NOTE: There's a lot of little things in here that indicate Ron's mental/emotional state that you need to pay attention to -- he's really not a bad guy! There's also a reference to a Guster song (the lyric is 'past is past and we cannot take it back' -- it was too good to leave out. Anyway, it's not mine) -- also, the Romeo & Juliet thing, obviously Shakespeare's, just not the Hogwarts part. You'll see.
Chapter Ten, Judgment Day
"I wish you would step out from that ledge, my friend.
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in,
and If you do not want to see me again,
I would understand...I would understand." -'Jumper', Third Eye Blind
Ron had been getting it from all sides for too long now. Hermione was yelling at him, his mum was yelling at him, his brothers and their wives weren't too happy with him. Even Harry had been a bit distant since her return.
Her return. That girl had no respect left for anyone...she didn't think about anyone but herself, he thought bitterly. There'd been a time where he thought she was the closest of all his siblings, his best friend even. And then she left. Not only did she leave their family - the most important thing in the world to him - she left him. And she didn't even say goodbye...
Ron sat on his bed, his head in his hands and took a deep breath. He didn't know what to do. He knew he hated her stupid git of a husband, or whatever he was. He knew he was angry with her. But he just felt like he was seventeen all over again, like he didn't know what to do or where to go. He had Hermione, and that was wonderful - and his kids were great, but...this was something none of them could ever understand.
Today was his trial. Well, at least, it began today. Who knew when it would end. He didn't have any pull left in the Ministry, so it should be fair. Fair, in Ron's mind, being he gets to rot in Azkaban for the rest of his life - he'd escaped punishment for too long. No one could run from the law forever, no one should try. If you committ a crime, you have to be punished - it's just the way of the world.
Ron got up and got dressed, deciding he didn't really know whether or not he wanted to see her today. She hadn't been around at all since he'd gone to prison - but it was not Ron's fault he'd brutally murdered three people. Ron put that day out of his mind - everyone, including Harry, was now blaming him for alienating her. It wasn't his fault she'd run off with a murdering git.
Breakfast was, again, a quiet affair. He'd tried talking to Hermione rationally, but she just kept yelling at him and accusing him, so he'd decided that wasn't the best course of action. Everyone seemed to agree with him that the guy belonged in jail, but no one seemed to want to put him there. Was it Ron's fault he'd pulled out the warrant? It wasn't his fault the warrant existed, he was just doing his job.
Ron wondered what was going on with her, how she was, where she'd been...but he wasn't about to go find her and apologize. He hadn't done anything wrong!
"Have a good day at work." Hermione muttered bitterly as he was leaving. It hurt him how upset she was with him. She'd never been so mean to him in all their years together.
"Mione," he pleaded, "please stop it." She just gave him a 'Ronald Weasley I will not stop it!' Look, and he sighed. He turned and walked out, hoping that things were going to look up today, for once.
When he finally got to the Ministry, things seemed to be buzzing, much moreso than usual.
"What's going on?" He ask Harry, as he sat down at his desk.
"You haven't heard? Malfoy gets a lawyer, and she's turning this whole thing into a show." Harry said frustratedly. Ron almost jumped out of his seat.
"He gets a what! But that's not how things work! The Wizengamot's allowing this!" He cried. Harry just nodded,
"The Wizengamot OKed it. She petitioned them, made her case, and somehow...I dunno, got through." Harry shrugged.
"But...But that's not how things work! Hasn't anyone told them what's what around here?" Ron asked angrily, "who is this lawyer, anyway?" Harry shrugged again,
"Dunno...I think I heard she's French --"
"Well that's why," muttered Ron. The French had this ridiculous idea of innocent until proven guilty. Although Ron thought that if you had enough evidence to arrest someone, you have enough evidence to convict them.
"Rousseau, or something. I don't know her." Harry finished, seeming to not notice Ron's interruption.
The two men made their way down to the court to watch the show. When Ron walked in, he couldn't believe how many people were there - was the trial of a known Death Eater really that important? People had been trying to brush this stuff under the rug for a decade since Harry had defeated Voldemort, not make it a huge debacle.
Ron examined the setting, the Wizengamot was sitting down, Malfoy was chained and standing off to the side with a slightly older woman, probably only 35 or so, with straight brown hair and a determined look on her face. He figured that was the 'lawyer'. Malfoy didn't look to happy, but Ron knew he was walking on sunshine that he, yet again, gets special treatment from everyone. It drove Ron nuts that the government still would bend to a Malfoy for absolutely no apparent reason.
