Lucius smirked as he entered the Ministry of Magic. It was indisputable that the Dark Lord was dead. Hearing that his corpse had collapsed lifeless in the Great Hall had confirmed it. No ambiguity like last time. He knew that Aurors like the petulant Potter boy and his hand-me-down wearing ginger friend were rounding up Death Eaters. He, however, felt safe, as he had secured assurances from the proper channels that he would not be pursued. All it had taken was a little gold.
Although he had avoided prison, he'd had his mind set on loftier ambitions. He'd heard rumors that Potter had survived his fight with the Dark Lord by holding dominion of the Elder Wand. He had first thought that the rumors were ridiculous, as he recalled the story of the Deathly Hallows as a mere fairy tale that Narcissa had read to Draco when he was young. However, it had become obvious that there was something to that rumor when he had heard from a few of his former colleagues what Potter had been able to do.
He'd worked behind the scenes to investigate the Hallows further, and once he realized that they did exist, he had taken action. Operating out of the shadows had been nothing new for him, as he had done so for years juggling his Death Eater obligations with his political positions within the Ministry. He thought that if he could get his hands on the three Hallows, that he would have more leverage to stay out of Azkaban and to hold a powerful political position.
All of this came crashing down on him one day when he was ambushed by none other than Potter and his bleeding heart friends.
They'd somehow been able to track him down one morning as he was heading for the entrance to the Ministry. For a split second, he saw a redheaded man aiming a wand, but before he could react, the man stunned him and dragged him to a back alley away from line of sight. Lucius tried to struggle against it but found he was unable to move his body. He was, though, still able to speak. "You've made a huge mistake, Potter."
"No, Lucius, I believe you are the one who has done that," Potter said.
Lucius looked at his other assailants and saw two of those Weasley children (he could never keep their names straight in his head) and the Mudblood Granger. "What the hell do you want with me?"
"The truth," the ginger boy said, "and nothing more."
"And how do you expect to believe anything I say?" Lucius asked.
"Give it to him," the Weasley girl said. Granger then stepped forward with a small potion vial in hand, pulled Lucius's jaw open, and poured the contents into his mouth. She then shut his jaw close and pinched his nose, so Lucius could do nothing except swallow the concoction. He suddenly began feeling like he had no control of his thoughts.
"In case you were wondering," Potter said, "that was—"
"Veritaserum," Lucius spat. "Don't patronize me, Potter. I know my potions."
"Then you know that you'll be telling us everything you've done to us," Potter said. I'll make this easy for you and cut right to the chase."
Lucius glared at Potter but said nothing.
"Did you cast the Imperius Curse on my three friends?" Potter asked.
Lucius wanted nothing more than to tell Potter where he could stick his wand, but his mouth moved on its own accord. "Yes," he sputtered.
"Why did you cast one on Ron?" Potter asked.
"To get that loathsome Mudblood out of the picture," Lucius said. "Without her interference, it would be easier for me to use him to find the Hallows."
"Why cast one on me then?" Hermione asked.
"To bring you to Potter and distract him. I know that he is less susceptible to the Imperius Curse, so using you to divide his attention was my plan."
"And why me?" the Weasley girl asked.
"I assumed you knew where Harry hid the Cloak and could retrieve it for me."
"Why go after the Hallows at all?" Potter asked.
"To bring myself more political influence," Lucius said. "To master the Hallows is to master death, and with that kind of dominion, I could buy myself more political favors."
"Well, that's where you were misguided," Potter said, sounding like he was about to step up onto one of his soapboxes.
"Spare me the soliloquy," Lucius said.
"You're a foul little oaf," Granger said. "You made Ron do unspeakable things to me. I can't even look you straight in the eye, knowing what you've done." She then spit on his face. He grumbled, unable to believe the situation these foul teenagers had him in.
"What are you going to do to me?" Lucius asked.
"Detain you, first of all," Potter said. "Even with your connections, you've admitted to using the Imperius Curse. That's death if you're convicted."
"If I'm convicted," Lucius said with a smirk. "You understand the connections I have, Potter. You won't be able to make any charges stick."
"You're right about that, Lucius," Potter said, "but I can at least make sure you can't hurt my friends again." He crouched down and groped for Lucius's wand and the Elder Wand. He extracted and pocketed them both.
"How dare you. My wand alone costs more than your Weasley friend's wardrobe," Lucius said.
"It's evidence in your upcoming trial," Potter said. "Priori Incantatem will be able to prove that you cast the Imperius Curse. You might be able to weasel your way out of jail before charges are filed, but I'll make sure to do everything I can to keep that from happening."
"We're taking you in," the Weasley boy said. He and Potter lifted him up and dragged him into the Ministry. As they descended towards the Ministry entrance, Lucius could not believe how embarrassed he felt. He'd underestimated a group of teenagers again. It was little better than that disastrous night in the Department of Mysteries.
