Disclaimer: Nope, I still do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Gives a large box of chocolate frogs to all the people who reviewed last chapter. WOW! The reviews from chapter 16 were so awesome, now I can only hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint you all. gulps You guys are seriously the greatest, you make writing so much fun for me, and always help me strive to do even better than I think I can. Thank you all so much!
I wish your heart was mine – Thanks for the review! I would respond more, but I don't want to give anything away about what I have planned for later on in the fic. Hope you like this chapter!
Sunflower18 – I'm sorry it was sad, but I hope you still like it! Thanks for the review
jesska-14 – I'm glad to hear you liked it even though it was sad. I'm happy that you liked the twist, and thanks for reviewing!
purple pixie – happy to hear you liked the last two chapters, and I hope this update came fast enough for you!
CB – thank you! I'm so glad that the last chapter didn't disappoint, I hope you like this one too!
anIme-prYncess – Thank you, I'm happy to hear that you've enjoyed both fics so far.
Fire Angel – hehehe thank you so much! I hope the update came fast enough for you.
Zuvalupa – yay I got a brilliantly wicked! Heheheh, thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter!
Karma Chameleon – blushes thanks, I'm glad you liked all the details!
Chantal J, Tinka Shimmer Belle – Thank for the reviews!
Phoebe Telumetar – I'm happy you liked the twist and that you felt the plot moved at an appropriate speed. Thanks for the review!
elektra30 – Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the excitement and drama, it was really fun to write. Now about them getting back together . . . . . . .
Sayaku-chan – omg I read you're review over like 3 times when I got it, it made me feel that good! It made me feel so good to think that I could capture emotions the same way as JKR. Wow, I don't even know how to express how awesome that made me feel. Thanks! I hope you like this chapter too!
Wow, now after reading all those reviews I'm nervous that you will be disappointed with chapter (yes I get paranoid like that sometimes). Anyway, enough of my endless rambling, on with the story!
Chapter 17: Shattered
After the outburst at Draco, Hermione was once again plagued with exhaustion. Her body didn't even register Ron's arms around her. She was in a daze; she was cold, hurt, and heartbroken. Dumbledore gently called them over, and Ron led Hermione away from Draco. Dumbledore held out a portkey for them, "this will transport you back to the Entrance Hall. I must insist that you go straight to your dormitory for the night," he said to Harry and Ron. "Miss Granger, if you wish, you can spend the night in the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey give you some dreamless sleep potion." Hermione nodded once.
"I must also insist that you do not speak of this to anyone for the time being," Harry and Ron nodded. "Very well," sighed Dumbledore, "off you go."
In her zombie-like state, the journey back to Hogwarts didn't feel half as bumpy or as long as the trip to the initiation grounds had been. She somehow managed to land on upright on her feet while Harry and Ron ended up on the ground in a heap. Without a word, or a glance at the boys, she began walking through the halls, and she was not heading for the Hospital Wing.
"Hermione, aren't you going to the Hospital Wing like Dumbledore said?" asked Harry very cautiously.
"No," she stated simply.
The boys ran to catch up with her, "are you sure?" continued Harry, "the potion really does help."
"I'll be fine," said Hermione, in a quiet and mechanical sort of voice. They all knew that she was lying, but Harry and Ron didn't want to test her patience by pushing her further. She had already exploded twice that night, and it was clear that they hadn't even begun to scratch the surface of how truly angry and hurt she was. They were not keen on seeing her express that anger again, so rather than press her boundaries; they walked beside her in silence.
When they reached the Founder's portrait, they all stopped, "Hermione, why don't you come sleep in the Gryffindor dormitory again tonight? That way you won't have to be alone," suggested Ron.
The thought of people made Hermione's stomach lurch, "no," she answered without looking at either of them, "I would rather be alone."
The boys sighed in defeat, "we'll come get you in the morning, "said Harry before he and Ron reluctantly turned to leave. The kept turning back to look at her even after she had muttered the password and secluded herself inside.