As the court was called to order, and the new procedure explained to the crowd and participants, Ron's eyes never left Malfoy. He may be chained, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. He didn't love her - Ron wasn't quite sure what had happened there, but he knew he didn't love her - and it drove him insane. She deserved so much more. She deserved differently.
Ron didn't listen until the woman he supposed was the lawyer introduced herself quite dramatically to the court and audience. Stefanie Rousseau was her name, and Harry was right - she was from France. Ron hated her already. She was such a show-off, always waving her arms around for emphasis.
"And now, if we could have order in the court, for the - er, opening statements?" Katie Bell, the Head of Magical Law Enforcment, asked. The Rousseau woman nodded politely and smiled, and Katie just smiled back and said "Proceed."
Stefanie Rousseau smiled brightly and stood up.
"Does the Prosecution wish to go first?" She asked the Wizengamot politely. Ron looked bewilderedly up to the front of the room, straining to see another table. What he saw made him want to hang his head in his hands.
Percy Weasley stood up and adjusted his coat, nodding to Rousseau as he did.
"Thank you." He said stiffly.
"This is a complete show," Ron whispered to Harry in disbelief. "Malfoy's got them all in his pocket!"
"Ron," Harry said irritably, "if you don't drop this soon, I'm leaving." Ron'd had a hard time convincing Harry to come in the first place, so he shut up pretty quickly.
"Ladies and gentleman of the Wizengamot." Percy said regally. "We are here today to try Draco Malfoy, in the murders of Kenneth Towler, Mafalda Hopkirk and..." Percy glanced at a piece of parchment on the table specified for him, "Eric Munch. All of whom were Ministry employees at the time of their death. Draco Malfoy has been arrested, and rightfully so, by our own Aurors, who have worked tirelessly to capture all the Death Eaters and murderers who roamed our land through that dark time. Although things have now changed, his crime still stands." Percy pointed at Draco. "His name was given to us by none other than his father and aunt --"
"What?" Came an astonished gasp from the side of the room.
"Shut up, Draco." Rousseau said through gritted teeth. The room was so quiet you could hear anyone whispering, and Ron was surprised Draco hadn't already heard that in Azkaban.
"As I was saying," Percy cleared his throat. "His name was given up by members of his own family, who were shocked and saddened that such a young sould could be so dark. This man not only deserves jail, he needs it. Rehabilitation of a Death Eater has never been proven, therefore we must turn to our only option - permanent incarceration. If the Wizengamot sees fit - the Dementor's Kiss."
"WHAT?" Came another astonished cry from Draco.
"I said shut up!" Rousseau yelled at him. He glared at her for a second, but complied. She cleared her throat and stood up.
"Pardon my client's interruption. He doesn't know what's good for him your honors." She said with a sweet smile that nearly made Ron sick - they couldn't be falling for this act, could they? A moment later, she walked out from behind her table and put her quill down, beginning her opening statement.
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Hogwarts, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers change their lives." Stefanie paused in her pacing, to let the audience feel the full effect of her monologue. Ron had to admit, it was a good show - but they had to see that that's all it was, right?
"Draco Malfoy was deemed a Death Eater when he was born." She said bluntly. "He was the son of a loyal Death Eater, the nephew of an even more loyal Death Eater, and the same age as The Boy Who Lived. Draco grew up, indoctrinated with a sense of hate and malice towards anything that was different," at this, Ron couldn't help but roll his eyes. She was making it out like he didn't have a choice in all this - you always had a choice! "He hated Muggleborns, blood traitors, teachers his father didn't approve of and the great Albus Dumbledore. It was, in fact, Draco's job to murder Albus Dumbledore. But something happened that night. Something unexpected." Rousseau paused again, for dramatic effect. If Ron hadn't been too busy rolling his eyes in disgust, he would've seen everyone, including Harry, on the edge of their seat in confusion.
"He couldn't do it." Ron looked over at Malfoy, who was pointedly looking away. Probably exactly what Rousseau had told him to do. "He couldn't do it," she continued, "because he's not a murderer. Severus Snape finished off the job - it's a matter of public record. And ever since that night, Draco's life has been a rollercoaster of new experiences, events and ideas. He began to see things in a different light, even falling in love with a girl classified by his family as a 'blood traitor'. He did everything he could for her, even though he was a Death Eater, not by choice, and she was not an Order of the Phoenix member - also not by choice. These star-crossed lovers kept their relationship a secret, until they couldn't any longer."
