A/N: Okay you guys, this story is coming to a close. This is my second to last or third to last chapter. Now, pay attention this next chapter, because it's about to get confusing and verrrry ugly. So seriously, PAY ATTENTION! If you skip any paragraphs, you will get lost in whatever the fuck is going on. Thank you.
June 30, 1998. Day Twelve, 10:00PM
"Please, don't!" I called out to the men putting him in handcuffs. Draco gave an unintelligible snarl and then, striding inside came Percy Weasley and his younger brother, Ron Weasley.
"We found them, little brother!" Percy exclaimed joyfully. My eyes widened; that's just not possible. Ron, a double agent? None of this made sense anymore. I tried to scream, but had lost my voice.
"Yes, we have!" he said, a smirk in my direction. He stared at me as he uttered to his brother, "After I put in that call that I knew where Draco Malfoy was due to the fact I saw him with this young girl, and that Hermione was missing, I knew he had something to do with it!"
"But you have no concrete evidence!" I screamed suddenly, startling the Aurors.
"Take her too," Percy snarled. The Aurors grabbed my arms and put then behind my back. Another Auror came in.
"I've alerted the Ministry. they want an immediate hearing. They've been looking for him for a while." He jabbed a thumb towards Draco. I bit my lip. An immediate hearing? That was reserved especially for..murderers. And in a immediate hearing, the chances of being proven innocent are slim.
"Let-go-of-ME!" I struggled, but the men and women were too strong. And before I could scream anymore, I felt myself being Apparated. I closed my eyes in patience, then opened them. I nearly fell over for I was in front of the entire court of the Wizard's Council. They stared at us with cold, uncaring eyes.
"Draco Malfoy, you are being accused of the murder of Hermione Granger, is that true?" I voice boomed. I looked up. It was Minister Of Magic himself, Rufus Scrimigeour.
"I don't know, you tell me!" He snarled.
"Please, take a seat." he motioned calmly to two chairs. Tears forcing their way to my eyes. Ron, working with the Ministry, telling them I was dead! What the hell was going on?
I sat down in the cold, steel chair and felt my hands being cuffed to the chair, legs too. In didn't panic; or, at least, I tried to not show it. I turned my head and gasped when I heard footsteps.
People were filing in and I began to choke. It was the Order. Remus, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George, even Bill, Charlie, Tonks, and then, finally, Ginny. And right behind them were Aurors, holding their wands. What were they doing here? Another obvious answer. Ron told them about the Order, even the location. I looked at Ron, smugly standing there with Percy.
"You're name is Claire Terversa, am I not correct?" Rufus asked me roughly. I looked at the other members of the court. They were all different, I couldn't see any faces I knew except for one. One toad faced, sickly smiling person. Dolores Umbridge. I gasped and she gave me that sick smile again.
"Yes." I said. I glanced at Remus, who gave a small nod. I looked at Ginny; she glared in Ron's direction viciously.
"Have you know Draco Malfoy for the past week or so?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm his maid." I replied confidently, trying not to look in his direction.
"Have you had romantic relations with this man?" he asked in that booming voice. I gaped at the man. Oh, God. Ron screwed us all over. I looked at Remus again, and he had a look of disbelief. Mr and Mrs. Weasley had the same look, and Ginny was now sobbing into her hands. Charlie and Bill seemed calm.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" he boomed.
"YES, OKAY?!" I screamed back, tears running down my pale face. I heard gasps from behind me. Draco seemed to stop struggling out of the corner of my eye.
"And the last question. Are you working with the Order Of The Phoenix?" He asked impatiently.
I closed my eyes. "Yes," I replied calmly.
"That is all. You can go and join them over there, please. We will question you more later." The cuffs disappeared and I rubbed my raw wrists, tentatively getting up. I turned to my peers. The harsh look on Remus' face is one I'd never seen before. I slowly walked over to him.
"Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry," I whimpered to him, trying to avoid his eyes.
"There will be enough time for "sorrys" later. But, however, I am very disappointed in you. It's enough that Ron is out of the Order, but you too? Draco Malfoy, Hermione. I am just...so ashamed. I expected more of you," he whispered to me, and the tears came to my eyes again. I stopped speaking and turned towards the court again.
"Draco Malfoy, when's the last time you saw Hermione Granger?"
"The night before I ran away," He said surprisingly calmly.
