Authors Note: First I want to apologize for how long it has taken me to updated Redemption. There are several reasons for the long wait. The first is the was a very difficult chapter to write. The scene with Harry and Ginny i swear I rewrote almost a hundred times.
The second is real life. I have family visiting in July and had to spend time with them, which took me away from my writing. The last is Fallout 3. I started playing and got hooked. Sorry. I hope you can forgive me. So without further ado here is The Trail part 1
19
The Trial Part I
"Ron I really need to review my notes before tomorrow!" Ron could hear the panic in his wife's voice, she was also ringing her hands nervously as she finished. "I really need to makes sure I am prepared for tomorrow."
Ron sighed to himself as he thought to himself, some things will never change. Just like she did in school, Hermione was driving herself mad about the upcoming Walker trial tomorrow. She would always do this before a major exam at school, worried that she would get everything wrong, and in the end get the best marks in the school. He reminded her of that gently.
Hermione glared at him, eyes burning with anger as she replied sharply.
"How could you compare tomorrow to an exam at school!" At least she was keeping her voice down, Ron thought thankfully as she continued, "Do you have any clue of what is at stake tomorrow?"
"Of course I know what is at stake tomorrow." He said soothingly.
Hermione glared at him as she asked "And what is that Ronald?"
"You need to relax." He said gently.
"I can't relax," she responded heatedly. "If you really knew what was at stake tomorrow you would not be so blasé about it."
Ron fought down his anger as she said this. He knew not only did she plan on challenging the marriage laws, but if she did win the Walker case she was going to argue for the immediate repeal of the pureblood marriage act; the law that had been used to end their marriage. Hermione interrupted his thoughts.
"You know if I screw up tomorrow we cannot be together as husband and wife." She looked at him as she continued. "Or maybe you just don't care about that."
"How can you say that?" Ron asked a hint of anger in his voice. Before he said anything else he realized what she was doing. She did this every time she was nervous about something. She would pick a fight with him. Ron would not rise to the bait this time. A fight would do neither of them any good.
"Because I need to get home and go over my notes, and you won't let me!"
Hermione started to stand up, "Even if you don't care, I do and…"
Ron stood up, and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, and slowly sat her down. Ron placed his finger over her mouth gently before she could say anything in protest.
"Hermione, there is nothing more for you to review or research. You already have your case right here." As he said this he lovingly tapped her forehead with his finger as he continued. "However if you go into the Wizengamot tomorrow a bundle of nerves, you will not do anybody any good. So today, you need to relax so you can do your best tomorrow."
Hermione looked at him for a few seconds, the anger in her eyes softening. She did not say anything; she just lowered her head on his shoulders.
Harry landed in the middle of the paddock, and turned around and watched Ginny as she continued to fly around the paddock. Harry had forgotten how much he enjoyed flying with her until she invited him to go flying with her three weeks ago. Since that day, they had gone flying several times, as well as having dinner together a few more times.
Harry had completely forgotten how easy it was to just be himself when he was with her. He did not have to be the boy that saved the Wizarding world, or Harry the Auror, leader of the elite Rapid Response Team. With Ginny he was just, Harry, and he really liked that. In the time he spent with Ginny he felt that the two of them seemed to be rebuilding the friendship they had lost when she ended things with him.
Harry found himself wondering if there might be a chance to get back together with Ginny. He realized over the last few weeks all the reasons he had fallen in love with her in the first place. He found himself once again fighting his inner beast. The beast roared for him to grab Ginny and snog her senseless. His heart said she hurt him once before and he should just leave well enough alone. Harry was just not sure what he wanted to do.
The one thing Harry did now is that he did enjoy the time he had spent with Ginny over the last couple of weeks. Harry did not want to ruin the friendship that was starting up with Ginny again but he found himself wondering what happened with the two of them. He had not been able to bring himself to ask her the one thing that he needed to know, he was afraid of ruining the friendship they were developing. However he had to know.
Harry watched as Ginny flew towards him, she slowed down and landed just a few feet in front of him. She smiled at him and asked.
"Done already?"
Harry laughed
"Sorry Gin, I was getting a little…"
He and Ginny laughed before he could finish what he was about to say. He was a little saddle sore as the muggles would say.
