Chapter 11
Request and Consent
The office for the National Trust of Magical Creatures had barricaded itself from all visitors bar a select few Ministry employees. McColl made the managerial decision and tightened security around the office from snooping journalists and photographers. When Mrs. Khan explained to McColl, Justin and Artemis that Hermione went home yesterday morning, they all agreed to not engage with reporters out of respect for their colleague. Today the office felt oddly silent and empty with the lack of two forceful personalities in the room.
"Did anyone read the Prophet today?" Artemis asked, and Mrs. Khan sniffed disdainfully in response.
"I've known Hermione since first year, and I was in Dumbledore's Army with her." Justin spoke up, "That Rita Skeeter is full of bollocks!"
"I don't want to believe it, but I saw Rolfe Shepherds come into work today. He's wearing an eye patch. Surely that can't be faked." Artemis whispered.
"I don't know what happened, but I refuse to believe that Hermione is capable of any of the rubbish that Skeeter hag wrote." He defended even louder.
"Justin, if you must gossip do not raise your voice. Some of us have work to do." Mrs. Khan quipped. The room became tensely silent except for the scratching of quills and the rustle of parchments.
The first impression Hermione got from Veronica Hale was one of sternness. Her wide face was milky smooth with solemn, tightly pursed lips. After Harry's referral, Hermione did her research and found Veronica to have a formidable reputation not only in the British wizarding world, but also in Muggle law as well. People who knew her had spoken in equal measures of fear and admiration, exactly what Hermione was going to need.
Sitting across from each other at the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, Hermione straightened her already neat pile of law books as Veronica poised a self-writing quill set up over a fresh parchment. The woman was impeccably dressed in a perfect
"I understand that you wish to file two cases against Rolfe Shepherds on the accounts of attempted sexual assault and defamation. Is that correct?" Veronica's voice was low and precise.
"Yes, I do. I want legal advice on the best way to ensure he pays for his crimes."
"Well then Miss Granger. I understand that Auror Potter has officially recorded evidence from yourself, including memories extracted within 24 hours of the crime, and a testimony under Veritaserum. However, as your legal advisor, I must warn you that every past action of yours will be scrutinised publicly." The barrister cleared her throat and her small lips pursed even tighter.
"I don't say this to you to dissuade you from going forward, but when I say every past action, I mean every action. Every date, encounter or flirtation would be scrutinised. Every rumour and gossip said or written about you will resurface. Are you prepared for that? Do you have the necessary people to support you, who won't turn on you no matter what?"
Hermione nodded. "I am prepared, thank you."
"Have you received any response in regard to yesterday's article, such as mail or visits?"
"A handful of letters and three howlers." Hermione said as she lifted a thick stack of letters from behind the books. She dared not open the letters, but the howlers were unavoidable. It never ceased to amaze her, the viciousness of the public, who felt compelled to write and express their opinions of her.
"I received a letter from the Ministry which requested I take 'a leave of absence' too." The quill wrote exactly what Hermione said and Veronica frowned in thought.
"We would need to file those letters and any future letters as evidence, which I'm sure Auror Potter can do for us." Veronica paused as her slender hand reached across the table to hold one of Hermione's.
"I promise to you that I will do everything I can, but you must understand there's a possibility that we may not win both, if not either of these cases. Are you willing to continue based upon this fact?" Hermione nodded in response to Veronica's hard stare.
"In that case Miss Granger, I will file these two cases against Mr. Shepherds with the Wizengamot by the end of the day. Do you consent?"
"I do consent."
The tapping of Hermione's fingers reverberated from the high-vaulted ceilings and across the highly polished, scuff free parquet floors where she waited. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, noted a large portrait of white peacocks pecking amongst a hedgerow. The room was completely silent, in contrast to the franticness of the city outside the old windows. Throngs of suited men and women walked passed, oblivious to this grand sandstone building; enveloped by skyscrapers. She tried to remain calm, but there is something nerve wrecking about a long wait in a quiet reception area.
None of the distractions quelled her bubbling anxiety while she waited. The past week had been a whirlwind and there had not been a lot of time where she was alone with her own thoughts. Especially now that she had temporarily moved to Grimmauld Place. Her friends had been good about keeping her company.
