Hermione cried out, and then leveled her cold fury in the location the green light had come from. Her wand was out instantly. "Finite incantatem!" The invisibility charm fell away.
Standing before in the courtroom was the hitherto "dead" form of Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord known eighteen years before to the wizarding world as Lord Voldemort, or more popularly He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. Of course, he most certainly was not dead, and a quick glance at Fudge confirmed that his worst nightmare was realized.
As Lucius Malfoy stood over the limp form of his wife lying prostrate on the floor, the victim of his Lord's curse, Voldemort leveled his wand on Hermione Granger. "Three Order bitches down, you filthy woman, and one to go. Avada…"
Snape and Lupin had both quickly tackled Voldemort bodily as he began the curse, and the rest of the Gryffindors piled on to hold him down. "Expelliarmus," Hermione said, and held Voldemort's wand in her left hand.
"I'm sorry, Tom, but you won't be murdering any more witches today," she said coldly. "I think you've killed quite enough."
"Lucius!" Voldemort yelled. Clearly, the Dark Lord expected his ally to do something, rather than allow him to be captured.
Lucius looked at Voldemort. Then, he looked into Draco's eyes, and back down at his still, cold wife. It wasn't that he cared that much about Narcissa so much, but he could see on his son's face that the Dark that he had worked and lived for wasn't going to be the winner in this scenario. There was only one chance to redeem the situation and spare his son's life. He had spent his entire life in the service of evil, and he didn't know any other way to be. Better to die quickly, then live knowing you had backed the wrong horse.
"Avada Kedavra," Lucius said, pointing the wand at himself. He was instantly gone.
Draco crumpled in his seat, head in his hands.
Voldemort seemed rather unconcerned with this turn of events, being as he was unencumbered by sentimentality. "Wormtail, it's time for plan B." With that, the rat whose tail was firmly under McGonagall's paw became a man. A hush fell over the gallery.
Harry looked at Peter, and cleared his throat. "Peter. I let you live. You owe me. This is over. If you surrender, it won't be nearly as bad for you as if you do what he wants. I can promise you that, even though you are the scum that betrayed my parents. You've just cleared Sirius' name by showing yourself; now do the right thing, and help me destroy Voldemort."
Peter looked at Harry. "Wormtail," Voldemort said, "Kill the Mudblood bitch. Kill all of them. Quickly…"
"No." For the first time in his miserable life, he stood up and did the wise thing. He handed his wand to Draco Malfoy, and said, "Lord, this is between you, Malfoy, Potter, and Granger. I'm going to Azkaban, probably to die, but at least I will have discharged my very large debt to Mr. Potter. I'm finished running from my past, and I'm finished with you." And Peter Pettigrew sat on the floor to cry.
"Draco," Voldemort's voice betrayed the first signs of nervousness, "You don't have parents anymore. We can be great together, you and I, with the power we share. The enemy has given you a wand. Make your choice."
Draco didn't even hesitate. He raised his wand, and nodded to the prosecutorial table. Harry and Hermione pointed their wands at Voldemort and chanted in time with Draco, "Petrificus totalis." Just like that, it was over.
Fudge officiously began directing various Ministry personnel to summon Dementors and deal with the prisoners immediately. A long sigh escaped the assembled when it was clear the danger was past.
Hermione rushed to Narcissa and Lucius's side with Draco close at her heels. Remus Lupin sank to his knees next to Narcissa, cradling her head with silent tears. After all she had been through, and her final turn, this was incredibly unfair. As far as he was concerned, Lucius was no great loss, but Narcissa had at one time meant everything to him. While he was thrilled that Sirius would now be able to be a free man, the loss of Narcissa after he had finally brought her to the Light…
Hermione looked at Draco, and recoiled. "Draco, I know it wasn't your fault. I can forgive you of something over which you had no control. But I cannot ever, ever forget, do you understand that? I see your face, and I see a monster, and it will take time for me to get past that. You and I were both betrayed. You did the right thing today, Draco, and I will never forget that either. Your mother and I…we have a lot to explain to you, Draco, but now is not the time." Draco nodded, and solemnly looked at his parents on the floor.
Hermione picked up both of her sister's hands and held them between hers, and closed her eyes.
The world bustled around the two women huddled on the floor; there were prisoners to take away, statements to make, a bunch of Gryffindors slapping each other on the back. Hermione frowned, and took Harry's hand and Draco's hand and placed them on Narcissa's head. "Both of you, look into yourselves, and think of your most inner Spirit. Guide it into your hands, and direct it towards Draco's mother. I can feel her still there; I believe she is not completely gone, and it's up to us to try and bring her back."
Hope dawned on Draco's face. The three of them silently held on to Narcissa's Spirit, willing it back to them. Snape watched them, wondering if this would work. No one had ever beaten Avada Kedavra except Harry Potter, and he was protected by the same Spirit that was at work in these three. Could this succeed? He found that he fervently hoped it would.
Lupin stroked her hair, and spoke to her. "Narcissa, come back to me. Come back and live. You've served justice and your sins will be forgiven. Your son is here, and those who love you are right here. You have not finished your life's work. Come back."
At length, her eyes fluttered open. "Draco? Remus? What happened?"
Draco hugged his mother, probably for the first time in his life. "It's going to be all right, Mother. We're going to be okay."
