Writing School - Issue Three
Mahoutokoro, Year 7
Making Dialog Flow
(dialog) "That's how you get away with murder."
Word count: 949
Round Three
"Be upstanding," the Chief Warlock said opening the third day of trial.
Everyone in the crowded courtroom obeyed. Hermione slowly walked to the table in the middle. There the questioned person was magically bound to a chair. She tried her best not to stumble over her formal dress-robes on her way, knowing that almost the entire British wizarding population was watching her.
While she had testified before, that had been in an office in the Auror department and not at a public trial and therefore did little to ease her nerves. She was afraid of doing something wrong and letting her friends down. The Wizengamot may have significantly shrunk due to the war, but they were still intimidating wearing purple ceremonial robes with an embroidered W.
"Do you know the accused, Lucius Malfoy?"
"Not well, our paths have crossed, but… we haven't chatted or anything," Hermione said with a dry throat.
"You're under an oath," the Chief Warlock reminded her, "I know this is hard for you, but what happened at Malfoy Manor?"
"I was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange," she said trying to stay strong.
"And what did the accused do?"
"Nothing."
"I feared for the life of my family," Mr. Malfoy insisted.
"The accused had testified earlier that he merely acted out of fear. What is your assessment, regarding the events preluding the Battle of Hogwarts?"
"He and his family did appear to be suffering. Mr. Malfoy was looking poorly, he had not showered or shaved."
"Did you actually witness the accused commit any crimes?"
"Other than breaking into the Ministry-"
"For which I have been already trailed and sentenced."
Fidgeting with her fingers, as she didn't like how this was going. Without any further evidence, there was a real chance that Voldemort's right-hand-man would walk free. Hermione thought about Buckbeak's hearing, for which she had spent months preparing and Malfoy still managed to get the innocent creature sentenced to death. While Buckbeak survived she was still sore about losing against the elder Malfoy and didn't want to let this happen again.
Hermione took a deep breath. "There is still the murder of Mr. Boderick Bode after having been put under the Imperius Curse by Mr. Malfoy."
A humming echoed through the courtroom as everybody in the large crowd needed to discuss the newly presented information. Looking at Malfoy she found that his face betrayed nothing. The chief warlock used a gavel to silence the room.
Turning to Hermione, she eyed her with suspicion. "Mr. Walden Macnair handed the Devil's Snare to the victim on the 24th of December 1995."
"Macnair was an executor who enjoyed decapitating. Using a plant was not his style," Hermione said.
After a three-hour-long break, the Auror department managed to find another witness. The former Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge admitted to having hired Mr. Macnair as a favor to his old friend Lucius, who he had absolutely no idea that he was a death eater and who helped fund his campaign.
By the end of the day, it seemed clear that the Malfoy-patriarch would be sent to Azkaban for good. Draco was even more rude to Harry, Ron and Hermione then usual and the Daily Prophet issued a special edition spreading the news even further. With only Harry left as the last witness, Ron was in a cheery mood.
To everyone's surprise, Mr. Malfoy didn't even try to discredit Fudge in front of the Wizengamot. Instead, he straight out denied having ever used an Unforgivable and asked Harry why he thought he did.
"I saw it! I saw how Rockwood told Voldemort."
The entire courtroom gasped at Harry using his name.
"Well, from what I understand, this is not a foolproof method of communication."
"You know nothing about what it feels like to have Voldemort in your head!"
Malfoy exposed his wrist and showed Harry and the Wizengamot his Dark Mark. "I think, I know more than enough about being abused and manipulated by… You-Know-Who."
Hermione bit her lip. His display of vulnerability and compassion to Harry impressed not only the members of the Wizengamot in purple but also the spectators. They were losing their ground, fast.
He hid it quickly and looked at Harry. "Is it possible that Mr. Bode, may his soul rest in peace, might have reached out for the prophecy for Dumbledore's sake?"
"Dumbledore already knew the prophecy," Harry said.
"And do you have reason to believe that Mr. Bode was aware of this?" Mr. Malfoy asked and with that, the last bit of circumstantial evidence was disarmed.
An hour later he was cleared of all charges. Hermione didn't even wait until the end of the Chief Warlock's speech before storming out of the courtroom.
Out of sight, she stomped her foot onto the ground. Tears threatened to fall from her brown eyes; she wanted to gag him. She didn't know how he did it but he once again managed to avoid the consequences of his actions.
"My, my, who is being a sore loser here," Mr. Malfoy said.
She flinched. How did he manage to creep up to her so quickly?
"You used your death eater insider-knowledge to stay out of prison!"
He moved closer to her pushing her against the wall. She felt his heat radiated through her body. His hand was resting on her hip while he leaned forward. His lips were almost touching her ears. Shivers went through her spine as she felt his hot breath against her sensitive skin and her arms were covered in goosebumps. She stopped breathing and her heart-rate spiked.
His tongue caressed her ear as he whispered. "That's how you get away with murder."