I will warn you though that my trial scenes are a bit different from what we saw in the movie. I had already written this chapter and the next one before the movie came out and I didn't want to change it, really. I guess it doesn't exactly contradict the film though since it may be assumed that a muggle on trial would receive different treatment than a potential Death Eater…maybe. Anyhow, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
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Chapter 57Tallis hummed quietly as he wrapped gifts, occasional lyrics slipping out as he concentrated on tying a bow with the slippery ribbon. He felt like he had been wrapping presents forever.
He grinned at the thought.
He had never had anyone to give presents to until he arrived at Hogwarts and then his list had remained at a rather pathetic two gifts for quite some time. This year though, he had a real family and a real Christmas list. He looked over at the small stack of meticulously wrapped gifts and grinned again.
He couldn't wait for Christmas.
Draco knocked on the door for the third time in ten minutes.
"Can I come in yet?" he whined, not taking well to being locked out of the room.
Tallis laughed. "Yep. All done now," he declared, setting aside the last present.
"Finally," Draco breathed, throwing the door open. "It took you bloody forever! How long does it take to say a few wrapping spells anyway?"
Tallis blushed lightly. "I forgot I could use spells." He paused for a moment, studying his gifts. "I like this way better anyhow," he declared.
Draco nodded his understanding. He might not truly comprehend how much the little things like this mattered to his friend but he knew better than to belittle them in any way. They were important to Tallis and that was enough. "Want some help carrying them into the sitting room?"
"Sure. No, not that one!" he cried, grabbing a small blue box out of Draco's hands and shoving a silver one toward him instead.
"Hmm…is that one mine?" Draco asked, trying to peek behind Tallis' back.
"You'd better not go poking around these Draco."
"Alright, alright. Do you want to go for a fly? We've been cooped up in the house for way too long."
"Let's floo Ron and ask him to come over and play too."
"Then we'll have uneven teams, unless Granger plays too."
"Good luck with that one," Tallis snorted. "Maybe Ron can bring one of his brothers. I wish Bill wasn't working such long hours."
"At least he'll be off a lot after Christmas though," Draco said, alluding to the trial. Bill still had to work some during the trial but he would only be going in for a few hours a day and he could pick the hours himself rather than sticking to a schedule. They really didn't know what to expect in regard to testifying or to how Tallis would end up reacting to everything. He had been incredibly calm since the day that he had "died."
The boys dropped the presents off near the heavily decorated mantle. The house elves had gone all out with their decorations this year since it was the first year since Severus' parents had died that they were not expressly forbidden to decorate. Holly and evergreen covered nearly every surface.
Severus had been going to make the elves scale back their decorations but he had noticed his son's delight in every single inch of decorated space and had withheld his objections. He didn't even object when he noticed his son helping the elves decorate even more.
Tallis threw a handful of floo powder into the fire and called the Burrow.
Molly was in the kitchen with Ginny making some cookies. "Of goodness, you startled me Tallis," she said kindly, wiping her hands on a towel. "Are you looking for Ron, dear?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Ginny, be a dear and go fetch your brother. Tell him Tallis is in the fire."
Ginny waved to Tallis and ran off to call Ron. She hadn't been able to stay close with Tallis since the change but she knew it was for the best. She still loved him dearly and cared for him as a brother but she knew it was safer to give him some distance right now. Once everything blew over they could be friends again.
Because she did not know about the Chamber of Secrets rooms she could not meet with them there. As far as she knew, her brother only got to see Tallis every once in a while as well. The trio felt bad excluding her but felt that privacy and safety were more important for now, and as much as they trusted her, they were not comfortable including anyone else in their secret plans.
Ron came tumbling down the stairs, thrilled to hear from his friend. He hadn't heard from him since the papers had been published and he and Hermione had decided to give him some space and let him call first. "What's going on, mate?"
"Draco and I were going to play some Quidditch. Want to come?"
"Sure thing. Can Mione come too?" Ron asked immediately.
Tallis looked confused. "Sure. She won't want to play though and it's much too cold for her to just sit outside."
"You know girls. She misses you like mad though and if I have to listen to her natter on about you for too much longer I just may go mad myself."
"Bring her along," Tallis said with a grin. "We were going to ask you to bring one of your brothers along to play some but maybe you shouldn't. We'll probably only play for a short while anyhow, what with Hermione waiting for us."
"Ok. Can you open the floo back up in ten minutes?"
"Sure thing. Are you calling Hermione?"
"Yep. I'll have her floo here and then we'll come over together."
Tallis nodded and closed the connection.
"Well?" Draco asked expectantly.
"He and Mione are coming over in ten minutes."
"Why's Granger coming? I thought she hated Quidditch."
"She does. She wanted to come too though, I guess. At least, that's what Ron said. I don't really understand girls so I leave that department up to him."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Let's go put on some warmer clothes."
The two young men went upstairs to their rooms and grabbed some more layers. Tallis pulled on one of Bill's thickest sweaters, loving the enormous, ratty old thing more than many of the fine clothes his Father had bought for him.
Ron and Hermione stumbled through the fireplace before the boys were even finished dressing yet. Hermione gave Tallis a quick kiss on the cheek before greeting Draco more sedately. "Where are Bill and the Professor?" she asked Tallis.
"Bill's working and Dad wanted some time alone for research and what. I feel bad. I'm always there, bothering him, no doubt."
"Saving him from complete insanity and bastard-ity if you ask me," Ron said.
Draco snorted but was quick to comfort his friend as well. He had no idea that Tallis was worrying about Sev's request for some alone time. "Really Tallis, he didn't mean anything by it. You know he loves working with you in the lab and doing research. He might be working on something for you that he wants to keep a secret or he might just feel the need to work something out on his own for a bit. Don't read more into it than there is."
