All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.
Beta: Roman's Sundial
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Hearing and the Turncoat
Draco Malfoy – Present Day
March 17, 2000
Draco was sitting in the middle of the courtroom, looking up at the usual five people that were at his hearings, including the Minister of Magic and Harry Potter. They had gotten through the majority of the hearing; Draco had spoken, answered questions, and proven that he had no involvement with current attacks. All that was left as to hear the reference letters (that would help him as Hermione had written something on his behalf), followed by the final decision. He was feeling confident that everything was going well and, although he did not expect to be let off just yet, he knew that nothing worse would happen. "I will now read the references that we have received before a final decision has been made. We have received three letters for this matter," said Kingsley, as he picked up the first letter. Draco had only expected one letter from Hermione, and was quite interested in who the other two were from. "The first one is from Ms. Hermione Granger," Kingsley said, clearing his throat and preparing to read: "It has been an absolute pleasure to look after Draco Malfoy these last months. Not only did Mr. Malfoy comply with every rule set for him, there was never even a single complaint uttered by him when he had to spend days upon days by himself. Mr. Malfoy is a polite and rule-abiding individual and has proven to me that I did not make a mistake in putting my own life on the line for him. Although I will gladly continue to watch Mr. Malfoy, his actions have proven that it is clearly unnecessary for him to require it." Draco looked over to Hermione who was in the stands and smiled at her. The Minister grabbed the next letter and continued. "The next letter is from Mr. Harry Potter. It says: As a good friend to Hermione Granger, it was common that Draco Malfoy had visited my home alongside her. Because of this, we have had many conversations that involve the current war that has commenced. More than just conversation, Mr. Malfoy has proven himself by helping me with matters that will help end it all. I, Harry James Potter, am thankful for all that Mr. Malfoy has done thus far, and am pleased to have him as an ally." Malfoy looked over at Potter shocked; he had not expected anything at all from him and if he were to be honest, he was incredibly touched. He made a small nod in Potter's direction, and turned to the Minister to hear the final reference. "The final reference is from Mr. Viktor Krum." Draco immediately turned to Hermione and watched her jaw drop. Clearly, she had no idea what this was about. What was worse was that she had a look of fear on her face. His stomach dropping, Draco turned back to the Minister and waited to hear the reference. "As fiancé to Ms. Hermione Granger, I had allowed for a wing in my Estate be converted to Mr. Malfoy's private quarters whilst he was under the watch of Ms. Granger. I am sorry to report that Mr. Malfoy showed a horrible disregard to all the rules set for him. Although the wards around the wing prevented Mr. Malfoy from leaving, it did not stop him from attempting to leave without Ms. Granger on several occasions. I have a house elf who was ordered to watch Mr. Malfoy and can confirm it all. Not only did Mr. Malfoy attempt to go against the rules placed on him, his attempt could have also put my fiancée in danger without her ever knowing. Furthermore, I have to report disturbing information that on four different occasions I attempted to intercept an owl that was headed to his wing, but on every occasion, the letter would burn prior to me reading it. I am without a doubt positive that Mr. Malfoy has been corresponding with dark wizards. Surely, a letter to his mother would not have had that protection. As an ally to the British Ministry, I feel obligated to provide this information to you and hope that it aids you in making the correct decision."
"No!" Hermione cried out, standing up. "No, Minister, it isn't true!"
"Ms. Granger," interjected Kingsley. "It is not your place to speak out and I request that you sit down immediately or you will be removed from this courtroom." Draco watched Hermione sit down, but tears were pouring down her face. "Based on the references provided, Mr. Malfoy, it is my authority to place you under arrest and-"
"We are supposed to vote," Harry interrupted.
"Mr. Potter, may I remind you that-"
"I do not need reminding, Minister. You, Mr. Yaxley, and myself are to vote on the verdict; those are the rules of the review hearing."
"Fine," said Kingsley, rather unprofessionally. "Mr. Potter, your vote?"
"I vote not guilty," Harry said immediately. "Both Ms. Granger and I have been around Mr. Malfoy; Mr. Krum has not."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter, though, might I add that it is my belief that you are too personally involved to be a deciding vote. However, it is one for not guilty and one for guilty. Mr. Yaxley, I trust you will make the right decision. What is your vote?" Draco's heart was pounding as he stared at Yaxley; surely he would realize that Krum's letter was absurd?
"I feel as if you know what is best in this matter, Minister. I vote guilty."
"No!" screamed Hermione again.
"Ms. Granger!" Kingsley yelled at her.
Draco looked at Hermione. "Stop," he whispered to her. "It will be alright." He then turned to the Minister. "Minister, would I be able to counter this?" he asked, with as much confidence as he could muster. The truth was, he was almost shaking in fear.
"You will be sent to Azkaban pending a proper trial, Mr. Malfoy. Until then, this matter is over."
Harry Potter – Present Day
March 17, 2000
As soon as Malfoy was taken away, Harry rushed over to a sobbing Hermione. "Harry, he can't, he just can't! It's a lie! Krum is jealous!"
"I know, Hermione, shh," he said, trying to comfort her. "We'll fix this, just try and relax."
"But how? Draco is g-going to A-Azkaban!" she cried, even harder than before.
"Hermione, you need to calm down! You are the smartest witch I know, and there is nobody in the Ministry that knows the law better than you! Pull yourself together, head upstairs to our office, and find something that can get him out. If you find the legislation, I'll get him out, I promise!"
"O-Okay," she replied, trying to catch her breath. At this point, Ron had joined them and had put his arm around her.
"Do you need some help?" he asked her, though Harry knew he was only saying it to be nice. Ron was not the kind of person that would want to sit and go through books all day.
"No, thanks Ron, I-I'll be alright," she answered, wiping her face.
