Draco sighed, resisting the urge to pull at his collar. Why, today of all days, did the weather have to break and the sun beating down on everything? Normally, the heat would not bother him. He would just wear a loose shirt, but not today. He was wearing his ceremonial clothes, which were heavy, and thick, and itchy.
Glancing to his left, Draco could see Harry, who was scratching his neck. Draco bit his lip to stop from laughing at his love. While it was amusing how uncomfortable Harry was in the formal attire, now was not the proper time. Glancing to his right, Draco smirked at Lyra. She looked thoroughly annoyed as she cooled herself with an ornate fan. She was not happy to be out there. Firstly, she was required to be out there with him and Harry, in the awful heat. Secondly, their mother had forced Lyra into a formal, long-sleeve velvet dress for the occasion. His sister glared at him, and he winked back at her.
Draco turned back to face forward. The three of them were standing on the balcony overlooking the main courtyard of the palace. The ground below them was packed with the common people. In the center, a wooden platform rose above their heads. The executor stood upon it, waiting for the criminal. His ax gleamed in the sun where it was resting against the wooden block. The guards at the gate on the opposite side were waiting for a signal. Draco's signal.
With one last glance at Harry, Draco nodded. The guards snapped to attention. The drummers, stationed that corners of the yard, began to beat an ominous rhythm which echoed against the stone walls. The crowd buzzed with anticipation. After a few moments later, the gate opened, and three people stepped out: two guards with the criminal between.
Vernon Dursley looked horrid. He was filthy, and his eyes, even from the distance, were vacant. Haunted. That could be because Petunia's sentence was carried out the day before. Right in front of his cell. Duc Zabini calmly watched as two guards held her down, another forced her mouth open; the last held a knife in the flames of a torch mounted to the wall. Her husband kept shouting, pleading and sobbing, as the metal began to glow. Finally, when the blade was practically white, Petunia's tongue was cut out of her mouth, the wound cauterizing instantly. Duc Zabini looked down at the writhing woman indifferently, holding the end of his cane into the flames. After a moment, he removed it and placed it against the woman's neck, branding her with the Zabini crest. Vernon was a blubbering mess as Petunia's unconscious form was carried away.
Back to the present, Vernon was now up on the platform, on his knees before the block. It was time. Draco raised a hand, and the drums stopped. Silence reigned on the gather people in the courtyard.
"My people," he began in his normal voice, the sound carrying easily, "We are here to witness the execution of Vernon Dursley. For crimes against the aristocracy, you are sentenced to death by beheading. Comte Potter." He raised his left hand forward. "Claim your justice."
He heard Harry's steps as the man walked to the side and down the stairs. The crowd parted for him as he made his way to the platform. Many of the people recognized him from markets, and remembered all the horrible treatment he withstood. He could plainly see that the people wanted to reach out, to touch him, but they feared, because Harry was now a noble.
Draco watched as Harry climbed the stairs of the platform. The man took the axe from the executioner, weighing it in his hands. Draco smirked; there was a reason he requisitioned an axe for this instead of the standard sword. Harry had been raised a laborer, so an axe was more natural in his hand than a sword.
The executioner pushed Vernon down by the shoulders, his neck extended over the block. The drumming increased to a steady roll as Harry stepped into position. The man glanced up at Draco, winked, and then swung the axe. The drums stopped. The sound of the axe imbedding into the wood could be heard in the silence of the courtyard, followed immediately by a wet thud. Harry looked up to the balcony and smiled. The crowd cheered.