Hello Lovely Readers!

Ok, here's the next bit. It's pretty simple and there's little to no plot development but I swear the next chapter will be better. Let me know what you think too! I need reviews to see where this story is going to go so don't be stingy!

Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy it, even if it does make your brain go *poof!*

Chapter Four: The Morning After

They walked out into the Atrium in silence, Hermione silently brooding and thinking over what her next plans would be now that she knew who the prosecution was. Knowing Malfoy, he would have a team just as skilled as her own in place to help him damage her case, though unlike her he wouldn't have a shortage of people lining up to help him. She promised herself that she would figure it out later. Three in the morning was hardly any time to think.

"Lavender," she turned to the girl next to her, "I want you to go home and collect your things. You move in tonight."

She turned to Harry.

"The same goes for you," she said, "Just tell Ginny that I'm going to need you for most of the year. If Ron hasn't told her and the rest of his family why by now, I'll eat my wand."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Harry nodded, "And it's not like I won't be able to see her-"

She suddenly latched onto his arm, stopping him in his tracks and stared him hard in the face.

"Harry," she said quietly, "If it weren't for the mix of her temper and her history with Malfoy I would have her move in too, for safety purposes, but because she finds it hard to control herself at the best of times…If you want her to stay safe you will stay as far away from her as possible."

"Hermione the public aren't going to go nuts-"

"You saw who the prosecution was," she said hotly, "If Draco can put all of his effort into sending his own father to prison, what do you think the rest of the wizarding world is going to do? Just sit there and twiddle its thumbs? You've seen the horrors of this world just as much as I have," he flinched slightly as her voice became deathly cold, "You know what these people have done, what Lucius Malfoy has done…nothing we say or do will stop his victims trying to exact revenge on him and punish us for defending him."

He stood there and looked at her for a few moments, knowing that she was right. Wizards had been known to go to extreme measures in the past on both sides of the line. While Voldemort had been more open about it, there had been those behind the curtains on the side of the ministry, on the side of the Order, whose minds had been in such dark places that they resorted to anything to get what they thought they wanted. And when they had it…they wept for their mistakes. The Wizarding world would feel guilty if they hurt Lavender or Rabastan or Snape or Hermione or himself…or Ginny. He wasn't willing to let it come to that.

"Go home to your wife," Hermione whispered to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, "See her one last time before things get ugly."

He nodded, gave her one last hug and then disappeared inside a fireplace. Hermione then took a deep breath and turned to face Rabastan.

"Your child will not be so fortunate will she?" She asked him.

He shook his head and she sighed.

"Bring her with you when you move in," she told him.

He looked at her, shocked and slightly confused at her generosity. She gave him a soft and weary smile, one that truly showed how tired she was. The day had been long for the both of them and the days would only get longer now.

"You are doing me a great favour by helping me defend a man that you truly hate," she said softly, "If I can do something to ease your state of mind concerning your family then I will. She is an innocent. She doesn't deserve to be punished by the evils of the world like we were."

He gave her a nod of understanding.

"Bring her tonight and put her to bed. My wards will be down for you," she told him, "We'll meet everyone at breakfast and begin introductions and planning in the morning."

He nodded one more and he too disappeared into a fireplace. Hermione gave one last look around before she flooed back to her home. She staggered out of the fire place with a heavy sigh and threw her outer robes onto her couch before collapsing onto it herself. What a day this had been…and a successful one at that. She leaned her head back against the back and closed her eyes. Not all days would be this successful. After now seeing who the prosecution was, after now seeing what lengths she would have to go to, to have the simplest of motions passed, it was only obvious that she would never be able to get all the charges dropped.

"Miss Granger?"

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Severus and Lucius standing in the doorway. They were both the epitome of calm as they looked at her, though subtle changes in Severus alerted her to slight concern for her physical person. She gave him a weak smile to show she was alright. He would never admit that he cared for her, even if it was only slightly, but just the fact that he did was enough.

"Don't you know that it's rude to disturb your hostess while she's sleeping?" She asked tiredly.

