Author's Note: I apologize for the long wait - but the wedding was beautiful :) and now I have a sister! Yay! And here is chapter 8!


Narcissa spent the next couple of days trying to imagine what kinds of questions the Wizangamot would ask them at these hearings, and preparing how she would answer, though she usually burst into tears in the middle of this exercise. The way she saw it, with the exception of her betrayal in the Forest, all the evidence against them was quite ruinous. She clung to the notion that saving the life of Harry Potter might pardon anything else she had done; and while this thought did not seem impossible, it also did not help with the defense of her husband and her son.

She had urged Draco to prepare himself mentally for the hearing. He'd told her that he was ready and not to worry about it, but Narcissa could not help but worry. It was all she did. She had immediately written to the Ministry after Lucius' arrest, asking if she would be able to visit him and when. She'd received an owl just this morning, two days later, saying that, depending on the outcome of her own hearing, she would be able to see her husband briefly before his hearing on Thursday.

Draco had also received an owl this morning. The moment he had seen it, he'd frowned. Narcissa had been too distracted with her own letter to question him about it, but now that she'd read hers, she looked over at her son. He was still frowning.

"What is it?" Narcissa asked him.

Draco answered without looking up. "It's Pansy."

Narcissa felt a twinge of sympathy; she recalled seeing Mr. Parkinson listed in the Daily Prophet under the same heading as Bellatrix. "How is she?"

Her son folded the letter in half. "She's upset. Her father died." He stood up and walked to the fireplace, ripped the letter in half and tossed it in. Narcissa watched with shock as the parchment curled up and blackened in the fire. Draco looked over at her. "I suppose it wouldn't be the best time to break things off with her, would it?"

Narcissa's eyes widened slightly. "Probably not." She'd never heard any indication from him that he wanted to break up with the girl before this. Not that it troubled her immensely, she had never been particularly fond of the Parkinson girl, but still, they had been dating for years. "Why do you want to break it off?"

Draco crossed his arms and shrugged. "I don't know. She's just... She doesn't get it." He shrugged again. "I can't really trust her."

It was not an eloquent explanation, but Narcissa thought she understood what he meant. Pansy was immature and rather flaky. Draco had been forced into adulthood long ago, and she was still a schoolgirl.

Narcissa did find it a little strange that Draco did not at least empathize with Pansy, since at the moment they had both lost their fathers. Perhaps though, she mused, Draco did not want to think about the possibility of his own loss becoming permanent. Narcissa tried to avoid the idea as well.

More often than ever, Narcissa's thoughts went to her living sister. She was sometimes seized by the irrational fear that in some poetically justified way, her life would be made to mirror Andromeda's: her husband and her child would be taken from her forever, and she would be shunned by most of society and forced to live out her days alone. Narcissa always shook these thoughts off and told herself they were completely preposterous, but she was nonetheless plagued by them. The only solution she could see was to reconcile with her sister, and thereby eliminate the fear of being alone.

Narcissa could not deny that the idea was at once enticing and terrifying. When they were young, Anny had been her confidante and best friend. During their school years they had drifted apart a bit, but Anny had always been the sister she had gone to for advice and comfort. Bella had been the one to go to for protection. But right before Andromeda had left, she and Narcissa had fought viciously. Twenty-six years later, Narcissa was still troubled by the fact that they had never made up. She was quite sure that Andromeda probably had not forgotten about the things they had said to each other, and that she more than likely still harbored some ill feelings about it.

Besides her sister's hostility, Narcissa had other reasons for avoiding an encounter with Andromeda. The Minister of Magic had ordered them to go home and remain easy to find. She had no inclination to let the Ministry know that she was trying to reconcile with her sister. She also did not relish the idea of telling her son where she was going. Narcissa knew that nothing but pride was holding her back, but she couldn't bring herself to let anyone know what she was feeling. Approaching Andromeda would have to be done in secret. And for now, she could not go anywhere secretly. Spending a year at the Dark Lord's beck and call had taught her that if you are told to be somewhere, you had better be there.