"Too bad they can't fit brooms with a comfortable seat." Ginny answered, "After a long game I sometimes can't walk."
Harry nodded he knew what she meant. But he did not want to talk about brooms today. He noticed that they talked about the little things, brooms, how Teddy was doing but the seemed to dance around the one subject that was like the elephant in the room. What happened between the two of them?
Harry was tired of dancing, so he motioned for Ginny to sit with him.
"I missed this." He started as she sat next to him
Ginny looked at him, not sure what he meant. Before she could ask he continued.
"I missed our friendship Ginny." Harry looked at her and then asked the one question he had been avoiding for the last three weeks. "What happened to us?"
Ginny felt her heart drop down into the pit of her stomach as she heard the one question she hoped he would never ask. It's not that Ginny didn't know the answer to his question. This was something she had thought about quite a bit. Especially after she and Harry returned to being friends. No the answer to the question was not the issue here.
Ginny liked having Harry as her friend. Over the last few weeks she too remembered all the things that she liked about Harry Potter. From the way he smiled at her when they would say hello, to the Cheshire cat grin he would get when he was flying. She had missed Harry over the last couple of years, and she just got him back into her life. She did not want to do anything that would ruin that. Ginny was afraid that her answer to his question would ruin the friendship they now had.
She was not surprised by the question. As a matter of fact she expected him to ask her. She was just hoping it might not be this soon.
Ginny looked away from Harry, finding the backs of her hands interesting as she tried to think of a way to tell Harry why she ended things with him when she did, but not knowing what to say or even how to begin answering the question.
She looked at Harry and said;
"Harry please," she gently placed her hand gently over his as she spoke. "Can't we be happy with the way things are now? Why open up old wounds?"
She hoped he would agree with her.
When she looked into Harry's eyes, she knew he would not just leave things. She could see it in his eyes. Harry confirmed what she thought by the answer to his question.
"Ginny, I have to know what happened with us." He covered the hand she was holding with his other hand as he answered. "Seeing how we have been over the last few weeks, I need to know where we went wrong."
Ginny knew as he finished she had to answer his question. The problem was she was afraid that he would be hurt by her answer.
"Harry, I never meant to hurt you," she started slowly. She looked away from him as she continued.
"I think we kind of rushed into things. I mean one minute you could not be with me and that hurt me more than you will ever know…"
Harry started to interrupt her. She silenced him by placing her finger over his lips.
"Harry I know you did it to protect me." She sighed, "That does not change the fact that you left me. You will never know how hard it was for me while you were on the run. I never stopped thinking about you. I would listen for any scrap of news about you I could, hoping that you would survive that year. Then we got word you were at Hogwarts and we were going to fight Voldemort. I remember seeing you for the first time in a year in the room of requirement and I knew we would be ok. "
As Ginny continued talking she swiped at her eyes with her other hand to clear the tears that were forming in her eyes. She knew what she was about to say would be hardest thing to tell him. But now that she had started telling him, she couldn't stop.
"You left me…" She said, looking at him intently, her eyes showing just a bit of anger, but more hurt than anger, "You went off to die, and you never said goodbye. You have no idea how much that hurt and I don't think I ever got over that."
Ginny looked away from Harry as she continued. In for a penny in for a pound she thought to herself,
"Then we got back together and you were off saving the world again." She looked at him as she finished her explanation, "I found myself wondering how long it would be before you decided to leave me again, so that no one would use me to get to you. I don't think I would have survived if that happened again, so I ended things on my own terms."
Harry just looked at her. He never realized how much he had hurt Ginny by ending things with her. He guessed he could understand where she was coming from. As he thought about it, he wondered if he asked Emily about what happened with them how close her answer would be to the one Ginny had just given him. He was glad that Ginny could be honest with him over what had happened. Maybe he would handle things differently with his next relationship. Harry found himself wondering if he ever would be able to have a normal relationship after all he had been through.
Suddenly Harry realized just how much he had hurt the people he loved. He never meant to put Ginny through all the pain she had gone through. However the fact of the matter is, he had. He looked at Ginny briefly and she quickly looked away from him. He had opened up old wounds, and she was once again hurting. No matter what he did, he seemed to hurt the ones he loved. Harry stood up.
