Title: Lost and Found
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Rating: K
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 2460
Prompts:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Term 5, Fairytales : 2 - Write about how much it took your chosen pairing to finally get together! It should be obvious that it was a hard way. Extra Prompt : (feeling) desperation
Author's Note: Diverges from canon slightly.
Summary: After the war Draco is sent to Azkaban, largely because of the testimony of one Hermione Granger. Little does he know that while he suffers, she is trying desperately to undo her mistake.

Draco blinked as light shone into his cell. He shifted slightly, wincing at the pain the movement caused. The light got brighter and he shut his eyes. If he hadn't been so tired maybe he would have had the energy to question the sudden presence of light when for years he had lived in complete darkness.

There was a hideous shrieking noise and something was slid across to him. Draco risked opening one eye and saw that it was a plate laden with food. He didn't move towards it; partly because he was exhausted and partly because he was suspicious of everything.

A voice growled something at him but he couldn't make out the words. Instead, Draco leant back against the bars and allowed himself to drift off into unconsciousness again.

When he woke up he was lying on a bed in the middle of an entirely white room. Draco had just concluded that he must be dead when a man poked his head around the door.

"You're awake! Wonderful!"

Draco stared in confusion as the man bounced towards him. He had a grin on his face and his robes were a ridiculous shade of fuchsia. It had been years since Draco had even seen another person, and it seemed unfair that he should be suddenly confronted with such an overenthusiastic individual.

"I expect you're rather confused - I'm sure I would be." He said happily. Draco wasn't sure that 'confused' was the right word to describe how he felt, but before he could say anything the man carried on talking. "I'm Simon Rothpellier, your lawyer."

Draco wasn't aware that he had a lawyer. He had several questions for the man, but his voice didn't seem to be working.

The man - Simon - continued prattling on but Draco didn't listen to much.

Time passed in the strange white room much as it had in his cell. He was barely awake and saw no one for days. Slowly though, he began to regain his strength. Eventually he was moved to a different room. Unfortunately, this change of location meant that Simon came round almost immediately and this time Draco actually had to listen to what he was saying.

"I want to talk about your trial." He said, getting straight to the point.

Draco sighed. That was the last thing he wanted to do. It had been dreadful. He'd not been able to sleep the night before and then he'd been escorted to the Ministry at some ridiculously early hour. They'd made him sit through his parents' trial before his own, and he'd had to watch as they dragged first his father and then his mother away to be administered the deatheater's kiss. His mother had held herself as though she were a queen; never showing fear, but his father had made a scene; shouting at the assembled audience.

They had been sure that he would be okay. Both of his parents had twisted their stories; casting themselves in a darker light so that he would look better by comparison. Blaise and Pansy had already had trials and had been sentenced to house arrest for a year and then were to be reevaluated.

He would have been fine. His parents had sold themselves to keep him safe. However, no one could have predicted the arrival of Hermione Granger. Clearly she had tried to avoid catching reporters' attention and so her presence at his trial was completely unexpected.

They had practically decided to send me home when she stood up to testify against him. At the time, Draco had been shocked but it was understandable; he had bullied her for years. For the first few months he had blamed her. Before exhaustion and madness set in, when he was still furious at his imprisonment, he had planned his revenge. He had imagined escaping from prison and finding her and making her pay. After a while though, he had given up being angry and stopped caring. The only way to survive Azkaban was to try and ignore the pain and the hunger and the grief and simply let the exhaustion take over.

Draco's thoughts were interrupted when Simon coughed lightly. "Mr Malfoy?"

Draco stared at him in surprise.

"I have the transcript here. It looks like we might have a case."

"I thought-" Draco paused, shocked by the sound of his voice. Disuse had made it harsh and croaky. "Azkaban is a life imprisonment."

Simon nodded. "It was when you were sentenced. But there have been a few changes to the law since you were locked away."

Draco frowned. The law didn't change. It hadn't changed for years. Clearly the war had had a bigger impact than he had expected.

"No one's a big fan of Azkaban any more. Especially not for young people like yourself."

"I'm not-" Draco trailed off as he realised that he had no idea how old he was. Over twenty certainly, but perhaps not quite as old as thirty? It was difficult to tell the time in Azkaban.

"You were 17 when you were sentenced. Almost 18, but not much over the age of majority. Public opinion is that that is too young to be sent away to have your soul destroyed."

"You're offering me a way out?" Draco asked, his voice suddenly strained with desperation. Up until that moment he had been convinced that it was all a trick. Now though, it seemed too real.

"We can get another hearing. Make the case for your youth, the fact that you've served five years already and go on for a bit about how dreadful Azkaban is... I reckon you've got a decent chance."

Draco was suddenly alert. "How long until the hearing?"

Simon stopped smiling. "Well... the earliest would be a month from now."

Draco frowned. "Surely longer would be better? We need to prepare."

He didn't understand the silence that stretched out. "Draco - Mr Malfoy... you will need to return to Azkaban until the trial. I was only able to remove you because you were in serious need of medical attention."

Draco couldn't think. His heart was pounding, his head spinning. "I have to go back?"

Until that moment he hadn't realised how desperate he was to escape.

The month crawled by so slowly that at times Draco was sure that his brief respite had been nothing but a dream. He was convinced that Simon had forgotten him, so he was once again surprised when his darkness was interrupted. He leapt up, shaking off his fatigue, and moved to the door, only to be shot with a spell that sedated him.

He had only a few moments with Simon before they entered the hall. Immediately, Draco was reminded of the last time he had stood before a jury, and what that had led to. He didn't think that he would survive another stint in Azkaban.

Simon, clearly sensing his panic, began to reassure him. "I really think our chances are very good. We have a surprise that's going to completely knock any case against you out of the water. Trust me, there's no way that you're going back."