Once inside, Hermione stared determinedly at the floor so as not to avert her eyes from the emerald green which decorated half of the common room. She suddenly absolutely loathed the color because it reminded her so much of him. She raced to her door as if to escape from the color and in a sudden violent rage she slammed the door so hard that the room seemed to shiver in fear.
She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to yell out and curse the world for being so cruel, but mostly she wanted to forget it all. She shrugged her cloak off and in a daze she changed into her pajamas. It was as if her mind was part of another world. Her body was going through its usual nightly routine but her mind was not conscious of any of it.
Images of what had happened that night were flashing speedily through her mind. It was like she was watching some sort of gruesome slide show that only she could see. She crashed down furiously on her bed; her eyes were staring unseeing at the ceiling. She was emotionally drained, and utterly exhausted, but sleep did not find her. As she stared, barely blinking, her anger and rage were slowly sliding into depression. After a moment, Crookshanks hopped onto the bed next to her and curled up against her, it was as if he could sense her sadness, and was trying to comfort her. But Hermione might as well have been a stone for all the good it did. But no, she was not a stone; she was more like a glacier, a huge massive piece of ice. And like a glacier, though her sadness was visible on the surface, it was nothing compared to how deep the sadness ran beneath her, the more painful sadness that no one could see and only she could feel.
- - - -
Kingsley and Dumbledore transported Draco to the impenetrable fortress that was Azkaban prison. It was the dead of night, but even so, somehow the world seemed even darker here, and it was definitely much colder. Draco protested throughout the entire journey, he declared his innocence and insisted that he'd been under the imperius curse the entire time.
"Ha!" spat Kingsley the first time Draco used that defense, "we believed that lie far too often in the past, and we're not falling for it now!"
It was then that Draco realized that whatever trial they were going to give him was just for show. They might as well just sentence him now, either way he was considered a guilty man. Draco didn't bother protesting too much after that, it was obvious to him that his effort would all prove futile.
Dumbledore went to discuss the arrangements for Draco's cell with the dementors, though it was clear he did not approve of the creatures. Kingsley meanwhile, led Draco over to a fireplace; the flames were an insignificant source of light and warmth next to the frozen darkness enshrouding the prison. "You may contact one person, you have 10 minutes," Kingsley held the ropes binding Draco's wrists and shoved him down so that his head was next to the flames. Draco's first thought was to contact Hermione and convince her that he was innocent. But he knew that she wouldn't speak to him, not now, not ever. And even if she did, it would be impossible for him to convince her of his innocence in a mere ten minutes. Hell, he doubted he'd be able to convince her he was innocent even if he had an eternity. So when Kingsley tossed the floo powder into the flames and shoved Draco's head amongst them, Draco shouted "Malfoy Manor!"
Once the dizzying sensation was over and the feeling was replaced by a tickling sensation of the flames licking Draco's face and neck, Draco opened his eyes, and for once was almost happy to see his home. The dark, elegant, expensive, yet hard and cold furnishings would be Heaven compared to the frightening wasteland where he stood now. "Mother!" he shouted as loud as he could. But instead of his mum, a raggedly dressed house elf came scurrying into the room, "Master Draco!" she cried as she nearly tripped over herself to bow to Draco's head. "What is you doing here sir?"
"Never mind that! Go fetch Narcissa as fast as you can!" ordered Draco. He was only too conscious of the precious seconds slipping away forever.
"Yes sir!" the house elf squeaked as she rushed off to carry out her order.
To Draco it seemed like an eternity before the elf returned with Narcissa practically jogging at her side, "Draco! What's going on?"
"Mum, just let me talk, I don't have much time left," pleaded Draco.
Narcissa instantly silenced herself, her face going paler than it already was. Draco never spoke in the panicked tone he was using now. She didn't want to imagine what could possibly be so wrong that would cause such frightening behavior in her son.
