Note: Wow, this chapter gave me so much trouble to write! But it's finally done, so enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Draco, keep your head up and do not respond. Do not let them know that they are getting to you." Narcissa's voice murmured in Draco's ear, drawing his attention away from the swarming reporters and civilians. They were shouting all varieties of questions, insults, and opinions at him and his parents as they walked to the Ministry building. The trio were accompanied by several Aurors who seemed to be there to protect them from the crowd just as much as the other way around. Not that any of the three were planning to injure anyone in the first place, but Draco figured it was probably protocol to have . . . criminals accompanied by an escort.
"But they're wrong about what they're saying. Some of what they were accusing us of doing was absolutely ridiculous. Why shouldn't I correct them? It's not like things can get much worse for us if they get mad at me for denying it." The last part was said in a resentful mutter. Narcissa's eyes snapped to him and flashed sharply.
"Despite what you seem to think, things can still get worse for us. We may have a chance to lessen our sentence, but if we anger the people that chance may slip away. Besides, if their opinions are that ridiculous, it is highly unlikely that we will change their minds with a couple of sentences." Catching sight of his expression, her eyes softened slightly. "They are merely hoping for a reaction, Dragon. Saying anything at all will only encourage them. It is best to ignore it as much as you can."
Draco felt the tension in his shoulders ease slightly at the affectionate nickname his mother had given him as a child. He didn't have to like being forced to stay quiet, and he certainly didn't have to like pretending nothing was affecting him, but he would for the sake of his mother. Narcissa must have seen his acceptance, because she turned back to the building, her gaze fixed several yards in front of her feet despite the slight lift in her chin. Her body language said that she was regretful and at the public's mercy, but that she still had her dignity and wouldn't be beaten down by them despite their power over her.
Lucius on the other hand had taken a slightly different approach to the situation. His head was held high, and his expression was almost bored. He didn't look prideful, merely above whatever was happening as if he were viewing it with vague curiosity from behind glass. He looked cool and unruffled by the events around them, but Draco could see the occasional flash of anger in his father's eyes.
Trying to channel both of his parents, Draco schooled his features and lifted his chin a bit. He tried to let the crowds slip away as he attempted to call on the calm and empty mindset he'd used whenever he was around the Dark Lord. Who would have guessed that the safety training for interacting with someone as dangerous as he had been could have practical uses as well?
They entered the Ministry building, and the noise level dropped dramatically as the crowds and most of the reporters were forced to stay outside. The reporters that were allowed inside were the ones who worked for the Ministry and were actually covering the event for them. They made their way into the elevator and went down to the courtrooms with only a couple of curious looks.
When they entered their courtroom, the Wizengamot were already seated. Draco's stomach flipped when the witches and wizards looked down at them, but he didn't allow his anxiety to show as he followed his parents to their seats. People began filtering in from the halls shortly, and the seats behind Draco and his parents filled up quickly.
At eleven sharp, the head of the Wizengamot – a witch Draco thought was probably Amelia Bones – banged her gavel to call for silence. The crowd seemed eager to see what would happen, and went quiet within moments. After that, the only sounds were the rustles of clothing as people got comfortable in their chairs. All attention turned to the three Malfoys as Amelia Bones turned her gaze on them.
"Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy, you are here before us today under accusations of kidnapping, assault, murder, assisting He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, assisting Death Eaters, being Death Eaters yourselves, and for using the Unforgivable curses. How do you plead?" Lucius and Draco glanced at Narcissa, and she lifted her head to look Amelia in the eyes as she responded.
"We plead guilty of all accusations, while offering our sincerest apologies and stating our remorse and regret at our actions. We –" Murmuring and outraged mutterings broke out in the audience, and the clamor got loud enough that Amelia had to pound her gavel again to regain silence. She motioned for Narcissa to continue, and she responded with a respectful nod. "My thanks. We are aware that we were in the wrong, and now wish only that the wizarding world may recover from the wounds we helped give it as soon as possible. If that means we are sent to prison, then so be it. That will be the price of the mistakes we have made, and we are willing to pay it."
Amelia studied them for several moments, her eyes alight with interest. Several members of the Wizengamot were whispering with each other, as were most of the audience members. Draco glanced at his parents in time to see his mother swallow hard and his father's eyes flash in slight fear – something Draco had never seen outside the company of the Dark Lord – but their expressions stayed the same from years of practice. When Amelia began speaking again, everyone went silent.
"It is rather refreshing to have a defendant be so honest, and admit that they are in the wrong. Most lie about their crimes, or if they tell the truth, still believe they are in the right. Your honesty and acknowledgment of your wrongdoings will be taken into consideration for your final sentences. Moving on with matters, it appears that because you pleaded guilty the only thing that remains is to give you your sentences. Any objections to sentencing them at this time?"
