Saving Granger
By - Keshia Kay Mansell
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Last Time:
"No further questions." Lavender said in a worried voice as she watched the Aurors deal with her client.
"Next, Longbottom." Percy ordered as he watched his brother with disgust.
"I'd like to call Harry Potter to that stand." Neville declared. All eyes watched with anticipation as their savior walked to the podium.
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Chapter 9: Weasel's Testimony
Present Time:
"Now Mr. Potter, you have been acquainted with Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger for quite some time, am I correct?" Neville began.
"Yes, they have both been my closest friends since our first year at Hogwarts." Harry answered calmly.
"They both aided you in the war too, didn't they?"
"Yes. Hermione was like our researcher, while Ron was our strategizer. They helped me the most when I needed them." Harry said truthfully.
"When you say 'our,' whom are you speaking of?" Neville asked.
"The Order of the Phoenix."
"Objection!" Lavender shrieked. "This is completely irrelevant to the case!"
"No, Minister. There is a point to this, I swear." Neville informed him.
"Very well, Mr. Longbottom. But be sure that we see the point soon." Percy said forcefully.
"Of course, Minister." Neville said before continuing his questioning. "In that point of time, were Order members asked to keep low key?"
"Yes. We strived to make sure that our personal lives were hard to reveal. That way, Death Eaters would never be able to harm us where we were most vulnerable."
"That was very wise of you." Neville complimented. "After the war, did some of the Order members continue to do so?"
"Very few. Most of us were happy to have our normal lives back." Harry paused a moment. "Ron and Hermione, however, still seemed to continue living in the shadows."
"And what do you mean by that, Mr. Potter?" Neville inquired.
"Well, after the war I barely saw them. If I did see one of them, it was mostly Ron. I always asked him why they were still low key and he always told me that they wanted to wait for the media to die down."
"Was Miss Granger ever present during these conversations with Mr. Weasley and yourself?"
"Only twice did I see her with him. He never left her alone for long. I do remember that she always seemed hollow after the war and her eyes were haunted." a wave of emotion swept through Harry's eyes as he looked down on Hermione. It was almost as if he was apologizing for his ignorance on her situation. "I guess I just always thought that it was because of all we saw during the war. So many of our closest friends died in those horrid times."
"Did you go to her supposed funeral?" Neville asked quietly.
"I did." his gaze shifted to Ron's direction. It was like a fire of fury had ignited in his forest green eyes. "No one could even mourn properly thanks to that bastard over there."
"What did Mr. Weasley do at Miss Granger's funeral?" Neville asked curiously.
"He caused a giant scene because he didn't like one of the people that had decided to pay his respects." Harry snorted.
"And whom are you speaking of?"
"Draco Malfoy. No one expected him to be there, but he came. He looked just as terrible as the rest of us. No one asked him why he was there, we figured it was none of our business. Maybe he finally decided to mature a little, a war can do that to people. But Ron wouldn't have any of it. He was consumed with a venomous hatred that had controlled him through the years. He completely lashed out on Draco and threatened the man's life."
"How did Mr. Malfoy react?"
Harry thought a moment before replying. "He was rather calm, really. He called Ron a 'pathetic weasel that wouldn't know a griever if it smacked him on the arse.'" there were a couple of giggles among the court. "Then after the ceremony had ended, Draco left. Simple as that."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. No further questions."
Lavender stood as Neville went to his seat. "Mr. Potter, a good Wizard like yourself might have at least tried to investigate matters more, right?" she didn't wait for an answer. "Why didn't you try to find out more about Miss Granger's condition?"
"I believed that they needed their privacy." Harry said cooly as he waited for more of her rude questioning.
"Oh, really? So you didn't think that anything was amiss in their relationship?" Lavender asked smugly.
"I see were this is going Miss Brown and I'm not sorry to tell you that I did notice something amiss." Harry smirked as Lavender's face fell. "Hermione no longer looked at Ron with love, those looks were replaced with something a kin to dread. My only regret is by not putting two and two together."
Lavender was now glaring at him with irritation. This interrogation was clearly not going as she planned. "Is it possible that, at the funeral, Mr. Weasley acted as he did because of all of the years he had seen Mr. Malfoy as a foe?"
"I highly doubt it. Ron may not like Draco, but we all knew that most of his problem was how he was raised, not himself in general. I believe Ron was being careless and stupid when he verbally attacked Draco." Harry answered honestly.
"Very well, Mr. Potter. No further questions." Lavender scowled as she took her seat.
"Mr. Longbottom, do you have any more witnesses?" Percy asked.
"No, your honor. I have none." Neville answered politely.
"Miss Brown, you have the floor." Percy said tiredly as he waved his hand in her direction.
"Thank you, Minister." Lavender stood. "I'd like to call Ronald Weaslet to the stand." The whole room watched as Ron stepped up to the podium. "Mr. Weasley, how was your relationship with your ex-fiancé?"
"I thought we were pretty close. Obviously I was mistaken." Ron glared as he looked back and forth from Hermione to Draco.
"Did you ever suspect Miss Granger of cheating on you?" Lavender asked slyly.
"Objection!" Neville yelled angrily. "She's putting ideas in her client's head!"
"Over ruled." Percy said dismissively. "Answer the question."
"No, I guess I never did. I was with her so often that I don't ever think she would have had time."
"Of course." Lavender frowned. That was not the answer she was looking for. "Did Miss Granger ever show signs of wanting to leave you?"