"Oh, really? Well, Ronald Weasley says he saw you with her at Blaise Zabini's birthday gala not more than a week after you got Claire as a maid? Well, not as a maid, but a spy, but this was unknown to you?"
"Yes, I had no idea she was a rat!" he exclaimed. The tears fell again freely. "And I hadn't even seen Hermione, not at all!" I looked at Ron, but he seemed calm as ever. That's when I realized it.
He wasn't trying to put me, or Draco in jail. Ron was trying to get him away from me. And the only way to do that is forcing me to reveal who I am...losing Draco in the process. But if I didn't..then Draco would be in Azkaban for the rest of his life. But that still doesn't explain how he knew what me and Draco were doing..
I clapped a hand over my mouth and shook my head. No..it couldn't be. It was him all along.
"Do you have any proof of this, Ronald?" Rufus asked him.
"Yes. We found Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, given to Hermione Granger a week before Claire had joined," He said, holding it out. "We also found her wand." I looked at my back pocket; my wand was missing.
"Well, that's solid proof! And I'll let you know, Draco Malfoy, we've been trying to pin you for a while now. You killed not only Albus Dumbledore, but Hermione Granger. What she was doing at your manor, we do not know, but you've got so many convictions on your head, that's the least of your worries."
"Who votes the defendant guilty?" The whole court raised their hands. They, I had s sudden revelation, the kind of feeling you get when you open the door to a dark room and the sunlight pours out. When you've been underwater and come up to the air. When you finally, for the first time in a while, feel your heart beat.
"Stop." I said, coming forward.
"Claire, no!" Ginny shouted.
"Yes," I said, looking back at her. It was the stupid thing to do. But it would keep Draco safe. I turned towards him.
"After I do this, you'll hate me, very much," I explained, wiping my eyes. "But I'm protecting you. I love you." I turned towards the court.
"If you all haven't realized this by now, I'm the only one who has figured this all out," for the first time in three hours, I gave a small, knowing smile. "And I can prove this man innocent."
"How so?" Rufus asked, interested.
"He is not the only man that should be arrested. Percy and Ron Weasley should be too. I'll explain later," I paced in front of the court, thinking hard as if I were an attorney. Everyone looked immediately confused.
"May I see that wand quickly? You can lock me up if I try an Unforgivable," I reasoned with Ron, holding it.
"Very well then," he said with gritted teeth. I looked down at the shiny surface of the floor; it'd have to do. I closed my eyes and remembered me, bushy haired, buck toothed, Hermione Granger.
'Vultus Northmani.' I said. I heard clamors and shouting at the light swept over me. When I opened my eyes, I looked down and gave out rattling gasp . I put my hands on my head and felt my hair. I looked down at my hands and saw color in them.
"Oh my God," I whispered to myself.
"It's a trick, a lie!" Percy shouted.
"Control yourself, Weasley," Rufus said, but he seemed just as outraged. I turned to them, clearing my throat.
"I am Hermione Jane Granger and I'm alive." I heard chattering some more. "I was a spy for the Order Of The Phoenix. I was assigned to find out whether or not Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. It was not an assassination assignment. It was for information. I lied to my friends and people I love the most just to stay with him. As time went on, I started to fall in love with him. He used to be my enemy, but this was a side of him I had never seen in my life before. And I wanted to milk it for all that it was worth. And maybe that's the most horrible, selfish thing of it all." I paused to see the reactions. Remus was staring at me, not with hate, but with confusion.
"Ron and Ginny knew of this, but kept it a secret. Ron, however,' I threw an angry look at him. "Was riddled with jealousy and therefore, let out a phone call to his brother, an authority figure, I was missing and murdered."
"Well," The dumbfounded Minister asked. "Why do you accuse Ronald Weasley for anything but a concerned fib? He was merely trying to protect you!"
I laughed bitterly. "Ronald Weasley, for the past several days, has been trying to kill me and frame Draco." There were more clamors, yelps, and protests.
"First, I had gone to Blaise Zabini's birthday gala. At this party, I was going to get into Blaise's room and get information. Someone had tried to lock the door, and quite poorly. When I had escaped, during the dance, a chandelier almost fell on me. Once it had, I noticed something peculiar. The cords were cut the exact same height and length. I looked at the weapon used to attempt to murder me. It was a boomerang. But not just any boomerang-the special kind made by what producer? Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" I pointed at a amazed Fred And George.