Once they came out to the Ministry entrance, they marched Lucius towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"I've been thinking about something," the ginger boy said. "Why aren't we using Veritaserum in trials? It's the perfect tool to determine wrongdoing."
"The Wizengamot would all be out of a job," Granger replied. "They're not willing to relinquish that power, so they banned Veritaserum from any trials in order not to lose their positions in power. I'm sure you would know a thing or two about that, Lucius."
Lucius smirked but said nothing. No other words were spoken until they reached the department and threw him into a detainment cell. "You won't get away with this," he muttered.
"We'll see about that," Potter said, and the four of them left him to rot. All Lucius could do sitting in his cell is hope that his political connections were strong enough to convince the Ministry to release him. For now, though, there was nothing he could do but sit and wait.
With Lucius in jail, Harry was feeling a little better. He took a look at his friends and noticed that something seemed off. Hermione was avoiding Ron's gaze, and when Ron tried to take her hand, she pulled it away. Harry realized that he would need to address this head on.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer but needing to get the ball rolling.
"I'm fine," she said.
"No, you're not," Harry said. "I know there's something bothering you."
"It's…" she said, glancing at Ron then looking away, "it's really not fair, because I know it's not his fault."
"What's not my fault?" Ron asked.
"You weren't yourself, were you, when you attacked me?" Hermione asked. "You were under the Imperius Curse."
"Well, of course," Ron said. "I would never hurt you like that, Hermione. Never. It was that Malfoy arse that did all that, when you think about it."
"I know that, Ron, intellectually," Hermione said. "But when I think about what you did to me, all I can see is your face."
The frown on Ron's face said everything. "I know it wasn't me," he said, "but I also understand why you feel like this. Are you saying that we can't be together anymore?"
"No, of course that's not what I'm saying," Hermione said, tears coming to her eyes, "but I don't know how I'm going to get past this. Harry, maybe you can cast Obliviate, make me forget it even happened in the first place. Could you do that?"
"No, I can't," Harry said. "Using a charm to erase the memory of a criminal act violates the law that I am sworn to uphold."
"Oh, bollocks to the law!" Hermione said. "I can't live the rest of my life with the memory of my husband doing something that horrible, even though I know it really wasn't him."
"Can I interject?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded, and Ginny stepped over and placed both of Hermione's hands in her own.
"I know what it's like to be controlled by someone else and made to do horrible things," Ginny said. "That damn diary in my first year. I poured my heart into it and I'm lucky that I didn't kill anyone, as I easily might have. When I came out of that trance, I didn't think anyone would want to forgive me. What Ron's done to you, it's very similar to that, only his behavior has done permanent damage. You've been traumatized, no doubt about it, and your response is completely normal. But I know my brother, and he is a good and loyal man, and I know that he is willing to work to heal this rift between you."
"Ginny's right," Ron said. "Hermione, I'll do whatever it takes to earn your trust back. We'll work on it, and I won't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with."
Hermione sniffled and nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
"You've always talked about how in the Muggle world, you have therapists that help you deal with stuff, right?" Ron asked.
"Yes," Hermione said.
"Well, that's not really done in the wizarding world," Ron replied, "but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll do anything I can to save this marriage, because Hermione, you're way out of my league and I'd have to be starking mad to let you go."
Hermione dared a smile and gave Ron a hug. "Thank you," she said. "I'll see if I can arrange something for the two of us."
Harry beamed with pride. He knew his friends had plenty of hard work ahead of them, but he was grateful that they were trying to make it work. The group disbanded, and Ron and Hermione went to their offices, giving Harry a brief moment with Ginny. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. "Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Ginny said. "Look, I know it wasn't really me, but I'm sorry for my part in this, too. I should've been able to fight the influence like you can. How do you resist it?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. Hermione's done some research on it, obviously, and she says those with the strongest wills are the ones who can fight the curse the most."
"I thought I was pretty strong-willed," Ginny said, "but I fell under it and didn't even realize it."
"I think I'm a bit of an outlier," Harry replied.
"You've always been a bit of an outlier," Ginny said with a chuckle.
Harry gave a laugh in return, then kissed Ginny again. "I have to get to work," he said. "There's more Death Eaters than just Lucius Malfoy out there."
"I'll see you at home then," Ginny said, giving Harry another kiss and leaving.
Harry smiled, hoping that things would go back to normal soon, but also understanding that there was a lot of work to do before that could happen. Therapy for Ron and Hermione seemed like a good idea, but he hoped that Ron would take it seriously. Sometimes he wasn't sure how easy it was for him to discuss delicate subjects. If he made some offhand inappropriate joke or showed any lack of understanding of the topic at hand, Harry was sure that Hermione would be hurt, and that's the last thing he wanted for either of them. Perhaps he and Ron could discuss it a bit later. Right now there was plenty of work ahead for both of them.