Draco spoke in a hurried and uncharacteristically frightened voice, "Mum they tricked me! They put me under the imperius curse and they forced me to bring Hermione to their meeting. Then they Marked me," there was a near sob in Draco's voice now, "THEY PUT THE DAMN DARK MARK ON ME! I was under the curse, and I wasn't strong enough to break it! And then he tortured Hermione, that fucking bastard tortured her! That was when I snapped out of the curse, and I killed him. I killed Lucius. Then Dumbledore and some others came and the Death Eaters fled. But they caught me, they won't believe me. Mum I'm innocent! Tell them I'm innocent!"
It was one of the few times, possibly the only time, in his 18 year long life that Draco broke down and lost control of himself. Narcissa made no effort to stop him while he was talking, but her face grew steadily whiter with each word that he spoke. She felt tears well up inside her, but she allowed none to fall. She had to be strong, for Draco. He was scared and he needed her, "where are you now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.
"They took me to Azkaban! They won't even give me a chance, they've already decided that I'm guilty, I can see it in their eyes!" shouted Draco desperately.
Narcissa gasped, how could they take her innocent son to that dreadful place! She opened her mouth to speak words of comfort to him, but before any escaped her lips, Draco's head turned. He could feel iciness engulf the majority of his body that he had left behind; he felt pressure on the cords around his wrists, pulling him out of the fireplace. "NO!" he cried desperately, "Mum they're coming for me! Don't let them take me in there! I'm innocent! I swear I'm innocent!"
Draco struggled and screamed, but Narcissa could do nothing as her son's head disappeared from the flames before her. For several long moments after Draco had gone, she stared into the flames; they crackled and danced in front of her. It felt as if they were mocking her lonely sadness with their cheerful warmth. Finally, long after Draco had gone, a solitary tear crept down her porcelain cheek.
- - - -
Draco struggled against his bonds and against the boney gray-skinned hands that clasped themselves around Draco's arms. But the dementors at either side of him thrived in his energy. They sucked in a particularly deep and rattling breath, successfully subduing him with an intense wave of cold horror. Draco's mind began replaying the night's events. At first he could only hear them, but the sound of Hermione's desperate shouts, then her screams of pain coupled with the cruel laughter of the Death Eaters brought an increased feeling of desperate despair to his soul.
The dementors brought him to a room in which three wizards stood. Dumbledore, Kingsley, and a new wizard whom Draco supposed must be a member of the Committee of Magical Law Enforcement. Whoever he was, he was the man who approached Draco. First he moved behind Draco and removed the cords from his wrists, and then while Draco was stretching his fingers and increasing the blood flow to them, the man reached into Draco's pocket and removed his wand.
Draco stared in horror as the man walked away. He knew what was coming, but he couldn't accept it. In some part of his mind, Draco felt that as long as he had his wand, he had a bit of hope, but if his wand was destroyed, his hope would be destroyed along with it. The man turned around once he reached Dumbledore and Kingsley. Now all three wizards were facing Draco, each looking at him with a hard and unrelenting gaze. Dumbledore was the one who spoke, "your trial is scheduled to begin in one week, until then you shall remain in a high security cell here." Draco stared at Dumbledore in wide-eyed disbelief, but he didn't bother wasting his energy protesting any longer. Dumbledore continued, "of course you will understand that no prisoner may retain their wand whilst in Azkaban, therefore your wand will now be destroyed."
