and he immediately goes to his own defense.
"Baby please, just hear me out," he says, holding his hands up in front of himself. "I'm only saying this for your protection," he continues. "The trial's going to be very emotional and intense… Savage's family will be there, and so will tons of reporters for the Daily Prophet. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the outcome is going to upset you, no matter what it is, because it'll remind you of what happened the day that werewolf broke in. And it'd be even worse on you if you were at the trial; I won't have Savage's family and the reporters hounding you and upsetting you even more. If you're going to get upset about the outcome, I'd rather be the one to tell you, and I'd rather for you to be here at home when I tell you so I can comfort you."
Having finished pleading his case, Draco eyes me apprehensively and takes a deep breath in, waiting for my reaction. "What do you mean about Savage's family and the reporters hounding me?" I ask.
"Love," Draco replies, "Savage's family is desperate. They're going to do and say anything they can to try and get him out of trouble. They'll say horrible things about our family and try to embarrass us; they'll try their best to make us look bad in an effort to make it look like Savage doesn't deserve to be punished for what he did." Draco hesitates for a moment, and I can tell he's trying to decide whether or not he should say the next thing that's popped into his mind. After visibly struggling with the decision for a moment, he continues. "Darling, they're probably going to bring up the fact that Skylar was born before we were married, and that we're living together."
I feel my cheeks flush at this statement. "What does that have to do with anything?" I ask, admittedly hurt by the idea that someone would try to use that against the Malfoy family.
"Nothing, love," Draco replies as he caresses my cheek tenderly and casts me a reassuring gaze. "It has nothing to do with what he did, but that won't stop them from trying to use it against us, in front of an entire courtroom and the press." Now understanding what Draco meant when he said the family and the press would hound me, I gaze down at the floor in shame and fall into silence.
In an effort to lift my spirits, Draco places his finger beneath my chin and lifts my face so that our eyes are meeting. "You've got nothing to be ashamed about," he says firmly. "It's just that trials are pure hell, I just wanted to prepare you for what I know is coming. People will do anything to get their loved ones out of trouble for the crimes they've committed, and I don't want you witnessing that and getting all upset just because someone's grasping for straws to get them out of trouble. Besides, you could lose control of your powers and hurt yourself. The courtroom really isn't a place for a respectable woman anyway; my father is asking Mum not to go either."
"So, there aren't going to be any women at the trial?" is all I can manage to ask. Seeming puzzled that I've asked this question, Draco replies.
"Perhaps members of the jury or Savage's family members," he says, "but no others. Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle are going, but they say that Pansy, Mary and Martha won't be going either. And their fathers are going, also, but not their mothers. In fact, Father and I thought that perhaps all the women could meet up over here, for… you know… emotional support, for you and Mum."
I consider everything Draco has said for a moment and open my mouth to respond, but he cuts me off. "I know you think you should be there, and I know you feel like a child when I get so protective of you, but this is very, very important to me," he says, looking into my eyes pleadingly as he does so. "Please," he continues, "don't fight me on this. Please promise me you won't go to the trial."
Taking this plea into consideration, I pause to think once more. I know my future husband is only doing what he thinks is best for me, and I love him for it. Therefore, if it really means so much to him, I decide that I'll agree to go along with his wishes; I don't want to cause him any unnecessary grief at such a stressful time.
"Okay, Draco," I reply quietly. "I promise… I won't go to the trial." At this, Draco breathes a sigh of relief and pulls me close to him.
"Thank you," he whispers in my ear. We sit in the same spot embracing for a while before he speaks again. "So, how do you really feel about all this?" he asks in my ear.
"Nervous," I reply with a heavy sigh, feeling butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
"Me too," he says quietly. We continue to sit in silence hugging for a while longer and then Draco pulls away from me. "What do you think about all the ladies coming over here during the trial?" he asks.
"Well, although it's always a bit awkward with Mary and Martha around," I reply matter-of-factly as I think about Crabbe and Goyle's strange, childish and annoying giggling girlfriends, "I think it's a great idea. We'd be able to keep each other distracted and comfort each other as well." Draco smiles in response to my statement and gives me a kiss on the forehead. Looking deep into his eyes, a question crosses my mind, and I don't hesitate to ask it. "So, what are the possible outcomes of the trial?" I ask uncertainly. "What could happen?" Draco's brow furrows and he considers this for a moment before speaking.
"Well, he's certainly not going to get away with it, no matter how much his family tries to save him, if that's what you're wondering," he replies. Though feeling unsure about this, I nod my head in response, but feel somewhat dissatisfied with the answer I've received.
"As far as the punishments he could receive, though," I ask, "what are the possibilities?" "Well," he begins, "the Ministry doesn't sentence people to death, no matter what crime they've committed. Of course, my father doesn't like that too much; he thinks Savage deserves to die for what he did… he's already been talking to the Minister about making an exception in Savage's case, but Fudge says his hands are tied as it's just a case of attempted kidnapping."
Hearing the word 'death' causes a cold chill to run up my spine, but I don't interrupt Draco, and he continues. "The absolute worst punishment the Ministry ever gives out is having a Dementor suck out the person's soul," he says. Though I've never seen a Dementor, I've heard that they are very nasty creatures. The words themselves, "suck out the person's soul", sound absolutely horrible, and I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like. I shudder as another cold chill involuntarily runs up my spine, but continue to listen to Draco, who is now staring off into the distance in contemplation.
"After that," he says more to himself than to me, "the next punishment is life in Azkaban. And then there are smaller sentences of about ten years or so. Of course, anyone who stays in Azkaban that long spends the rest of their life in St. Mungo's Mental Ward." I gasp and look up at Draco in horror at this statement, and he seems to realize he's said too much; he immediately looks down at me seeming embarrassed.
"Sorry, love," he says apologetically. I nod my head in response, indicating my forgiveness as I contemplate which of the punishments that Draco's mentioned will be given to Savage. Though I do want the criminal to be punished for his actions, I know that Draco was correct when he said that I'd be upset at any outcome. I know it will be very upsetting to me if Savage receives too harsh a punishment; I'll feel guilty. But I also know that if he receives too lenient a punishment, I'll live in fear that he'll do something else to harm Skylar someday. I contemplate this for a few moments, but find it too stressful a thought to dwell on.
"Oh Draco," I say with a sigh after a few moments as I lay my head on his shoulder, "I know we've been waiting ages for this, but do you think we're really ready to go through all this? To find out Savage's punishment, I mean?"
"I hope so," he says quietly, "because the trial is tomorrow."
Author's Note: Surprise! I've been working tirelessly to get this next chapter up for you all, and I'm working on another as we speak! I'm sorry if the action seems to be starting a bit too early here as it's only the 2nd chapter, but we've got a LOT of ground to cover in this book! Please let me know what you think!