For his part, Draco spent his hours trying to think of anything and everything he could testify to that might save his parents. Where his mother was concerned, he could think of dozens of reasons that she should be found innocent. For his father, though, he could not think of a single instance that showed any manner of disloyalty to the Dark Lord. Lucius Malfoy was quite guilty. The thought made Draco sick, but he ignored it as much as possible. He had to be strong.

The day before his mother's hearing, Draco was faced with something that made his heart skip a beat: an owl, perched on the window box outside the sitting room. It was not Pansy's owl, nor did it belong to the Malfoys. It looked similar to the owls they had received the day before Lucius was taken away. When he let it in, he examined the outside of the letter, which was addressed to Narcissa. Draco sprinted toward the hall.

"Mum!" he shouted up the stairs. "There's an owl here for you!"

He heard a door open, and his mother appeared at the top of the staircase. "Do you recognize it?" she asked, buttoning the cuffs of her robes as she descended.

"It looks like it could be from the Ministry," Draco replied. Narcissa's mouth tightened, and she headed for the sitting room. He followed at her heels. She took the letter from the owl without hesitation, and immediately broke the seal.

"It is from the Ministry," she said quickly, and opened the parchment. Her eyes scanned over the contents swiftly. Without taking her eyes off the parchment, she reached back to place a hand on the arm of the sofa, lowering herself into the seat. Draco watched her breathlessly, unable to bear the tension. His mother suddenly gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

He crossed the room in a single bound and seated himself next to her. "What is it?" he implored.

There were tears in her eyes. She held the parchment out toward him so that he could read it, too.

Dear Mrs. Malfoy,

In the pre-hearing proceedings regarding your case, evidence has been set forth of such a nature as to give pause to the litigations. After much careful consideration, the testimony of one Mr. Harry James Potter has been accepted as irrefutable fact by the Wizangamot. The implications of this testimony have moved the Court to reassess the necessity of a hearing regarding the matter. In the spirit of amity and fairness, the matter was put to vote, and the Court elected unanimously to offer you a full pardon for any offenses committed whilst in the service of the Dark Lord Voldemort, contingent upon a five-year probationary period, the details of which will be settled within the next ten days. You will not be required to testify before the Wizangamot.

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement will contact you by owl.

Best regards,

Eleanor Higgins
Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic

Draco looked over at her excitedly. "But, that's great!" he exclaimed, putting a hand on her shoulder. This was the best news they could possibly have hoped for! So why was his mother staring at the letter with a bemused expression? "Mum, this is wonderful; they've granted you a full pardon! What's the matter?"

Narcissa shook her head slowly. "I just can't believe it," she said. "It's too good to be true."

He squeezed her arm. "But it is true. It's got the official seal on it!"

Her son was right. She was holding an official, Ministry-sealed document that said she was free. She was free.

Draco moved his hand to her back when he saw a tear roll down her cheek. "Mum..." He didn't know how to react to what he was seeing. Narcissa finally smiled, and looked over at him. Her smile was not forced, as it had been for so many months, but it was also not the radiant smile he had known her to wear before the war. He wished that for once he could see her smile without any trace of tears or sorrow in her eyes.

Narcissa hugged her son tightly, and he returned her embrace. "I just wish the letter was for you," she told him, kissing his cheek.

Draco held his mother close. He didn't wish for a moment that it had been for him. If any of the three of them deserved to go free, it was his mother. She hadn't branded her body with the Dark Lord's insignia; she hadn't tortured and killed innocent people.

Besides, now he knew that he would not be attending his hearing alone. He'd been wondering for days what he would do if they decided to take his mother into custody after her hearing. Now he could as least be sure that Narcissa would be there for him on Wednesday. He had long since given up the childish notion that his parents could keep him safe, but he still knew that he would feel less nervous with her there.

Narcissa kissed his cheek again. "I'll be happy once we've gotten two more letters like this."

Draco said nothing. He had no idea if he or his father would have the same good fortune. What he did know was that if he was not so lucky, this might be one of the last few times he would get a hug from his mother.


Author's Note: It's a short one, but the next one is going to be loooooong. I already have it halfway written. :) Leave me reviews and it shall be here even faster! ;)