"No!" Draco shouted as he instinctively lunged for his wand, but Kingsley had been expecting this, and Draco's progress was stopped with an impediment charm. Draco watched helplessly from behind his invisible blockade as the man held Draco's wand out in front of him. In one quick and swift motion, the man thrust the wand down against his leg so that the wand snapped in half. Draco winced and felt like a large part of what was left of him had just been killed right in front of his eyes. His wand, his beautiful 10" Ash wand with a dragon heartstring core was now nothing more than two splintery twigs. Black sparks emitted from the exposed core, at first they were strong, but within mere seconds they faded into nothing. Draco's soul wrenched, it seemed impossible that in just a few short hours he had lost the two of the most important parts of his life, his wand, and even worse, Hermione. He hung his head, and closed his eyes. Was the wizard speaking to him again? He didn't know, and he didn't care. They would throw him in Azkaban until it was time for his trial, then they would lead him away, and then when it was all said and done they'd toss him back in here, most likely forever he thought.
The Law Enforcement wizard was reciting some official spiel that the ministry required be told to every prisoner, but Draco heard none of it. He made no fuss when the dementors glided close to him again; they were leading him to his cell, his new home. Draco shuffled through the halls, the screams of the other prisoners meshed with the screams in his head until he could not decipher which screams were real and which were from his memories. It was a sickening feeling.
- - - -
It was well passed midnight, and Hermione was still tossing and turning, unable to find sleep. Now she was staring at the ceiling and seriously wishing that she had followed Dumbledore, Harry and Ron's advice and just taken the dreamless sleep potion. It seemed that every time she was on the verge of finally falling to sleep an image of his face would somehow intrude on her conscience and chase all hopes of sleep away. It was a horrible cycle of exhaustion, rage and depression.
The image of Draco had just once again stolen her sleep from her and she couldn't take it anymore. She turned onto her side, and was greeted by a framed picture of her and Draco on her nightstand. She clenched her teeth and glared at the picture, the happy images of her and Draco smiling back at her, her picture self being held lovingly in Draco's arms, mocking her. She flung herself off her bed, grabbed the picture and stormed out of her room. Hermione had never considered herself a violent person, but at the moment she would have loved nothing more than to tear Draco's head off. She wanted him to be experiencing the same pain she was; she wanted him to know how badly he had hurt her. But since Draco was not available to experience her wrath, she would take it out on his stuff instead.
She entered the room, and in the glow of the dying fire caused harsh shadows to fight each other across the room. Hermione barred her teeth and in one violent motion she hurled the picture across the room. The frame burst apart and the glass shattered when it came in contact with the wall. Hermione took pleasure in the sound, but that was just the beginning, she wanted to shatter all of Draco's things just like he had shattered her heart.
She threw the lid to Draco's trunk open and scowled at its contents. She began tearing through it, throwing his stuff everywhere, with no concern as to where it went or if it broke. She didn't stop until she had just about reached the bottom to the trunk, that was when she saw it; Draco's journal. She instantly seized it, thinking that it might be able to tell her something important, like how long this had all been going on. But there was nothing, not a single entry from this year. Hermione slammed the book shut and violently threw it at the wall across the room. It hit the wall above Draco's nightstand and caused the wyvern model, which had been watching the progress of Hermione's destruction, to take flight and zoom out of the room.
Hermione felt a mixture of sadness and vengeful joy as she surveyed the damage she had caused. Her actions had given her temporary relief, but now that she was finished, she felt just as empty as she had before, and she was no closer to finding sleep. For a while she sat amidst the mess, absentmindedly fingering the necklace around her neck. It was a habit she developed to calm her when she was worried, nervous or sad. The necklace reminded her of Draco, and that used to be a comforting thought. But once she realized what she was doing, rage consumed her yet again. She hastily tore the necklace off, and threw it into Draco's trunk, as she spun around and stormed out.
Once she was back in her room, she took a step towards her bed, but tripped on something that was sitting on the ground. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't care, she gave it a good swift kick and listened with satisfaction as it slid across the floor and hit the wall with a dull thud.
