Granger's Café

Pairing: Draco/Harry.

Other pairings: Ron/Hermione. Sirius/Remus. Lucius/Astoria. Lucius/Ginny [implied]. Teddy/James.

Disclaimer: Hermione decides that the drama in the wizarding world is growing too much. She decides to open up a café in the muggle world, so as to enjoy simplicity during the day. Little does she know that one of the applicants for a job there, will cause a whole new circle of drama for her. And how exactly will her little café benefit Harry and Draco's lives, and how will it banish the drama from both worlds they live in? You know what they say, about Granger's café; her food is like magic, that's what they say, because it keeps all your problems and troubles at bay.

A/N: Thank you to everyone for their love and support and keeping my spirits after I got flamed last week. I only let it bother me for a little while, but it's still nice to have some supporters out there :3

Chapter Forty-Eight:

The Trial

Part 1

June continued hot and heavy outside the double-glazed windows. More and more people flooded to the cafe for smoothies, ice creams, iced teas and an out of the way place to sit and chat. For the most part Draco and Harry had settled into a comfortable routine. There had been a few bad days where Harry would finish a shift and come upstairs to relieve Draco of his babysitting duties, only to find their daughter in her high chair with snot dripping down her nose, and her eyes wet and red, whilst Draco had locked himself in the bathroom, chanting, "Shut up shut up shut up!" It had broken Harry's heart, especially with the progress that they'd been making, even suggesting that Draco go to see a counsellor once a week. They'd only been to two appointments. When asked, Hermione had offered that it might be the stress of the trial that was playing heavily on Draco's mind. They'd taken it all one day at a time.

The last few days of June had passed without incident, when a barn owl started tapping on the window in the kitchen. Harry wiped up some formula from their daughter's chin and stood up from the table to go and get the parchment from the owl's leg. Draco watched him go as he took control of the spoon and fed small a spoonful to his daughter's gurgling mouth. The warmth from the summer breeze drifting in through the window helped to keep his nerves calm, as he watched Harry from the corner of his eye. He felt his stomach knot a little as he watched the brunette man's shoulders tense up as he read whatever was in the letter. A gurgle drew his attention back to his daughter.

"What are you reading over there?" he asked in a low, level voice, as he dabbed another blotch of formula from her chin. He didn't want to upset her by raising his voice. He was trying so hard to be good and calm lately.

It was a moment before the shuffling noise crossed the kitchen and Harry slumped down in his chair. He tossed the letter out onto the table top and raked both of his hands through his hair and groaned. Draco glimpsed down at the letter and saw that it bore the seal of the Wizengamot. He felt a shiver run down his spine that was quickly dispelled when Harry reached over and placed his fingers on Draco's elbow. "It's just giving us the time and dates of Ginny's trial. We both need to be present and give information. Do you think you'll be alright to go?"

Draco nodded lightly, "Yes, I think I can manage it. My part will be small in comparison to yours, and at most I will just have to give memories to support what few statements I have to offer."

Harry gave a small smile and leaned over to press his forehead against Draco's shoulder, "It's in a week. We'll have to find someone to look after trouble here," he grinned softly as he tickled their daughter under her chin from where she gurgled in her padded chair. "It'll probably go on for the better part of next week. Eurgh. And then we have to think about getting ready for when the kids come back from school." He dropped his hands from his tired eyes and in a low voice stated, "We didn't think this through, did we?"

Despite the question being rhetorical, Draco felt ice drip into his stomach. "Are you -" he cleared his throat, "Are you saying you wish you could take it back?"

"Baby, no," Harry crooned as he stood up to cup Draco's face in his hands and pressed a heated kiss to the blonde's forehead, "I don't want to change anything. I'm just worried. There's not much room here and the kids will probably get restless over the summer."

Draco hummed softly, "What about if we moved somewhere else? Somewhere with more space?"

Harry smiled, "I had thought of that. I had been looking at some places, actually, but I wasn't sure if you were up for looking at some. Things have been -on edge lately." He hedged, not wanting to upset the blonde.

Draco waved his concerns away, "I don't mean to be a burden, Harry, you know that. It's just been a tough year; one that I hope will be over very soon. And before you dare gush about, yes I would like to move in somewhere else with you and be a proper family." He quirked an amused eyebrow at the brunette who was smiling brightly. Turning his attention back to their daughter, he pulled her out of her padded chair, supporting her head as he eased her against his chest and shoulder, and patted her back softly. A little innocent burp made Harry chuckle as he stood up and started taking the cleared plates and empty glasses over to the sink.

