Disclaimer: I own any OC's and the plot; JKR owns the rest.
A/N: The prologue begins fairly soon after the end of OotP. And I also want to add that YES, JKR has confirmed that Blaise TRULY IS a boy.
A tall and lonely man gazed desolately out of the second story parlor window of the Leaky Cauldron upon the bustling London streets below. He was too busy contemplating a severe matter to really notice the dozens of people carelessly walking about, though.
There had come a time in his life when he had been forced to choose between two sides. It was not just between the concept of right and wrong; if only it was so simple. It was a matter of duty and honor, valor and obligation, life and death.
But he had decided long ago that the madness had to stop. He had weighed the decision thousands of times and concluded his thoughts.
Draco Malfoy was going to turn in the Death Eaters.
At that moment, Draco heard a loud crack from behind him. Without even looking over his shoulder, he drawled, "You must be Nymphadora Tonks."
He slowly glanced away from the window and faced the stunned, petite woman. "I'm guessing that you're wondering why I called a private meeting with you, Nymphadora, and why I sent the letter specifically to you and not the department."
"Well," the Auror stated hesitantly, "I do admit that I am the slightest bit curious."
Draco sighed and turned back towards the window. "What I am about to tell you is only to be revealed to another person if I approve of it. The information I am about to give to you is very hard for me to divulge, so I beg of you to refrain from interrupting." He turned back to a very confused Tonks and asked, "Would you please give me some of your Veritaserum?"
At her questioning glance, he said, "I'm just trying to further ensure your trust in my information. With what you'll soon discover, this Veritaserum may be the only thing that keeps you from tossing me into St. Mungo's."
Tonks slowly handed him the clear vial of her strongest Veritaserum. She was about to ask him a question, but once she examined the troubled expression upon his face, she decided to let him get whatever was haunting him off of his chest.
Draco gulped down the clear potion and cringed. "Merlin that stuff tastes dreadful." He shuddered in disgust again and then regained his composure. "Is it in effect right now?" At her nod, he decided to start right in.
"I called you here to give testimony against Lord Voldemort's most trusted and powerful Death Eaters." He paused for a second, trying to gage Tonks's reaction. Besides the slight widening of her blue eyes, she didn't show any outward effects to his statement.
"Ever since my birth, I have known all of the evils of our world. I have had to suffer through the fear and the terror of the proverbial dark side. I have even seen evil in its purest form." Tonks let slip a tiny gasp at this and he ruefully grinned. "Yes, I've had to endure the presence of Lord Voldemort on several occasions, many of these occurrences taking place quite recently. I've been meaning to go to the ministry for years now, but I have always talked myself out of it every time. The reason why I have come to you now is because something is brewing, something big. Lucius usually tells me everything about his meetings, as he say, to prepare me for when I am inducted into Voldemort's ranks."
Draco paused and remembered his father's most recent lecture about becoming one of 'the most estimable men in the wizarding world.' "Besides that, Lucius is losing his patience with Mother. She was put under the Imperius curse since the day she was married to him. She has been fighting it more and more these days, though. She actually completely broke free the other day, but he... sedated her before she could disaparate. One of these days, he'll lose his temper and wind up killing her."
He stared blankly into the hearty fire and thought of life without the only friendly face in his existence. Draco quickly snapped himself out of his daze and said, "So here's the deal, Tonks. I have been profiling several Death Eaters for years now, and I am going to give the files to you. Many of these witches and wizards are already suspected, but some of them, you haven't the foggiest clue about. I am also going to give a list of what order would be most beneficial to capture the Death Eaters in. This list is mainly a suggestion, but the first three must be apprehended in their written order, or I shall not disclose the rest of the list. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Draco," Tonks replied. "But who are the first three?"
"Well, my father has to be the first. That way, he won't suspect anything. He has always been too cocky to ever truly consider ever being arrested, but he does have good reason. Lucius is also the most dangerous of all of His followers. Second, you must arrest Archibald Zabini. He is not as dangerous by far, but he is whom Voldemort will turn to after Lucius is gone." Draco paused for a moment, thinking of how best to phrase what he had to say next.
"The last one I speak of has so far proven very successful in his concealment. He is not very dangerous by himself, but he has more influence than even Lucius."
"Merlin," gasped Tonks. "Who in the hell are you talking about?"