"No, not really. I mean, she got cranky every once in a while. But she's a woman, what else would you expect?" Ron shrugged.
"When you came home the night of her supposed murder, what did you do?"
"I did what ever bloke would do, I called the Aurors!" Ron exclaimed.
"And what did they tell you?" Lavender asked.
"They told me that someone had murdered my fiancé." Ron answered. "But I said that it didn't make since. I didn't really know anyone that would want to kill my Hermione."
"At the funeral, why did you behave the way you did towards Mr. Malfoy?"
"I was devastated that I had just lost the love of my life. When I saw our enemy at Hermione's funeral I knew I had to act. My judgment may have been a little clouded that night, but I did that for her."
"Thank you." Lavender's smirk had returned. "No further questions."
"Mr. Longbottom, would you like to question the defendant?" Percy asked.
"Oh, yes. Mr. Weasley and I have so much to talk about." Neville stood giving Ron a piercing gaze. Ron was now grimacing. "Mr. Weasley, I couldn't help but to notice that you have quite a bit of a control problem. Have you noticed it too?"
"No, I have not." Ron's ears began to turn red. "Care to enlighten me?"
"Of course, Mr. Weasley. You see, just now in this very courtroom, you called Miss Granger your Hermione. That sounds extremely possessive to me. Especially since you claim that she never spent her time anywhere besides in your company. Do you still stand by your testimony?"
"Well, yes I - no. It wasn't like that you see-" Ron began to cover up what he had said.
"It was a yes or no question, Mr. Weasley." Neville stated. "Please answer the question. You are under oath to tell us the truth."
"Y-yes." Ron said after awhile. "I suppose I was a tad possessive, but Hermione is a very beautiful woman. I had every right to do what I did!"
"And what is it that you did, Mr. Weasley?" Neville smirked. He had caught the weasel in his trap.
"I did nothing!" Ron barked.
"Oh? But you must have done something for you to slip up and say something like that. What is it that your not telling us, Mr. Weasley?"
"You know nothing about anything, Neville!" Ron yelled.
"I think I know more then you care to like, Mr. Weasley. I know you are a very jealous man."
"I AM NOT A-"
"I know that you treated Miss Granger as if she was dirt underneath your shoe." Neville continued calmly as if Ron wasn't shouting at the top of his lungs.
"I WOULD NEVER-"
"I know that you kept her away from the outside world so that she wouldn't tell your dirty little secrets."
"THIS IS RIDICULUS-"
"And I know that you are so horrible that you drove this young woman to stage her death."
"HOW DARE YOU!"
"Objection!" Lavender shouted. "I'll not have him treat my client with such disrespect!"
"Perhaps he deserves it." Percy said after a moment of thought. "But I suppose that enough is enough. Objection sustained." Both Lavender and Ron looked at Percy with unbelieving eyes.
"You don't really believe this shit, do you Percy!?" Ron asked in a frustrated tone.
"Listen here, Ron, and you listen good! I will not put up with your crap in my courtroom. Be lucky that I don't grant them permission to tear you limb from limb!" Percy yelled furiously at his brother.
"N-no further questions." Neville stammered as he watched the angry brothers glare at each other.
"Give your closing statements, Longbottom." Percy said coldly, barley taking his eyes off of Ron. Neville quickly did as he was told.
"Witches and Wizards of the court, we were gathered her today to hear a sad story from a troubled witch who felt that her only escape in life was that of death. And whom was she hiding from?" Neville pointed to Ron, who was now leaving the podium. "A man she once called a friend and even a lover. A man whose jealousy won over his soul."
"We are here today to seek justice for this man's terrible doings which left scars on beings as well as souls. I beg of you to trade places with this woman." Neville now pointed at Hermione. "And imagine living through the horrors of what was once her life. It has long been a goal to rid the world of bad wizards, don't let that goal stop short on this day. Please see to it that this man gets what he deserves so that this woman can sleep peacefully again." Neville finished and seated himself next to Hermione. Next, Lavender stood before the court.
"People of the court, today was a mistake. To say that my client is guilty would be like saying a child should never play. I believe there is more to this story then we really know. Whose to say that this woman wasn't having an affair? Perhaps she left him for someone new." She eyed Hermione and then Draco as she said this. "My client was framed for this. He was an innocent being caught in some love triangle that went South. I only hope that you all make that connection too. Please give my client a fair chance and do what's right for our society." Lavender finished.
"This court will now go through a ten minute recess." Percy informed them as he stood.
"Come on, Hermione." Neville said as he helped her stand up. "let's go wait outside of the courtroom."
"Ok." Hermione agreed. She needed to get up and walk around.
"Are you ok?" Draco asked when they reached the hallway outside of the courtroom.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just can't believe Lavender's tactics! First she asks if I slept with you, then she makes it seem as if you and I were having an affair! The audacity of that woman shocks me!" Hermione ranted.
"It'll be fine, you'll see." Draco murmured as he wrapped his arms around her. "She only said that because she knew she was on the loosing side of the case."
"I hope so." Hermione whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments until Harry and Neville came to fetch them.
"Come on guys! The court is refilling again." Harry said excitedly.
"Yeah, their almost ready to make their decision!" Neville exclaimed.
"Well, lets go then." Draco said as he and Hermione followed their friends back into the courtroom for the verdict.
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A/N: Go Neville! I totally enjoyed writing the part where he and Ron are arguing! Guess What!? Only one more chapter to go! In the next chapter you'll find out the verdict and see what happens between our favorite little love birds. J
-KKM