As he started to wash up, he called over his shoulder, "We can go and see some before and after the trial if you like? Something to focus on other than being stuck in that stuffy room for hours on end."

Draco pecked a kiss to his daughter's forehead, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. Do you want to tell the kids or just let them be surprised?"

"I'll forewarn them, but initially they should know that they can't all live in this apartment, even with enlargement charms, and not bore themselves. I mean, why not a large garden? That was Al and Scorpius can play Quidditch and the little ones can run around when Hermione comes over to visit -What?" he asked softly as a warm smile spread of Draco's face.

"I love how passionate you get about the little things in life. It's one of the reasons I love you," crossing the kitchen, Draco wound his arms around Harry's neck and pressed a deep kiss to the brunette's mouth. He smiled even wider into the kiss as Harry hugged him back and squeezed him. He chuckled as he pulled away, "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to stay so positive lately, but ... well ... Thank you."

"Any time, darling," Harry grinned and pecked a kiss to the blonde's lips. A whimper from the adjoining room made Harry sigh happily and roll his eyes as he turned his attention to the fussing infant, "Alright madam, I think someone needs a bath!" he chimed out, wiggling his fingers in front of their daughter's face to make her smile. Draco watched them disappear around the corner, before he turned his attention to cleaning the rest of their utensils the muggle way.

Once everything was finished he dried his hand on a towel and went over to the table to read the Ministry's letter in more detail. He thought he would feel sick and want to lock himself away from the outside world. He didn't feel any of that. He felt a strange sense of calm course through him at the knowledge that both Lucius and Ginerva would be going on trial. 'Good' he thought as he rolled the scroll back up, 'the sooner they're locked away the better'. He tucked the letter into his back pocket and went to help Harry get their little girl ready for a walk in the park.

The following day found them all clustered into the kitchen-come-living room and watching the clock hung on the wall.

"Are you sure you want to give evidence today?" Harry asked as he watched Ron bounce Deborah in his arms and Hermione straightened the collar of Jason's little shirt.

Hermione frowned up at Harry but shook her head, "Harry, honestly, you don't need to worry. Molly is taking today to look after the kids while we go to court, and I want to give my evidence as soon as possible, providing they call me up. And considering recent events, it may very well happen otherwise I wouldn't be going at all."

She had a point and before Harry could protest, Draco walked into the room as he fixed his cuff-links. "Harry don't start getting worked up before you need to. She's coming today and that's final. Try and relax," he stated matter-of-factly, a grateful smile from Hermione shot his way, as he stood behind Harry's chair. Harry huffed but couldn't object as he felt the blonde's strong hands kneading his shoulder muscles. He was far too tense as it was.

"When are we due at the Ministry?" Harry asked as he ran a hand through his fringe.

"Ten o'clock. We should leave within the next five minutes though, once Arthur and Molly come by for the kids," Hermione stated as she glanced up at the clock in the living room. It was already nine o'clock. They were cutting it rather fine. A honk of a car horn beeped through the air. "That'll be them," Hermione smiled brightly as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear, gathered Jason in her arms and motioned for Ron and Draco to follow her. At the door Draco turned around and waved their daughter's chubby little fist at him before following Hermione back downstairs.

Harry smiled after them not wanting to move from the table just yet. He didn't have the energy to deal with Molly's tearful words, or Arthur's firm assurance that everything would work out within the next week or so.

He wouldn't mind seeing Ginny put in Azkaban for what she had done. If they didn't sentence her with at least a minimum sentence –of course, how could they not? –then he would need to get a petition signed for her to at least be exiled from the country and unable to return again or at the very least to have her wand snapped in half. All of this wouldn't help Hermione heal her wounds, or help his daughter from seeing her mother in her nightmares, but at the very least it would give them a head-start on a happier life.

A knock on the door drew his attention up towards the door, to see Ron's smooth combed hair peeking around the frame, "Come on, mate, mum and dad are off now, so we should move too."

"Alright, I'll be right down," Harry grinned as he stood from the table, watching Ron's head disappear. Before leaving he drifted back to the fridge and smiled at the photo he'd taken of Draco, Astoria and their daughter in St. Mungo's. It always gave him some hope. Perhaps it would be a good day after all.

~0~

"All rise for the Minister of Magic, Mister Kingsley Shacklebolt!"