"I, of course, am talking about the second most trusted wizard in our world, none other than Mr. Cornelius Fudge."
A few hours later, Tonks was sitting in her office thinking about how she should proceed. When Draco first had accused the minister, she immediately refused to believe it. She was about to leave, but then Draco started to talk very quickly.
"Before you go, I ask that you just consider something for a moment. Don't you think that it is suspicious that he is always meeting privately with Lucius or Archibald? Or that most of the funding that keeps Fudge in office and quite comfortable comes from those two men? What about last year, when the minister turned into Senator McCarthy on those who believed Harry Potter's claims of the dark lord's return? But personally, my favorite is the fact that Fudge just duped the rest of the Wizengamot to drop all charges against Lucius and several other Death Eaters, saying that they were under the effects of the Imperius. And for your information, Voldemort never marks any witch or wizard who wouldn't be incontrovertibly loyal to him of their own free will."
All she could do was stare at him like a deer in the headlights. Draco had so much convincing evidence, and the Veritaserum would still be one hundred percent effective for an hour at least.
"Draco," Tonks started our cautiously, "I need to know if you've actually seen his mark, or if this is all speculation." At Draco's dark scowl, she rushed on to say, "I don't doubt you. It is just that if I go after the minister without good, solid evidence, I would be sent to Azkaban for treason for defaming our leader."
Draco looked into her eyes and was glad to see that she truly did believe him. It was nice to have someone on his side. He nodded briskly and said, "I've seen his mark, but most of the time he uses a really powerful concealment charm to cover it. He's the only Death Eater who uses one because his position in the ministry is so vital. Voldemort refuses to let others cover theirs with spells, though. He sees it as them being ashamed of their affiliations and afraid of the consequences for those same affiliations."
Tonks sank into a near by chair and took a deep breath. This was such a shock to her. The enemy held the highest office in the wizarding world. There wasn't a single place safe of corruption if the ministry was a sleeper for Lord Voldemort. "Do you have any other requirements?"
"These three men mustn't suspect a thing. I don't think Fudge will get antsy; he feels too secure. The only hitch is that I think Zabini will know of Lucius's arrest only moments after it occurs. News travels fast between our families. I think your only hope is to capture them at the same time. You also have to nail Fudge before their court date. If he is presiding over the trials, we might as well not capture them at all. He will set their trial dates for as soon as possible once he catches wind of this. I know that there must be at least two of you in the loop on this, but too many Aurors can let too many things slip. In my opinion, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and you should settle things quite nicely," said Draco.
"Well," Tonks said in a sigh, "You certainly do have a lot of rules, most of them reiterating what common sense dictates." She paused for a second and then continued. "I have no objections with your terms, but I do have a few questions."
"Such as?" Draco asked with boredom.
"When will you release more names?"
"As soon as you land those three behind bars in Azkaban."
"Why did you come to me?"
"For two reasons, Tonks. First of all, you aren't so paranoid that you would've asked half of the department their thoughts on you coming and brought the other half. Secondly... because you're family."
"Will you testify against those you are accusing?"
"Is their any certainty of their imprisonment if my name stays out of it?"
"Not a bat's chance in hell."
Draco sighed in defeat. "Then I will testify."
Tonks looked closely at the fifteen-year-old boy in front of her. She couldn't keep herself from asking one final question. "Why are you doing this Draco?"
He turned away abruptly and glared in to the roaring flames. "I am doing this because I've realized more than any member of the Order how close Voldemort is to winning. I am doing this because I've seen things so horrible and terrifying, I would rather spend the rest of my days rotting away in Azkaban than have to see any more of these things. I know more bone- chilling things about their kind than even Dumbledore. I am doing this because I have been made a broken person due to my father and his cohorts. I'm doing this so no other human will have to suffer through what I have. I am doing this so I won't be made a Death Eater. But I think that the main reason I am doing this is to piss him off."
He was now seething with rage. Tonks knew without question that the him in question was Lucius. Not knowing what to say, she thought it best to change the subject to something, to anything, besides Draco's father.
"You do realize that if you testify, you will be making yourself a target to other Death Eaters."
"I know," Draco mumbled. "I'm going into hiding for a while afterwards, just until the big players are gone. After they're eliminated, most of the pawns will catch pretty easily."
