Epilogue - Part 1

Draco sat in the defendant's chair in Courtroom Seven and eyed his parents dejectedly. His trial was about to commence, and he was the last of the Malfoy family to be judged.

His father had been sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban earlier that day. All things considered, it could have been worse, but their defense attorney was excellent—the best money could buy. His father wouldn't die in prison. He'd be changed, yes, and would age considerably, but he'd live. He'd survive. With good behavior, he could receive visitors and be transferred to a less secure part of the prison over time. All in all, Lucius was lucky; some of the other Death Eaters had received life sentences.

Thanks to Potter's testimony, his mother had been sentenced to house arrest followed by a period of probation. Draco was incredibly relieved, and had been shocked to hear that Narcissa had lied to the Dark Lord's face at the final battle. She was a much braver person than he was.

After all that had happened up until now, Draco didn't really care what they did to him so long as his parents were safe. He wasn't sure what sentence he'd receive, but whatever they gave him, he knew that he deserved it. He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, and stared down at his standard, prison issue boots. He shifted in his seat as the Wizengamot prosecutor spoke, his manacles and chains clinking gently. He had been half-heartedly listening to the prosecutor list his crimes. He knew them all by heart. It was accurate. None of it exaggerated.

"Witness for the defense: Harry Potter."

Draco looked up, surprised, and watched Potter approach the stand. To his shock, Potter spoke about how the Malfoys had been under duress, and how Draco's actions in sixth year were motivated by threats to his and his parents' lives, as well as fear of torture. Draco had no idea how Potter knew all this. He continued, going on to explain how Draco lied to his aunt to protect the identities of the Golden Trio when they were brought to the Manor by Greyback and Scabior.

Draco was taken aback. When considering that day at the Manor, he'd thought himself cowardly, not knowing what he could have done to help them without exposing them all to more torture and death. They'd been outnumbered, and so he had stood by while Bellatrix Crucio'd and carved up Granger. But Potter seemed to think these actions provided a worthy defense.

Potter spoke more about Draco refusing to turn him in to the Dark Lord during the attack on Hogwarts. Again, he didn't really see how any of this mattered; it wasn't as if he had actually fought back. But he could see that the courtroom was not unaffected by Potter's testimony. Potter was the Chosen One, after all, and Draco was thankful for whatever leniency it would grant him.

Amazed, he watched Potter walk back down to sit among the observers. He sat between Granger and Weasley, caught Draco's eye, and nodded. Bemused, Draco shifted his eyes over Potter's companions. The Weasel was ignoring him, but Granger stared at him intently. Draco looked down at his feet. All he could see was her screaming on his drawing room floor. He scraped some of the dirt that had accumulated in prison while he'd awaited trial out from under his fingernails.

"Witness for the defense: Luna Lovegood."

For the defense? They had kept her in the Manor dungeons.

Luna stepped up to the stand, smiling at him and wiggling her fingers in a friendly wave. His jaw dropped. Someone in the courtroom laughed, then coughed loudly to cover it up.

After settling herself down, she described how Draco had ensured to the best of his ability that she was comfortable and well fed, and had kept her cell clear of Wrackspurts. He'd healed the wounds she had sustained after her capture and had occasionally spent some time talking with her so she wouldn't be isolated, bringing her books to keep her mind occupied. She concluded by saying that if he hadn't reached out the way he did, she would have gone loony. That prompted a laugh from Weasel, but it stopped abruptly when Granger reached around Potter to yank on his ear. Ollivander was called to the witness stand next and told a similar tale.

Again, Draco watched the proceedings in disbelief. It wasn't as if he'd set them free. He'd just prevented them from going barmy and made sure they weren't malnourished when he was home from Hogwarts. It wasn't much of anything. Surely, the Wizengamot representatives would agree with Draco's own assessment of his cowardice - but once again, the courtroom was not unaffected by these revelations. Draco looked over at his mother and saw silent tears streaming down her face. She gave him a sad, warm smile. His father looked exhausted and broken.

"Witness for the defense: Hermione Granger."

Draco looked up sharply.

What?

Did watching someone get tortured now constitute a defense of character?

She fixed her gaze on him and walked up to the witness stand. She sat down, and his defense attorney began to question her.

