Disclaimer: ((shakes head)) nope. not mine. none of it. well..the plot is...
A/N: I'm starting to really like this story! Please review and tell me if you do too!Chapter Two - False Accusations
Thursday morning came and Draco made his way to courtroom ten at 8 a.m. He turned the knob and walked across the rows and sat down in a chair where the jurors sat. Only two other of the nine jurors were there when Draco arrived. He sighed as he sat in the front row and looked around the room. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was in there, as was all of the Wizengamot. Harry Potter, being a member of the Wizengamot was in there as well. Once everyone was settled in the room, Fudge stood up and cleared his throat; everyone went silent.
"Now that everyone is here, please bring in the defendant." He spoke wearily.
Doors on the opposite side of the room burst open and two men brought in a wavy haired woman and sat her down in a chair in front of the whole court. Draco's mouth fell open at the site of Hermione, she would never do anything illegal...why was she in court?
"Ms. Hermione Granger, six months ago you were caught in the presence of an exiled death eater in Hogsmeade. The prosecutor has a witness that believes that you were passing valuable information to that death eater." Fudge croaked. "What do you plea?"
Hermione spoke loudly and confidently. "I plead innocent."
"So be it." Fudge shook his head. "If the jury finds you guilty after you plead innocent, you do know that the punishment will be twice as harsh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Before the trial begins, I must ask the jurors to please speak now if you know or have any contact with the defendant." Fudge looked up over his glasses and watched the nine people who were jurors.
Everyone shook their heads but Draco, who just sat in stunned silence staring at Hermione. Hermione was also staring at Draco, recognizing him as the man who helped her a few days before.
"Alright, may the trial begin." Fudge said when no one said anything and sat down to face Hermione again.
"Ms. Granger, this is the last chance you have to ask for a lawyer, or do you really insist on representing yourself in this trial?" Fudge asked irritably.
"I want to represent myself, sir."
"Very well. We will start with the prosecution, bring out your witness, Mr. Potter." Fudge said.
Harry spoke in a clear voice, and read directly off his parchment. "You claim to have been in the Hogs Head on the third of June, six months ago?"
The man in the chair mumbled softly, "Yes, and I saw her there." He jabbed his thumb at Hermione.
"What was she doing there?" Harry asked.
The man paused before responding, "She was talking to a death eater...she was telling him some secret plan about forcing the Fudge out of his position as Minister of Magic."
"How do you know this person was a death eater?" Harry queried.
"I saw the dark mark on his left wrist, sir."
"And are you positive it was Ms. Granger that you saw there that night?"
"Yes."
Hermione scoffed loudly. "Oh this is ridiculous."
"Excuse me?" Harry asked, looking over at Hermione.
"I would never give information to a death eater...I helped put some death eaters away! You know that, Harry!"
Fudge stood up quickly. "Ms. Granger, it would be wise if you did not speak out of turn, and it would be even wiser to not lie under oath--"
"I never took an oath!" Hermione interrupted.
"I think we are done for today." Fudge spat and started gathering his belongings. "This trial will resume same time next week." He said, giving a final glare at Hermione and left the courtroom.
........
Hermione was still sitting in her chair, free to go, but she was watching the man who helped her out a few days ago. She watched him finish taking notes on his parchment and leave the courtroom after everyone else did.
He was walking down a quiet, deserted corridor when Hermione came up behind him.
"Excuse me, sir..." She asked.
Draco turned around and stared at her. "We're not supposed to be talking; I am a juror in your trial." He breathed.
"But I was wondering why you helped me out a few days ago." Hermione asked.
"I was feeling generous." Draco tried to walk away.
"Well are you feeling generous now?"
Draco stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean..." He inquired without turning around.
"Will you help me?"
Draco turned around quickly.
"Are you crazy?!"
"There's no way I can do this by myself. And nobody will defend me." Hermione stated.
"I can't defend you...I am not a lawyer, and I am a juror in your trial!" Draco repeated.
"Why would I help you anyways?" Draco looked at her oddly. She surely doesn't know who I am does she? But why is she asking for my help? Draco thought.
"Well I was thinking that since you're part of the jury, you could influence them to vote not-guilty. There really is no evidence against me. Fudge just has a grudge against me because he thinks I'm trying to force him out of his position as Minister of Magic..." She stopped talking and looked up at him. "So will you help me?" Hermione insisted.
No. I will not associate with you; it could hurt my career and my reputation. Plus...you're a Mudblood anyways." He spat and started walking off again.
"What?" Hermione asked curiously, they hadn't mentioned that she was Muggle-born in the trial...how did he know?
........
Draco was relaxing at his home when an owl fluttered up and pecked it's beak on the window. Draco went over and lifted up the window, letting the tiny owl fly inside. It perched itself on the edge of the chair Draco had been sitting in and held out its leg revealing a letter.
