He looked paler than usual, this was the first thing she registered about Draco Malfoy. The immaculate platinum blond hair, lay across his forehead, his overall appearance one of hopelessness, despair. The Wizengamot was exactly the same, except for the people who presided, which had been a desirable change, with Kingsley as Interim Minister for Magic, Hestia (who had become the new MLE head after Thicknesse was sacked), and Percy (who had been promoted as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister following the arrest of Dolores Umbridge), presiding over the Death Eater Trials.
The trials had been fair, though none of the Death Eaters could produce any witness for defense, they had been given the chance. Therefore, it had come as a shock to the wizarding community in general when the Chosen One had expressed her desire to act as witness for the defense of Draco Malfoy, notorious for abetting the death of Albus Dumbledore and his mother, Narcissa Malfoy. 'Tis only fair, she thought as she looked at the Malfoys, that she should give them a chance at a better life, after all Narcissa had risked her life as she lied to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, though it had been for her son, and her Gryffindor heart had refused to let Draco suffer for the errors of his father.
She thought back to the day Percy had told her of the Malfoys' trials and how disturbed she had been by the thought of all Death Eaters being subjected to immediate execution, for Malfoy, though a repulsive school bully, was probably the worst Death Eater. Hell, she'd even successfully tortured Carrow (at least till he passed out if not to insanity; though she doubted he was sane enough to become insane further), and would have definitely made a better Death Eater than Malfoy only if Voldemort weren't hunting her down, she thought with a dark chuckle.
"Hearing commences", Kingsley's deep voice brought her back to the current scenario, as he began reciting the charges against the accused. She looked around herself, thinking back to the summer of 1995, and she couldn't help but observe a few obvious changes in the people around her- for one this wasn't a full criminal trial (even though the charges were much more serious than those of simple underage magic), things were being kept quiet for fear of uprisings within the Wizengamot, and that the audience comprised of herself only. She was surprised to note the absence of Skeeter, or any Daily Prophet reporter for that matter, though she was apprehensive of a beetle popping out of thin air.
She had conveniently tuned out all the proceedings, choosing to continue with her own disturbed musings instead, therefore she was startled when her name was called out. She flushed and descended down to the designated place, and couldn't help noticing the stunned silence that followed the announcement; Kingsley looked mildly disapproving of her inattentiveness, Hestia had an encouraging sort of smile, and Percy looked vaguely amused at the turn of events (Fred's a bad influence).
She took a breath to steady herself, then looked at the one she wished to defend. Malfoy was staring at her in stunned disbelief, and the sight caused her to momentarily lose the thread of speech she had prepared. She looked up at Kingsley, pleading him to just get on with it.
"You are Iris Lily Potter?"
"Yes".
"The chair recognizes your wish to testify in favor of Draco Lucius Malfoy, accused of crimes committed during the Second Wizarding War. The charges against the accused are as follows: That he knowingly accepted the Dark Mark, which identified himself as a member of the group of followers of one Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort, called the Death Eaters, abetted the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, possessed known Dark Artifacts and endangered the lives of two fellow students through the use of said Artifacts and by facilitating the entry of Death Eaters into the school." Kingsley said, with a pointed glare at her sheepish expression.
"I'd like to request the use of a Pensieve to record a few memories which the Wizengamot may consider for their kind perusal, and which may speak volumes regarding the accused's innocence", Iris said, mindful of her unusual request, yet quite not willing to look up and gauge the reactions of the warlocks.
Head Auror Tonks (Lupin, really I should get used to that by now) brought her the requested vials, with a wink. She took 4 vials and recorded the needed memories (she recorded the one that showed Dumbledore arranging his own death with Snape too, because she knew he would be hauled up for questioning as soon as he recovered).
"The Wizengamot needs time to review the memories, check for any tampering, and arrive at a conclusion, therefore we hope the parties concerned will be patient enough."
Iris went back to her seat in the audience and resumed her own observations of the people around her. Narcissa Malfoy, looked completely calm behind the mask of well-practiced feigned pureblood indifference. If she was surprised by Iris's decision, she didn't show it, except a tiny nod of acknowledgement. Lucius Malfoy looked on straight ahead, a hopeless expression on his face. Iris pitied the man- even Ron had to agree that the man had gone through a lot, from being trusted enough to be given possession of one of Voldemort's prized Horcruxes, to being stripped of his wand and his own Manor.
