A/N:I am so sorry for the uber late update. As stated on my profile on Tuesday, I had a 2000 word essay due today (Friday), and I really needed to finish that before I concentrated on writing. In saying that, I'm not very happy with this chapter...but it'll make do for now. It may seem a little repetitive and long, but in my opinion, very necessary.

Some background information before you read this: Harry and Draco do not hate each other anymore...nor are they friends, but they are on speaking terms. Draco did approve of the friendship between Alex and Dominique because he remembered back to the time when he wanted to befriend Potter. He's more open-minded now.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. :)

Chapter Eight: Breaking News

"Can we please see Alexandra Malfoy?" Dominique asked. She looked up at her mother, who gave her an encouraging nod.
The Welcome Witch looked at them wearily, shuffling her papers, "It has been instructed that Miss Malfoy only be visited by family. And clearly, you are not family, so please come back another time."
Fleur glanced around St. Mungo's. Dominique glared at the Welcome Witch. They were just about to turn away when a voice called out.
"Wait!"
The Welcome Witch stared at him.
"They are permitted to visit," he told the Welcome Witch in a cold voice.
She rolled her eyes at him. Dominique and her mother filed past her quietly and waited until they were out of earshot before speaking.
"Thank you, Meester Malfoy," Fleur, having just come back from a trip to France, said in a thick French accent. "And zey say that she eez here to welcome us to the hospital."
Draco Malfoy chuckled lightly. "How are you, Dominique?"
"I could be better," Dominique shrugged. Draco gave her a warm smile. He stopped outside the door, and motioned for them to be quiet.
"Alexandra, you have some visitors," he opened the door and said in a gentle tone.
Fleur and Dominique came into the private room. Alexandra looked at them.
"Who are you?" she asked.

THREE WEEKS AGO

"Look, Malfoy...Alex," Callum shifted his position. "I just need you to talk to me."
She hissed, curling up into a ball.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Callum said calmly. He reached out to gently pat her on the shoulder, but she lunged at him, her hands clasping around his throat.
Dominique screamed, as she and Ethan jumped up to pull Alexandra away. What in the name of Merlin was going on?

Ethan held Alexandra back as Dominique dragged Callum away from her.
"Woah," Callum said, still taken aback. "Thanks."
"Anytime," Dominique replied quietly. "Parkinson?"
"You go ahead, I'll meet you on the platform," Ethan said, for they were now reaching Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
Dominique and Callum headed back to their compartment, grabbed their trunks and stepped off the train.

"Dominique, there you are, we missed you, honey!" Bill Weasley called out as soon as he saw his daughter.
"Dad," Dominique hugged him tightly. Fleur saw the worried look on her daughter's face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Maman, Malfoy attacked Callum on the train," she said quickly, in a panicked voice.
Callum, who had gone to get his family, came over. He massaged his throat.
Fleur turned to her husband, "Where eez 'Arry? He will know how to handle this with Malfoy."
"At home," Bill replied. He muttered something under his breath and his Patronus cantered away amongst the students still filing out of the train. "He'll be here shortly. Are the Malfoys here?" he asks calmly.
They looked around the platform and spotted them standing in a secluded corner, waiting for the eldest daughter to hop off the train. Ethan Parkinson still hadn't gotten off. The Nicholsons greeted the Weasleys, waiting to see what course of action they were going to take next.
"Dominique, go tell them what happened," Bill noddded to his daughter.
"But Dad -"
"Dominique, go," Bill said a little more forcefully. "Callum, is it? Go with her."
"What's going on?" Victoire arrived, Teddy following just behind. Roxanne and Fred had wandered over too. Louis grabbed hold of his mother's hand.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy?" Dominique asked hesitantly. Callum hovered by her. His parents and sister stood talking to Dominique's parents.
They turned to look at her. Dominique noticed that their son was there too.
"Who are you?" Astoria Malfoy asked.
"This is Callum Nicholson. My name is Dominique Weasley," she glanced back to her family. "I was...I am a friend of your daughter's."
"Of course, we have heard a lot of about you," Draco Malfoy said. "Where is she then? I have an important meeting to attend."
"Mr Malfoy, Alex hurt Callum," Dominique said.
"She...strangled me," Callum elaborated.
"Are you sure?" Astoria's eyes widened. Dominique nodded. "No.."I don't believe it. My daughter wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Callum pulled back his collar to show her the bruises that were forming. Astoria's eyes widened. "Why?"
"She was acting weird last time I saw her...New Years," Scorpius Malfoy spoke up. They turned to look at him. "I don't know, we don't really talk much."
"I noticed a change in her around then too..," Dominique said.
At that moment, Harry Potter sprinted towards them.
"Dominique," he said, a little out of breath.
"She's on the train, Uncle Harry," Dominique pointed. "Ethan Parkinson is with her."
He nodded and sprinted off.
"Potter?" Draco asked Dominique before watching him run onto the train.
"He's an Auror," Dominique explained, with a hint of pride in her voice. "He'll know how to handle Alex...if she's dangerous."