Tonks silently nodded her head and thought all the more of him now. She had always suspected that Draco didn't follow his father's footsteps as eagerly as many believed, but she never would have thought that he would have done something of this magnitude. Tonks wanted to tell him how much she applauded his character, but she thought it best not to.
Draco was glad that she hadn't heaped thanks upon him for his 'courageous acts.' He had always thought that praise made him look like a dog.
"Well, I had better get back to the office and start strategizing. We have a lot of work to do before this can be done properly."
Draco looked over his shoulders and gave her a smile that never quite reached his eyes.
As she sat in her office later, she reflected upon how tragic Draco's story was. He was only fifteen, but he had more burdens upon his shoulders than even Albus Dumbledore had to carry. Tonks eventually brought herself out of her thoughts and owled Mad-Eye and Kingsley. She wasn't fibbing about the amount of planning that needed to be done.
In the ensuing weeks, the wizarding world was turned upside-down. The Daily Prophet was teeming with articles about newly discovered Death Eaters. The first article wasn't as important as others; it was a modest piece about how Lucius Malfoy and Archibald Zabini were arrested for questioning about their involvement with You-Know-Who... again.
The next article, however, blew most of the Daily Prophets subscribers away. They had been made aware of the minister's arrest and had published most of the incriminating evidence against him. The paper had somehow gotten its hands around the fact that he had the dark mark.
Of course, the three men testified to the fact that they were innocent, upstanding citizens.
I mean, who would disbelieve that two former Death Eaters and their lackey had gone to the dark side?
The day of the trial had dawned. Up until that moment, the people and the accused were completely clueless as to who had turned over evidence against them. Lucius and Archibald had determined that it was a Death Eater who was shirking his duties.
Cornelius had turned into a blubbering baby, bawling over the loss of his career. Lucius and Archibald threatened him to stay quiet or the dark lord would make Azkaban seem like a walk in the park. He was reassured that the Wizengamot wouldn't have enough evidence to be able to lock them away.
Seeing as how Archibald and Lucius had been through this routine many times, they felt as safe as kittens.
The three of them were transported down to one of the Courthouse 10, one of the courtrooms that saw more nefarious trials than others. As they entered, there were hundreds of flashes going off. It seemed as if every wizarding newspaper and magazine was represented. Besides the snaps and clicks of camera shutters, it was completely silent.
Lucius, Archibald, and Cornelius took their seats in the chained chairs stationed in the center of the court. Cornelius looked worried, but his two co-conspirators looked at ease and rather bored.
Albus Dumbledore stood up from his place in the center of the front row. After looking down at the accused for a moment, he said, "We are all present today to hear the testimonies of several individuals against Lucius Malfoy, Archibald Zabini, and Cornelius Fudge. I first wish to bring to the Wizengamot's attention the testimony of the lead Auror on this case, Ms. Nymphadora Tonks."
Tonks was brought forward and refreshed everyone's memories on past accusations, as well as give a list of various objects of a more devious nature that were found upon thorough searches of the residences belonging to the accused. Several more Aurors testified after her, as well as many members of the Order of the Phoenix. The tension in the courtroom started to dissipate rather quickly. They realized that there was very little evidence being brought forward, and that the three men would probably walk free.
But then, Albus Dumbledore brought forth the final witness.
A door off the side of the courtroom opened and in walked Draco Malfoy. Every person in the room was stunned for several moments. All eyes were on him, and his eyes were on Lucius. Many would expect Draco to look terrified and shy away in his father's presence, but all he did was smirk with the knowledge that he had backed Lucius into a corner.
As Draco looked into Lucius's eyes, he saw in them a mix of rage and horror, and his smirk grew.
Draco had finally won.
There were drastic changes in the wizarding community over the next year. Through Draco's testimonies, he had sent over seventy-five witches and wizards to their doom in Azkaban, many including friends of the family and Slytherin students' parents.
After Draco had turned in his father, Dumbledore suggested that he go into hiding until some tempers had cooled. The headmaster told him that it may be a while, but Draco didn't agree with him.
"Mr. Malfoy, the dark lord neither forgives nor forgets."
Draco scoffed at this. "Don't worry about him. He will soon become consumed by trying to protect his power and find more followers. I mean, how long could it take for this thing to blow over?"
