Draco's expression was… Vacant. Absent, as he bared his arm to a room full of the most judgemental witches and wizards in London. And I so desperately wanted to hop the railing and rush to his side, pull him into my arms. My grip on the railing tightened painfully as Scrimgeour called for order.
"This is… Certainly some very solid evidence. Though, I think, given Mr. Potter's presence, we might require another witness to attest to the nature of your repentance."
Scrimgeour gestured to the entrance, and the two aurors stationed there stepped into action. With black dread dropping in my gut, I watched as they pulled the doors open and one chained and desolate Lucius Malfoy stepped into the room. No.
Draco didn't turn to look, I saw as much out of my peripherals, but my focus was laser-trained on Lucius. Festering loathing rose in my throat as I took in his state. Prison garb, grown-out beard, matted hair and filthy face, but his eyes… Trained on the floor, they were the picture of defeat. To a perceptive eye, though, the malice I'd always seen there was still burning just as brightly. And I took a deep breath, worrying my wandless magic would inflict some harm on him if I didn't keep it under wraps. I couldn't afford to attack an inmate before the Minister and the entire Wizengamot.
The jingling of Lucius's chains and the shuffling of his feet was the only sound as he was led to Draco's left, and forced to his knees. With cold rage, I forced myself to sit back on the bench behind me. And fisted my hands in my lap.
Draco stiffened visibly, but he didn't turn to look at his father. Panic feathered on his face for several moments before something like revulsion, and then cold, hard hate. And my heart tightened in my chest.
"Mr. Malfoy, would you care to share your opinion on this evidence? Seeing as how you are his father," Scrimgeour gestured toward Draco's arm, and I saw another echo of a wince on his face. But it was empty again when he extended said arm over the edge of his seat for his father to see. And Lucius sneered at it.
"What… Exactly… Are you asking?" Lucius's voice was hoarse, either with disuse or from screaming. No softness, no apology. Rage bubbled up in my throat like bile.
Scrimgeour pursed his lips. "Are these marks of penitence or devotion?"
I saw the deliberation on Lucius's face as his eyes scanned the damage on Draco's Dark Mark. And the knot that formed on Draco's brow as it happened. And he still wouldn't look at his father. I would've paid a pretty penny to know what was going through Draco's head at that moment, but was fairly confident it was most likely blessedly blank.
"Regret," Lucius eventually spat, settling back on his heels with a grimace. "It wasn't his choice from the beginning. We always knew that."
Something like shock slacked Draco's face, and I read the reaction like plain fucking English.
We always knew that. They knew the whole time that I was unwilling, but they did this to me anyway. My father… I choked back a gag. Forced me to take the Mark to protect me.
I couldn't move, couldn't process what I'd just heard. And an infinite moment stretched in my mind as Scrimgeour turned my father's words over with a hum.
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Senior."
With a jangling of chains, my father was forced to his feet. And I managed to catch Harry's eye. His were bright, and he gestured none-too-subtly with his chin towards my father. As if telling me to look. So I did.
Jesus Christ, my father was in a bad way. I almost smiled, but he caught my eye and my jaw tightened. We exchanged a tense few moments of eye contact before he was dragged away, and some hectic corner of my mind quietened. He's gone.
Scrimgeour cleared his throat. "Well… Given the evidence we've witnessed today, I'll go ahead and clear the retrial." He stamped a massive fucking print down on a parchment, and I exhaled a sigh of relief. "But we'll schedule another retrial in a year. Fair?"
He looked at Harry as he said this, and my gaze was drawn right along with his. And Harry gave a hard nod. Jesus, he looks livid. Scrimgeour returned his nod and exchanged several glances with the Wizengamot. Seemingly agreeable, I was released. And my legs led me robotically back to the phone booth lift when Harry caught my wrist and joined me. The doors closed behind us, and a smile bright as the dawn broke on his face.
"You were brilliant," he expounded, but I was somewhere else. Harry seemed to notice, because his sun-bright smile dimmed to a twilight grey as he caught my eyes. "Draco?"
Hearing my name in his mouth shot a beacon through the clouds that'd gathered over my head, and a knot formed in my throat. Before I could even hedge tears, he was wrapped around me like a vice. My legs gave out, but he only held me tighter to himself as I let the dam burst.