Hearing the brass door knob next to her chair click, Hermione turned her head to see the sleekly dressed witch who had greeted her earlier step through the door.
"Miss Granger, he's ready to see you now." She said in a cool professional manner.
Standing, Hermione smoothed out her trousers as she followed the witch out of the reception and up a set of plushily carpeted stairs. Reaching the top, they went down a long corridor lined with grey doors, distinctively black double doors at the end.
"He's just through here Miss Granger."
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she straighten her shoulders before she strode into the office. There, standing beside his desk in all his immaculate glory was Draco Malfoy. His blonde hair was perfectly styled, and the navy waistcoat and trousers brought out the silver shimmer in his eyes.
"Good morning, Miss Granger." The door was closed behind her and Draco gestured for her to sit in front of his large walnut desk. A swarm of butterflies started fluttering in Hermione's stomach and she stroked her bag absentmindedly.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Those silver eyes pierced her with a concentrated stare that quite took her breath away until she remembered why she came to his office.
*flashback*
"Why can't I ask Ron?"
Her protest echoed against the hanging pots in the Grimmauld Place kitchen. The self-writing quill continued to scratch out her exact words onto the endless length of parchment.
The severe barrister remained expressionless in a cool collected poise.
"Your relationship with him is too well known and the Wizengamot might consider it biased. Are you sure there isn't any other wizard you can ask as a character witness?"
Hermione thought about it deeply. "There is someone I could ask but I'm not sure if he would agree."
The stern barrister nodded in understanding.
"Would you like to disclose a name and I can ask them?"
Hermione hesitated with confusion. Whichever answer she gave may or may not be the right one.
"Maybe it's best if I ask him myself."
There was no doubt the beautiful, bushy-haired woman who sat before him had been on his mind a lot lately. Hermione's face was more gaunt than he remembered and her make up didn't quite cover the dark circles under her eyes. The stressed appearance made his chest tighten, he never wanted to see her look anything but happy.
There was a knock on the door and his secretary walked in with a tray for tea service.
"Thank you. Please don't let anyone interrupt this meeting." His secretary nodded in understanding and left them alone again.
"White, no sugar?" He offered.
"Yes please." Hermione cleared her throat as he carefully made two cups of tea. One with two sugar, another without. As he wondered why she was here he noticed her fingers, fidgeting with nerves. Even though he had been following the news closely, he saw no reason for her presence in his office.
Draco passed her cup of tea to her and the lightest brush of her fingers on his hand left him with a tingle.
"How have you been Draco?"
"Are you here for small talk?" Taking a bite of his shortbread, he took a sip of tea and wondered what had her so nervous that she was procrastinating getting to the point of their meeting.
"Have you read the news lately?"
"It is part of my business to know what's happening in society." He kept his face clear of emotions, but he was confused on where she was going with her questions.
"Are you aware that I'm taking Rolfe Shepherds to the Wizengamot?"
"I am. I never liked him anyway." His jaw clenched at the thought of that brute who had tried to lay his hands on Hermione. That monster had tried to take someone filled with so much life and love, without it being given to him. It sickened Draco completely.
It brought back memories of the war. He never forgot. He never forgot that the woman in front of him was the one hundred and seventy fourth person to be tortured in front of his own eyes. Her twisted, contoured body, and the pitch of her shrieks branded were in his mind. Something he will never be able to erase, not even with magic. He regretted that he didn't do more that day. He promised himself that he would never see his classmates like that again.
"My barrister is building a case against him and a large part of it involves the allegations he made about my 'sexual reputation.'"
"I didn't believe that rubbish." The memory of scrunching up that day's paper and throwing it across the room stayed vividly with him.
"Thank you, Draco." The sincerity was evident on her face.
"You're welcome. But that isn't all you came to tell me is it?"
"There is more actually." His stomach clenched in anticipation. "My barrister suggests I have a character witness in court to provide a testimony. They are to provide evidence for my 'good character.'"
"That shouldn't be a problem for you then. Who did you ask?"