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy," Bill came over, Fleur following him. The rest of the Weasleys, and the Nicholsons, stood in bewilderment watching them.
"Draco and Astoria, please," Astoria greeted them. "Mr and Mrs Weasley."
"Bill and Fleur," he replied. "I'm very sorry about this business with your daughter."
"We are too," Astoria took over the conversation, for Draco was sending off a note to the Ministry to tell them that he'd be late for the (apparently very important) meeting. "I'm sorry your daughter got involved. It's not something a young girl should be associated with."
Fleur nodded, absent-mindedly patting Dominique on the head.

"Let me go!" a piercing scream made all the commuters stop. "Don't touch me! My father will hear about this. Let me go!"
Harry emerged from the train, Alexandra slung across one shoulder, Ethan following him out, head bowed. He made his way to where his mother stood. Harry shot Draco an apologetic glance before mentally Stunning Alexandra. She slumped forward and went silent.
"She'll need to go to the hospital," Harry told the Malfoy family. "But I want to take her into my office for some tests and questioning first. Is that okay?"
Draco nodded curtly.
"You're welcome to come," Harry said. He turned to Bill and Fleur. "Is it okay if I take Dominique with me?"
Fleur, whose hand was on Dominique's shoudler, tightened her grip for a moment, but nodded hesitantly.

Dominique sat behind the tinted window with Draco, Astoria and Scorpius. Ethan Parkinson had decided that he had should go home, Alexandra didn't need him anymore. Callum was whisked off to St Mungo's by his paranoid mother, despite claiming that he was alright. Uncle Harry was behind the glass, examining Alexandra.
"Enervate," he muttered. She awoke, and screamed. Astoria winced. Draco took her hand. They had given Harry permission to Silence Alexandra and to Bind her, so that he could find out what was causing her strange behaviour. However, she was putting up a good fight. Even when Silent, she thrashed about in her chair, shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. Scorpius had to leave the room. Despite not talking much to his sister, he couldn't see her like this.

Half an hour later, Harry emerged from the room and addressed the Malfoys and Dominique.
"She's asleep," he said, in a grave voice. "I'm afraid that she has been tainted by Dark Magic."
"Dark Magic?" Astoria gasped. "Who? What?...Why!"
"How do you know?" Draco asked his former-arch-rival.
"Her eyes showed pain and suffering," Harry told them. "Don't ask me how I know that, when you've been working in this area for as long as I have...you just know. She's got bruises everywhere, which leads me to believe that she was being hurt. And the way she wouldn't say anything, it seems as if she was hiding something...perhaps a job that she had to do?"
"She was!" Dominique said, remembering the conversation she had when Alexandra was under the influence of Veritaserum. "She said that it was her job to get rid of all the Potter-Weasleys one by one."
"Why didn't you tell me this, Dominique?" Harry turned towards his niece.
"I don't know..." Dominique said. "I...I thought I could handle it."
"Bruises, did you say, Potter?" Draco's eyes narrowed.
"Yes. They look as if they're almost about to heal, but they're definitely there. Do you know how she's been getting them?"
Astoria looked at her husband, her face scrunched up in confusion, "The last time we saw her was when we came back from France to see her off at Platform Nine and Three Quarters after New Year's..."
"That's when she was acting weird," Scorpius added.
Astoria continued, "The rest of the time, she's been staying with your father..."
Draco inhaled sharply as realisation struck him. "THAT BASTARD!"
Dominique and Scorpius covered their ears.