"Perhaps we wouldn't if said hostess went to bed," Severus told her sardonically.

She rolled her eyes at him but said nothing.

"How did the hearing go?" He asked her. Lucius stayed at the doorway as Severus came to sit by her, conjuring a cup of tea out of thin air and passing it over to her.

"Well," she said dramatically after a sip, "It has now come to my attention that this case is going to be far more difficult than I thought."

"How so?" Lucius asked, finally moving from the door to stand by her coffee table.

"On top of the fact that the entire wizarding world will be out to get me by morning," she told him acidly, "You have several members of the Order of the Phoenix on the Wizenagmot. I have a feeling you would be there too Severus if I hadn't gotten to you first."

"Who elected them?" He asked her.

"I think that it may have been Umbridge," she moaned, "That woman has been a thorn in my side ever since I left her to the centaurs."

Malfoy looked confused.

"Don't ask," Severus told him.

"Surely having the Order on the stands would make it an advantage for us," Malfoy stated.

"Unfortunately Mr Malfoy, your reputation is far greater than mine," she told him coldly, "If you were any other person this would be a big deal of help. However you are who you are and we can not change that, nor can we obliviate twenty five members of the Wizenagmot."

"Twenty five?" Severus asked incredulously, "Out of fifty? Umbridge could not have ordered such a number to be replaced."

"No but she still has enough money to bribe at least six originals to leave," she told him, "Another four put in for retirement about a week ago, eight are away on vacation in France, Spain or Yemen and the rest would have been arrested for certain indecent acts in their youth and forced out as a deal so that they wouldn't have their gold taken off them. Umbridge would then swoop in when the Minister is at a crisis trying to find decent people to take their place that would be unbiased, and she would tell him that she would take care of it. The Minister would then whole heartedly approve all the Order members she's gone and listed, having more faith in them than what he should. He's naïve to think that they'll be objective and Umbridge knows this very well. This means we now have to fight twice as hard."

The two of them stared at her with mild surprise on their faces as she leaned back against the couch once more.

"This also means that the case will be put forward a few months," she stated.

"They can't do that," Severus said quietly.

"They can if they have half the votes," she told him with a dark smile, "Malfoy will put in a motion-"

"Malfoy?" Lucius asked quietly, his mask finally breaking, his shocked silence now revealed.

"Oh did I forget to mention?" Hermione with deliberate exaggeration, "Your son is trying to put you in prison. So sorry about that."

Lucius looked deep in thought as he turned away from her and leaned against the fireplace. His head was bowed and his brow was creased. He said nothing more to her and Hermione had a feeling that the way she had let him know stung him quite a bit. Good.

"As I was saying," she picked up where she left off, "Malfoy will put in for a motion to have the trial date moved forward. I have a feeling that he'll ask for two weeks from now but the Wizenagmot will take pity on me and give me at least four weeks before this madness begins."

"Why would he ask for it to be moved forwards?" Severus asked sceptically, "Surely he would relish all the time he has to build a case-"

"To save himself personal embarrassment," Lucius cut in, "That was the first thing I taught him when he was a boy. Do everything you can to save face. Not only that, there will be a long line of those willing to testify against me and no shortage of evidence. He doesn't need months to build a case."

"And I do," Hermione finished for him, "He's got everything he needs so he's going to do what he can to make sure I'm as under prepared as possible."

"What makes you think your predictions are going to come true?" Lucius asked her, "Last time I looked you were no seer."

"There's a reason I'm the smartest witch of my age Mr Malfoy," she told him icily, "And there's a reason why I'm the best there is in my department. I may not be able to see the future, but I do see people."

"She tells the truth Lucius," Severus said quietly, "She was able to predict my entire trial based upon who was there and what was said during the first hearing. Although I believe this method has its faults," she smirked at this, "It can be useful."

"What method?" Lucius asked as he turned to face them.

"We'll discuss it in the morning," Hermione told him as she stood from the couch, "Thank you for the tea but I would rather like to go to bed now. Severus, your room is just across from mine and Mr Malfoy's is next to yours. I think you'll remember the lay out of my house quite easily. Goodnight."