"So, Fred and George, did Ron come in and buy one of your boomerangs?" I asked. Fred and George looked at each other, then glared at Ron.
"Now that you mentioned, Mione, he was pretty shady when he came in. He said he wanted to play some game, like Exploding Snap, but then he left suddenly without a word. And he left enough money on the table for the boomerang," Fred explained, and George nodded with every word.
"And a boomerang cut a chandelier cord how?" Percy shouted.
"There was a blade on the side, you can even ask Draco," I replied.
"Yes, there was," he agreed. I gave a relived sigh. He didn't seem so mad I betrayed him, since I was in the midst of saving him.
"May i say something!" I breezy voice chirped. I turned and Mrs. Weasley shuffled forward. "When I was making a stew, I was looking for my biggest knife to cut celery with, but the blade was gone! She handle was there though," Mrs. Weasley explained.
"Did Ron help you on the stew?" I asked.
"Yes, he....cut the onions," she said the last part with a disbelieving look on her face.
I turned towards Ron, who's eyes were wide and his face was as pale as stone. "Ron, ave you been trying to kill me?"
"It was just to protect you, Hermione!" he yelled. More gasps and yelps. I couldn't resist smiling, despite the fact that I could never be trusted.
"There you go, ladies and gentlemen of the court. He's confessed. And, not to mention that Ron and Percy had been spying on me and Draco without my knowledge. Or so they thought," I looked at the appalled court. Good, they bought my lie. "And then, in a short attempt to get me to confess, they kidnapped me."
"It's not true!" Percy whined childishly. "Right, Ronald?"
Ron shook his head, his face contorted with torture. "It is. I wanted to keep her safe, so I started to work with Percy. But, Mione, he's evil! He teased you for seven bloody years, and you love him? He's nothing but A Death Eater wannabe!" Draco lunged at him, but didn't get far once the Aurors got a hold of him.
"Ron, you were cheating on me. And I'm proud to say you'll never be half the man Draco is." There were faint snickers, and he turned a tomato red. I looked at Draco, and at least a dozen emotions ran through his face: angst, anger, love, confusion, and sadness.
"So," Rufus spluttered. "I-I guess we have to convict you, Percy and Ronald, for the attempted murder and abduction of Hermione Granger under the alias Claire Terversa! Who votes for guilty?" Everyone else shot their hands into the air, but Umbridge, glaring at Hermione, knowing the odds were against her, tentatively raised her hand.
"I'd just like to say this is an abomination what you two have done." A beautiful woman wearing light blue robes with auburn hair said. "Excuse me, I'm Carla Tate and you two should be ashamed of what you've done."
"It's unanimous. Separate cells, you two. I'm also amazed at what you've done, Percy. Five years in Azkaban." They all gave signs of agreement.
"No, you can't do this to me! Minister!" Percy whined.
"I'm sorry, take him away," Rufus said nonchalantly.
"Mum, Dad, come on, don't let me go to Azkaban!" Ron said as the Auror grabbed his arm. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing and Mr. Weasley looked away from his son.
"You tried to kill my best friend. You kidnapped her, tortured her, and separated her from the man she loves. I'm never, ever going to forgive you, Ron," Ginny said in a gravely voice, and her hair seemed to crackle with electricity. Ginny looked away as her two siblings were hauled away. I gave one last look at my former best friend-well, at least what was left of him. The Auror released Draco and he rubbed his raw wrists, looking down at them and no one else.
"Hermione!' I heard someone yell. I looked away from Draco and Ginny running towards me, arms outstretched. And before I could respond, I had broke into heavy sobs, a rush of emotion on me.
"I'm sorry I destroyed the mirror, I had a breakdown, oh, I love you Ginny..." I blubbered, hugging my friend tightly.
"Me too, Mione, me too!" she cried, embracing me closer. I looked up and saw the rest of the Order staring at me. I sniffed, and strode up to them at full height.
"We'll talk later," Remus said in a low voice. "Let's Apparate back, and then we'll discuss where we're going. Due to Ron's treason, we'll have to find a new headquarters." I nodded, knowing I was in trouble indeed. I turned to see if Draco was still there, but sure enough, he was gone.
"It's so great to have you back!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Great to be back," I said flatly, looking at the spot where Draco once was.
A/N: It took a crapload outta me to write this chapter, honestly.