Everyone rose in the courtroom as they watched Kinglsey enter from a back room, his deep purple robes replaced by a formal black pair and a sleek, pointed cap on his bald head. With a curt nod, he seated himself and after a moment of hesitation everyone else in the courtroom seated themselves on the sleek, wooden benches. The red robes of the Wizengamot seemed bright in comparison to the bleak, grey, black and green washed tiles. Harry suddenly felt very hot under the collar and he could feel both Draco and Hermione tense slightly beside him. Kinglsey looked down at the papers before him and shifted a few about before his thick heavy accent called out across the room, "Calling to order the Wizengamot court to witness the trial of Ginerva Molly Weasley and Lucius Abraxas Malfoy on the second of July two thousand and eighteen!" his voice rang out off the tiles.

He banged his gavel and the door at the back of the courtroom clanged open. A group of aurors in dark robes, Blaise Zabini and Cynthia among them, as Ginny was escorted into the courtroom. Apparently Lucius would not be tried today, or at the very least was being kept in a separate room for the time being. She was escorted into a small chair that was encompassed by a glistening gold and silvery shield. Gone was the chair of chains from back in Harry's fifth year. He found himself suddenly missing them, wishing the heavy iron would cut down into her waxy skin. He swallowed thickly and squeezed Draco's hand.

He was suddenly brought back from his musings as Kingsley's voice rang out, "Ginerva Weasley you have been called into attendance today to be tried on the grounds of negligence, verbal and psychological abuse, harassment, stalking, refusing to abide by the rules of your restraining order and finally, grievous bodily harm and physical abuse," he peered down over his podium at her defiantly set jaw and dull eyes. "How does your client plead?" he directed the question at the court-appointed lawyer, seated just off to the side of Ginny.

"My client pleads Not Guilty," declared her lawyer firmly.

Kingsley pressed his lips together, before turning to the courtroom, "I call Harry James Potter to the stand!" he boomed. With a thin sheen of sweat on his hands, Harry walked around and stepped up into the stand, his hand feeling empty without his wand as defence. "Now I want to call into question, the events of the 1st of September 2017," he called down at Harry, "According to documents and the press that was the day that you left Miss Weasley. Can you please state for the court, the reasoning for this sudden change of living arrangement?"

Clearing his throat, Harry started to speak, "It was after we had taken our children to Kings Cross for them to go to Hogwarts. Lily had wondered off and was brought back my Mister Malfoy. I was simply glad my little girl was unharmed, but Ginny decided she didn't want 'scum' to touch her daughter. When we got home later that night, Lily came to me telling me her mother was hurting her. Her face had been rubbed raw with small grazes on her chin. Ginny had been rubbing 'scum' off her face. I decided at that moment that I couldn't take anymore of her idiocy or small-minded views. I was sick of the infidelity and the lies and the emotional abuse and spending of my money. In the divorce I simply cut all ties to her, leaving her without our joint account and other shared vaults."

A murmur ran through the assembled people. "And why did you sign her off of the joint accounts?" Ginny's lawyer questioned.

A dark shadow passed through Harry's eyes, "She was spending money on frivolous things and neglecting our children. She travelled all the time with different boyfriends all the time. She even left Viktor Krum in my house alone with my daughter whilst she went out with her 'friends' and I was working late on a case."

"But if this was an established relationship -" the lawyer began, but Harry cut across him.

"A relationship taking place whilst she was married, moving the man into a house I bought with MY money, and then leaving him with my daughter when she had only known him a week!" he spat out, his anger slowly rising.

Clearly the lawyer could not do anything with this information, so he ducked his head and rifled through his papers, whilst Kingsley continued, "Now, Mister Potter, it has been stated that Miss Weasley has been harassing you and your family. Please, describe for the court how she went about this."

"She would send threatening letters to me and the children whilst they were at school. It got to the point where their letters needed to be checked. She even sent a letter to me saying she was pregnant with my child and wanted compensation."

"And this was not possible?" the lawyer asked with a sneer.

"Of course not," Harry stated suddenly calm, "Like I said she'd move her boyfriend into our house and I hadn't had sex with her for almost seven months prior to that. So no, there was absolutely no possibility that that child was mine."

"Well then if it wasn't yours, whose was it?"

"Lucius Malfoy's. She was desperate enough for a child she struck some sort of bargain with him. I can only state that after she miscarried that child, she became emotionally and mentally unhinged. As was proven by her actions last month."

"Objection!" the lawyer called out but Kingsley waved his hand with a heavy boom of, "Sustained!"

The lawyer cleared his throat, "Isn't it true Mister Potter that you had a minor drinking problem around the same time?"

"Wouldn't you?" Harry sneered lightly, "When you realize that your marriage is a sham and your wife is a whore and abusing your children and enjoying your money more than you are when she doesn't lift a finger to work?"