"Actually, Ron, there's something I need you to help me with," Harry said.
"Sure," said Ron. "What's that?"
"Ms. Granger," came Kingsley's voice, before Harry could respond to Ron. "Despite your emotions, I must ask that you contain yourself going forward during a hearing."
"Yes, Minister," said Hermione. Harry picked up a tone of voice that Hermione usually reserved for people that she hated.
"As for the rest of you, you would find out on Monday of course, but I thought I would be kind enough to inform you personally that I have hired a new secretary; Dolores Umbridge."
"You have GOT to be joking!" Hermione shouted.
"I am not, Ms. Granger. Contrary to what you may know, despite her crimes at Hogwarts, Ms. Umbridge has exceptional qualifications for the post and she has always been on the right side."
"The right side?" bellowed Harry. "Denying Voldemort's return puts her on the right side? Tormenting students puts her on the right side?"
"She was doing as the Ministry told her to, at the time. It is not her fault that the Ministry at that time was corrupt. Good help is hard to find these days and I require loyalty. Cruel as she may have been, she has served her time, and now that she is under proper Ministry protocol, I am certain that she will behave properly."
"You're a fool just like he was," Harry said. He made sure not to mention who he was.
"Might I remind you, Mr. Potter, that I am the Minister of Magic?"
"I am not speaking to the Minister at this time," Harry responded promptly. "I am speaking to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the man I work alongside at the Order."
"Then speak to me as Kingsley at Headquarters only, and only about matters that involves the Order!"
"What happened to you?" Ron asked, bewildered. "You used to be one of us."
"I will not dignify that with a response. Good day to you all; I shall see you at tonight's meeting."
Harry watched Kingsley walk away. "This can't be real," he said.
"I'm afraid it is. Harry, what are we going to do?" asked Hermione.
"We'll deal with it," he said confidently. "Go on and find something to get Draco released quickly. Ron, can you meet me at my flat in about twenty minutes?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Good; it's time we take matters into our own hands… Again!"
Hermione Granger – Present Day
March 15, 2000
Hermione had put the last piece of clothing into her bag and reached for the last thing that she owned: a crystal rose. Carefully securing it into her bag so that it would not break, she turned to leave but found her path blocked. "Vere are you going?" asked Krum.
"To the Ministry," she answered him coldly. "I need to find something to help Draco. Not that you care, of course, you are the reason he is in Azkaban, after all."
"Let me explain," he tried to say, but Hermione cut him off.
"There is absolutely nothing to explain!" she yelled. "You lied out of jealousy, for no reason at all!"
"There vas a reason…"
"There bloody well was not, Viktor! You lied because you were jealous and now a perfectly innocent man is in Azkaban because you were afraid to lose me when you already had me!"
"I vas protecting my fiancée…"
"You were NOT! And I am not your fiancée, Viktor."
"Vell, once you accept…"
"Are you stupid enough to honestly believe that I would accept it after you did this? You must be mad!" She took off the ring and threw it at him. "Get out of my way; I am leaving!" She made it passed him and to the front door before he spoke again.
"Ven you haff calmed down, you vill understand my point. We can talk about it at dinner tomorrow night."
This time, Hermione actually laughed out loud. "At dinner tomorrow? Viktor, before you did this, I was trying to figure out how to politely decline your offer to marry you. Thank you for making this so much easier," and with that, Hermione walked out and slammed the door in his face as she did so.
Sirius Black – The Past
June 2, 1978
Sirius stared at the letter in his hands in disbelief. He had read it over four times already, yet he found himself reading it again. "What do you've got there, Pads?" asked James, as he approached one of his best friends.
"Its, uh, a letter from my mum."
"Your mum? But didn't she disown you?"
"She did," Sirius replied. "She even blasted me off the family tapestry."
"So then what the bloody hell does she want?"
"For me to get married."
"What?!" James grabbed the letter from Sirius and started to read aloud: "Although you have proven to be a poor excuse of a son, your dear brother is too busy doing important work to worry about an heir and, therefore, I require you to produce one. You WILL marry the woman of my choosing and you WILL produce an heir that will be brought up properly. You shall receive correspondence on when you are to attend the engagement." James looked at Sirius with a dumb look on his face. "She expects you to show up at some engagement party and propose to a witch that you've never met?"
"I'm sure I've met her," Sirius said. "She's probably the daughter of some pure-blood Death Eater."
"What will you do?" James asked him.
"What do you think?" he responded, ripping up the letter. "If I were to marry, it would be because I found a love like yours and Lily's, not because I need to protect my bloodline."
"Then you're never going to marry, Pads!" James said, playfully hitting him on the arm. "I'll see you later, I'm off to meet Lily."
"Give her a wet one for me!"
"I will not!"
"She'll like it since it's from me!" Sirius called as James walked away. Sirius sat quietly and thought about the prospect of him being married. He had a quick flash of himself in a dress robe watching a veiled witch in white approach him. He quickly shook that thought from his mind; Sirius simply wasn't husband material.
Author's Notes: First and for most, I am Canadian and we celebrated Canada's 150th birthday this weekend (July 1st) So A. that explains my absence and B. Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! I know Americans celebrate on July 4th, so enjoy your celebrations as well!
Now to the story: You can be certain that there will no longer be any more Draco-Hermione-Krum triangle; that is over! You may see Krum from time to time but not with Hermione (unless it's a flashback).
Kingsley is changing - This is going to change the plot quite a bit!
Umbridge is back.. Clearly THIS is going to change a lot too!
Draco is in Azkaban.. Basically I've thrown a lot at you this chapter!
(Sirius' flashback is going to have a significance as well!)
I'll leave you to your thoughts; I would love to hear them though!