There was silence in the courtroom, but Draco hadn't expected anything else. Nobody would be stupid enough to side with the Malfoys so publicly with the reputation they now had. He also couldn't think of anyone who would even care enough to bother speaking out.
"I have one."
The voice rang out clearly from the seating area behind the Malfoys. There was a stunned silence in the room until everyone erupted into hushed conversation. Draco himself was so surprised that he momentarily dropped his unaffected persona and turned around in his seat to look for the speaker. He caught sight of his parents doing the same thing in the corner of his eye, though they were much more subtle about it.
Draco scanned the crowds for the owner of the voice, and caught sight of movement towards the upper corner of the room. His mouth nearly dropped open when a familiar figure emerged from the crowds. What was Harry Potter, Savior of the wizarding world, doing here in a courtroom objecting to the sentencing of the Malfoys?
As Harry made his way to the front, Draco allowed himself to study the other man. Nobody had seen him since the Dark Lord's defeat, and there had been many rumors as to the reason why and as to where he had been. Draco decided to ignore those for the moment as he tried to get a read on his former rival.
Harry looked exhausted, though he'd done a fairly good job of concealing it. There was also a heaviness on his shoulders that Draco hadn't seen in years. The last time was at the end of fifth year, and Draco still didn't know the reason for it. Harry's fingers also seemed to hover near his wand the entire time he was walking, and the motion seemed unconscious. Draco was shaken out of his observations as Harry reached the center of the room.
"Mr. Potter, what a surprise to see you here. I was unaware you would be attending this case." Amelia's voice rang out, silencing the crowd once again, though they still murmured a bit in their seats. She was peering down at Harry in interest, and Harry gave a small smile in response, though it didn't reach his eyes, and seemed more weary than anything.
"Madame Bones, nice to see you again. I'm rather surprised to be here myself, as I wasn't planning on coming until around three hours ago. Though," he admitted, shifting to a more comfortable stance, "that may have more to do with the fact that I didn't know the case was happening today until three hours ago." At his slightly sheepish admission, a hint of a smile played around Amelia's mouth before she got back to the matter at hand.
"A pleasure to have you here, nonetheless. However, you claimed to have an objection to the Malfoy family's sentencing. May I ask what it is?" Amelia seemed genuinely curious, and Draco could hear the scratching of the reporter's quills as they frantically recorded what was happening. Draco couldn't blame them; he could hardly believe what was happening himself. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"My objection is that this trial has been biased from the start. I'm sure that we both remember the last time that happened?" At Amelia Bones's confused and rather shocked expression, he elaborated. "Sirius Black's imprisonment? He was innocent of his crimes and was sent to Azkaban while the real killer was loose for more than twelve years."
"Mr. Potter," Amelia interjected, her eyes narrowing, "surely you are not implying that the Malfoys are innocent of all accusations?" Harry shook his head. So far he hadn't looked once at the people he was defending, for which Draco was actually grateful for. He wasn't sure he wanted to face Harry at the moment, as he was still trying to figure out what was happening and why.
"Not at all. I'm just trying to get across the point that things aren't as black and white as this case is trying to make them seem. At the best of times, the lines between right and wrong, dark and light are blurry. In times of war, those lines disappear almost completely." Seeing that he had the entire room's attention, Harry continued.
"I'm sure all of you are currently judging the Malfoys for their crimes, and are thinking what awful people they must be. What if I told you that I, the so-called 'Savior of the Wizarding World', am guilty of over half of those same crimes, as well some additional ones?" At the utter silence that met his words, Harry gave a grim smile. "See? Things are not so clear cut anymore, are they?"
"Mr. Potter, I fail to see how this is relevant to the Malfoy family's sentences." A member of the Wizengamot spoke up from his seat. He looked rather unsettled by Harry's admission, and Draco was beginning to believe that the other man had gone off the deep end. Who admits to crimes they've done when in front of a panel of judges who believe you to be innocent? Harry studied the man for a moment.
"You were at my disciplinary hearing, weren't you? You wanted me kicked out of Hogwarts." The man flushed slightly, and shifted uncomfortably at being recognized. Draco blinked in surprise. He'd known that Harry got in trouble sometimes, but not that he'd ever been close to getting expelled. He had always thought that the other boy had people eating out of his hand. Draco watched as Harry shook his head, getting back to his point.
"Anyway, my connection is that I am in a unique position to argue the cases for the Malfoy family – especially seeing as it appears nobody else is willing to, or has the information necessary to do so. Let's start with Lucius Malfoy, shall we?" Draco saw his father stiffen in anticipation and surprise. What in the world could Potter say for his father? Draco was well aware that every interaction between the two had been negative.