As he stood Ginny called to him.
He didn't answer her as he walked away. He needed some time to sort things out…
Ginny watched as Harry walked towards the pond. She had been regretting the day he would ask her about the two of them, and how they had ended being exes instead of husband and wife. This had lead to her doing quite a bit of soul searching, trying to figure out when exactly her feelings for Harry had changed.
Ginny's problem was, she was learning that her feeling for Harry had never changed. Realizing that lead to even more questions, why had she pushed him away. The journey to the answers to her question was a painful one. However she realized that she was afraid that he would leave her again. You see history had a way of repeating itself. Harry had left her twice, the first time was when he took off to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, the second when he went to face Voldemort and let him kill him. She had sensed him near her that night; he was close enough to touch. All he had to do was just say goodbye, however he chose not to. After talking to him over the last few weeks she learned the reason he had not said goodbye was he would have never been able to go through with letting Voldemort kill him.
She realized now, her fears had been a bit childish. However she could not help how she felt. He had left her once when he thought he would be a danger to her, and here he was, going after evil again. What was to stop him from leaving her again? Ginny knew she would have never survived his leaving her again, so she left him.
Looking back, she knew that was probably not the best course of action. It had taken a while, but Harry had moved on. She had to admit Harry's dating Emily brought out strong feelings of jealousy. It was then that she realized that she still was in love with Harry Potter, and what hurt at that time was knowing that he had moved on.
She watched how happy Emily made him. At first she tried to hate the both of them. Then came the day he saw her in the hospital. She had almost destroyed everything that day, but somehow common sense had taken over and for the first time in a year and half she and Harry talked. They never really got to the heart of their issues, but they had talked. It was then that she decided if she could not be his girlfriend she would offer her friendship.
The hardest thing for Ginny while Harry was with Emily was watching him make the same mistakes he had when he was with her. She had tried to tell him, but he didn't listen and she watched him push Emily away. She did not blame Emily, she would not have put up with him shutting her out either. She knew if he did not open up to Emily, she would leave him.
When Emily did leave him, Ginny hated to see how hurt Harry was. Harry started doing what he did best, pushing his friends away and wallowing in self pity. After a week of this, she had enough. Harry had people that cared for him, and shutting them out was the wrong thing for him to do. So she did the only thing she could. She forced him out of his shell.
Having Harry back in her life the last three weeks had been wonderful. She started to once again see why she had fallen for him in the first place. Things were going well with them. Not that she expected they would start dating again, however she could not help dreaming. Now they had to get over the truth of what had happened with them in the past…If they could get past that then just maybe…
David Blaine glared at the morning Prophet. The lead story in the morning paper was what the paper called a showdown between the old ways and the reforms that Kingsley was wanting to make within the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world as a whole. He felt disgust as he read the papers comments that the changes were best for the Wizarding world as a whole, and it was about time someone dragged the world into modern times. The paper went on to say the one to do that was not even a pureblood wizard, but a muggleborn named Hermione Granger Weasley.
The paper acknowledged that in what is thought was a huge travesty of justice the marriage between the mudblood bitch and the blood traitor Weasley. The paper went on to say that once pureblood marriage act was dissolved, she and Weasley should be re-married immediately. Blaine threw the paper down in disgust.
The interfering bitch had no idea how many lives she was ruining with her crusade. Until the Walker case had started he was engaged to marry a pureblood witch. He knew she never liked him, but unlike the Walker family, her family was going to honor the marriage contract they entered into with his family. That was until she heard about the Walker case. His fiancé had called once she heard what the bitch was trying to do. She had stated that she would not marry him. She also called him a few choice names and had not spoken with him since that day.
He had talked to Malfoy about putting an end to the case. But the incompetent oaf was now saying that after reading the briefs that Granger had presented supporting the case being bought before the full Wizengamot, he was going to lose. Draco Malfoy had no balls, Blaine thought to himself. In his father's day, they knew what to do with a mouthy mudblood.
He pointed this out to both Malfoy and Bledsoe; however, neither of them would sanction direct action against the bitch. They cited the public outcry over what had happened when she was forced to divorce Weasley, and her pregnancy almost being terminated. It was then that Blaine decided he would take things into his own hands. The question was how.
