I'm glad that you're all enjoying the chapters, but sad to say the story is almost over! I think there's like three or four more left, and then you'll all have to wait until I upload my newest story! Haven't decided what it will be yet, but I promise that it will be epic! Thanks again for the reviews!
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The prosecutor tapped his fingers, standing up as soon as Hermione sat down. He was silent as he slowly approached Draco, his eyes narrowed.
"Mr. Malfoy, when you were talking about the purpose of your arranged marriage, you said something like you thought that you were just supposed to get her pregnant. I know that I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically what you said, right?" Draco nodded, his jaw tightening. "So I can assume that you later found out why you two got married?" Audrey furrowed her brow together as she watched Draco's cheeks turn bright red.
"Yes." He muttered through tight lips. The prosecutor smirked.
"And would you mind sharing that reason with us?" Draco watched the man closely as he strutted in front of the reporters with a huge grin.
"They found this rare spell-."
"And by 'they', you mean Death Eaters?" Draco nodded, agitated that the man actually had the balls to interrupt him. "Continue."
"They found a rare spell that could transfer a soul into an empty body. It said that before you name a baby, it doesn't have its soul…that was the whole reason that Audrey was conceived, but she was born a girl so they couldn't transfer You-Know-Who's soul into her body." The prosecutor chuckled.
"All right, so…what if the baby had been born a boy?"
"You're lucky that it was born a girl." Draco spit out. The prosecutor laughed again, leaning against his table with his arms crossed.
"Really? And what would have happened if it had been a boy?"
"Every single person in this room would be dead."
"You don't know that." He said, the smile quickly dropping from his face.
"You think that I don't?" Draco asked, sitting on the edge of his seat. "He would have killed you and he would have killed me and he would have killed Audrey! You're lucky that my child was born a girl and you're lucky that she died!" Draco sighed, choking back tears.
God his daughter was dead. She was buried in the middle of the fucking forest and he would never see her grave. He could never take that moment back…he could never take back a lot of things that he had been forced to do. But…he didn't regret his marriage to Audrey.
"You claim that your child would have been used to take over the Ministry?" The prosecutor asked, the smugness completely gone from his body.
"Yes…they would have kept making us have babies until we had a boy and then they would have killed us." Draco looked up at the prosecutor, who was slowly losing the color in his face. "Scared now, aren't ya?" The prosecutor cleared his throat, walking away from his table and walking towards Draco.
"So…you're saying that-."
"I'm saying that Audrey was kept in the dark until last year. She didn't do anything wrong and she never has done anything wrong. I'm also saying that this trial is ridiculous and unnecessary. Audrey's only here on trial because all of you are scared and want to lock up an innocent teenager just in case." Draco looked up to the council, specifically at Fudge. "If you lock her up just because you're scared, then you're taking one big step to becoming the next Hitler."
The air was literally sucked out of the room. Everyone was silent, the only noise being made by the scratching of the quills. When the scratching stopped, the silence in the hall pressed down on the people inside. Finally, the prosecutor sat at his table, a frown on his face.
"Thank you Mr. Malfoy, I have no further questions."
Aurors stepped forward and took Draco by his arms and led him out of the room. Audrey quietly cried as she watched Draco disappear through the doorway. Hermione stood up, clearing her throat to call attention back to her.
"Sir, the defense rests." She said with a quick nod before sitting down. Fudge kept his eyes on Audrey as she tried to wipe her face, her mascara running down her cheeks. For the first time during this entire trial, Fudge finally felt a pang of sympathy for the girl that sat in front of him. The girl quickly became a victim in his eyes and he no longer feared her. Then he thought about how stupid it was for him to fear her in the first place.
"Then we'll adjourn and call the defense back when we have reached a decision."