Hermione's eyebrows furrowed together as she gazed at him with her chocolate eyes. It became very clear to him why she was sat in his office. It wasn't for any pleasantries. His throat became tight with unease.
"Me?"
"Would you, please?" She pleaded.
Mystified by her reasoning. "Why me?"
"My barrister will question you on our relationship, the… romantic one."
"That does mean I will talk about our… romantic relationship in public. Is that what you want?"
"I need this in order to win my case."
It was slightly amusing and inevitable to Draco that the very reasonable Hermione Granger would plead with rationality. Even though that wasn't what he wanted to hear. What did he want her to tell him? That she was proud of their relationship? That perhaps she felt something for him?
"This is quite a serious situation Hermione. I'm going to need time to think about it."
"I understand. This might sound ridiculous coming from me and I would never have imagined in all my years at school I would say this but… please Draco. I'm pleading with you to help me with this."
"Give my information to your barrister and have them contact me in a day or so with all the details. I need time to consider."
Her shoulders slumped as she sipped her tea before carefully placeing back on the tray.
"Thank you for your time Draco. I won't take up any more of it." She stood up and held out her hand to shake his.
He stood up and took her hand. Only to bend down and left a featherlight kiss on her knuckle. Her eyes were wide with surprise, like the first time so many months ago.
"Take care of yourself Hermione." It was loaded with all his feelings and what he could not say out loud. She gave him a small smile as she withdrew her hand.
"I always do."
It had been over a fortnight since Veronica Hale's last meeting with Hermione. They sat down again in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. By now Hermione had fully moved in as journalists hung around her apartment and the Ministry. Despite the reading she had been doing on laws, she couldn't help but felt claustrophobic. She had a new level of sympathy and understanding for Sirius Black when he was stuck in the same house in the last year of his life.
"I have taken a look at your memories and I have some good and bad news." Veronica explained in her collected voice. The self-writing quill etched across the parchment with her every word.
"I prefer the bad news first." Hermione shifted in her seat to brace herself.
"The bad news is that your memories are fragmented, and I believe the Wizengamot will view that as unreliable evidence. The good news is that three witnesses at the bar have come forward."
"What about the testimony I took under veritaserum?"
"That will help solidify your case. Nevertheless, under our new wizardry rights, we cannot give someone veritaserum without their knowledge & consent. So, if Mr. Shepherds doesn't consent to veritaserum for his testimony, we would have different accounts of the events."
"Wouldn't that prove he's guilty?"
"Not necessarily, because the Wizengamot has to take all evidence into consideration."
The worry of them losing this case weighed upon Hermione in silence. The only sounds in the kitchen came from the quill and the gentle rumbling of the Aga oven.
Veronica cleared her throat before moving through her notes. "I have sent a formal letter to one of your character witnesses, Mr. Draco Malfoy. Unfortunately, he hasn't responded to my request."
"But the trial is next week."
"Unlike in British muggle court, we don't have to submit all the evidence for the other party to review before the court date. Therefore, we still have time to persuade Mr. Malfoy.
"Let's move on to the next point. The preliminary evidence from both parties have been submitted. I can review the evidence given by Mr. Shepherds' barrister. What immediately appears to bring up a red flag from the defendant is the medical report of Mr. Shepherds, dated the day after the event. It is a statement from the healer over Mr. Shepherds' right eye. In the simplest terms, some kind of object pierced through the eye and ruptured through the cornea and the ciliary muscle. The healers concluded that Mr. Shepherds' has been blinded and would have to wait until he can have surgery for an eyeball replacement."
Hermione absently nodded to every word said to her. Did she really do that? She was so terrified, and her body had moved instinctively to protect herself.
"From your testimony, you pulled out your wand in self-defence. Therefore, we can conclude the wand was the described object. In court, we will have more questions about necessary force for self-defence. I will need you to describe how you escaped from the event. Can you do that Hermione?" Veronica's voice didn't ask but demanded her to be strong.
"I can." She replied, and the self-writing quill sealed her resolve in ink on parchment.
AN: Oh my god. I'm sorry it had taken so long since the last update. I hope this makes up for it.
Thank you for the support and special thanks to my beta Tridogmom who's support has been incredible.
