a/n: Alright, I think updating regularly is a lost cause. Real life doesn't seem to like it. Anyway, thanks to my beta viv-heart you get this chapter in a readable version (she has to be a saint, I swear!). Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate, a wonderful weekend to the others :)
"The Wizengamot decided that the defence of Mister Malfoy, presented by Miss Granger is not satisfactory," the Chief Sorceress said with a stern frown.
Lucius exhaled slowly. It wouldn't do to throw a fit now. When the Malfoys had arrived at the Ministry they were questioned and he himself had to confirm some of the facts that were presented in the indictment. But he had hoped that they would be able to right that in the hearing.
Minerva McGonagall carried on. "The Wizengamot decided to stipulate testifying under Veritaserum for every testimony used in this case. If one refuses Veritaserum his testimony and the corresponding charges will be removed from the case. Please arrange a meeting with the Aurors within the next week. Hearing dismissed."
Lucius relaxed. They didn't outright dismiss the case but wanted verified testimonies and he had a feeling that Rabastan Lestrange wouldn't be able to tell the lies about thirty-six cases of participation in revels anymore. Lucius took the hand of his wife and moved to leave the spectator seats but was stopped by the Auror who had lead them here.
"The Minister of Magic wants to speak to you, Mr and Mrs Malfoy. We only wait for your son and Miss Granger as she is his defendant and has asked to be allowed to participate in this." The Malfoys nodded and looked down to their son. He was talking with the Granger girl while she got her things and she laughed about something he said. When she had everything he took the parchment rolls which nearly fell from the pile of books, for which she granted him a thankful nod and they made their way up to his parents and the Auror.
Draco smiled at Granger after the hearing was dismissed. "You are a natural in defending, aren't you?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
She laughed. "One could think so. But if I wasn't convinced of your statement I wouldn't have been half as good, I would have felt like I was lying." She continued to sort through her things but she was still smiling.
Draco controlled the smile that wanted to spread out on his face. He felt like the literal kneazle in the cream. He made her laugh and he was able to be civil if not even friendly to her. If anyone had told him that after she had punched him in his third year he probably would have dismissed them as lunatics. If someone had told him after that fateful Easter a few weeks ago he would have laughed bitterly. She had been tortured right in front of him and he hadn't done a thing to save her, to save any of them.
When Granger finally got up Draco didn't even think about taking the parchment rolls from the top of her stack of books. He was surprised himself when he held them suddenly and she gave him a thankful nod. They turned to walk up to his parents who waited for them with an Auror at their side. When they arrived Granger greeted his father coldly and his mother very friendly.
"Thank you so much for your efforts, Hermione," Narcissa smiled. "What did you think of the book I recommended to you in my last letter, the one about wizarding tradition?"
The bushy haired witch next to him got an excited gleam to her eyes and even seemed to bounce a little.
"I only managed to read a few pages this morning before I had to arrive in the Ministry. But the first chapter is already really interesting! Although you were definitely correct about the jabs at muggle culture. I really think that these books are important, but they should be updated every decade or so or otherwise they won't keep up with new developments," the girl answered and the two women walked after the Auror while chatting about a few facts in the first chapter and the Malfoy matriarch answered every question Granger came up with patiently.
Beside him his father stifled a laugh at the sight of the two excited women. Draco looked at him questioningly.
"I never thought I would see your mother chatting with someone so avidly about table manners. She seems to really like the girl," Lucius explained. "She always wished for a daughter, a sister for you, you know? But the Malfoy curse didn't allow it. One son, no other children," the older man sighed. "Thankfully Miss Granger seems just as delighted with your mother." Both men quietly laughed at the understatement, as the women talked to each other like old friends or sisters would.
But Draco also thought about what his father had said about his mother wanting a daughter. He knew about the curse and that his mother had wanted other children. As a young boy he had overheard his parents talking in his father's study. At that time he hadn't understood everything they said, only that there was a curse on the family and that his mother couldn't give him a little sister or brother. When he got older and Madam Pomfrey did her sex education class in fourth year he understood that his mother had lost every baby after him and that the curse prevented him from getting siblings. Draco hadn't been too happy about it, but neither did he care too much at that point. But when he had been younger he had wanted a sibling, someone his age to play with and confide in, someone who wasn't friends with him because their parents were friends.