"Lucius Malfoy was a strong supporter of Voldemort, I will not deny that. However, towards the end, he tried to get out. He resisted giving his Lord his wand, even when asked explicitly to do so. He had begun to change his mind about being a Death Eater by then, but I have seen evidence that he was trying to shed Voldemort's influence long before that moment." Lucius looked slightly stunned, and Draco felt the same way. Nobody outside the room of Death Eaters knew about the wand incident. How did Potter know that? Apparently Amelia shared their curiosity, and she raised an eyebrow at the Savior.
"How do you know this information, Mr. Potter?" She asked. For the first time, Harry looked rather uncomfortable being at the center of the room. He shifted slightly and cleared his throat before responding.
"Very few people ever knew about this, for both personal reasons and security ones. Whenever Voldemort was feeling very strong emotion, I was . . . able to see through his eyes and feel what he felt." Anticipating the following questions, he explained further. "When he tried to kill me as a baby, a connection was formed through my scar. It was due to this connection that the 'visions' occurred. It was through one of my visions that I witnessed Voldemort taking his wand."
"I see." Amelia said, looking as perturbed by the news as the rest of the room. After several moments, she managed to school her features again. "Is that all, Mr. Potter?" Harry shook his head in response to her question.
"No. That is all for Lucius Malfoy, though not all that I have to say. Moving on to Narcissa Malfoy, I would like to mention that I owe her a Life Debt. Which," he said, turning to look Narcissa in the eyes as he spoke, facing them for the first time and ignoring the sudden whispers from behind him, "I do intend to pay one way or another."
Draco turned to look at his mother in shock. He wasn't aware that his mother and Potter had ever had contact without him there. Narcissa appeared stoic as she nodded in acknowledgment to Harry, but Draco could tell that she was surprised their defender had so openly announced the Debt. Draco turned his attention to the front of the room again, and saw that Amelia was frowning in surprise, and that many of the Wizengamot were quietly talking with one another.
"Once again Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I must ask you to clarify." she said, her tone a little sharper than before. Harry nodded his head graciously, but Draco could see a darkness brush across his features from where he sat.
"Of course. As many of you know, during the Battle of Hogwarts Voldemort called for me to face him alone, claiming that if I did so, he would stop the battle and my friends would be more likely to survive. What fewer people know is that I followed through on his request. I went out into the Forbidden Forest with . . . only a borrowed wand. I found him in a clearing with his Death Eaters, and ended up getting hit by the Killing Curse once again.
"When I woke up again, I was on the ground, and Voldemort had selected Narcissa Malfoy to check if I was alive. She asked for news on Draco, and in return for my response that he was safe, she lied to Voldemort, telling him that I was dead. She has also never been a very active supporter of the Death Eater campaign. In all of my visions and experiences, she has always seemed more concerned with keeping her family safe than helping Voldemort rise to power."
The various members of the Wizengamot looked appraisingly at the Malfoys, glancing occasionally at Harry. It was clear that both they and the audience did not know what to make of their Savior's defense of the enemy. Amelia was beginning to look rather stressed, though she had a gleam in her eyes that Draco was having trouble deciphering.
"I see." She said, the lilt in her voice matching the look in her eyes. If Draco didn't know better, he would say that she was rather pleased with the way things were turning out. "I assume that is not all you have to say here, Mr. Potter." Harry gave his almost-smile at that.
"You are correct Madame Bones. Now that I have said my piece for Narcissa, I intend to move on to my defense of Draco Malfoy. Let me start by saying that Draco never wanted the Dark Mark to begin with, but that he got it because he had no other choice. He was able to put off receiving the Mark for as long as he could, but once Voldemort assigned him the task of killing Dumbledore, he could no longer refuse. That being said, when Draco finally confronted the Headmaster, he had no intention of completing his task by the end of their conversation."
"What is your proof of this?" A witch from the back row of the Wizengamot called out. Harry glanced up at her, and seemed to understand why he would have to explain himself. Even Draco himself had no idea how Harry knew that piece of information; there had been nobody else in the room but himself and Dumbledore.
"I know this because I was there when it happened, Disillusioned and held in place by Dumbledore's magic. I witnessed Draco disarming the Headmaster, and the following conversation that led to Draco lowering his wand as Dumbledore offered protection from Voldemort. Draco was going to go against orders because, as Dumbledore said, 'he is no killer'.
"This statement is further proven by the fact that when my friends and I were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor by Snatchers working with Death Eaters, he denied his ability to identify me as myself, despite obviously recognizing me. This bought us enough time to escape from Voldemort's followers and eventually end up at the battle at the right time.