'The Daily Prophet,
BREAKING NEWS: Lucius Malfoy Arrested at Malfoy Manor. Reported by your Daily Prophet correspondent: Rita Skeeter.
In an extraordinary case, solved by none other than the Boy Who Lived - Harry Potter - with the help of his arch-nemesis, Draco Malfoy, the rumours of a Death Eater reunion has been dispelled. Malfoy's daughter, who somehow ended up in the middle of this mess, ended up in hospital, though the reason is unknown. The elder Malfoy is due in the Wizengamot next week.'

"What utter rubbish," Hermione scoffed, putting down the paper. "A Death Eater reunion? Where does she get her information from!"
"Can I please read that, Aunt Hermione?" Dominique asked across the table.
They were at all the Burrow.
"Of course," Aunt Hermione handed the paper over.
Dominique scanned through it. "Well, she got a few facts right..."
"What was wrong with the Malfoy girl anyway?" Uncle Ron asked, glancing at the paper. Dominique looked from her parents to Uncle Harry, who nodded, allowing her to speak of the ordeal that Alexandra had been through.
"She was under the Imperius Curse," Dominique answered him. "And she was...she was hit...by her grandfather."
Grandma Weasley exclaimed, "I knew that Lucius Malfoy was ruthless, but hurting his own granddaughter! I can't believe it."
"Why did he do that, Dominique?" Grandpa Weasley asked slowly.
"He wanted...revenge," Dominique shuddered.
"Enough questions," Fleur said sternly. "My daughter has been through enough. Dominique, go play with Roxanne."

The week passed quickly, and all too soon, the day of Lucius Malfoy's hearing in the Wizengamot had arrived. Dominique followed her family into a large, cavernous room. She noddded to Ethan Parkinson, who sat with his mother, and to Callum, who sat with his elder sister and parents. Uncle Harry was there, seated already, and of course, the Malfoys had to be there too. Astoria and Draco sat together. Alexandra was still in hospital. Scorpius stared blankly at the roof, refusing to look down at the chair placed in the middle of the room - the chair that his grandfather was going to sit in.

Lucius was brought in, unconscious, and strapped to the chair. Aurors stood guard nearby, just in case he decided to do a runner. Draco looked down at his father in disgust. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic sat in the middle of the court room, one witch sat beside him, Uncle Harry sat on the other side and what looked like a scribe sat in front of him. The members of the Wizengamot whispered quietly to the people around them. Dominique watched as an Auror came in, holding a familiar-looking vial. She glanced at her sister. Victoire had noticed as well. She gave Dominique a small smile.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Are we ready to begin?" he asked in his loud, but calm, voice. The room fell silent. "Hearing of the second of July to offences committed under the Decree of Wizarding Justice by Lucius Malfoy, resident of Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England."
The scribe began taking notes at once.
Kingsley continued, in a booming voice, "Interrogators: Harry James Potter, Head of the Auror Office; Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic. Court Scribe, Katie Bell."
He looked down at Lucius. "Wake him."
Lucius looked a little stunned to be waking up in a court room filled with people, but he was not surprised.
"You are under the influence of Veritaserum," Kingsley said. "Do you understand?"
Lucius nodded.
"Now, please, tell me everything that happened. From the beginning."