Draco began to relax. Perhaps his ordeal was finally over. He took a deep breath and was about to read the notes that Simon had given him when the door behind him swung open. He twisted around as far as his shackles would allow him and suddenly felt dizzy.

There she was. Older than the last time that he had seen her, but it was undoubtedly her. The same bushy hair, same confident stride. Hermione Granger.

Draco felt sick. He turned to Simon who was grinning. He didn't understand what was funny. Clearly this was a set-up, a way of making him lose all hope. To give him the promise of relief and then to take it away so cruelly. This trial was going to be just like the last.

She was getting closer and Draco didn't know what to do. As she stepped in range of the table he shrunk back away from her. She stared at him as if he were some kind of freak show.

"Get me away from her." He spat, and Simon went pale.

"Mal-" she cut herself off, and he saw that she looked nervous.

"Granger please. Please I'll do anything." All of his anger was gone as desperation took over. He begged her not to send him back, not caring for his dignity because Azkaban had taken all of his dignity years ago.

"Malfoy I'm not-" She turned to Simon. "You didn't tell him I was coming?"

"You said not to tell anyone." He offered nervously.

"I didn't mean him!" She rolled her eyes as Draco watched the exchange in confusion. Suddenly she whirled around and strode away. Moments later she was back, and someone was announcing a short break.

The court room emptied until the only people left were the three of them, and several bored looking security wizards.

"Draco I'm sorry. So sorry. I-" she broke off and he saw tears rolling down her face. Suddenly she was transformed from the hard faced woman to the girl he'd known at school.

He stared at her. She had used his first name, was apologising to him, and was crying. Clearly he wasn't the only person who'd changed.

"I never meant to send you there. I just couldn't bear the thought of you being free, and I was such a stupid girl. I thought we could change the world."

Simon frowned. "Ms Granger is the witch responsible for the changes to the law. She's here today to testify in your defence. Since she was against you before, I'm confident that her change in testimony is what will convince them to release you."

Draco couldn't quite understand what was happening, but he didn't have time to think because suddenly everyone was pouring back into the room and the hearing was starting.

The appeal was excruciating. Everything that he'd managed to forget, everything that they'd made him do, was brought up again. He was forced to relive every awful thing that he had to do. By the time his lawyer got up to speak Draco had stopped listening.

Simon was brief and to the point. By contrast, Granger seemed to talk for hours. She spoke passionately about human rights and second chances and everyone seemed to be buying it. Despite that, when it all finished, they took hours to decide.

Eventually a decision was reached and someone stood up to announce his fate.

"Mr Draco Lucius Malfoy, we hereby renounce the decision made on the 2nd of June, 1998."

Just like that, it was over. Everyone began to disappear and Draco looked around in confusion. Simon seemed equally confused, and Hermione was already striding away.

"That's it?" He asked in surprise. It was barely a full sentence. They had spent all day in the hall; he had expected a grand speech.

"That's it." Simon confirmed. "There will be a follow up meeting at the Ministry, I'll notify you of that-"

Draco ignored him as the chains binding him to his chair fell away. He stood up, trembling, and began to run, following the flash of brown hair.

"Granger! Wait!"

She didn't stop, or even look back. She actually seemed to be walking faster. Finally he caught up with her and grabbed her arm. Immediately a man drew his wand but the witch shook her head. "Relax."

She turned to face him, her face unreadable. "What do you want?"

Suddenly he had nothing to say. She stared at him as he stood, mouth agape. After a few seconds he pulled himself together. "Thank you."

"Thank you?"

"You just saved me-"

"I'm the reason you were there in the first place." she said dismissively.

"Hermione-" He looked surprised. Draco hadn't meant to use her first name. "I don't blame you. Merlin knows I was guilty."

"You were a kid."

He nodded at that. He had been a stupid arrogant child and although he knew that it wasn't his fault, sometimes that was difficut to remember.

"Do you want- Can I buy you a drink?" He asked awkwardly, instantly regretting it.

She raised an eyebrow. "You just got out of prison. I'm assuming that the dementors didn't let you keep your belongings? We do still use money to buy things."

Draco flushed, but before he could say anything she continued to talk. "Although the Manor has been seized by the Ministry, along with your other family homes, most of your Gringotts vault has been protected, and you should be able to access it by tomorrow."

His heart fell. His family home, like his parents, was gone.

"Perhaps I should buy you a drink." Hermione said, but he shook his head. Suddenly he didn't feel like celebrating. All he wanted was to go home and sleep, but even that was beyond his means.

"I suppose I'll just go and find a bridge somewhere." He said, a joke that sounded sour even to him.

She looked down at her feet. "You could stay at mine." she said, clearly reluctant.

"Thanks, but I owe you enough."

"Well then at least let me pay for a room in a hotel somewhere. Honestly you'd be doing me a favour - if the press find out that I left you to sleep on the streets then they'd be merciless."

He began to protest but she cut him off. "You can pay me back tomorrow."

Two years later they would look back on the day of his trial as a day of hope, of new beginnings. Hermione would always be thankful that she had managed to dredge up enough generosity to offer Draco kindness, and he would be forever grateful that he had found the humility to accept it.

She had helped him to readjust and he had taught her how to forgive. She took him shopping and helped him learn to cook. Together they visited his parents' graves and she saw how much he had changed. He forced her to reexamine her values and showed her that she didn't have to judge so harshly.

It was a shock to everyone. None of her friends could understand what she was doing, and at first neither could she. But somehow, through helping him, she was finally able to deal with her memories from the war. He helped her to lighten up and enjoy life.

After two years, no one was surprised when he finally gathered up the courage to ask her out, and Hermione was amazed by her friends' acceptance. Their relationship was symbolic of the way the world was changing, and the way that sometimes the most ridiculous ideas were the most perfect.