"To the best of your ability, please describe how the accused aided in destroying Voldemort."

He jerked to sit upright, chains clanking on the ground. Aided in destroying the Dark Lord? He looked over at his parents questioningly. They seemed just as confused as he was. He shifted his gaze to Potter and Weasley. Potter was studying him. Weasley had his hands balled into fists and was staring at the ground. But neither appeared to be surprised.

The fuck?

He turned back to Granger and listened as she described a series of events of which he had no recollection. She started by explaining how he had repeatedly warned her of when the Ministry planned to take over Hogwarts so that she and the other Muggle-borns could safely escape, and how he'd told her that the Dark Lord was hiding out at Malfoy Manor. She went on to explain how he had helped the Trio locate three Horcruxes, and had even destroyed one of them.

Draco's parents looked at him in shock. He stared back, just as clueless. There were some rumblings and mutterings in the courtroom, and the Chief Witch had to rap her gavel to quiet everyone down.

"Order in the courtroom please, or I will have to silence you all."

The rumblings died down to a few hushed whispers.

Draco didn't understand. None of that had happened. If he'd done any of what Granger had described, he would have been tortured and killed. And possibly his parents, too. Was she lying for him? Why would she do that?

Unless… Unless he didn't know what he had done. Didn't remember what he had done. He suddenly understood. He looked back at Granger.

She had Obliviated him.

As if in confirmation of his thoughts, she continued to explain how she had removed his memories not just once, but three more times after he repeatedly warned her and the other Muggle-born students to leave Hogwarts.

A courtroom aide came forth with a Pensieve and vial containing a silvery substance.

"Submitted as court evidence, a memory taken from the accused prior to his Obliviation by Miss Hermione Jean Granger."

Draco felt hot and cold, warring emotions threatening to burst from his chest. He felt excited but also full of dread. He was about to see himself doing something that he would never have conceived possible. It made him feel not in control of himself, his thoughts or his actions.

The court aide poured the vial's silvery contents into the Pensieve and charmed it to project onto the air above. Draco clutched his chair's armrests nervously and looked over at Granger. She gave him an encouraging smile. An expression that he never would have imagined could be directed at him by her. He looked back at his parents. Their eyes were transfixed on the projection.

The memory was still, the figures emerging from the mist frozen and unmoving. He and Granger were sitting on the floor across from each other - was that the Heads' common room? She was undressed and wrapped in a blanket, but he was completely naked.

Draco's eyes bulged as gasps erupted in the courtroom.

What?

It was like he was watching a completely different person. A stranger in his own skin. His genitals were blurred for modesty's sake, and Granger was covered with that blanket he remembered from their Common Room, but it was obvious they were both completely starkers.

Had they… Had they had sex during the time she was at Hogwarts? He stole a glance at her. She shrugged at him affectionately.

His eyes flicked back to Potter and Weasley. Potter looked sullenly up at the projection while Weasely observed the memory with barely concealed rage. The court aide swished his wand, and the memory began. He watched Granger page through the notebook that she'd always been writing in. Draco had considered swiping that notebook and beaded bag from her.

His brow furrowed.

Maybe he… did?

Granger asked him a question in the memory and he replied. "I've seen enough of Umbridge to last a lifetime. She always wears that locket. It doesn't exactly match her extensive wardrobe of pastel pink robes."

The courtroom tittered, but he continued to watch, rapt in attention. He saw Hermione continue to page through her notebook.

"It's at Gringotts? In your aunt's vault?"

"Good luck getting to that one."

Again, some laughter. By now, everyone knew about the famous Gringotts break-in and dragon riding break-out. He remembered reading about it in the Daily Prophet. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he told her to go there.

He watched himself converse with Granger some more, and then she pulled the tiara from the Room of Hidden Things from his Quidditch duffle bag. His lips parted in disbelief. He had given Granger a Horcrux. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was entirely surreal.

Draco watched himself speak with her. It was strange, seeing how intimate and familiar they were with each other. There was clearly a lot she had Obliviated from him that wasn't shown here. It appeared they'd had sex, as evidenced by their state of undress, but their body language hinted at something more intimate than a quick shag. Watching the two people converse in the memory, it was obvious that their relationship was more complex than a one-off. Draco felt a sense of loss at not knowing what had happened, or how they'd gone from silent appraisal to this.