- - - -
Whether Hermione actually found sleep that night, or if she was just too exhausted to realize that she was awake, she didn't know. Either way, she found herself definitely awake at the sound of a slight rapping on the portrait frame. She scrunched up her face and groaned. She loved Harry and Ron to death, but at the moment she wished they would just leave her alone. She remained lying down hoping that they would get the hint, but the tapping did not stop, so with a great deal of effort, she pushed herself off the bed and walked to the portrait. She started speaking before the door was completely open "look guys, I know you . . ." But the person at the door was not Harry or Ron, it was professor Dumbledore, "Professor!" she cried, suddenly jerking wide awake.
"Miss Granger," he smiled gently, a sorrowful twinkle in his eye. "I wonder if perhaps I may have a moment to speak with you?"
"Of course professor," Hermione hastily backed away to give Dumbledore room to enter.
Hermione seated herself on the couch as Dumbledore settled down in one of the squashy armchairs. "I must admit I was rather surprised that I did not find you in the hospital wing."
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but could not think of anything to say, so she closed her mouth and directed her bloodshot eyes downward.
"I know that this is difficult, but there are some matters we need to discuss."
Hermione closed her eyes and sighed wearily, but nodded nonetheless.
"First, about Mr. Malfoy's trial, it is scheduled to begin next Monday, and I know it will be painful but you will be required to testify since you are the sole witness. You will only be present during your testimony, after that you will be returned to school."
Hermione's face hardened, a large part of her still did not want to incriminate Draco, but her mind was made up and she nodded at Dumbledore.
"Secondly, the matter of Head Boy; with Mr. Malfoy gone, I need to appoint a different student to take his place. Since Mr. Potter was my second choice, with your approval I will offer the position to him."
Hermione smiled, albeit it was a very small smile, but a smile nonetheless, "yes professor, I think Harry is the perfect choice."
"Excellent, now I must be off to tell him, and to prepare my address to the school. Miss Granger, you may have your meal delivered here if you do not wish to join the rest of us in the Great Hall."
Hermione looked very relieved, "thank you professor."
"And one last thing, I must insist that you take the dreamless sleep potion tonight, you will feel much better after a full nights' sleep."
Hermione frowned and looked at the floor again, her eyelids suddenly felt as if they were the heaviest things in the world, and Hermione was having a great deal of trouble keeping them open.
Professor Dumbledore was halfway to the door when there was another knock on the portrait frame. Dumbledore opened it and met the surprised looks of Harry and Ron.
"Oh, sorry professor," said Harry awkwardly, "we didn't mean to interrupt."
"On the contrary Mr. Potter, I was just going to look for you. It seems we are in need of a new Head Boy, and I would like to offer you the position."
Harry stuttered, "Really? Err thank you professor!"
"You're quite welcome; I will have your badge for you at breakfast when I announce it to the rest of the school." Dumbledore swept out of the room, leaving Harry and Ron standing in the doorway. Harry was beaming, and Ron was torn between happiness for Harry and concern for Hermione.
Both boys looked at her, but she had taken to lying on the couch with her eyes closed. "Hermione?" whispered Ron. Hermione opened her eyes and looked at them, they gasped when they say her bloodshot eyes with the dark circles underneath them. "Hermione! Did you get any sleep last night?" Ron gasped instinctively kneeling down and grabbing her hand.
"No" she answered honestly, "look guys, thanks for looking out for me, but I'd really rather be alone right now."
Both boys looked as if it went against their better judgment to leave, but they respected Hermione's wishes and silently walked out of the room.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, the weariness overcame her, and finally she slipped into an uneasy sleep.
- - - -
The entire school went silent when Dumbledore stood up in the middle of breakfast. He cleared his throat, and spoke solemnly. "If I could have everyone's attention for a moment, I have a very important announcement to make." The entire school listened to him with rapt attention. Not even one face turned towards the sounds of someone quietly sobbing on one side of the room. "As you may have noticed, two members of our student body are not with us at the moment." Dumbledore nodded towards the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables. Several heads turned, and noticed three things. First they discovered that the source of the sobs was Pansy Parkinson, second they found that the platinum blonde Head Boy was nowhere to be found, and neither was the Head Girl sitting at her place at the Gryffindor table.