…
Two days passed without a word from the council. Audrey was forced to sit in her cell without any contact from anybody. They had suspended her visitation rights, so nobody was allowed in, not even Hermione. They said it was to protect Audrey from the press, but most people could see what was going on. They were isolating her; it was almost as if they were punishing her for some odd reason. When it was finally announced that a decision had been reached, the hall was once again packed and Audrey sat once again at her table next to Hermione. The prosecutor also sat at his table, but this time he wasn't so confidant. Draco's testimony had poked a huge hole in the prosecution's case. Still, there was no way to tell which way the verdict would lean.
Hermione sat patiently next to Audrey, resting a hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine." She whispered. "Draco definitely got through to them the other day."
"How is he?" Audrey asked quietly.
"When I checked on him last, he was doing as well as could be expected…but they're still going to proceed with his trial next week." Audrey let out a shaky sigh, pushing back her hair. "Don't worry, he has two very good lawyers that are going to do everything in their power to try and get him acquitted." Audrey nodded, but she still felt frightened.
"What am I going to do if they don't let him go? I have nowhere to go…I don't have any family…"
"You'll stay with me. Don't worry, we'll figure everything out after we get you out of here."
"What if I don't get out?" She asked. The thought had crossed her mind dozens of times over the past two days and she couldn't seem to shake it out.
"You will get out." Hermione insisted. "If they don't let you out, I'll break you out." She muttered. Audrey smiled, the first time in a good solid week.
"I don't want to be a bother." She whispered.
"You have never been a bother." Hermione said firmly. "It's never a bother when you're helping a friend." The girls smiled at each other, but glanced up when the council slowly began to file in and take their seats. A woman, tall and with graying red hair, walked in last with a piece of folded parchment in her hands. When everybody had taken their seats, the woman stepped forward, putting on a pair of black framed glasses.
"After much deliberation by this council, we have made our ruling on the case of the Ministry of Magic vs. Audrey Riddle. Will the defendant please rise?" Audrey stood, smoothing down her skirt as Hermione stood up with her. "It is the decision of this council that Ms. Riddle is not guilty."
Audrey grabbed Hermione's hand, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging in shock. Ron and Harry both let out small cries of approval while the reporters grew restless with their questions. Hermione smiled widely, squeezing Audrey's hand.
"I told you that everything would be all right." She whispered. Audrey shut her mouth, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn't know whether to cry or to laugh with joy.
"Quiet please!" The woman called out, instantly causing everybody to shut their mouths. "This council would also like to extend a very sincere apology to Ms. Riddle. We admit that this conviction was made out of fear and we have all reflected on this regrettable decision. Ms. Riddle, we are deeply sorry, we hope that you can forgive us." Audrey forced herself to smile when the woman looked up from her parchment at her. Fudge cleared his throat, standing up from the middle of the council.
"This case is closed; the defendant is free to go."
…
Within seconds, Audrey was surrounded by dozens of reporters, all cramming around her to get their questions answered. Hermione pushed them all back as she and Audrey scrambled for the door. They left and turned into the main lobby of the Ministry, where there were more reporters and photographers waiting for her. Hermione confidently approached them with Audrey right beside her, still in disbelief over what had just happened.
"Today, my client was acquitted of all charges. She received an apology for being put through this ordeal and…I am very excited to see her go home." Hermione smiled at Audrey who beamed back at her. "She will take your questions now."
"Ms. Riddle! Ms. Riddle!" Audrey blushed heavily as question after question was launched in her direction. She answered quietly, her eyes focused on the floor. Audrey tried to remain calm and answer their questions to the best of her abilities, but there was one question that did shake her.
"Ms. Riddle, do you plan to divorce Draco Malfoy?" Audrey looked up, finally giving the photographers the picture that they had been dying to capture.
"There are no plans for divorce." She said firmly. "I love Draco and I plan to stand by him."
"But he's been convicted." A reporter called out. Audrey instantly looked to Hermione, who looked just as surprised as Audrey.
"He's on the roster for next week." Hermione said.
"He was tried yesterday and they decided right there. He was sentenced to four years in Azkaban."
Audrey suddenly began to hear very loud music, no longer able to hear any more questions. With a loud crash, Audrey's eyes rolled into the back of her head and everything went black.