A/N: The prologue begins fairly soon after the end of OotP. And I also want to add that YES, JKR has confirmed that Blaise TRULY IS a boy.
A tall and lonely man gazed desolately out of the second story parlor window of the Leaky Cauldron upon the bustling London streets below. He was too busy contemplating a severe matter to really notice the dozens of people carelessly walking about, though.
There had come a time in his life when he had been forced to choose between two sides. It was not just between the concept of right and wrong; if only it was so simple. It was a matter of duty and honor, valor and obligation, life and death.
But he had decided long ago that the madness had to stop. He had weighed the decision thousands of times and concluded his thoughts.
Draco Malfoy was going to turn in the Death Eaters.
At that moment, Draco heard a loud crack from behind him. Without even looking over his shoulder, he drawled, "You must be Nymphadora Tonks."
He slowly glanced away from the window and faced the stunned, petite woman. "I'm guessing that you're wondering why I called a private meeting with you, Nymphadora, and why I sent the letter specifically to you and not the department."
"Well," the Auror stated hesitantly, "I do admit that I am the slightest bit curious."
Draco sighed and turned back towards the window. "What I am about to tell you is only to be revealed to another person if I approve of it. The information I am about to give to you is very hard for me to divulge, so I beg of you to refrain from interrupting." He turned back to a very confused Tonks and asked, "Would you please give me some of your Veritaserum?"
At her questioning glance, he said, "I'm just trying to further ensure your trust in my information. With what you'll soon discover, this Veritaserum may be the only thing that keeps you from tossing me into St. Mungo's."
Tonks slowly handed him the clear vial of her strongest Veritaserum. She was about to ask him a question, but once she examined the troubled expression upon his face, she decided to let him get whatever was haunting him off of his chest.
Draco gulped down the clear potion and cringed. "Merlin that stuff tastes dreadful." He shuddered in disgust again and then regained his composure. "Is it in effect right now?" At her nod, he decided to start right in.
"I called you here to give testimony against Lord Voldemort's most trusted and powerful Death Eaters." He paused for a second, trying to gage Tonks's reaction. Besides the slight widening of her blue eyes, she didn't show any outward effects to his statement.
"Ever since my birth, I have known all of the evils of our world. I have had to suffer through the fear and the terror of the proverbial dark side. I have even seen evil in its purest form." Tonks let slip a tiny gasp at this and he ruefully grinned. "Yes, I've had to endure the presence of Lord Voldemort on several occasions, many of these occurrences taking place quite recently. I've been meaning to go to the ministry for years now, but I have always talked myself out of it every time. The reason why I have come to you now is because something is brewing, something big. Lucius usually tells me everything about his meetings, as he say, to prepare me for when I am inducted into Voldemort's ranks."
Draco paused and remembered his father's most recent lecture about becoming one of 'the most estimable men in the wizarding world.' "Besides that, Lucius is losing his patience with Mother. She was put under the Imperius curse since the day she was married to him. She has been fighting it more and more these days, though. She actually completely broke free the other day, but he... sedated her before she could disaparate. One of these days, he'll lose his temper and wind up killing her."
He stared blankly into the hearty fire and thought of life without the only friendly face in his existence. Draco quickly snapped himself out of his daze and said, "So here's the deal, Tonks. I have been profiling several Death Eaters for years now, and I am going to give the files to you. Many of these witches and wizards are already suspected, but some of them, you haven't the foggiest clue about. I am also going to give a list of what order would be most beneficial to capture the Death Eaters in. This list is mainly a suggestion, but the first three must be apprehended in their written order, or I shall not disclose the rest of the list. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Draco," Tonks replied. "But who are the first three?"
"Well, my father has to be the first. That way, he won't suspect anything. He has always been too cocky to ever truly consider ever being arrested, but he does have good reason. Lucius is also the most dangerous of all of His followers. Second, you must arrest Archibald Zabini. He is not as dangerous by far, but he is whom Voldemort will turn to after Lucius is gone." Draco paused for a moment, thinking of how best to phrase what he had to say next.
"The last one I speak of has so far proven very successful in his concealment. He is not very dangerous by himself, but he has more influence than even Lucius."
"Merlin," gasped Tonks. "Who in the hell are you talking about?"
