"Draco Malfoy, you sit before the full wizengamot to answer to your crimes committed during the war against He-who-must-not-be-named. As you came of age during this period of criminal activity, this council will be treating you as an adult. The charges are as follows…
That you did, knowingly and without the influence of any spells/potions, aid in the torture of several muggles, the kidnapping torture and imprisonment of Miss Hermione Jean Granger, and the destruction of Hogwarts under the orders of Tom Riddle Jr (also known as Lord Voldemort and He-who-must-not-be-named). Your prosecutors are Amos Diggory, head of magical law enforcement, and Mafalda Hopkirk, head of the misuse of magic office."
There was silence as Draco sat in chains, waiting for something to happen.
"The prosecution has collaborated and agreed that if you plead guilty, confess your crimes, and answer all our questions honestly, you will be given 15 years in Azkaban instead of the recommended life-sentence due to your age. We have decided that this is an incredibly lenient penance for the severity of your crimes." Diggory said dispassionately.
Shit. Draco thought, how ironic that he survived for this- this shit. Well, technically it is true, I guess, depending on your definition of aid.
"How do you plead?"
He opened his mouth, ready to say "guilty." Hermione was gone from his life; his parents were surely both going to be in Azkaban, so why shouldn't he join them. Plus, after spending that past few hours with some particularly unpleasant dementors, all he wanted was for all of this to be over so he could sleep.
BANG. The doors to the chamber flew open, and a robed figure walked into the room to stand in front of him, facing the council.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Hermione said.
"You are interfering with a wizengamot trial of a known death eater." Amos Diggory said, looking down on her. "Please wait outside the courtroom. We assure you, Miss Granger, that we will punish Mr. Malfoy for what he did to you."
"What he did to me! WHAT HE DID TO ME?!" She was loosing her temper.
"From my understanding, you are going to try Draco Malfoy for his crimes against me, without calling me to witness exactly what his perceived crimes are? Without even telling me that he was on trial? Where the hell is the justice in that? None of you were there. None of you know what happened. I DO! So no, I will not wait outside of the bloody courtroom while you get everything wrong and send him to Azkaban for something he didn't do. This is not the kind of justice that I fought for- this is a lynch mob masquerading as a court."
She paused to take a breath. Draco had never felt her this angry, he could feel it coming off of her in waves. She had obviously run here because she was disheveled and not dressed appropriately for court. In fact, as he looked more closely, Draco realized that she was wearing muggle running shoes under her robes. He probed her emotions through their bond, and he felt her anger, as well as a hint of apprehension and fear. She was worried about him. Despite his practically hopeless situation, he felt himself smile. Hermione cared.
"It hasn't even been two days since the end of the war. All of your 'evidence' is just gossip and rumors. Draco wasn't the one who kidnapped me. He wasn't the one who tortured me. He is innocent, and he was kept prisoner in that house just like I was. While I was in the manor with him, he risked his life repeatedly to help keep me safe. Everything he did wrong was done under extreme duress."
"Miss Granger, we cannot accept your testimony. As a victim of kidnapping, you may have formed bonds of attachment to your captors despite their atrocities. We cannot trust the truth of your testimony." Mafalda said patronizingly.
"We cannot prove that he doesn't have some sort of psychological hold on you still, my dear. Even muggles have the concept of Stockholm syndrome. You shouldn't have to go through the stress of a long, drawn out trial. We appreciate everything you did in the war, but please let us do our jobs and put as many Death Eaters in Azkaban as possible."
Hermione looked at the council in outrage. "So that is the truth of it. Put as many Death eaters away, it doesn't matter if they are innocent. It doesn't matter to you. As long as they have the mark then they deserve to suffer for the rest of their lives. That is barbaric. Furthermore, I find an affront to justice that you are not accepting my testimony. I am not fragile. I guarantee, Mr. Diggory, that I am fully capable of answering all of your questions. Once I am done, you can decide if I am just experiencing Stockholm syndrome. Either way, I am entering myself as a witness for the defense, so this council will hear what I have to say."
Amos sighed, "all right Miss Granger. In your words tell us what happened to you when you were captured and taken to Malfoy manor."