With that, she walked up her stairs to her bedroom hallway and closed the door behind her with a soft click, falling onto her bed in a heap of hair, clothes and shoes until the first morning light.

***

She woke the next day to the smell of coffee. Strong, rich, wonderful coffee. She opened her eyes slowly, letting her other senses kick in. She could smell the coffee, taste the dryness of her tongue, see her bedroom ceiling and feel the blanket that had been draped over her sometime during the early hours of the morning. Harry must have been in to see that she was alright. She stretched out from under the duvet and noticed that she had been stripped down into her under garments. Yep, definitely Harry. Only he could invade her privacy like that without being heard, seen or murdered. She didn't mind in the slightest that he had undressed her. It was like after Ron's welcome home party; he only did it to make sure she was more comfortable. She even did it to him on occasion. Their relationship was so closely plutonic that it just didn't matter anymore. She gave a slight yawn and looked at the clock noticing that it was well past ten. Considering she no longer had to go into work she didn't really care. She put on a black satin bath robe after she extracted herself from her bed and moved down to the kitchen slowly, listening for sounds of commotion. There was none. Obviously the rest of her new found housemates hadn't gotten up yet. She was more than prepared for a few brawls to break out during the course of this trial and there were more than a few pairings that she was expecting.

Rabastan and Harry were one. Harry was constantly throwing little jibs at the man any chance he got and Rabastan's temper wasn't exactly tame when it came to the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Kick-Voldemort's-Scaley-Behind. She also expected Rabastan to pick a fight with Severus at some point as well, considering there was still some bad blood there and the man was now responsible for Malfoy's safety. That was bound to piss anyone off.

Then of course she had the whole Severus and Harry possibility. There was no longer any doubt about the man's loyalty but Severus was still a snarky bastard at the best of times and there was still the whole Severus loving Lily thing that was constantly playing on Harry's mind as well as the nasty treatment that he had suffered at the professor's hands. It was also more than likely that Lavender would have a few choice words for Severus as well, considering none of their educations had been pleasant while in his hands, but Lavender was relatively easy to handle.

Then there was Malfoy and everyone else. She wasn't so naïve to think that Harry would hold back just because he was her friend, or that Rabastan would play nice because he was doing her a favour. She knew that they would all be out to get him just as much as the rest of the world only they would do it more subtly for Hermione's sake. That was mostly the reason she had appointed Severus to look after Lucius. He was the only man in the world who could stand to be in Malfoy's company and not want to kill him.

Hermione walked into the kitchen slowly, seeking out the coffee with interest. When she entered, she came face to chest with a half naked Rabastan.

"Would you mind putting a shirt on?" She asked him only half irritated as he helped her off the floor, "I prefer to knock into men who are fully dressed. That way Witch Weekly can't start any rumours."

"I'll keep that in mind," he laughed as he poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her.

"You're a god send you know that?" she sighed into her cup, taking a sip, "Oh Merlin it's strong too!"

"Don't get too excited," he said with a smirk, "Are you always this easily aroused?"

"Only when it comes to coffee," she told him through half lidded eyes and he chuckled before taking a sip of his own.

"I remember Harry tried to make me coffee once," she told him, "Back in sixth year after Slughorn's Christmas party, right before I was due to leave with my parents. I ended up spitting it all over Ron because he had put salt in there instead of sugar."

"Poor Weasley," he laughed.

"Not really," she told him with a smirk, "He was being a right prat that year."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until the subject at hand could no longer be ignored.

"So what's our plan going to be?" He asked her quietly, "There's no way that we can get all these charges dropped. Perhaps if he pleaded guilty-"

"No," she shook her head, "He won't do that."

"It's in his best interest-"

"It doesn't matter how much it's in his best interest," she told him, "He won't do it. He's just spent the last three years in hell. He won't go back there, no matter how much the sentence is reduced."

"We could have him kept under house arrest for the rest of his sentence," Rabastan shot back, "Prison isn't the only option."