"Yes or no, Mister Potter?"

"Yes, I did get comfortable with the occasional drink." A vague bitter taste swelled on his tongue.

"And wouldn't an extremely powerful wizard under the influence of alcohol be more of a danger to a child than a vaguely absent mother?" the lawyer countered.

"Objection!" Hermione's lawyer called out, "He is leading the witness and putting words in his mouth."

Kingsley turned to Harry, "Mister Potter did you ever drink in a way that ever led your daughter to harm?"

"No sir," Harry stated, fighting to keep his anger under control.

"And did your daughter ever suffer at your hand, drunk or otherwise?"

"No sir, only at that of my wife. I ONLY ever drank late at night when Lily and everyone else were out or in bed."

Kingsley nodded and then turned his head to Harry again, "Thank you Mister Potter. You will be escorted into the next room to give some memories to support your claims."

It literally took three minutes for Harry to donate his memories as evidence in the room behind Kingsley's podium, before he returned to the seat beside Hermione and Draco. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath until he felt Draco squeeze his hand and reassurance. He allowed a small smile to tickle at his lips. The Minister's voice rang out through the courtroom, "Calling Ginerva Weasley to the witness stand!"

With a flick of the aurors wand and a firm grasp on her shoulder, Ginny was escorted to the stand where the cage-charm was reinstated around her.

"Now, Ginerva, please describe in detail the events of the 23rd June 2018," Kingsley's voice commanded.

Ginny swallowed and clicked her tongue for a few minutes, twiddling her long cracked thumbnails around in her hands before blinking up at the Wizengamot. "I went over to Hermione's house because I wanted to reason with her. I wanted to make amends so that I could try and be a good aunt to her children. I thought I was mentally strong enough to see her -but I ... I wasn't!" the forced break in her voice didn't make anyone bat an eyelid at her, "As soon as I saw her I got angry and jealous. Why did she get to keep her baby when mine had been stolen from me? Why did she get to be happy when my life was in shambles? Why her and not me?" she sneered darkly.

Ginny's lawyer stood up, "As you can see, my client was suffering deep emotional distress after her miscarriage. She was not in complete control of her emotions or her magic at the time. She claims to have had a memory blank at the time of the incident, which is fully supported by the emotional turmoil that she has suffered through the carelessness of those around her!" Smirking, he sat down and waited to see what happened next.

Kingsley looked up at the lawyer who Hermione had acquired, "Rebuttal?"

She stepped forward and cleared her throat, looking towards Ginny, "So what you're saying, Miss Weasley, is that you were so emotional unstable at this time of your life that you decided to breach your restraining order and flooed to Mrs. Weasley's house, is that correct?"

Ginny frowned, "I suppose so, yes."

"Then what exactly possessed you to tie Mrs. Weasley to her stove?" the lawyer asked, "Or was that a part of your memory blank?" a touch of sarcasm laced her words.

Ginny shook her head, "No I don't remember that," she seemed to stumble slightly over her words, her eyes flitting around the room.

Hermione's lawyer was unconvinced, "I'm sorry, Minister, but I refuse to continue this trial until Ginerva Weasley consents to taking veritaserum. I would like to call a short recess and allow her a chance to decide. If she does not consent then I would like to demand that she gives us her memories of the night in question."

"Objection!" Ginny's lawyer -Duncan -stood up, "You cannot force someone to give their memories!"

Hermione's lawyer -Michelle -whipped her head around and her cold eyes cut Duncan up like a fish, "I can demand whatever I like when your client shows obvious traits to with-holding information and perverting the course or Justice. She has been given her choice, not it's up to her to make it. And I would request that Aurors Zabini be present to ensure that none of the memories are tampered with." She addressed the final statement to Kingsley, and then raised a curt eyebrow to show just how serious she was.

It wasn't a difficult decision.

"Court will reconvene at 2pm this afternoon to ensure Ginerva Weasley makes her decision!" he banged his gavel once and the court was dismissed.

With a soft sigh, they shuffled out of the courtroom, trailed through the Ministry to the Muggle Street above. They all breathed a sigh of relief and wordlessly moved away through the throng of early afternoon shoppers towards a hotel so that they could grab something to eat. They had a good couple of hours until court reconvened. They didn't say anything until they had been shown to their table and had been served iced water and had been handed their menus.

Hermione glanced up at the pinched faces and exhaling deeply, she closed her menu and leaned over the table a little, "Harry, honestly, you should trust Michelle. She's ruthless at this sort of thing. Ginny isn't going to get anything except a jail sentence."