"In the battle itself, he actually didn't participate in very much of it. For the first half, he was in one of the rooms at Hogwarts where I ran into him, and for the entire second half of it he took shelter in an abandoned corridor with an injured Goyle. Which is where I told his mother he was in the clearing.
"I believe," Harry said, after his long speech, "that brings us full circle, and I am finally finished with what I have to say." A rather stunned silence met his words, and Draco noticed that Madame Bones's lips briefly twitched. Was the witch actually feeling approval at Harry's defense of Draco's family?
"You certainly know how to create an effect, Mr. Potter. In light of this new evidence, the Wizengamot will have to privately convene to determine the sentencing of the Malfoy family. Are there any further objections to sentencing the Malfoy family at this time?" At the resulting silence, Amelia gave a short nod. "The opportunity to speak up has now passed. You are free to walk around until we return, however leaving the courtroom is not allowed for security purposes."
With that, the Wizengamot filed out of the main room into a private one to the side of their seats. When the door closed behind them, discussions immediately broke out. Draco heard several reporters call out questions to Harry, who was still standing in the center of the room, but the other man simply ignored them. He appeared to be completely at ease, however due to Draco's many years of rivalry with him, he could see the underlying tenseness and wariness behind the facade. A quiet sigh from his mother drew Draco's attention to his parents.
"Well," Narcissa remarked quietly, "that was certainly unexpected. I had no idea that the young Potter boy would even be here, much less speaking up for us." As she spoke, the woman studied Harry, her sharp eyes noticing the hollowness of the boy's features and the cleverly concealed darkness beneath his eyes.
"Indeed." Draco's father said in his familiar drawl. "Though I do believe he is looking a little worse for the wear." Narcissa shot her husband a sharp look, and Lucius looked briefly apologetic. Draco had to smother a grin, despite the circumstances. His mother was one of the only people who could reign his father in.
"I'm more surprised that he knew all of that, much less decided that it was worth his time to come here. This is the first time anyone has seen him since the battle at Hogwarts." Draco commented quietly to his parents. Narcissa was about to respond when the door to the side of the Wizengamot seats opened once again, drawing everyone's attention. The witches and wizards filtered in and once everyone was seated again, Amelia Bones began to speak again.
"The Wizengamot has reached its decision regarding the sentences of the Malfoy family. Lucius Malfoy has been sentenced to five years in Azkaban with the opportunity to be released sooner on house arrest for good behavior. Narcissa Malfoy has been sentenced to house arrest until the Ministry feels that she will no longer be a threat to the public. Draco Malfoy has been sentenced to parole for a year during which he can start no magical or physical conflicts, and he must complete two hundred hours of community service. Any failure to comply with any of these sentences will result in further discipline."
Amelia Bones then ended the trial, and led the rest of the Wizengamot out of the room. Harry lingered for a moment, turning to study the Malfoys for several seconds before giving them a nod and leaving the room, followed by the shouted questions of the reporters. Draco on his part was stunned, and the expressions on his parents' faces said that they felt similarly.
"Only house arrest?" Narcissa breathed incredulously. "I was fully expecting to go to Azkaban for the rest of my life." Draco's mother appeared to want to say more, but she was at a loss for words. Draco's father looked slightly fearful at his sentence, but he was more shocked than anything.
"I was fully expecting the same sentence as you, Narcissa. Five years? After everything I did to that boy, he was willing to get me out of Azkaban after five years?" He shook his head. "Unbelievable. He had every reason to want me back in there, yet he helped me get out." Narcissa nodded in agreement, and turned to her son.
"I'm just glad you never have to see that awful place, Draco. Parole and service is a miracle, so be sure to appreciate it for the blessing it is." Her words were stern even though her eyes were warm. Draco nodded, unable to speak. On some level, he wanted to protest his parents' sentences – just to keep his family together, if nothing else – however he was fully aware that had Harry not stepped in, they would have been much worse.
Potter's actions still perplexed him. Why would he go to the trouble for his enemies to get off easy? It was times like these that made Draco still frustrated with his rival. Just when he was reaching the point where he thought that nothing the other man did could surprise him, Harry went and pulled a stunt like this. It was rather infuriating, if he was honest. However, that in no way lessened his relief and grudging gratefulness to the dark-haired teen. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the attention of all three Malfoys to a middle aged wizard standing before them.
"Misters Malfoy and Missus Malfoy?" he said in a thick Scottish accent. "My name is Sorvin Serregus. I'm the supervisor for your case, and will be determining whether or not any changes need to occur for your situation, whether they be good or bad. Let's have a seat, shall we? We have much to discuss."
