CHAPTER 5
Harry grudgingly woke up the next day. He was back in the spare room, so that he wouldn't miss Ginny as badly. He got ready slowly, lazily, almost unwilling to go to work, but he had to. Today was the day of the conviction of one of the last Death Eaters. He had to be present, because he was the one who had solved the case. Thankfully he remembered this before getting ready; whenever one was in the courtrooms, they had to wear formal robes. Harry had a pair of robes he had kept for special occasions such as these and Ministry parties. One was grand and could be called part wear, and the other was pretty somber. He chose the somber one. Trials weren't a party.
Because of his lethargic start and slow breakfast, Harry was almost late for the Trials. He hurriedly Apparated to the Ministry and wove his way through the crowd. He reached the elevators and luckily, there was still one at his floor. Heaving a sigh of relief, he dashed to the elevator. Another man, who seemed to be in an equal hurry, was dashing to catch the elevator too. They both entered the elevator at the same time, and in same panting breaths, they cried "Court Rooms!". The grilles closed, but the tension inside the elevator had increased. The voice sounded very familiar to Harry, like a voice he had heard all his life, a voice that had always taunted him and his friends. It couldn't be, Harry thought. He shook his head in disbelief. He was just imagining. Besides, he had a more important thing in his mind, like trying to make the elevator go faster. He checked his watch; four more minutes to go. He prayed fervently that he should make it. This was his biggest case so far, and all Aurors were expected to be present at the Trials of the rogue wizards they had caught.
It was a matter of pride and honour actually. And maybe also satisfaction. Aurors spent loads of time trying to track and capture their targets in the most inconspicuous ways possible; trying not to make big scenes. They spend sleepless nights trying to catch the targets, and seeing them getting their punishment is like satisfaction; satisfaction that all their hard work has paid off.
As far as Harry could think and remember, no Auror had ever missed a Trial of their targets. If he, Harry Potter missed his, then not even his fame could help him from being scorned at by his colleagues. In fact, they already were jealous that he got off easy during Auror training. They thought that he got off easy because he was the Boy-Who-Lived and the Saviour of the Wizarding World AND that he knew Kingsley personally, which he tried explaining, was NOT the case, but in vain.
Finally, the elevator came to a stop at the Court Rooms level. As soon as the grilles opened, he and the other man, who had come in with him, dashed off towards the same court room. They entered just in time, before the judge started the session. Both of them scrambled in among the audience and heaved a common sigh of relief. Might as well find out and introduce himself to the man who accompanied him here, of sorts. He turned his head and opened his mouth to say hello, but nothing came out. His green eyes grew wide in astonishment and unbelief behind his glasses.
The man sitting next to him was concentrating very keenly on the court proceedings. His hair was silver blond, and was sleek. The strands were carefully kept in place, and not a single strand was out of its place, unlike Harry's. The man's hair, was in fact the antithesis of Harry's dark, untameable messy hair. It looked so soft that he wanted to run his hand through it to mess it up and feel the softness of the locks. His face was covered with hard planes and sharp features. No one could have possible been as pale as him, and hi skin looks so smooth and soft, that Harry wanted to cup the man's face with his hands and run his thumbs over the high prominent cheekbones, to confirm the softness the skin radiated. It made him look delicate, like a flower, but his deep grey eyes emitted such confidence and concentration and hardness, that it felt that he was not a person to be messed around with. Overall, he was breathtakingly handsome. It resurfaced something in Harry, he never thought would surface again, especially after he got together with Ginny; the fact that he was actually bisexual. The face was painstakingly familiar to Harry, something that he saw most of his time at Hogwarts, and tried his level best to avoid, and he felt embarrassed to admit that the face, now took his breath away. It was none other than Harry's arch nemesis, Draco Malfoy.