"Thank you. We were taken at night. Before we were brought to the manor, I had used a stinging jinx on Harry Potter, in hopes that his face would be obscured beyond recognition. Once there, the Malfoy parents and Bellatrix Lestrange argued about whether the boy that they had captured was actually Harry Potter. They asked Draco to identify him, as well as Ronald Weasley and myself. He refused, saying he was 'unsure' despite knowing us all for many years. However, the rest of the group was still able to identify both Ron and I as friends of Harry Potter. Then Bellatrix noticed a sword that one of our captors as carrying. From that moment it was chaos. She started whipping our captors, screaming 'Where did you get that?" Peter Pettigrew took all of the boys to the dungeon, while Bellatrix grabbed my arm and said that we were going to have some "girl talk". She then used a combination of the cruciatus curse and a charmed silver dagger to torture me. She asked over and over how I had gotten the sword, which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts. Later Harry realized that Voldemort had asked to use her vault to safeguard more than just the sword of Gryffindor, but also one of his horcruxes. She carved the word 'mudblood' into my flesh." Hermione lifted the sleeve of her robe. "You can still see the scars. She was crazy in her anger, and had already killed a few of the guards just for touching the sword. "
Hermione paused, drawing breath.
"Then Harry and Ron somehow escaped from the dungeon with the help of a house elf named Dobby. They attempted to rescue me, but failed and they fled the manor, leaving me behind. During this attempt, Harry- who was wandless- managed to take Draco's wand from him, mainly because Draco did not fire off a single spell to defend himself."
"It was at that point that Lucius Malfoy decided to tell Voldemort that they had captured me, but no one else. He threatened that Voldemort would kill me slowly and painfully if I contradicted his story. He was probably right. I can still remember how scared and desperate he looked. They used the mark to call Voldemort, and he came."
At this point she turned away from the Wizandgamot and looked at Draco, her voice wavering slightly for the first time. He knew that this had to be painful for her; she was probably unable to look up at Mr. Diggory and the other snooty old witch.
"Voldemort decided that because I was muggle-born, I was no better than a dog. He wanted to teach me my proper place. And so he gave me to Draco, the only person in the room even close to my age, as a present. He said 'teach her where she belongs.' Then he ordered Draco to rape me in front of everyone present. When Draco refused to comply, Voldemort threatened to torture us and then to make Lucius rape us both. He didn't have any choice, and I don't blame him."
She broke eye contact with Draco, and turned back to face the council.
"Voldemort then gave me what he considered 'proper attire' which was little more than a black robe and a leash. He ordered Draco to take me to his room and keep me there for the night. Once we were behind closed doors, Draco unclipped the leash, gave me the comforter off of his bed, and threw up. He was wrought with guilt."
"How do you know?" Mafalda the shrew interrupted. "He could have been acting, trying to gain favor in case of an event such as this. He still committed a crime, even if you think he felt bad about it." Several people were nodding their heads in agreement.
"If you will allow me to continue," Hermione said calmly. "It was later that night that he made me promise that I would survive, no matter what. He then consented to my preforming the Unumentis charm to bind our thoughts together."
The room was silent. It seemed that half of the room was in shock and the other half didn't know what charm she was talking about. As Hermione paused, letting the words sink in, Draco though how this was the epitome of Hermione Granger- always fighting for the underdog. She was in her element- righting perceived injustices. For someone who never fought for the bigger/ more powerful side, she did have a knack for winning. But Draco knew that it would forever confuse him as to why he merited among those worth fighting for.
"Therefore when I say that I know that Draco Malfoy has felt contrition for his crimes and that these crimes were committed only under duress, I have the full support of that bond behind me."
"Unumentis is old magic. Something I doubt that even you could preform without a safe environment. The charm has a tendency to go horribly wrong if it is not done in a controlled setting." Mr. Diggory added. "How can we be sure that you are not lying for him?"
"Why would I lie about something that can be so easily checked? Can I have a volunteer from the council?"
A blond witch that Hermione had never met before raised her hand.