"Draco Malfoy is not who you think he is. In this trial, I will show you who he really is, and why he killed those five people." Commotion immediately sprang up in the court, everyone almost laughing at Stefanie for mistaking the number. Once it died down, she continued.
"My client has not killed three people in his life, he's killed five. We will explain in due time, and you will come to understand the choices Draco had to make - the sacrifices. In the end, he chose to give up everything for love. And now, he's back again. For love. There is no greater goal. There is no higher reason. Love. Thank you." She sat down at a table next to where Draco was chained, and everyone began chatting at once.
"Five?" Ron asked Harry confusedly. "But on the warrant..." Harry looked back at him, worried.
"The warrant must've been wrong..." Harry concluded.
"But how could that be? His own father...!"
"Must not have told the whole story..." Harry continued thoughtfully. The pair immediately stood up as court adjourned for the day and rushed back to their office. Ron was determined to figure out who the other two poor souls were who died, and he wanted to nail Malfoy for them, as well. Five people? Who can do that? Ron had never killed anyone in his life!
Harry and Ron worked tirelessly for the rest of the day going through old documents. It was difficult because at the time of the murders, no one wanted to report on anything significant enough to be helpful - like, who'd been sighted where, whether a known Death Eater had been in school at the time or not...etc. Ron poured over Daily Prophets and school records, looking for a clue, but didn't find anything - his mind was racing too fast to concentrate on anything for too long, and it had already been a long day.
"Ron," Harry finally said at seven thirty. "Go home. I don't want Hermione coming after me because you're set on figuring this out. He killed five people - that's better for us, not worse."
"Then why did the lawyer lady make it sound like it was worse for us?"
"Because she a lawyer," Harry pointed out. "That's what they do." Ron leaned back in his chair for the first time in three hours and sighed.
"I suppose you're right." He admitted. He looked down at the papers on his desk, admitting his defeat to them. He sighed and gathered them up. "Do they even want to know?" He asked Harry honestly. Harry just shrugged.
"Katie just said that it wouldn't really make a difference. He's getting a harsh punishment either way, so...although it'd be nice to have the names on the list, it's really not necessary in terms of punishment." Harry said nonchalantly. Ron took a deep breath and shoved all the papers back into one very messy file. He packed up his things and headed for home again.
When he got there, the atmosphere almost felt like Azkaban. The kids weren't anywhere in sight, and Hermione was vehemently washing dishes in the kitchen.
"Hi...'Mione..." Ron said timidly, standing by the kitchen table as he walked in. He watched as she slowly finished what she was doing, turned off the tap, dried her hands with a towel, and turned around to face him with a very angry look on her face. "Er, how was your day?"
"How was my day?" She asked him in disbelief, crossing her arms and leaning back against the sink. "How was my day? How was your day, Ronald? Throw anyone else's husband in prison?" She asked bitterly. "Do you realize what time it is?" She asked. Ron looked at the clock - eight o'clock. "You said you'd be home for dinner tonight."
"I know, but something happened at work..."
"That was more important that getting home to eat dinner with your family?" She asked rhetorically.
"Malfoy killed five people." He stated bluntly, "not three like we thought." Hermione, for once in her life, looked like she was at a loss for words.
"Do you know who?" She finally asked. Ron shook his head,
"We've been trying to figure it out all day, which is what took so long. But the number's definitely five." He said decisively.
"How do you know?" She asked skeptically.
"He's got himself a lawyer - somehow the Wizengamot OK'ed it. I don't know how..." he muttered. Hermione cleared her throat and he spoke up again. "Anyway," he continued, "she got up there and told everyone that he murdered five people - but she didn't mention who." Hermione took a deep breath and examined Ron, seeming to try and figure out what to say next. She still had her arms crossed - a very unwelcoming posture. After a moment of silence, she spoke again.
"So?" She asked simply. Ron was speechless - was she serious?
"So? What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.
"I mean so what? It was a long time ago, Ron." She pointed out quietly. "A completely different time - you of all people know that. The same rules did not apply."
"What? Of course they did! We were never allowed to kill anyone!" He cried, completely shocked that Hermione would say such a thing.
"Not true." She shook her head, "Harry killed Voldemort."
"What? Of course he did! Voldemort was terrorizing everywhere! Killing everyone! He'd come back from the dead, for Merlin's sake!" Ron cried.