In the memory, Hermione disappeared and returned dressed in pajamas. The events escalated quickly from there, when she slapped a basilisk fang into his hand. He watched as the ghostly apparitions of his parents appeared, his mother screaming on the ground. He winced and reflexively looked back at her to reassure himself that she was safe. He watched Granger explain to him that the Horcrux was projecting his worst fears, confirmed when he saw Granger's own parents rebuking her in turn.

"See? Voldemort's a slightly more intelligent boggart."

In the present, he heard Potter bark a laugh.

Her parents were replaced by a vision of her. Naked, but with her nudity blurred for the courtroom. The vision stood and berated him as he cowered, naked and kneeling on the floor before her. She recounted his sins, much like the prosecutor had earlier today, but it was more vicious. Personal. Draco froze.

Wait a minute.

It said he had coerced her into having sex with him.

He gripped the armrests tightly, digging his fingers into the wood, and watched himself kneeling before her, sobbing while everything he knew he had done, everything he hated about himself, was thrown in his face. By her. Then the vision changed into the Dark Lord. It continued to taunt him.

He watched Granger—the real Granger—crouch next to him, trying to encourage him to act, to not let his past sins prevent him from acting in the future.

"Harry destroyed one of these when he was twelve. Are you going to let him show you up?"

Draco's jaw dropped for the second time that day as he watched himself destroy one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. He was still sobbing and naked as the Horcrux vision finally disappeared. Granger hugged him, stroked his hair, and planted a gentle kiss on his temple. The memory ended on a still of that image, and then the projection stopped.

The courtroom was silent. He couldn't believe what he had seen. His father looked at him, open-mouthed in shock. His mother held a hand over her mouth, tears still streaming down her face.

He had helped the Golden Trio take down Voldemort. He had told them where two Horcruxes were located and had brought them another, which he had then destroyed. Well. That would certainly change his sentence.

His heart thudded in his ribcage.

According to the Horcrux, he had also coerced Granger into having sex with him.

The prosecutor latched onto that right away.

"Request permission to add sexual assault to the accused's list of offenses."

His defense attorney stepped in immediately, obviously expecting this reaction. "Miss Granger has already indicated that the Horcrux lied. She will not press charges."

Draco glanced over at her. Granger didn't look him in the eye this time as she stepped down from the stand. He sensed that she was covering something up, and he shifted his gaze to Potter and Weasley. From the looks on their faces, she was definitely hiding something. He hated not knowing what happened, and he wondered when she would be able to restore his memories. If she even could.

It was unsettling enough already, finding out that he didn't remember doing things that had aided in his defense and helped him repent for his past sins. It made him sick to his stomach to think that he had done something terrible to Granger, especially after he'd seen her get tortured, and with everything she had just done for him.

She had offered him a chance at redemption. She could have destroyed the Horcrux, but she let him do it instead. What greater gift could one person give?

Draco was beyond ashamed. He couldn't meet her eyes. With the way she had been looking at him today, clearly she cared about him on some level, but he was certain that he didn't deserve it.

The rest of the proceedings passed in a blur. Draco barely glanced up to watch as closing remarks were presented both by the prosecutor and his defense attorney. Dimly, he registered the Wizengamot representatives exiting the courtroom to confer, and then re-entering after a short length of time. The Chief Warlock stood, and his sentence was declared.

Six months of probation.

Not even house arrest.

Draco wished he could be happy, but he felt undeserving. The deeds that had saved him today didn't seem like they belonged to him, but rather like he was taking credit for the work of another. His victory was hollow, unearned. But even if he could feel pride in helping the Trio take down the Dark Lord, it would have been tainted by what he'd done to Granger.

He heard his mother crying softly in relief.

Chapter end notes:

And that's it! Just kidding. Second part of the epilogue coming after the weekend.

For those that hoped Draco would run off with Hermione, I'm nearly finished with a ~200K war AU fic where he decides to spy for the Order. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, snark, smut, and adventure - the whole shebang. Hopefully! It needs a thorough work over but I hope to start posting chapters within 2-3 months, depending on how productive I am. If you follow me then you'll get notifications when it goes up.