Draco had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that they weren't going back to the Auror Department only when they stood in front of the office of the Minister of Magic and the Auror knocked.
Seconds later the door opened and the Auror ushered them in. The Minister stood at the window and watched them coming in. The Auror positioned himself at the door behind them.
"Please take a seat! Do you want something to drink?" Shacklebolt asked in a genial tone. They sat down and Lucius asked for a glass of water which was brought him by a ministry house-elf. While they waited Hermione next to him stuffed her books and the parchment rolls in her small beaded bag. Probably an extension charm. He remembered seeing it at the Manor but he didn't remember whether she took it with her or she left it there. Draco decided to ask her just as the house-elf with the water arrived. Interestingly enough Granger didn't as much as blink when the elf popped in. He would have to ask her later whether she changed her opinion about them and about that bag. For now the minister watched them intently.
His mother finally decided to say something. "Now Mr. Shacklebolt, why did you summon us here?" she asked in a polite but cold tone that told everyone what she thought of him. He probably shouldn't have told her that Shacklebolt was cooperating with the Ministry about the execution of the Death Eaters they caught directly after the fight.
"I wanted to discuss your custody at the Ministry. The former government didn't grant bail, but we have decided to restore the system and are currently calculating your bail. As you turned yourselves in we are willing to let you live in a safe house for the duration of your custody." Minister Shacklebolt watched them with a confident smile on his face.
"But aren't their accounts frozen?" Granger wondered and the minister laughed. His parents looked a bit confused but after a second his father's face lighted up with understanding.
"That is something only the muggles do, Miss Granger," Lucius explained and the Minister nodded his head in agreement. Granger blushed deeply and murmured a sorry and something that sounded like "wizarding classes".
"As we understand you are in active owl contact with Miss Granger? Especially Mrs. Malfoy?" Narcissa nodded. "Normally we don't allow owls from safe houses as their position could be betrayed by them. But many of us see it as a reconciliation effort on both sides which should be supported by us." Shacklebolt watched their every move and Granger and Narcissa exchanged a look.
"What kind of safe house do we have to expect?" Lucius asked curiously.
"You will live with a suitable family from the Order of the Phoenix. Her account will influence your sentence and she is quite adapt to find out if someone is lying, so honestly try to re-evaluate your beliefs," Shacklebolt admonished them. They nodded and Granger smiled appreciatively.
"So who is our gracious host?" Narcissa asked curiously. Draco really hoped she would be open to understand where they were coming from with their beliefs and that they needed time to accommodate them. At the minister's sly smile he gulped. Whoever this mysterious woman was, the minister had definitely an ulterior motive for putting them with her.
"You will see when you arrive. Miss Granger, as you are the defendant of Mr. Malfoy we are bound to tell you his address. But the inhabitant wants to meet you before giving you her address therefore you will take a portkey with the Malfoys," the minister smiled broadly and gave them a rectangular black case. It had two windows to look in the case but Draco only saw two white rolls, one of which had a black tape wound up. He didn't know what it was but if Grangers short laugh was any indication it was probably a muggle item.
As soon as everyone, including the Auror who had been at the door just moments before, touched the portkey the minister lowered it to the table surface and said "Portus".
When Hermione finally landed she decided that apparition was definitely thousand times more pleasant. Scooping up the video cassette which had been their portkey she fought the nausea and won. She put the thing in her beaded bag which was still filled with everything she would need when on the run and her things from the hearing. When she saw movement in her peripheral vision she looked up and saw the Auror walk up to the small house in front of them. After a few minutes he came back out and told her to go in, the lady wanted to talk to her.
Hermione smiled at the Malfoys, who all had near identical scowls on their faces probably to conceal their real emotions and only Narcissa smiled back at her.
She turned and walked up the short gravel path to the house. It was pale blue like the summer sky with white window frames and flower boxes on the window sills. The garden was surrounded by fruit trees and meadowsweet hedges. It was the dream of any romantic novelist and she had literally no idea who from the order would live here.
She knocked on the door which was ajar and was called in by a pleasant female voice. When she entered the living room and saw the woman her wand flew into her hand and she pointed it at the woman. But the moment she took a closer look she lowered it hesitantly.