"You think?"
"Of course, Tallie," Hermione said, linking her arm through his and leading their way outside. "Why don't you boys fly for a bit and then we can have a chat," she said, pushing them further out into the garden and turning to set up a climate barrier over one of the smaller benches. She knew that Tallis would feel better once he flew.
The boys took to the air immediately, flying a few laps around the enormous gardens before pulling out some balls and playing a simple game of keep away.
They played until Ron noticed that Hermione's spell as fading as she shivered on her bench.
"Let's go back down. She's got to be bored and freezing by now," Ron said to the other two.
"How are things going with you two anyway?" Tallis asked as the three young men descended.
"Eh…ok, I guess. Nothing much happening, really. We're still not dating and neither of us really wants to date the other but the thing is neither of us is particularly attracted to anyone else either. I can't quite figure out if this is some sort of slow love thing or if we are only ever meant to be friends and we'll move our separate ways soon. We're just leaving it be for now. The more I try to figure out what's going on the more confusing it gets."
Draco nodded. "I think if you are meant to be together, you'll know it when the time comes. Sometimes you have people in your life that are only ever meant to be best friends, even if they are people you occasionally bed." He shrugged. "I think my mum and Sev might be a bit like that."
Tallis stopped in his tracks, only a few paces away from Hermione. "My dad and your mum are not-dating?" he asked incredulously.
Hermione stood up when she heard this. "Since when?"
Draco shrugged again. "I'm not completely certain that they are, really. I guess it is possible that nothing went on but I know that when I was little they slept in the same bedroom sometimes when my mum and I came to stay. As far as I know though they haven't been together at all, or at least in my presence, for about two or three years."
Tallis shook his head in wonder. "My dad has a not-girlfriend," he breathed in wonder. "Why didn't you tell me earlier when we were talking about my dad dating?"
"They weren't dating so it didn't really occur to me. Sorry."
"Your mum's pretty hot. I'm quite impressed with the Professor," Ron said, grabbing hold of Hermione's hand as they entered the house once more.
"Are you?" a silky voice said, making all of them jump.
Ron turned around wildly, hoping desperately that his fears were unfounded. Unfortunately for him, they were not.
Severus stepped out of the hallway. "Always pleased to impress. Tell me, Mr. Weasley, how have I impressed you this time?"
"Um…um…" Ron stuttered, trying to come up with a suitable lie in time.
Tallis rolled his eyes. "Are you not-dating Lady Malfoy?"
Severus stiffened momentarily before shaking his head. His son asked him the most outrageous questions with absolutely no warning. "I suppose you could have once said that Tallis, but I haven't seen Cissa in quite a few years."
"Why not?" Tallis asked, looking up into his Father's face and trying to find an answer there.
Severus paused for a moment. "This is hardly an appropriate conversation to be having in front of your guests."
"They're practically family!" Tallis argued.
"It is equally inappropriate to be discussing this in front of her son."
"I'm staying out of it," Draco announced with a grin.
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will discuss this with you later, Tallis, if it even bears discussion."
"Alright," Tallis finally acquiesced, realizing how uncomfortable the situation must be for his Father. "Do you mind if Ron and Mione stay to tea?"
"Your friends are always welcome here," Severus said softly before leaving for the library. It still pained him that Tallis felt the need to ask for such things in his own house. If he had been reared in a proper pureblood household with his family then he never would have thought twice about extending such an invitation without seeking permission from his Father.
"Who would have ever thought?" Hermione said pensively. "A regular lothario, your dad."
Tallis laughed softly as he led the way back up to his room. The group sat down near the fire, Tallis immediately claiming the footstool while Draco and Hermione took the chairs and Ron sat on the floor in front of Hermione.
"How are you doing, really?" Hermione said. "The trial begins in three days. Are you ready?"
Tallis shrugged uncomfortably. "As I can be, I guess."
"We've received invitations to attend the proceedings," she said softly. "Ron and I. Molly and Arthur as well."
Tallis finally looked at her, his eyes filled with pain. "Please don't. Please don't go there."
"We won't, mate, if you don't want us there. I mean, we'll have to testify at some point but we won't go to the rest."
"Molly and Arthur too. I just can't bear it."
Hermione paused for a moment, trying to find the proper words. "I don't think they'll be quite as easy to convince, Tallis. Perhaps if you allowed them to attend the initial questionings, apart from when they needed to testify, they might agree to that."
"How does it work again?" Tallis asked, picking at the enormous sweater he was wearing and nervously wrapping a piece of the wool around his finger.
"The first round of questions is done without any truth serums," Draco explained. "They are locked into an area of the floor that encourages them to speak the truth but does not force them to do it the way that Veritaserum does. Then, the Wizenmagut deliberates and decides whether or not the person testifying needs to undergo a second round with Veritaserum.
"Typically, in a case like this, the first round will only be used to check a few facts and the real questions will happen under Veritaserum. When child abuse is involved, they never allow anyone to skip the second round of questions on the off chance that they managed to best the encouragement spells."
"So if I got them to agree to only go to the first round then they wouldn't hear any of the details?" Tallis confirmed.
Hermione nodded. "Of course, a bit will come out in the initial questionings but nothing too detailed or graphic. I think it might be the best way to deal with it. They love you like their own son and it kills them to ignore this trial like that, even if they do know that you are alive and well."
"Not to mention it would look spotty to the media if they weren't seen entering and exiting the Ministry on the trial days," Ron added.
Tallis nodded. "I suppose that isn't too bad. Will you explain it to them, Ron?"
"Sure thing, mate. Don't worry about it, just have a good Christmas."
Tallis grinned, although it looked a bit strained. "I intend to."