"It is my responsibility as Headmaster to inform you that Mr. Malfoy is unlikely to be returning to us this year." The students looked at each other with curiosity. "This is because, I am sorry to say, last night, Mr. Malfoy was apprehended amidst a group of Death Eaters; he is currently in Azkaban awaiting trial." Nearly the entire Hall gasped with shock, Pansy's sobs grew louder, but the rest of the Slytherins remained determinedly silent their faces set with cold expressionless looks. "You will also notice that our Head Girl, Miss Granger is not with us today either. She was present at the gathering of Death Eaters at which Mr. Malfoy was arrested. She is perfectly fine and will be returning to classes tomorrow, however, I must ask that no one question her as to what happened. She has suffered a great amount of stress through this entire ordeal and I do not want her to have people pestering about it here at Hogwarts." The students were now staring at Dumbledore with shock on every single one of their faces.
Dumbledore took a long breath before continuing, "This leads me to my next announcement, as you all know, Mr. Malfoy was our Head Boy, and now that he is gone it is my duty to appoint a new student to the position. So, Mr. Potter shall take his place and finish the year out as our Head Boy." Few people got over the shock of the previous announcement in time for this second announcement to sink in. So there was no clapping, in fact, there was no movement for a long time after Dumbledore had taken his seat. Slowly, once people realized that the Headmaster was finished speaking, small groups of people trickled out of the Hall, some whispering, but most remained silent. No one knew quite what to think. There had been a Death Eater within Hogwarts, to most that fact brought the reality of the war going on in the outside world eerily close to home.
- - - -
Draco no longer had any sense of time. In fact, the only thing that confirmed the fact that time was passing by at all were the meals the dementors delivered to him in his cell three times a day. But Draco rarely ate them, and when he did, it was only to nibble absentmindedly on a piece of cheese or a slice of bread. He could no longer feel hunger. He could no longer feel anything other than the frozen emptiness of depression that surrounded his heart and soul.
"Hermione," breathed Draco firmly, "get out now!" he saw her face filled with fear, and he flashed his eyes angrily to get her to leave, he was not going to let her get hurt because of him.
But his father had different plans, "No Draco, your mudblood whore thinks she is going to save you. She has the mistaken impression that love will triumph over all, as if her life is some bloody fairy tale."
"She's not a whore!" Draco shouted, finally finding the strength to stand up now that he had Hermione to protect as well as himself.
"Well, now she shall learn that power is what really triumphs in this world," drawled Lucius, as he aimed his wand at Hermione, "crucio!"
Abandoning all reason, Draco lunged at Hermione to free her from Lucius' torture. Lucius then turned his wand on Draco and shouted "Crucio!" Draco felt himself writhing in pain, and he heard Lucius speak to him in a cruel threatening tone, "That was very, very stupid Draco, now rather than just torturing your little mudblood, she is going to die. And it will not be quick and easy; it will be a very painful death. You'll be happy to know, my little frozen death spell is now powerful enough to do what it was meant to do."
Lucius only lifted the curse when Draco was no longer able to speak, move, or barely even breathe. "Allow me to demonstrate," smiled Lucius madly.
Draco's head shot up and he glared at Lucius. But Lucius did not see him, he was staring madly at Hermione his wand ready for death. When Draco saw Lucius' open his mouth, he mustered up all his strength and shoved Hermione out of the way just as Lucius shouted "GLACIO EXANIMUS!"
The cold he felt in his memory melded with the cold he now felt every second of every day in prison. The memory of that horrible night faded as Draco heard his door creak open. He forced himself to open his eyes, expecting to see a dementor gliding in with his breakfast, but instead he saw a man step in. With an instant feeling of resentment, Draco recognized him as the same man who had snapped his wand in half when he first arrived. "Come," the man said before turning around and leading the way through the corridor. He offered no other explanation, but Draco didn't ask for one either. He pushed himself up to a standing position, feeling incredibly sore from sitting down for an entire week. Draco maintained his gaze straight ahead at the man's back, preferring not to look at the other prisoners in the suffering in their cells. Draco could feel a dementor gliding behind him, making sure he didn't attempt to run, as if there was anywhere to run to.