He had done his homework. He learned that all visitors to the Department of Magical Law were required to surrender their wands. It seemed that witches and wizards tended to get emotional when it came to the law interfering with their lives. However he learned that the only thing that ministry security was worried about were wands. In their arrogance, they did not consider muggle weapons a threat.
His plan was inspired from reading how Granger had killed Deloris Umbridge and one of her followers by using a muggle gun. After reading this, he learned all he could about using the muggle weapon. It had taken him sometime to learn how to use a gun effectively. Once that was accomplished it was nothing to get his hands on the gun he was now cleaning. He would see how things went in the morning session of court, and if it went as Malfoy thought it would, he would just have to pay a visit to the bitch's office.
He had no doubt that was where she would be during the afternoon recess for lunch. He watched her as she tried other cases, and without fail, during the lunch break she would go to her office, to finish paperwork as she ate.
It was just a matter of setting an appointment for himself to meet with an advocate in the Department of Magical Law. He was looking forward to showing both Malfoy and Bledsoe how a mudblood should be handled…
Hermione watched as Draco sat down. He had just finished stating that the marriage contract between the Walker and Knott family was in fact valid under current wizarding law, and to Hermione's delight he argued that the law that supported the contract was in fact the Pureblood Marriage Act. Hermione had expected him to use the Pureblood Marriage Act; as a matter of fact he had done just what she wanted him to.
Hermione looked at Draco and then she stood up and addressed Wizengamot.
"Unfortunately for my client," she made it a point to look at Malfoy as she seemed to concede his point, "Mr. Malfoy is correct, the Pureblood Marriage Act does support the marriage contract between the Knott's and the Walkers."
She smiled to herself as she saw the shocked look on Draco's face and the gasp from those in the gallery watching the trial.
Draco looked at Hermione shocked. What is she playing at, he wondered. She just gave him his case on a silver platter. Draco did not think that Granger was that dumb, she was up to something. He quickly grabbed his case notes, and reviewed them, trying to see if he could see what angle Granger was going for, however it did not take Granger to drop the other shoe on him.
"However, "He heard her continue, "The question is not whether the Pureblood Marriage Act is the current law, but is it a legitimate law."
Draco felt his jaw drop as she finished her statement…
Hermione could not help smiling as she saw Draco's expression. She could tell she had caught him completely by surprise. He had expected her to argue against the law using case law. She knew she would win on case law alone, however not only did she want to go after the Pureblood Marriage Act, but also many of the other laws that were rammed through the Wizengamot while the ministry was controlled by the Wizengamot. She looked away from Draco as Kingsley arched his eyebrows at her and asked, clearly surprised at her statement.
"Mrs. Weasley," Kingsley made it a point to call her by her married name even though she and Ron were technically divorced, "Either the law is on the books and is legitimate, or it isn't and you have just stated that the Pureblood Marriage Act was currently the law."
Hermione hid her smile. Kingsley had done just what she wanted him to. She had not shared with anyone her plans for the morning session. She did not want someone to be able to argue down the road she and Kingsley had manipulated this morning's trial. It was clear that Kingsley had been surprised at her statement that the pureblood marriage act was the current law.
"Actually Minister, what I did was to question whether or not the Pureblood Marriage Act was a legitimate law."
"Miss Granger," Thomas Knott addressed her this time, "The Pureblood Marriage Act was argued and passed before this very body. Are you questioning the legitimacy of the Wizengamot?"
Knott sounded irritated as he finished his question, and Hermione could see several members of the court nodding their heads in agreement with Knott. She had to be very careful how she presented the rest of her argument; she could not afford to alienate the members of the Wizengamot.
"Mr. Knott," It took all of her will to keep her tone respectful, and considering her history with Knott she was surprised she was able to, "I am not questioning the legitimacy of this esteemed body, however we can all agree that the ministry while under Lord Voldemort's control was not a legitimate government."
Knott glared at Hermione, pure hate in his eyes; however, he did not answer her. Hermione reached back to her desk and grabbed several briefs that had been filed with the Wizengamot ordering the release of Muggleborns and other people that had been jailed for opposing Lord Voldemort's ministry. She handed the briefs to Percy Weasley, who was looking at her dumbfounded. It seemed he too was surprised, however unlike many others in the room, she could see Percy knew what she was up to. As he took the briefs from her he smiled as he shook his head. She continued.