"After Narcissa left me, good riddance, I thought that there was nothing to lose," Lucius said, his voice barely a whisper. The way he spoke, however, gave the impression that he had wanted to tell this story a long time ago. "When Alexandra came back home for Christmas, all she talked of was her new friend. A Weasley," he spat. "I knew that it was time to implement my plan. My well-thought plan that I had been saving for a long time."
"And what was that plan?"
"The Weasleys, and that Potter, seemed to enjoy the fact that my family was humiliated. We worked hard to build a reputation -"
"Kissing the ass of the Dark Lord," Draco muttered, his voice filled with contempt.
"- and it was time for them to feel how I felt." He took a breath before continuing. "I knew that the Weasley girl had some problems in the past. I have contacts at St Mungo's...they keep me informed of what's going on...I...I...conveyed that information to my granddaughter -"
"Don't call her that," Astoria muttered murderously under her breath.
"- but I told her not to spread the truth. Make it seem like the Weasleys had a disease, so no one would go near her. Isolate her and destroy her." He looked around the court room. "I told her that I wouldn't hurt her if she did it. But she wouldn't do it! That little witch defied me. She gave me an outright 'no'. So I hit her." His eyes glinted maliciously.
Astoria and Harry, who were sitting on either side of Draco, had to hold him back. Scorpius still refused to look at his grandfather, and Dominique held tightly onto both Victoire and her mother's hands.
"She screamed. I silenced her. She ran. I locked the doors. There was nothing she could do, but obey me. I warned her that if she tried to run, I'd put the Cruciatus Curse on her. That scared her. But she cried. A lot. So I performed the Curse anyway. I cast the Imperius Curse on her, I didn't really want to, it was my...last resort. But she wouldn't listen to me. And I'm sure you know the rest of the story. She did as I asked. But the Weasley witch figured us out. She tried to make things right. I told Alexandra to pretend, play along, and ruin her again. I had to protect my family."
"I hate you!" Scorpius screamed loudly, standing up.
"Sit down, Scorpius," Astoria said sharply. "Do not talk to him."
Lucius looked up at his grandson. "I did it for you, son."
"Silence!" Kingsley Shacklebolt shouted, as cries of disgust and indignation carried across the members of the Wizengamot.
Harry raised his hand and looked at the Minister. Kingsley tore his eyes away from Lucius and turned to his Head Auror.
"May I speak, Minister?" Harry asked. Kingsley hesitated before nodding. "Malfoy, you chose the path of the Dark side for your family, I helped to drop the charges that the Ministry wanted to pit against you. Perhaps, yes, you suffered humiliation, but at the end of the day, you walk the streets a free man, instead of rotting in the hell."
Many people nodded in agreement, muttering their assent. Before Lucius could reply, Kingsley called upon Scorpius Malfoy to understand the full story. Dominique was a little confused, because from the knowledge she had gained, only the accused brought in a representative and a witness. As Kingsley began to talk, she turned his attention to him.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you need to reply honestly. Do you understand?" he said pointedly. Scorpius nodded. "When did you see your sister acting strangely?"
"At New Year's when my mother, father and I went to see her off on the platform. She acted too friendly," Scorpius said, glancing up his mother every second word.
"And why wouldn't a girl like Alexandra be friendly to her younger brother?" Kingsley pressed.
"We've always kept to ourselves. When she moved to Hogwarts, I travelled with my parents. She keeps her distance and I keep mine."
Kingsley looked up at Astoria. "She stayed with her grandfather?"
Astoria nodded stiffly, a tear rolling down her cheek. Kingsley didn't push it, and turned back to Scorpius.
"Would you say that your sister is easy prey? That is to say, do you think she's weak?" Kingsley asked, treading carefully. He genuinely didn't want to hurt the Malfoy family, but at the end of the day, he needed to do his job.
"No, not at all."
"Thank you, Mr Malfoy. You may go sit down. Mr Parkinson?"

Ethan stood up.
"You have been friends with Alexandra since your childhood, is this correct?" Kingsley prompted.
"Yes, sir."
"When did you notice a change in her?"
"I...well...uh...she asked me...to help her," Ethan stammered. "She told me the plan..."
"I told her he could tell Parkinson," Lucius interrupted.
"Shut up!" Draco snarled.
Ethan continued, ignoring the two older men, "And because my mother is...quite fond of the Malfoy family...and because we had been friends for so long...and you know, she'd do the same for me...so I decided to help her."
"You didn't care about the consequences?"
"I didn't think," Ethan admitted. Pansy Parkinson put her head in her hands. "I just assumed that...you know, she finally wanted to act like a Slytherin."
Victoire hissed quietly in her chair. Dominique patted her hand.
"So you helped her to what? Humiliate Miss Weasley?"
"Yes. I just followed Alex's lead."
Kingsley nodded. "Miss Weasley?"