"Thank you. This is very simple. We will disapparate together to, lets say Australia. Based on the time-difference we should be able to enjoy a lovely sunset right about now. While we are gone, I want you to tell Mr. Malfoy anything- a word or a phrase, the lyrics to a song. Whatever you like, and then I will relay the information to Miss" Hermione paused, "sorry, I didn't get your name."
"Jenny."
"Miss Jenny. Just make sure that no demetors are allowed in the courtroom while we are gone. Dementors interfere with the bond, and they give me a headache."
Is this really necessary, I feel like a trick pony.
It is if you want to save yourself. Buck up Draco, this is survival.
Hermione, the war's over. What do I care about survival. His voice sounded dry and sarcastic, even through their bond.
After everything, DRACO MALFOY, YOU CAN'T GIVE UP.
By now, Hermione had apparated with Miss Jenny to a lovely boardwalk in Australia that she had found when she was making sure her parents were safe. She would have to give them back their memories soon.
A small cough to her left woke her from her reverie, and she turned to the young lady.
"Thank you for volunteering. I don't think we have ever met. I'm Hermione." She stuck out her hand for Jenny to shake.
"I'm Jenny Bones, Susan's younger sister. I was a few years behind you at Hogwarts, and I am working over the summer as an assistant to head of the goblin liaison office."
You ready for this Hermione. Mr. Holier-than-thou Diggory has a message he would like to pass on to you. Delilah, October 1980.
Got it.
She passed the message back on to Jenny Bones, and together they traveled back to the ministry.
By the time Hermione returned, a few people had joined the trial, including Harry, Lavender Brown, and a very angry looking Kingsley. Jenny wasted no time telling the court the phrase and date.
"Is that proof enough?" Hermione said sarcastically. She was done trying to placate these people. Amos Diggory was on a pointless crusade, and she was tired of his accusations.
Kingsley, who had yet to speak, decided to intervene. "Based on your testimony, I am granting Draco Malfoy an official minister's pardon. I am also disbanding the wizengamot until such time as full investigations can be completed. The sentences you have already given today are nullified. Those accused of being death eaters will still be incarcerated, but they will not be in Azkaban until they can be re-tried."
Hermione could feel Draco's shock though the bond.
It's over!
I can't believe it. Thanks Granger! He laughed.
Kingley continued, "Miss Granger, I know that if you had read enough on the subject to preform the bond, you would understand the significance of the different colors assigned to each bond. May I ask, what color was your bond with Mr. Malfoy when it first formed?"
Draco could feel Hermione's apprehension increase. Why was she so worried about telling Kingsley? From what she had told him, their bond color was rare, but meaningless. As the silence stretched on, he decided that he would answer for her.
"It was white. Blindingly white."
Draco could tell that for most of the people on the wizandgamot this news meant nothing. Some looked politely puzzled, and others just gave blank stares as if he had not even spoken. Hermione had turned to look at him. Her expression seemed to indicate that she was surprised that he even remembered their bond color, but there was also a deeper note of fear. For some reason, she had wanted to keep their bond private.
Was I not supposed to tell them? He asked.
I don't know. She responded. That kind of bond is really rare, and them knowing may make our lives difficult. McGonagall was worried when I told her.
It was only after she said this that Draco noticed a few of the members on the wizengamot who had actually reacted to his confession of the white bond. Kingsley's eyes had bugged open and his nostrils had flared outward. The witch sitting next to him had actually allowed her jaw to drop, and her eyes were moving back and forth from Hermione to Draco in rapid succession. A few of the front row wizards were now looking at Draco as if his confession had confirmed what they had always known- he was a lying piece of scum.
"I have already informed Headmistress McGonagall about our bond," Hermione informed the room. "She has agreed to work with us to strengthen it, as well as research the history."
"Well, Hermione, that is certainly an interesting development. We wish you and Mr. Malfoy luck. You are all free to go." Kingsley said, waving his wand so that the chains around Draco fell away. He rose slowly to his feet.
Then Hermione shocked everyone present by running over to Draco, jumping, and flinging her arms and legs around him in celebration. Evidently she had no doubt that he would catch her, and he did.
Thanks, princess.
No problem, ferret. She laughed.