It was late in the morning when Astoria woke up. The sunlight from the window was much too bright, and she squinted as she opened her eyes. Disoriented, she looked blearily around before she remembered that she had fallen asleep in Scorpius' room after comforting him from a nightmare sometime in wee hours of the dawn. Yawning, she padded down the stairs to the kitchen. She found Draco in the same place he'd been yesterday, his gaze trained outside the kitchen window. From his expression, she could tell he was brooding again.

"Good morning darling," she said softly.

Draco startled. "Astoria. I didn't hear you come in."

"Where's Scorpius?"

Draco blinked, then said, "In the dining room."

Astoria nodded, but her next words were postponed as she noticed an owl just outside the window. "Can you let the owl in?"

Draco turned back to the window and opened it, allowing the owl to fly in with a cool breeze. It landed in front of Astoria, and she took the parchment curiously. "Who could this be?" she wondered aloud. The letter was short, and her brain whirled as she read.

"Who's it from," Draco said.

"Natalie Mayes. She's a reporter, one of the better ones out there, from what I've read...she doesn't say what she wants, just that she would like to meet with me, today if possible."

"What time?"

"Lunchtime. Plenty of time before we'll want to be at the Ministry. Are you coming to the sentencing too?"

Draco looked at her, surprised. "I planned to, yes. We'll have to leave Scorpius at the daycare again."

"Yes. But the sentencing shouldn't take very long, I'd think."

Draco looked back out the window. Astoria scrambled to find a quill as the owl hooted impatiently. She usually kept a few in every room. She scribbled a quick note and sent the owl off again. Draco closed the glass pane behind it, his movements jerky and unusually uncoordinated. Astoria frowned. "Are you okay, Draco?"

He didn't look at her when he answered "of course, I'm simply tired," and she moved to fold her arms around his waist. "We're going to talk when this is all over," she said quietly. "I know now is not the time. But know this. We're going to get through this."

Draco didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. He turned around and held her properly, his breath shallow with repressed emotion, and she let the squeeze of her arms speak the words she had no voice for.

A quarter after noon found Astoria standing in front of a small muggle coffee shop not far from the food truck she'd taken Draco yesterday. Despite her exhaustion, she was curious why the reporter had asked to meet. Did this have to do with Colin?

Natalie Mayes was easy to spot, regardless of the crowded shop: Her bright lime green hair shone like a spotlight in a sea of blondes and brunettes. When Astoria sat down, the woman gave her a smile. "Thanks for coming."

"I was curious," she said in return. "You weren't very specific in your owl post, Ms. Mayes."

"Oh please, call me Natalie," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Ms. Mayes makes me feel old, and I'm not even twenty yet."

Astoria raised her eyebrows. "Forgive me, but your writing makes you seem older than your years."

Natalie laughed. "I'm an old soul. My girlfriend's partner likes to say that I'm nineteen going on forty, which is fairly accurate."

"If I may, why did you request to meet with me?" Astoria asked. "Why today? Does this have something to do with the trial?"

"Yes and no," Natalie said, her smile slipping into a serious expression. "I am writing a story about Harry Potter's trial, yes, but that is not why I asked to speak with you."

Astoria opened her mouth, but Natalie answered her question before she could ask it. "I have been working on a story for about a year now. At first, it seemed a fairly cut and dry embezzling scheme. But I have reason to believe that it goes well beyond that. I had an inside source, but she disappeared months ago. I reported her missing."

In a flash, Astoria understood. "Jane," she said.

Natalie inclined her head. "Yes. I don't know what happened, but it was very unlike her to stop communicating with me. I did some digging, attempted to find her, but she was simply gone."

"And that's where I come in," Astoria said. "You want me to ask her to get in touch with you?"

"Yes. I don't want her to feel pressured, I have found another source, but Jane knew things that my current source isn't privy to, and I would prefer to publish with the full story, and not speculation."

"You're well known for your factual stories," Astoria said, partly to give herself a moment to think. "It hasn't gone unnoticed. It's well appreciated in many circles."