"I, of course, am talking about the second most trusted wizard in our world, none other than Mr. Cornelius Fudge."
A few hours later, Tonks was sitting in her office thinking about how she should proceed. When Draco first had accused the minister, she immediately refused to believe it. She was about to leave, but then Draco started to talk very quickly.
"Before you go, I ask that you just consider something for a moment. Don't you think that it is suspicious that he is always meeting privately with Lucius or Archibald? Or that most of the funding that keeps Fudge in office and quite comfortable comes from those two men? What about last year, when the minister turned into Senator McCarthy on those who believed Harry Potter's claims of the dark lord's return? But personally, my favorite is the fact that Fudge just duped the rest of the Wizengamot to drop all charges against Lucius and several other Death Eaters, saying that they were under the effects of the Imperius. And for your information, Voldemort never marks any witch or wizard who wouldn't be incontrovertibly loyal to him of their own free will."
All she could do was stare at him like a deer in the headlights. Draco had so much convincing evidence, and the Veritaserum would still be one hundred percent effective for an hour at least.
"Draco," Tonks started our cautiously, "I need to know if you've actually seen his mark, or if this is all speculation." At Draco's dark scowl, she rushed on to say, "I don't doubt you. It is just that if I go after the minister without good, solid evidence, I would be sent to Azkaban for treason for defaming our leader."
Draco looked into her eyes and was glad to see that she truly did believe him. It was nice to have someone on his side. He nodded briskly and said, "I've seen his mark, but most of the time he uses a really powerful concealment charm to cover it. He's the only Death Eater who uses one because his position in the ministry is so vital. Voldemort refuses to let others cover theirs with spells, though. He sees it as them being ashamed of their affiliations and afraid of the consequences for those same affiliations."
Tonks sank into a near by chair and took a deep breath. This was such a shock to her. The enemy held the highest office in the wizarding world. There wasn't a single place safe of corruption if the ministry was a sleeper for Lord Voldemort. "Do you have any other requirements?"
"These three men mustn't suspect a thing. I don't think Fudge will get antsy; he feels too secure. The only hitch is that I think Zabini will know of Lucius's arrest only moments after it occurs. News travels fast between our families. I think your only hope is to capture them at the same time. You also have to nail Fudge before their court date. If he is presiding over the trials, we might as well not capture them at all. He will set their trial dates for as soon as possible once he catches wind of this. I know that there must be at least two of you in the loop on this, but too many Aurors can let too many things slip. In my opinion, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and you should settle things quite nicely," said Draco.
"Well," Tonks said in a sigh, "You certainly do have a lot of rules, most of them reiterating what common sense dictates." She paused for a second and then continued. "I have no objections with your terms, but I do have a few questions."
"Such as?" Draco asked with boredom.
"When will you release more names?"
"As soon as you land those three behind bars in Azkaban."
"Why did you come to me?"
"For two reasons, Tonks. First of all, you aren't so paranoid that you would've asked half of the department their thoughts on you coming and brought the other half. Secondly... because you're family."
"Will you testify against those you are accusing?"
"Is their any certainty of their imprisonment if my name stays out of it?"
"Not a bat's chance in hell."
Draco sighed in defeat. "Then I will testify."
Tonks looked closely at the fifteen-year-old boy in front of her. She couldn't keep herself from asking one final question. "Why are you doing this Draco?"
He turned away abruptly and glared in to the roaring flames. "I am doing this because I've realized more than any member of the Order how close Voldemort is to winning. I am doing this because I've seen things so horrible and terrifying, I would rather spend the rest of my days rotting away in Azkaban than have to see any more of these things. I know more bone- chilling things about their kind than even Dumbledore. I am doing this because I have been made a broken person due to my father and his cohorts. I'm doing this so no other human will have to suffer through what I have. I am doing this so I won't be made a Death Eater. But I think that the main reason I am doing this is to piss him off."
He was now seething with rage. Tonks knew without question that the him in question was Lucius. Not knowing what to say, she thought it best to change the subject to something, to anything, besides Draco's father.
"You do realize that if you testify, you will be making yourself a target to other Death Eaters."
"I know," Draco mumbled. "I'm going into hiding for a while afterwards, just until the big players are gone. After they're eliminated, most of the pawns will catch pretty easily."