"These are briefs that were presented to the Full Wizengamot shortly after Lord Voldemort was defeated. These briefs clearly state that the Ministry under Minister Thickness was not a legitimate government."
"Be that as it may Miss Granger," Knott interrupted "The laws was voted on and passed by the Wizengamot."
Hermione smiled at Knott and asked "Yes that is true, however, under the circumstances, that vote could not represent the true will of the Wizengamot."
"I assure you the vote for this bill was conducted in…"
Hermione interrupted Knott before he finished, "Mr. Knott, the penalty for not supporting the ministry during Voldemort's reign was very severe, at a minimum time in Azkaban, at the worst death." She handed another set of documents to Percy, "These are affidavits signed my many members of the Wizengamot stating they were threatened by the ministry with both of the above unless they voted in favor of the ministries policies." She went through the affidavits until she found the one she was looking for, and then continued.
"As a matter of fact this is your affidavit attesting to that Mr. Knott."
She handed him his affidavit. Knott just glared at the document.
She then stepped back and addressed Kingsley.
"Minister, I ask for a vote of this esteemed body repealing not only the Pureblood Marriage Act, but all the laws that were passed by the illegitimate Ministry lead by Lord Voldemort."
Draco sighed, he knew there was no way anyone on the Wizengamot would oppose her motion. If they did then they were as good as admitting they were supporters of Lord Voldemort. No one would do that. Draco had to admit this was a brilliant move on Hermione's part.
What the hell just happened? Blaine asked himself as he watched the mudblood sit down at her table. He listened as Kingsley addressed Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy, do you wish to present a rebuttal to Mrs. Weasley's argument."
Blaine watched as Draco stood up, and to his shock said he had no rebuttal argument. This enraged Blaine even more; he wasn't even going to counter all that the bitch had said. What kind of Barrister was Malfoy? He was going to let the bitch win.
Shacklebolt called a two hour recess for lunch, and to give the members of the Wizengamot a chance to discuss the arguments that Granger presented. Looking over the faces of the Wizengamot, Blaine knew they were going to repeal the Pureblood Marriage Act. His fiancé would be free to call of their engagement.
Blaine stood up and approached Malfoy; he grabbed Malfoy's shoulder roughly and hissed.
"What the hell are you doing Malfoy?"
Draco just glared at him and answered menacingly.
"Blaine, get your hands off of me."
Blaine did not comply, but answered.
"You're just going to let that bitch win aren't you?" Blaine spat angrily.
Malfoy removed Blaine's hand from his shoulder, before Draco could answer, he heard Bledsoe's voice.
"It seems I underestimated Ms. Granger," he said more to Blaine than Malfoy.
"You have to admit," Draco answered, "That was a brilliant piece of politics." Draco sighed, "I don't think even my father could have pulled that off."
Blaine had enough and said, "She's a fucking mudblood and you are complimenting her work?"
"You forget Blaine," Draco answered hotly, "Granger is the brightest witch of my class, and was instrumental in bringing down the Dark Lord."
"Harry Potter brought down the Dark Lord!" Blaine corrected Malfoy.
Malfoy laughed as he answered. "You daft prick, Potter may have been the one to cast the spell that killed the Dark Lord, However she was the brains behind the whole operation."
Blaine just Glared at Malfoy and asked. "So what does that have to do with today?"
To his surprise Bledsoe answered.
"No one on the Wizengamot will dare to vote against not repealing the Pureblood Marriage Act." Bledsoe sounded defeated and he answered Blaine before he could ask. "If they vote against repealing the law they are saying they supported the Thickness Ministry, it is well known that Thickness was just a puppet for Voldemort. So if they support the policies of the Thickness they support Voldemort. No one will dare admit to that."
"It's even worse than that." Draco stated.
Bledsoe and Blaine looked at him as he continued.
"She is forcing the Wizengamot to declare that the Thickness ministry was an illegitimate government. Once that happened all the laws passed by the Thickness ministry will automatically be repealed."
Bledsoe swore softly.