Natalie acknowledged the compliment with a nod, and waited. Astoria sat silently for a moment before she said, "I'll talk to her. She can decide what she wants to do, but I'll let her know you would like to talk to her."

"That's all I'm asking for," Natalie said gratefully. "Thank you."

"I can't promise anything," Astoria said. "But I do know enough about the information she knows, to know that she has been feeling extremely guilty for bailing on you."

"She told you?"

"I know enough to know that the story needs to come out," Astoria said. "But I know she hasn't told me everything. I think she - I think she may have told Colin Creevey the full story. They might have known each other from before their time at the Underground, but they really bonded those few weeks."

Natalie nodded, her eyes sad. "Colin was one of my favourite colleagues. He always was respectful, even when you could tell that he was struggling. He was curious about things, but always with photography in mind. He asked me once why I became a reporter, and I told him that I wanted to know Truth. Not perception, but Truth. I wanted to dig, solve puzzles, get to the root of issues. And you know what he told me?"

Astoria knew the question was rhetorical, but she responded anyway. "What did he say?"

"He said that was the reason he loved photography. He wanted to show Truth. He wanted to take pictures that showed a viewer exactly what the Truth was, so they could see it with their own eyes."

"That sounds like Colin," Astoria said.

"He talked about your son often," Natalie said. "He would talk about what he was teaching Scorpius, and how quickly he understood concepts that even professional photographers sometimes struggle with."

"Scorpius is a bright child," Astoria said. "But he's been struggling with Colin's...death."

"He's not alone in that," Natalie said. "Colin was loved by many. I feel - guilty. As a reporter, as someone who looks for truth...I didn't see what was right in front of me."

Astoria looked away. "It's so easy to get lost in the guilt. The what-ifs."

Natalie sighed, and agreed, and their conversation finished shortly after, and Astoria was relieved. As pleasant as Natalie's company was, she was already emotionally drained and the sentencing hearing was looming ever closer.

Walking into Courtroom Ten was harder than it had been the day before. The echoes of the memories shared took her breath away, and she was thankful for her husband's solid presence next to her. She knew he was just as affected as she was, she could feel it in the grip of his hand in hers.

The entire room was silent, a contrast to the day before, when it had been alight with the buzzing of conversation. Everyone sat sombrely, waiting. The tense atmosphere was stifling, and it made her anxious and afraid. In the middle of the room, Harry Potter sat with Mr. Roland next to him. Both men were quiet. Harry, she noticed, had his eyes closed, his lips moving silently as though having a conversation with himself, and she shuddered. Draco looked at her, mouthed it's okay, and she gave him a weak smile.

The Wizengamot filed in only moments later. The Chief Warlock wasted no time in getting down to business. "As we all know exactly why we are here, I see no reason to waste time on reiterating the charges and testimony of the previous day. Would the accused please rise."

Harry Potter stood, scowling. Astoria noted that Mr. Roland stayed seated.

"Harry James Potter, it is the unanimous decision of the Wizengamot to pronounce you guilty of the murder of Colin Creevey."

Astoria sighed in relief, but it was short-lived as Harry Potter screamed in fury, his voice piercing and filled with agony, and the crowd, as if given a sign, came alive. Shouts of burn in hell and I hope you rot in Azkaban were intermingled with cries of this is unjust and he's innocent, and Astoria locked eyes with Draco helplessly. How could there possibly be people who still believed that Harry was innocent after watching the memories with their own eyes?