"It's the only option the Wizenagmot will allow. You saw the looks on their faces last night. You don't need my powers of observation to know that they want him to hang."

"Then how will you change their minds?"

They each turned to see her other three staff members standing in the doorway, Malfoy having already made his way into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of tea. They were each in their night clothes, Malfoy and Severus the only ones who were fully dressed. Severus had obviously conjured him some robes. Harry was much like Rabastan, clad in only pyjama pants and Lavender was wearing a rather short nightdress. They each took their respective places at the table. Harry sat beside her on her right and Rabastan stayed to her left. Lavender sat next to Harry and Severus and Lucius took their places at the opposite end of the long dining table.

"You said that they already want him to hang?" Lavender asked.

"Who wouldn't," Harry muttered and Rabastan snorted. Hermione jabbed themm in the ribs.

"Be nice," she muttered to them both.

They each looked at her with disdain…before looking at each other with disdain…and then looking at Malfoy with equal disdain. So much disdain was not healthy in such a small kitchen.

"Perhaps now would be a good time for a miniature meeting before we get everything under way?" Hermione asked

"No time like the present," Lucius stated quietly while taking a sip of tea. It was remarkable that he could work a tea pot without magic, in her opinion. It was even more remarkable that he was being so civil. It was one thing for him to obey her when he was in dire need of her care but it was entirely another for him to sit there and take all the glares that were being sent to him around the room. Either he had had a drastic personality change in the last three years or Azkaban had damaged him even further than she had originally thought. Hermione turned to Rabastan.

"Where's your daughter?" She asked him softly.

"Still sleeping," he told her, "She probably won't be up until noon so we have plenty of time."

"Right then," she said loudly so that everyone could hear, "Let me just start by thanking you all for being here. I know it's not easy but without all of your help I wouldn't have a hope in hell of winning this case. I think it's safe to say that I'll owe you all for the next life time if this turns out well."

They all silently nodded in agreement, Malfoy staring at his tea in concentration.

"Why don't we start with introductions? We all know Severus and Harry and the jobs they will be doing for us," she continued, "We're going to need them more than anything when this trial starts. Lavender Brown," the girl nodded to her, "Will be my research assistant, for want of a better word."

Harry stared at her confusedly for a few moments and then back at Lavender who was smiling proudly. Malfoy just gazed at the girl with interest. She was one of the very few he had never met out on the battle field.

"Is there something I missed?" Harry asked, "For want of a better word?"

Snape rolled his eyes at the boy.

"No brain as always Potter," he sneered, "If you had been paying attention at the trial yesterday you would know what Miss Brown is supposed to do."

"At least I-"

"Enough!" Hermione said to the two of them, "You are not here to argue, you are here to listen," Harry stared away from the other man in distaste and Severus gave Hermione a small nod to continue, "Lavender will dig up any dirt on witnesses, the prosecution, the Wizenagmot and every spectator in that court room. We're going to need every piece of blackmail and dirty information we can get."

"I'm essentially a spy," Lavender jumped in, "Hermione needs a pair of eyes and ears in the ministry that will be able to hear the things she doesn't. After all, now that she's trying this case, people will hardly wish to talk to her anymore will they?"

"I wonder whose fault that is," Rabastan muttered.

"And what will you do with this information?" Malfoy asked Hermione, "I can hardly see you handing it over to the Aurors who will be most interested to hear that Garth Peterson was once caught by his mother torturing a small muggle child when he was thirteen."

"Well if that kind of information turns out to be true and I need Peterson's vote to keep you out of prison I will use it to blackmail him," she told him coldly.

"How very…Ungryffindorish of you," he smirked.

"I stopped playing at house rivalries a long time ago Mr Malfoy I suggest you do the same," she told him before returning to her original topic, "Rabastan Lestrange is here for the legal aspect of this trial. If there are any laws or regulations that I happen to miss, he'll pick it up for me. In addition to this, he'll take the witnesses that require special attention to detail when my mind is otherwise occupied with…other things."

"Other things?" Malfoy asked.