"Harry, don't you think you are being just a little bit paranoid." Ron smiled at his best friend as they ate their lunch.
Harry had just suggested that Hermione be given a protective detail. Ron was grateful that his best friend was concerned about his wife, but he did not think she would need a protective detail. He was an Auror and was quite capable of keeping his wife safe. He made a point to tell Harry this as well.
"Ron, you are not with her all the time, you cannot protect her when you are not with her." Harry pointed out to Ron.
Ron shrugged his shoulders and replied. "Harry, I really don't think that Hermione needs protection. Besides, we both know she can take care of herself."
Harry just shook his head as he answered.
"So you don't think that after today she might have maybe pissed a few people off?"
Ron looked at Harry with a blank look, clearly not understanding Harry's point. Harry sighed and continued to explain.
"Ron. Your wife for all intents and purposes just had every law that was passed during Voldemort's control of the ministry declared invalid. I don't know about you, but I think that may piss a few people off."
Ron smiled, remembering how Hermione had trapped the Wizengamot into only one course of action. Damn I'm lucky to have her, he thought to himself.
"She was brilliant, wasn't she?" He asked proudly. "They never knew what hit them."
Harry gave up, he knew why Ron was opposed to having a protective detail set up for Hermione, and it had nothing to do with the fact he didn't think she had pissed some people off. He realized now, that Hermione would never accept a protective detail.
"Alright Ron," He sighed, "I won't assign her a detail, but you had better keep an eye on her."
"Thanks," Ron answered, "You just saved me a major headache."
The both laughed. Ron noticed Harry's attention suddenly was drawn to the entrance of the cafeteria. He looked over to see what had drawn his attention, and he saw Ginny standing in the lunch line. He knew that Ginny had come to see today's trial. Ron smiled as he watched his friend looking at his sister, as he asked.
"So what's up with you two?" He asked.
Harry turned to look at Ron. He did not seem to understand what Ron was talking about. He motioned towards Ginny. Harry just smiled and answered.
"Nothing is up with the two of us. We're just friends."
Ron gave Harry a knowing smile as he answered.
"For the last three weeks the two of you have spent every spare moment you have with each other."
Harry frowned. He then answered.
"She's been helping me get through a few things."
Ron knew Harry was talking about Emily's breaking up with him. Things had been tense with Harry and the Weasley family for a couple of weeks after she and Harry had split up. Harry had blamed them for what had happened with her at the hospital. Ron did not know what his sister said to Harry, but shortly after she talked to him the first time; Harry stopped blaming the Weasley's. Ron decided not to push the issue, but to his surprise Harry continued.
"I don't think I am the kind of man a girl would want to be involved with." Harry stated.
"Why do you say that?" Ron asked.
Harry just looked at him a minute then answered.
"Look what I did to Ginny, and Emily." He answered
Ron did not need to ask Harry what he was talking about. He knew Harry had a tendency to shut people out. Ron knew that was because of all that he had been through in the past. It was also the reason Harry had ended things with Ginny the first time. He did not want to put the people he loved in danger. Ron did not agree with Harry; however, he had never succeeded in getting Harry to change his mind about it either.
He stated the same argument he had used with Harry in the past.
"Harry,"
Harry just held up his hand. "Ron I know what you're going to say. Let's just say for now this is something I am working on, he looked up as Ginny approached the table.
"Can I join you?" She asked.
Before Harry could answer, Harry and Ron's radios went off.
"Code Red, Department of Magical Law, Code Red, Department of Magical law."
After working with Scotland Yard, and the Americans, Harry convinced the ministry that muggle radios modified to work in a magical environment was a much better way for the Department for Magical Law enforcement to communicate. Unlike a Patronus, you could have a two way conversation and exchange information much faster. The minister had agreed, and had given George Weasley the contract to develop the devices. George had already modified cell phones to work around magic, and all he had to do was use the same charms he did on the cell phones with on the radios.
Harry reached for his radio; he could see Ginny looking at the two of them, clearly worried.
As the radio finished the Code Red alert, Harry's radio sounded again.
"Rapid Response team, respond to the hostage situation, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Office 242."
As Harry was answering the radio call, Ginny voiced what he was thinking.
"Bloody hell, Hermione!"