Tonks silently nodded her head and thought all the more of him now. She had always suspected that Draco didn't follow his father's footsteps as eagerly as many believed, but she never would have thought that he would have done something of this magnitude. Tonks wanted to tell him how much she applauded his character, but she thought it best not to.
Draco was glad that she hadn't heaped thanks upon him for his 'courageous acts.' He had always thought that praise made him look like a dog.
"Well, I had better get back to the office and start strategizing. We have a lot of work to do before this can be done properly."
Draco looked over his shoulders and gave her a smile that never quite reached his eyes.
As she sat in her office later, she reflected upon how tragic Draco's story was. He was only fifteen, but he had more burdens upon his shoulders than even Albus Dumbledore had to carry. Tonks eventually brought herself out of her thoughts and owled Mad-Eye and Kingsley. She wasn't fibbing about the amount of planning that needed to be done.
In the ensuing weeks, the wizarding world was turned upside-down. The Daily Prophet was teeming with articles about newly discovered Death Eaters. The first article wasn't as important as others; it was a modest piece about how Lucius Malfoy and Archibald Zabini were arrested for questioning about their involvement with You-Know-Who... again.
The next article, however, blew most of the Daily Prophets subscribers away. They had been made aware of the minister's arrest and had published most of the incriminating evidence against him. The paper had somehow gotten its hands around the fact that he had the dark mark.
Of course, the three men testified to the fact that they were innocent, upstanding citizens.
I mean, who would disbelieve that two former Death Eaters and their lackey had gone to the dark side?
The day of the trial had dawned. Up until that moment, the people and the accused were completely clueless as to who had turned over evidence against them. Lucius and Archibald had determined that it was a Death Eater who was shirking his duties.
Cornelius had turned into a blubbering baby, bawling over the loss of his career. Lucius and Archibald threatened him to stay quiet or the dark lord would make Azkaban seem like a walk in the park. He was reassured that the Wizengamot wouldn't have enough evidence to be able to lock them away.
Seeing as how Archibald and Lucius had been through this routine many times, they felt as safe as kittens.
The three of them were transported down to one of the Courthouse 10, one of the courtrooms that saw more nefarious trials than others. As they entered, there were hundreds of flashes going off. It seemed as if every wizarding newspaper and magazine was represented. Besides the snaps and clicks of camera shutters, it was completely silent.
Lucius, Archibald, and Cornelius took their seats in the chained chairs stationed in the center of the court. Cornelius looked worried, but his two co-conspirators looked at ease and rather bored.
Albus Dumbledore stood up from his place in the center of the front row. After looking down at the accused for a moment, he said, "We are all present today to hear the testimonies of several individuals against Lucius Malfoy, Archibald Zabini, and Cornelius Fudge. I first wish to bring to the Wizengamot's attention the testimony of the lead Auror on this case, Ms. Nymphadora Tonks."
Tonks was brought forward and refreshed everyone's memories on past accusations, as well as give a list of various objects of a more devious nature that were found upon thorough searches of the residences belonging to the accused. Several more Aurors testified after her, as well as many members of the Order of the Phoenix. The tension in the courtroom started to dissipate rather quickly. They realized that there was very little evidence being brought forward, and that the three men would probably walk free.
But then, Albus Dumbledore brought forth the final witness.
A door off the side of the courtroom opened and in walked Draco Malfoy. Every person in the room was stunned for several moments. All eyes were on him, and his eyes were on Lucius. Many would expect Draco to look terrified and shy away in his father's presence, but all he did was smirk with the knowledge that he had backed Lucius into a corner.
As Draco looked into Lucius's eyes, he saw in them a mix of rage and horror, and his smirk grew.
Draco had finally won.
There were drastic changes in the wizarding community over the next year. Through Draco's testimonies, he had sent over seventy-five witches and wizards to their doom in Azkaban, many including friends of the family and Slytherin students' parents.
After Draco had turned in his father, Dumbledore suggested that he go into hiding until some tempers had cooled. The headmaster told him that it may be a while, but Draco didn't agree with him.
"Mr. Malfoy, the dark lord neither forgives nor forgets."
Draco scoffed at this. "Don't worry about him. He will soon become consumed by trying to protect his power and find more followers. I mean, how long could it take for this thing to blow over?"