"You'll see once we get in there," she waved him off, "Rabastan is also there to make sure I don't go overboard."

"Overboard?" Severus asked.

"Think back to your trial Severus," she told him, "What was one thing I was constantly doing?"

With a small nod of his head she knew that he understood, even if the rest of the room was left confused. They would all see what she meant in due course.

"So if he is here for the legal role," Malfoy asked, "What will you do? I didn't hire you to sit there and look pretty"

"You didn't hire me at all," she told him icily, "I'm there for the performance."

He, Lavender and Harry looked at her quizzically. Severus rolled his eyes and Rabastan chuckled and took another sip of coffee.

"I think you'll have to explain it to them Granger," he said to her, "Not one of them has seen the inside of your mind before so they won't know how your methods work unless you tell them."

"And how do you know what's on the inside of her mind?" Harry asked sharply.

"I know what's on the inside of many things, Potter," he said with an evil smirk on his face. Hermione rolled her eyes and jabbed them both in the ribs again.

"He's been in court with me before Harry," she told him as he rubbed his side, "He was the prosecution while I was defending Narcissa."

Lucius ever so subtly raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He hadn't seen or heard from his ex-wife since he went to prison and he very much doubted that he ever would again.

"I want you to forget everything you've ever been told about court cases and the Wizenagmot," she said to them, "The first thing I learned when I entered the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was that guilt and innocence mean nothing if you don't know how to convey it. Trials aren't about facts or numbers or even the one being sentenced to life in prison. It's all about performance and choosing what kind of performance to give."

"I don't understand," Harry shook his head.

"Put it this way Potter," Rabastan took over, "Say your writing a play. The plot is brilliant, the lines are flawless and everyone who's read the script loves it. It could be the most brilliant piece of writing the world has ever seen but without decent actors it'll be a flop. For Granger it's the same with court cases. The prosecution could build up the best case possible, absolutely brilliant with all the witnesses and evidence lined up, but as long as we present our own case in the right way and we force them into the wrong performance, we can take them apart."

"I believe this is why the Minister came to me," Hermione said softly, "I know the Wizenagmot just enough to know how to play it and my powers of persuasion are just enough to put me in with a chance."

"You are that confident in yourself?" Malfoy asked her. Harry glared daggers at him.

"No," she told him, "But I can make it look like I am. I think it's also the reason why Draco was chosen. He's just as good at this game as I am if he puts his mind to it. He uses a similar method to mine but for it to work he needs to be completely in control of his emotions and that's why he's been kept off of the Death Eater trials until now. I think the one who chose him to prosecute you was hoping that he would be able to look past the personal aspects of this case…but from what I saw last night I don't think he'll be able too."

Malfoy kept his eyes firmly on his tea as she spoke and said nothing.

"I think your first job after breakfast Lavender," Hermione continued, "Will be to find out who's on his team. He's not an idiot; he won't go in this alone. And after that you'll need to find out who elected him for the job. Clearly they have no brain cells with the disaster their turning this trial into."

"Perhaps that is their intent?" Malfoy suggested, "Perhaps they wish to make a mockery of it to keep me in prison."

"Or cause Draco pain," Lavender suggested.

"Or drag out the trial," Severus jumped in.

"Or just to make my life difficult," Hermione finished, "Motive will be something you'll need to establish Lavender."

She gave a nod, conjuring a quill and parchment out of thin air to write it down.

"I think I'll be able to get some information out of the Department of Archives and Histories," she muttered, "And maybe if I manipulate your boss a bit I might be able to get something out of him too."

"He likes them with big breasts and red hair," Hermione informed her, "And has a thing for domination."

"How would you know?" Harry asked her, looking slightly frightened.

"You would be surprised what you hear through three walls and a water cooler," Hermione smirked and Rabastan cringed.

"I'll never forget that day," he shuddered, "I just happened to be walking by his office door when the woman started using the whip."

"After breakfast I'll need both Rabastan and Mr Malfoy in my upstairs office," she concluded, "We'll begin building our case then."