A/N: I own nothing here.
Ch 2 – Draco's version
"Well, Draco, you've certainly gotten my attention. I'm going to need to hear your story, but first, I have a few questions."
"Of course you do, Granger." Draco's tone was neutral, but his eyes showed a spark of amusement.
"Professor Snape is alive? How did that happen? And you've been working with him all this time?"
"With the help of Dumbledore's Phoenix and a Portkey to the Manor, Severus survived Nagini's bite. He has been living in our guest cottage all this time. He has been performing cutting edge potions research for the last ten years. Malfoy Industries has funded him and both he and the company have profited greatly from the partnership."
"Okay, then who is Ms. Malfoy? Surely he's not talking about your mother?"
Draco sighed. "This is not my story to tell, but you need to understand the basics before talking to Lyra." He stopped for a moment and looked away from Hermione. She allowed him a moment to collect himself. Whatever he was about to tell her was clearly a difficult subject for him to address.
"Lyra is my sister. She is five years older than I am; she is a squib. Mother, Father and I all love her dearly; however, they didn't really know the best way to care for her when they realized she didn't have magic. They did their best. She was educated one of the top Muggle schools in England. Father encouraged her to attend university overseas for her safety; with some of the things that had started to happen here, I think he knew Voldemort might return a while before it happened. She returned after the war and finished her education here. She was trained as a research scientist; over the past few years, she has starting working for Malfoy industries as well. "
"You have a sister that is a squib and you had the nerve growing up to call me a Mudblood? You do realize that her challenges were probably similar to mine, right? Going to school in a world her family didn't understand, never quite fitting in either place? "
"Granger, can we cut the Gryffindor melodrama? I was a spoiled prat. Is that what you want to hear? I was a rotten, immature little punk who thought I was better than everyone else. I have a sister who I adore who was sent away to a different school because of her lack of magic. I was forbidden to speak about to her to anyone for fear people would hurt her. And then there you were, and you HAD magic, even though you shouldn't have, based on everything I had ever been taught. And you beat me at every class. So I treated you poorly. I am sorry. I know my reasons do not excuse my behavior, but I will be honest that I had hoped that the passage of ten years and your friendship with Astoria would have helped. Do you really think she would have married me if I were still like that?"
Hermione considered his words. "Apology accepted, Malfoy. You are right about one thing. It is time to move on. You were a child then; I suppose I should be able to let that go now that we are adults."
"Thank you. Now, allow me to explain about the potions. Severus has always been interested in medicinal potions. One of his research techniques has always been to examine how Muggles handle similar ailments. Over the years, he has created several wizarding potions that have at least some theoretical basis in Muggle medicine. You have probably heard of several of them; none of them were published under his name, and Malfoy Industries certainly didn't advertise that Muggle research was used to develop them.
When Lyra came home, Severus was still at the manor recovering. They got along quite well, given their similar fields of study. She was working on her advanced degrees; he was interested in her studies; she was interested in his research. I think Mother had designs on them marrying someday. I know Father did. He thought that the strength of Severus' magic might compensate for her lack of magic and produce magical children." Draco shuddered; Hermione tried not to laugh at his reaction. At the same time however, she felt a pang of something she couldn't quite place. She dismissed the feeling and turned back to Draco's story.
"Eventually, Severus and Lyra began to hypothesize about reversing Severus' research process. If you could add magical properties to Muggle medicines to create effective potions for wizards, why couldn't you use potionmaking concepts in medicines to treat Muggle medical issues?
"When Severus' mother fell ill to a neurological disorder that St. Mungo's had never seen, Lyra and Severus became obsessed with their goal. You see, Mrs. Snape's illness apparently functioned much like a Muggle illness. Severus developed a potion that was very effective. The potion with the magical enhancements was immensely more effective than the base medicine was in Muggles. Mrs. Snape still has symptoms of the illness, but she suffers much less now than without the potion.
"Lyra refused to accept that Muggles did not have access to the potion. She worked tirelessly to try and translate the concept back to something that could be legally distributed to Muggles. She worked within the Muggle system to conduct research studies using test subject. She developed something that was better than what the Muggles were using, but not nearly as effective as what the potion could be with the magical properties.
"I was aware of their research, and Malfoy Industries formed a Muggle corporation that functions as a subsidiary. Everything up to this point was completely legal.
"Still not satisfied that Muggles were at such a disadvantage medically, Lyra convinced Severus to develop a Concealment Charm that would hide the fact that magic was used in the potion. He was successful. If a Muggle analyzed the potion, they would detect the chemical properties of Lyra's potion. The reason why it worked better would remain a mystery. The Muggle subsidiary hired the best and brightest Muggle researchers to try and crack the code and none were able to do so. So, I decided to ignore the International Statute of Secrecy and manufacture the potion for broad distribution. It went through all the proper Muggle testing requirements to become licensed; it was determined to be both safe and effective.
That was five years ago. Black Pharmaceuticals has been immensely successful. There have been two other potions that have been released that have hidden magical properties. There are working on another right now. There have been two others that are licensed that are purely Muggle, but the research process behind them did involve magic. Those will quickly be copied and essentially stolen by other pharmaceutical companies, but the research done by Lyra and Severus probably advanced Muggle medicine by ten to fifteen years. There is nothing illegal about those two products.
"I was not exaggerating when I said they had saved thousands of lives, Granger." He looked her square in the face. Never had she seen him look so earnest. Draco Malfoy believed in what he was doing here. He had broken the law for the greater good. And the people he was trying to help were Muggles. Hermione was stunned. If he was telling the truth, they had done an amazing thing. Illegal certainly, but Hermione wasn't so shortsighted to not realize the value in the actions, even if it hadn't been executed perfectly.
"That is an amazing story, Draco. Is it true?"
"Every word of it is the truth, Granger. I'll admit that my motivation was more financial than philanthropic at first; however, every precaution was taken along the way to make sure that the medicines were safe. All of the Muggle testing procedures were followed before a single dose was given to any Muggle.
"Go talk to Severus and Lyra. Ask all your annoying little questions and see if it holds up."
"Oh, I intend to, Draco. You do realize that you could have petitioned for an exception to the ISS?"
Draco's face fell, "I had no idea that was possible."
"It sounds like you need a better attorney. It's very rare for an exception to be granted. But this might have qualified." Draco looked completely crestfallen.
"Obviously that would have been a better course of action, but I think we can argue that this was a procedural error. There might be a fine, probably an injunction against future production until you can present this to the international board for their approval. But if what you say is true, I can convince the Wizengamot that this was negligence at worst; and with no measurable harm done, I can hopefully get it reduced down to a slap on the wrist."
"Granger, we should not have to stop what we are doing here. "
"No, Draco, and I hope you don't have to. But you need to show proper respect to the governing body. You have to stop behaving like you think you are above the law. After we handle the criminal matter, we'll go after the exceptions that you need to continue production. Draco, think about what they could accomplish if they were able to employ a handful more Potions experts or Squib researchers like Lyra. What you've done here is impressive, but the potential here is virtually limitless if done through the proper channels."
"What else do you need to know?"
"Oh, there is a great deal more information that I need. But first I need to corroborate your story with the other two defendants. Assuming it all checks out, I will go talk to the Ministry prosecutor about getting the three of you released until a trial date can be set."
Draco nodded. "Thank you, Granger; I will help you in any way that I am able. Please speak with Astoria as soon as you can. Tell her what you can safely without putting her at risk." Hermione shook his hand and knocked on the door. The guard escorted Draco back to his holding cell.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you have a moment.