"Harry still killed him, ripped his own soul in half." Hermione said quietly.
"Hermione! This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about! You want him loose?"
"Ron, he's not going to hurt anybody! Isn't the point of prison rehabilitation? He's rehabilitated! Your sister took care of that! And now all you're doing is alienating her from this entire family and it's not right!" Hermione finally yelled.
"She has nothing to do with this!" Ron yelled back.
"Of course she does! She's the reason you're doing this! She's the reason he's back! She's the reason things are the way they are today - the reason you are who you are today! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming her for anything - but you have to admit that she played a large role in all of the events of that time, and this one." Hermione finished forcefully.
"Hermione!" Ron cried in frustration. "You can't be serious!"
"I'm as serious as I've ever been, Ronald Weasley! And don't you take that tone with me!" She yelled angrily. "I don't know what kind of revenge game you're playing, or who exactly you're trying to get back at, but it's failing miserably. Nothing you are doing, or have done in the past week has been anything but detrimental to our lives and our relationship with Ginny and her children. I loved her! She was my best friend, Ron! Why won't you just accept her and get to know who she's become?"
"Because this is NOT how things were supposed to be!" He yelled back.
"How things were supposed to be?" Hermione shot back. "And how exactly were things supposed to be, Ron?"
"Different!" He yelled. "They were supposed to be different! She...she was supposed to stay. She and Harry were supposed to be together...she wasn't supposed to leave..." he finished, sounding utterly defeated. He looked at the wall pointedly, avoiding Hermione's all-knowing eyes. Her arms uncrossed and she shrugged slowly.
"But they're not different, Ron." She said helplessly. "They're not different. You have to stop living in a dream from the past! Things are what they are - that dream is dead, you have to let it go. The reality is that she's married. She has five children! She was happy, Ron. Genuinely happy. You can see it on her face when she talks about it. And the reality is that she's back." Hermione paused to walk a little bit closer to him. His watering eyes looked at her, and all the pain he'd locked away from her departure came flooding back like someone had knocked down a dam.
"And you have made her feel unwanted and unwelcome in her own world - her own family. You can't keep going on like this, or she's never going to forgive you, and frankly, I won't blame her." Hermione said seriously. Ron took a deep breath and tried to avoid feeling all the pain that was flooding back, forget all the memories he thought he'd forgotten, of the day when Hermione found the letters, of the day after when he had to face his mum, of the day after that when he had to face everyone else, and he realized that he'd never actually faced himself. He'd never come to terms with anything that had happened.
"It's my fault..." he whispered sadly. "It's my fault she left."
"Ron, now that's just ridiculous." Hermione said, moving even closer and rubbing his arm comfortingly. "She left for so many different reasons it's hard to count."
"If I'd just...let her fight...let her play Quidditch..."
"If I remember correctly, those were not your decisions." Hermione pointed out.
"But I...could've fought for her...no one fought for her..."
"She did," Hermione said with a nostalgic smile. "She always was a fighter, duel or no duel." Ron finally let his feelings take over, and he fell into Hermione's arms. She patted his back as he just leaned on her, helpless and sad.
"What am I going to do?" He asked her. She always had the answers, surely she would now, too.
"There's nothing you can do." She said seriously. "The best thing you can do is just...back off for now. Don't try and talk to her until your mum and I go - give her some time to cool off. You Weasleys are difficult to calm down, you know." She finished with a bit of a smile.
"Mum? What time is it?" One of the twins asked from the doorway behind them. Ron turned around to see Gideon in his pajamas, ready for bed. He smiled at the little boy and took a deep breath.
"It's almost eight thirty. You just about ready for bed?" Ron asked.
"Yes, but I haven't had a snack yet." He said matter-of-factly. Ron had to chuckle - it was such a Hermione tone, it made him laugh.
There was a lot left to do before he could sleep, including making sure his wife wasn't angry with him anymore, but Ron realized that that didn't much matter. Things needed to get done, and he needed to stop relishing in past failures. Past is past, and we cannot take it back. Ron went to the stairs and called for Fabian, who came bounding down.
As Ron walked back out into the kitchen, he took a deep breath. Tomorrow he would have to bury the hatchet, and tomorrow he would have to make Hermione go to Ginny's. He needed to talk to her, he needed to see her and hug her. But that could wait until tomorrow, because tonight, there were other things he had to do.