But it was Draco whose reaction took her aback the most- the blonde was staring at her as if she had grown an extra head (and Hermione tells me I need to grow up!). She had never seen him lose composure like this ever (well Astronomy Tower didn't really count), and she didn't think it made a pretty sight. He composed himself fairly quickly and sat glaring at the chains as if they were responsible for his current lack of composure. Iris let out an exasperated sigh, and sat counting the minutes sending a silent wish to Merlin, Morgana, Circe (and whoever else was out there) to let the trial finish quickly.
"So, that was all?" Blaise asked Draco over drinks at the Leaky. He had wanted to celebrate his acquittal (Draco and Narcissa had been let off with a year of compulsory community service; while Lucius had got a year's mandatory house arrest)
"Yeah, and she returned my wand, and I asked whether the wand would work for me, when she had taken it forcefully, to which she replied, 'I don't see any reason for it not to work. You could try a few spells with it, you know simple ones. If they don't' work, well Ollivander's always ready to help.'"
"Well, does it work for you?"
"Yeah, but not as it did earlier though. I got a new wand anyways."
Blaise looked thoughtful.
"I never thought she'd return it. She did say 'Winners, keepers' in the Room of Requirement that night, after all", Draco continued.
"None of us thought she'd testify for the Malfoys'."
Draco sighed into his drink.
"Are you going back for the Eighth Year?" Blaise asked, after a pause.
"Yeah, got to, haven't I?. Death Eaters need to prove their mettle in their NEWTs to manage a respectable job" Draco replied bitterly.
"Acquitted Death Eater, cleared of all charges", Blaise corrected him, as Draco scoffed derisively, "anyways good luck, I expect I'll see you on the 1st of September. I'd best be off now, else Pansy'll have my head."
"Congratulations on your engagement, and good luck with the in-laws."
Blaise chuckled, and left Draco wondering if it was him, or was there something seriously wrong with Potter.
He remembered the first time he had met her- a scrawny girl with the most unruly hair possible, baggy clothes and looking dazed, but with the brightest green eyes, in Madam Malkins' shop- in fact he hadn't even realized that he had been bragging about his pureblood status and wealth to the Girl-who-lived until a gust of wind had revealed the famous scar beneath the bangs; and his mind wandered to his trial- Potter had worn midnight blue robes, and her otherwise unruly hair had been pulled up into a sleek bun, held by a hairpin that he observed had the Black Family Crest on it, which was altogether different from the Potter he knew, in fact if it weren't for those eyes, he'd have trouble believing that the girl, seven years ago in Madam Malkins', was the same as his Witness at the Trial.
He knew he had been a prat that day at Madam Malkins' (not that he'd admit it to anyone ever), but the harm had been done, Potter had refused his hand in friendship, and chosen Weasley (probably for the best, not that it'd be good for the Gryffindor Golden Girl to associate with Death Eaters like him, he thought bitterly), and that had sown the seeds for six years of bitter schoolyard rivalry. He knew she hated him, had done so for seven long years, then why, why in Merlin's name had she testified for him? He sneered at the thought of owing Potter a life debt, the bane of his existence for six years of his school education (he never counted the Death Eater regime at Hogwarts as an educational year), which again brought him back to his current dilemma- he wanted to complete his formal education, but dreaded the thought of going back, because going back meant reliving the horrors of the past year. He still woke up from nightmares as he found himself in the Room of Requirement once again, his hands slipping as he fell into the hungry flames that had already devoured Crabbe. It had been Potter again, the stupid Gryffindor, who had risked her own life and (judging by the scowls and naked hatred he had seen in Weasley and Granger's expressions) forced her friends to save him and Goyle that day.
He was jolted out of his musings by raised voices near the entrance, and sighing, he rose, cleared his bill, and walked out into Diagon Alley, finally realizing how much the war had affected them all as he took in his surroundings, and breathing in the air finally free of the chill from Dementors, and the stench of fear.