Dominique stood up, glared at Lucius before looking at the Minister.
"You befriended Alexandra on your first day at Hogwarts?"
Dominique nodded.
"Can you describe what she was like?"
"She was...she was nice and friendly...and she made me feel like I...I belonged in Slytherin. She had my back..."
"Until after the Christmas break, when she started spreading rumours about you," Kingsley prompted.
"Yeah, at first, I thought it was my cousin, Roxanne...but then I found out that Alex was behind it. And I needed to find out the truth."
"How did you do that?"
"I may have borrowed some Veritaserum..."
"May have?"
"Okay, I did borrow some. But I got the information that I wanted," Dominique said, wiping her sweaty hands on her leggings.
"What did you do when you got the information?"
"I tried to talk her out of it," Dominique replied. "She threatened to hex me if I got in her way."
"Did you get in her way?"
"No, I stayed out of it until Parkinson came running to me on the train."
Kingsley nodded, "Very well. Mr Nicholson, can you take it from here, please?"
Dominique sat down, and Callum stood up.

"What happened on the train?" Kingsley asked
"Ethan came into our compartment...he was worried about Alex," Callum recounted. "I volunteered to talk to her."
"Did she talk to you?"
"No, she didn't speak. She was acting weird though, like...she didn't want me there."
"And then she strangled you?"
"After I told her that I wouldn't hurt her. Now I know that it reminded her of what [he] said to her," Callum shuddered.
"Do you think she was fighting the curse?"
"Yes. She was aware of it...but like Mr Potter told us, she had been damaged by Dark Magic...she knew she was doing it, but she didn't know...if that made any sense..."
"Perfect sense, Mr Nicholson. Thank you, you may sit down."

Kingsley surveyed the room. "I cannot stress enough how utterly disgusting and traumatic this must be for the Malfoy family. For the past seventeen years, they've been trying their best to move their name from being associated with Voldemort and the Dark side...to have something like this happen is very unfortunate. Now I must ask you to think about what this man did to his own family. It is almost time to come to a decision of his fate."
After some wait time, Susan Bones spoke up. "Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?"
Nobody put their hand up.
"And those in favour of conviction?"
Everyone in the room, including Draco and Astoria, put their hands up.
"Convicted to a life sentence in Azkaban," Susan said loudly. "Good day to you all."

Before they left, Draco caught up with Dominique. "I know you want to visit Alexandra, but it will have to wait until next week."
Dominique nodded, showing him that she understood. Fleur and Bill waited anxiously for her by the door, watching Lucius being dragged away by the Aurors. Callum and Ethan, who had become fast friends because of this, stood by as well.
"Let's leave this mess behind," Dominique said as she approached them.

PRESENT DAY

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Her memory has been modified. Everything from the past year has been forgotten," Draco informed them.
"Hi, I'm Dominique Weasley," Dominique said, sticking out her hand. Alexandra smiled at her, "A Weasley huh? Don't tell me, you're in Gryffindor and we'll have to pretend to be enemies like my father and your Uncle Harry?"
Draco chuckled.
"Actually, no, I'm in Slytherin," Dominique smiled back.
"Great, so am I, apparently," Alexandra said. "I'm sure we'll be great friends."
"Yes, I'm sure we will," Dominique agreed.
Fleur looked at Draco and smiled. Maybe this mess was finally over.

'The Daily Prophet,
BREAKING NEWS: Lucius Malfoy DEAD – Reported by your Daily Prophet correspondent: Rita Skeeter.
It has been confirmed by the Ministry of Magic that Malfoy, aged 60, has died. He was found by Azkaban guards in his prison cell. There was no note, but one can assume that the reasoning behind this could be associated with the outcome of his hearing a few weeks ago. His will will be read to his family in the next week or so. The contents of the will, it has been confirmed, will not be released to the public.'

A/N: Like I said, not my favourite chapter...I hope it was alright! Tell me what you think?

Oh, and yes, Ethan Parkinson is Pansy's son...he took her last name because...well...let's just say that he doesn't really know who his father is...and Pansy would rather not bring him into their lives.

Also, you won't be finding out how Lucius died - I'll leave that for you to decide. I feared that writing it into the story would make it too...dark, and I really didn't want to hurt anyone who knew of someone in the situation that I had planned. So yeah, all you need to know is that he is now deceased.

Until next Wednesday...fingers crossed I get it done by then...haha! :) x