A spell shot through the room, and the crowd quieted. The Chief Warlock's mouth was pressed in a thin line, but she didn't seem surprised at the abuse that had been hurled around the courtroom. "The accused is to be sent to the Secure Magical Prisoner's Ward at Homes for Hope, so that he may receive the treatment needed to understand his actions. How long you stay there, Mr. Potter, is determined by you. Your Healers will continue to update this court on your progress. When you are deemed mentally fit - "

"I'm being framed!" Harry cried out. "Someone else did this, someone else - Malfoy - some Death Eater - Luke! Luke did this, go talk to him - he killed the guy in the park - "

Astoria listened as a stream of random nonsense flooded out of the man's mouth, and her stomach tightened in knots of anger and helplessness. Colin had lived with this man, Colin had loved him -

Another spell whipped through, and silence fell again. "When you are deemed mentally fit, another hearing will take place to discuss your future - "

Harry Potter screamed once more, his eyes scrunched in anger, and Astoria felt a wave of revulsion. He was yelling now, words of hate and anger and blame, blame for anyone and everyone but himself, and her free hand twitched, itching to reach for her wand to silence the man, but a door across from where she sat opened and several guards marched out. Harry didn't seem to notice them, so caught up in his rant, his eyes focused on the Wizengamot, but as they took hold of his arms to escort him out of the room Harry fought them, struggling to escape their grip, still screaming, and Astoria held her breath, afraid he would get loose, but the guards dragged him roughly away, and as the sounds of his cries faded slowly, chaos erupted in the courtroom. Astoria looked at Draco, frightened; he tugged her up and indicated they should leave, and she followed his lead. She noticed others were slipping away too, as they realized that nothing constructive would happen after this point, and she saw the Aurors already attempting to calm the crowd. Ron Weasley nodded to her as they passed him, and then they were the corridor, and Astoria gave a moan of relief. "Let's go home," she said.

Draco didn't speak, but led her to the daycare, and when Scorpius saw them he seemed to understand that they were upset and he hugged them tightly. "I want to go home," he whispered.

They went home, and Astoria helped Scorpius build a blanket fort and Draco brought them ice cream when they were finished, and they all licked melting cones and laughed as Scorpius tried and failed to pronounce Neapolitan and Astoria dripped ice cream down her front. It was Astoria's idea of a perfect day, but although she laughed there was an hysterical edge to it.

As evening came to a close, and the night hours began to creep up on them, Scorpius fell asleep in Draco's arms as the three of them lay together, still under the blanket fort. Astoria watched Draco watch her, and listened to their son's soft snores, and it was Draco that spoke. "I was so - cold. So - rude. To Colin."

"Yes, you were," Astoria said. "But you know why, don't you."

Draco looked down. "I do now."

There was silence. Astoria waited, but Draco seemed to be lost in thought. "Does any of this..." he said after awhile, his voice hesitant before trailing off, and Astoria let him process his thoughts. She could see he was struggling with the words.

"Does anything you saw in that courtroom change how you - feel? About me. Do you see me - differently?"

Draco wouldn't meet her eyes, and Astoria's heart broke with the fear she could see lurking just beneath the surface. "Draco," she said softly. "Look at me." And slowly, he did as she asked, and she could tell it took every ounce of strength he had. "I am - upset that you didn't even listen to him. He was asking for help. But that's not what you're asking me right now, is it?"

Draco shook his head, and Astoria glanced down at Scorpius. He was drooling slightly in sleep. She met Draco's gaze once more. "You have a heart that can love so deeply, in so many ways. And I know you grew up thinking that love is a person's greatest weakness. But I - I think it is a person's greatest strength. That you felt this emotion for Colin does not change how much I love you. Nor do I see you differently. You forget that I notice things, darling."

Draco looked both reassured and perplexed at her words, and Astoria continued. "Over the years I have seen you admire other women as they pass by. I have also seen you look at other men. You may not have admitted this to yourself, but I knew. And I have never cared one bit that you look either way."

Draco's gaze skittered away and he put a hand over his eyes. He didn't speak, and Astoria didn't feel the need to elaborate further; there would be a time and place for further conversation, when they didn't have to whisper for fear of waking their son, and when Draco was better able to articulate his thoughts. This was too new, to raw, for him right now. She reached her own hand out to tenderly guide Draco's hand away from his face, and squeezed it gently. Draco kept his eyes closed, but squeezed back, and Astoria allowed the night to fold them into its embrace.