They finally exited the cell corridor and entered a small room. Draco instantly felt unbelievably warmer and he noticed that his robes, which had been exchanged for the prisoner's robes he was now wearing, were hanging over the only chair in the room. "You will have half an hour to prepare for your trial," the man instructed. "The bathroom is through that door, and there will be a dementor guarding the exit, so don't try to leave." The man stepped outside, "your half an hour begins now," the man closed the door forcefully, leaving Draco all alone. It was the first time he had been able to think since he arrived, but he found that his thoughts were no better than the memories played over and over in his head.
As he showered, he wondered if they would even listen to his defense, or if they would all dismiss it as a lie as Kingsley had. Draco knew it would be the latter, especially after they heard the prosecutions story. As Draco washed himself, the prospect of the trial looked bleaker and bleaker. 'I might as well just go back to my cell and lock myself inside forever,' he thought to himself.
He had no chance. It would basically come down to his word against Hermione's, since she was the only witness. He was the son of a Death Eater, and a member of a notoriously Dark wizarding family, plus he had murdered his father. While she was a muggle-born, a model student, not to mention one of saintly Potter's best friends. There was no contest, everyone would believe her story and immediately discredit him. Draco raised his arms to lather the suds in his hair, and that was when he caught glimpse of it, the Dark Mark. "No one will believe me with this fucking atrocity on my arm!" he shouted aloud. He violently scratched at it until his skin burned and completely raw. He could even see little droplets of blood beginning to form. But the Mark was still there, and he would never be able to remove it.
He got out of the shower, a new wave of despair flowing over him. He half-heartedly changed into his robes and towel dried his hair. While the expensive fabrics felt wonderful against his skin, he found that he didn't care; he knew it would only be a temporary feeling. By the end of the trial he would be eternally rotting away in this god forsaken place.
Draco was sitting lazily in the chair, doing his best not to brood over the miserable trial he was about to attend, when the door opened and the man entered to usher him out. Draco felt a rush of cold as he exited the room and found that this time he was being followed by two dementors instead of one, 'my escorts to the trial' he drawled to himself. The man led Draco and the dementors to a room in which there was a large fireplace, large enough for at least five fully grown men.
The man stepped inside, Draco and the dementors followed suit. "Ministry of Magic!" he bellowed as he threw down a large handful of floo powder. Draco instantly felt himself spiraling, through the air; he was fast feeling sick due to his lack of food, so he was relieved when he finally crash landed in one of the ministry fireplaces. He knew that he should be feeling nervous or anxious but instead he just felt boredom. He had already resigned himself to a lifetime in Azkaban, so to him this trial was just the Ministry's way of prolonging the inevitable.
Well, they were already planning on imprisoning him, so Draco was not about to look weak in front of them. As he made his way down to the deepest dungeons of the Ministry, he regained his old swagger. He was determined to put on every show of confidence because he wasn't going to be remembered as a weak man. He entered the huge cavernous room, the full Wizengamot was sitting up in the balcony, and every pair of eyes was following him. There was a stiff chair in the center of the room. The dementors led him to it and he sat down. Instantly chains wrapped around his arms and legs rendering him completely unable to move. He looked up at the Head of the Committee of Magical Law Enforcement a look of boredom on his face, awaiting the trial to begin.
I know not much happened plot wise in this chapter, but I felt after having such a dramatic turn last chapter it would be wise to move a bit slower for a chapter or two. I hope you all agree with my decision, if not then I'm sorry. But anyway, I would love to hear what you all though, so please send me a review! Thanks so much.