"Andromeda Tonks, no?" she asked cautiously and the woman nodded. "I am sorry, you look remarkably like Bellatrix and let's just say I don't have the best memories with her." Hermione swallowed and put her wand away.
"I heard about it from Mr. Potter when he came to visit Teddy. He actually warned me to only meet you in a well-lit room if I didn't want to be hexed into next week," Mrs. Tonks chuckled. "May I offer you something to drink? After this shock and the hearing this morning you must be exhausted. And please sit down, we have to talk about a few things."
Hermione sat down on the couch and revelled in the feeling of her back relaxing against the soft, overstuffed cushions. "A tea would be wonderful, thank you." She smiled and tried to calm her still racing heart.
Mrs. Tonks returned with a tablet of tea, biscuits and scones with clotted cream. She put it down on the coffee table and chose the armchair next to the couch to sit. With her tea in her hand she leaned back and watched her carefully.
"Why did you safe my nephew's life? I understand he was quite awful to you in school," Mrs. Tonks finally stated. Hermione sipped at her tea before she answered.
"He defected earlier in the fight, after I saved his life for the first time and therefore they had no legal justification to kill him. But at that moment, when I heard that they were killing Death Eaters without trial, I only thought how unjust and dangerous that was. Do you know why Hitler was able to take over? Because the people felt treated badly. He used their resentment for the government to rise to power. If we treat the Death Eaters unjust I fear the consequences," Hermione looked up at the other woman to see whether she understood what she meant. At Mrs. Tonks nod she continued. "I tried talking to Kingsley, but he said it was already set and that we couldn't wait for trials, that we had to reassure the public that we were taking measures against those who wronged them. Luckily I remembered a passage about life debts in a book I had read in the Black townhouse and was able to get Kingsley to agree to this."
Mrs. Tonks went silent for a moment. She put down her cup and took a biscuit. While she ate it she contemplated what Hermione had told her.
The young witch was nervous. When Kingsley had told them about the safe house she had thought everything was set, nevertheless she felt now as if her words would decide whether or not the Malfoys were allowed to stay. Still trying to formulate something to reassure Mrs. Tonks she was a little startled when the older witch spoke.
"How did my sister and her husband react? I'm sure they weren't happy that a muggleborn had saved their son's life."
"Mr. Malfoy maybe, but Narcissa," at that Mrs. Tonk's eyebrows shot up, "was very welcoming. She wanted a clean slate and I agreed to it. We have exchanged letters ever since and she recommends books to me about wizarding tradition but also fiction. She also asked for recommendations of muggle books and I listed a few classics she might like. Draco is being civil, we only exchange a few sentences, but he did never once insult or belittle me. Mr. Malfoy didn't say anything to me but at least he doesn't sneer anymore," she finished and took another sip of her tea.
"You are on first name basis with my sister?" Mrs. Tonks asked incredulously.
Hermione laughed and nodded. "Yes, she insisted. And I have to admit that she is very pleasant to write and talk to."
Mrs. Tonks seemed to be far away in her thoughts and Hermione remembered the Malfoys waiting outside. She wasn't sure whether she should tell Mrs. Tonks what Narcissa had written in her letter earlier that week. How she missed her sister, how she had been too weak to fight her parents and later her husband. But Mrs. Tonks beat her to it.
"Did Narcissa ever mention me in your correspondence?" she asked with a hesitant voice.
"She did. She misses you and regrets that she never contacted you. I think she will try to reconcile with you. If I haven't read her completely wrong she wants a new start in her life and who could deny that to her?" Hermione answered confidently. "Maybe we should just go outside and find out?" Mrs. Tonks nodded and stood up.
Hermione followed her and when she reached the door right behind the other woman she had the Déjà vu of a white flash running towards her.
"Andy!" Narcissa cried out and stopped only inches in front of the other woman, looking suddenly unsure. "I am so, so sorry!"
The other woman smiled crookedly and wiped away a few stray tears running down her face. "I should hope so," she chuckled and pulled the blonde into a hug.
a/n: I hope you enjoyed it! Your reviews are the best motivation to keep me writing so keep sending them ;)