He untied the letter from the owl's leg and it flew off out the window and into the distance. Draco sat back down in his chair, and began to read the letter.
Son,
I've had word that you are a juror in the trial for the Mudblood. I know what you are probably thinking, and I forbid you to dwell on the past. You were punished severely for your feelings last time and I must remind you to remain smart; otherwise it could ruin your reputation. You've worked so hard to get this far, mostly upon my doing, but do you really want to mess up everything? If you do not obey me, surely you by now know the harsh consequences. Give this girl what she deserves; you know what I mean. If it does not happen...I'm afraid I will have to go through with the plan this time. You have been warned, and you are being watched. You know I have close friends who are willing to do my dirty business for me. I recommend you to watch your back because your every move, your every word, and your every action is being reported to me. I expect a letter back with your plans for the Mudblood soon.
Sincerely,
Your Father
Draco looked up from the letter and looked around the room. He wondered if he was being watched right now. Knowing his father, every possession he owned was probably enchanted to become some sort of spying material.
"I DON'T BLOODY CARE!" Draco yelled aloud, shaking his head furiously. His white-blonde hair now was messy and tousled over his pale, handsome face. He was breathing hard and looking around the room for some sort of sign of his father spying on him.
Draco picked up a rather large encyclopedia and threw it across the room at a table with several candles and a bowl of fruit lying on top. The bowl fell to the floor with a loud clang and the fruit rolled all across the floor. The candles tipped over into curtains closed over a window and was immediately engulfed with flames.
He let the fruit roll across the floor and the curtain catch on fire because for that moment, Draco's attention was settled upon a book that had been concealed by the large encyclopedia and was now lying on the floor next to Draco. He picked it up and examined it, it was his old journal.
He always found it insecure and girlish to have his own journal, but he always kept one; he needed to let his thoughts out somehow. He didn't have a pensieve and he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself, so he found it quite peaceful and relaxing to write them down.
He looked up and saw the curtains of his sitting room on fire. He sat there for a minute, thinking if he should just leave the mansion to burn down. This was the house that his parents left him; it was only full of bad memories anyways. But the sensible side of Draco got to him and he pulled out his wand, and with a flick and an incantation, the fire was extinguished.
Draco sat down and flipped to the last page in the journal, it was the day he graduated from Hogwarts:
........
Dear Journal,
I graduated today. Hogwarts is finally over, I can't believe it's gone by so fast. I already applied for a job in the Ministry, so I can have information from the inside as my father says. He's leaving to go into hiding in France tomorrow; the Aurors are still after him. Hopefully one day they will catch him and give him what he deserves, the bastard, I hate him.
I made a big mistake today. I don't know if I can ever forgive myself. I kissed Hermione Granger. I went back and read through this journal last night and realized how much I wrote about her. I find it odd that I would have feelings for a muggle-born. I think I was defying my father more than it was my actual feelings for her...though I do think about her a lot.
Granger kept her head, however, and told me if wouldn't work. Which of course...it wouldn't. I just wish we could have talked things out, my damn father always gets in the way.
Somehow my father got word of what happened today and punished me severely. I think it will be more than a month before these bruises start to fade...I didn't bleed this time however, I think I'm becoming immune. The pain was even bearable this time.
The only thing I regret during my years at Hogwarts is not telling Hermione how I felt when I started having feelings for her in fourth year. Maybe things would have turned out differently...
Draco Malfoy
........
Draco closed his eyes and remembered how he kept his feelings for Hermione bottled up inside, and never told a single soul, though his parents did find his diary one day and found out all his secrets, and his father had punished him brutally. He shuddered as memories surfaced of his own father cursing him, and beating him, and abusing him.
Draco turned the page and saw miniscule writing on the back of the page that was a letter to Hermione. He began to read it, but he strained his eyes so much he began to develop a headache. He ripped the page out of the journal and stuffed it in his robe pocket, making a mental note to read it later.
........
At work the next day, it went by as a normal day. Not until the hour before Draco had to leave did it become unusual. An owl arrived for Draco, and thankfully it wasn't from his father.
Meet me at the place where we met the first time; tomorrow at 6. We need to talk.
H.G.
Why does she want to talk to me?! He thought. My father's watching my every move. And if we're seen together, we could both be in serious trouble with the Ministry; jurors and defendants aren't supposed to talk, let alone know each other. He sighed as he usually did when he was stressed and decided to meet Hermione at the phone booth near the Muggle restaurant at 6 o'clock. Draco just wondered what she wanted to talk about so bad.
........
A/N: Please review!!! It makes me sooo giddy...I just might post chapter 3 up here sooner if I get...a LOT of reviews. : )