Character Witness

Draco worked hard to keep his face expressionless- a consummate Malfoy until the very end. Even though his robes were dirty, his hair long and unkempt, and his body was covered in a layer of filth he didn't think he could ever get off- if he was ever given the opportunity to even try. He wanted to slump back in his chair, close his eyes in defeat, but he did have some pride left. It was all he had, actually.

Except for her and his memories. He hoped she was happy and would look back on their time together with joy. It had already been almost two years since he'd seen or spoken to her. He knew that the memories of them would fade. He knew that their time together would not remain the most important thing in the world to her like it would to him- she'd probably already moved on from him. But he hoped she would remember, if only just occasionally, he wanted just one person to remember him fondly.

Because he was sure that he was going away for life. They needed somebody to blame, to sate their bloodlust and he fit the bill. The Wizengamot had remained completely unmoved by his mother's testimony and he didn't have anybody else to speak for him, at least nobody who wouldn't simply make things worse for him.

His lawyer had only let his mother on the stand because she was unmarked and had saved Potter there at the end, so she had some credibility. But Lucius wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the witness stand and in fact, Draco would have prefered he stayed away from the courtroom entirely. But he never would have asked his mother to face this without his father to lean on.

When his lawyer was asked if they had any further witnesses Draco expected him to stand up and rest the defense's case. There was nothing left to be done. The prosecution had thoroughly trashed him and he'd had no evidence to contradict their case. Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom, hadn't left behind any actual proof that things were not all that they seemed. And if Draco was honest, he wasn't sure he didn't deserve what was coming to him. He'd done terrible things, he'd told himself they'd been for the right reasons, but terrible things nonetheless.

Instead, when the man- who, to his credit, had fought hard for Draco- got to his feet, he was giving Draco the oddest look. He caught his eye and nodded sharply and then turned towards the panel of judges.

"The defense calls to the stand Miss Hermione Granger."

It was like somebody had cast a petrificus totalus on Draco. And at first you could have heard a pin drop, but then there were several outbursts from all throughout the courtroom. He heard both Potter and Weasley, the Weasley girl, and had that been Professor McGonagall? How odd. He was at least relieved that he heard nothing out of his parents. He heard the courtroom door creak open.

"Hermione!" It was Potter who called out for her and the anguish in his voice tore at Draco's heart, he knew exactly how the other wizard felt and that brought him out of his stupor.

For the first time throughout the entire trial he turned around to face the gallery where those who had come to witness his downfall were all seated. It was packed. But his eyes immediately landed on her, dressed in modest but flattering deep purple robes which complimented her skin tone. Her hair was pulled away from her face, spilling in wild ringlets almost down to her waist- considerably longer than he'd ever seen it. Fuller figured, but thinner in the face- she no longer looked like the teenager he'd last seen, she was fully a woman now.

Her cheeks were stained pink, probably due to all the attention, but she held her head high and her steps never faltered. When she passed a woman who was seated in the front row she briefly reached over to grasp her hand and Draco realized with a start that the witch was his estranged aunt.

She made her way to the witness stand without glancing at him as she passed by. He was relieved, he wasn't sure how he would have reacted, doubted he could have disguised the naked longing that he felt for her. He might have done something really stupid, like reach for her. She took a magical oath to tell the truth- and he realized with another start that she'd agreed to the most stringent one, and then seated herself primly on the chair inside the box and turned to face his lawyer who was approaching her.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," she responded.

"Could you please state your name for the record?"

"Hermione Jean Granger."

"Would you please tell us your blood status."

The prosecutor jumped to his feet. "Objection to the relevance of Miss Granger's blood status! He's insulting the witness!" Draco barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes at the faux outrage. He'd stayed far away from the Dark Lord, but the man was a well known blood purist.

"Given what you've alleged about Mr. Malfoy's character and the motivations for his actions, I think you'll find her blood status will become very relevant."

"I don't mind," Hermione chimed in, smiling sweetly, as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "I'm proud of where I come from."

The judges conferred briefly. "Overruled," one eventually said, sounding bored, "but get to the point quickly, Mr. Rollins."

His lawyer just nodded and turned back to Hermione. "Miss Granger?"

"I'm a muggleborn," she said simply and there was an undercurrent of murmuring from people who hadn't already realized that this was Harry Potter's long lost best friend.

"Thank you. Now could you tell us how you know the defendant?"

She smiled and she got a faraway look on her face. "We attended Hogwarts together for five years, we were in the same year but sorted into different Houses. I am a Gryffindor and he is a Slytherin."

"And could you tell me the nature of your relationship with Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well, at first, when we were much younger it was contentious. He didn't get along with my friends- Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in particular. Later on we became friends, and then, eventually it became romantic."

Draco could practically feel his father's eyes boring into the back of his head. He couldn't have cared less, he was too busy holding his breath.

"Are you telling me that you, a muggleborn witch and a former friend of Harry Potter were in a romantic relationship with Draco Malfoy, well known pureblood and marked Death Eater?"

She just nodded.

"And how do you feel about Mr. Malfoy today?"

She finally turned her head and locked eyes with him, his eyes nearly fell closed at the intensity of her gaze. "I love him very much and I always will."

Draco was so stunned that he didn't even register that the entire courtroom erupted.

Author's note: This one falls firmly under the category of "story idea" per the summary of this entire collection. So my question is, would you like to see more or is it better left to the imagination?