Harry rubbed at his eyes, "But why are they bringing up the divorce? That was over a year ago. I know she has yet to sign some of the papers, but it still doesn't need to be discussed."

Hermione shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Maybe they want to show you up badly, although that seemed to have back-fired a little."

"I hope so," Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Of course it did, mate," Ron insisted, "Along with your memories it won't take much to convict that little cow."

Draco gave a weak smile over at the redhead before leaning over to Harry, squeezing his forearm, "Come on, love, you'll be fine. You're part is over for the most part. I think Blaise has some of the blackmail she sent you so there's also that working in your favour. Up until now they've believed every word you've said and you have not been called out on it. That's a good sign. I mean, yes you have been telling the truth, but Michelle caught onto Ginny's bullshitting straight off the bat."

Harry gave a dry laugh and bowed his head with a smile, "I suppose that's something." His stomach gave a heavy growl, "Alright let's have a decent meal and go back down there and get through this nightmare. I can't wait for it to be over."

"I'll drink to that," Hermione sighed through her smile and raised her ice water to clink their raised glasses.

~0~

As it turned out, Ginny had subjected herself to having her memories extracted. Blaise had gone over and over them again to make sure that her memories weren't tampered with. However, it wasn't until two days later that Kingsley had reached the undeniable verdict.

That one awful evening was played out for everyone to witness and grimace at and cringed and looked away. Hermione tried not to let the tears fall into her lap. Ron took his hand in hers, squeezed it and pressed it to his mouth. She let out a shuddering breath before wiping at her eyes. There was no doubt about it. Mentally damaged or not, Ginny had breached her restraining order and assaulted a family member, endangering the lives of her unborn niece and nephew. Accompanied with the medical reports from St. Mungo's, she now had no grounds to stand on in her defence of assaulting Hermione and her children. The gut-wrenching fact that Hermione's heart had stopped during her operation -a fact that only Ron had known about -made the room suddenly turn cold.

This was no longer just a trial for assault.

It was a trial for attempted murder.

Attempted, purely based on the fact that the Healer's had managed to restart Hermione's heart within seventy seconds of it failing. Harry reached down and grasped Hermione's hand, whilst squeezing Draco's. He blinked away tears.

Kingsley, upon reviewing all of the information he had been given along with his own notes from the trial at hand, had been acknowledged the feeble attempted to defend Ginny's actions by kidnapping the child -Jason -and running back to Malfoy Manor. That part of the trial would have to wait for another day. The fact that she had squandered the vague settlement Harry allowed her out of sheer generosity and naivety on his part, on nothing but a new flat and car and clothes and nothing at all to 'support her dearly departed child' was just another strike against her.

The emotional and physical blackmail and abuse she had instilled on all of her immediate family and those around her was clear that not only was she mentally unhinged, but she was clearly unable to conform to the practice of law and needed to be confined to the floor of Azkaban for the criminally insane. She was convicted of being a danger to society and -once all her separate crimes were added up -she would be serving a minimum of seventy odd years in Azkaban Prison with no chance for parole.

No one batted an eyelid as she was escorted away, screaming profanity at the top of her lungs, or would have been if it hadn't been for Blaise's discreet silencing charm.

As part of the court order, Harry's marriage to Ginny was completely dissolved as her signature was no longer required since Criminally Insane prisoners were legally not allowed to consent or rebuke anything from within their cells. Harry was handed the paper stating all of this on his way out of the ministry with Draco, Ron and Hermione. They had all insisted on being there for the sentencing.

Still, the relief everyone had felt when Kingsley had declared, "GUILTY!" well, there was simply nothing that could compare to it. They all went their separate ways home from the Burrow with a feeling of relief coursing through them and a contentment that eased their minds from tipping over the edge.

As Harry settled their daughter in her cot, Draco wound his arms around his lover and pressed a kiss to the nape of his warm neck, "So you're officially divorced now," he breathed the statement through the air and then squeezed Harry a fraction tighter, "You're all mine now." He smiled and leaned up to kiss the shell of Harry's ear.

Harry chuckled, a low rumble that vibrated against Draco's cheek, "I love you, Draco." He kissed the side of the blonde's nose before leaning back against him, "We still need to name this little madam, don't we?" he murmured gently as they both looked down at their sleeping angel.

Draco nodded, "Nothing really seems to fit her too well."

"I know," Harry groaned softly before squeezing Draco's hands against his stomach, "Did you have anything in mind?"

He felt Draco shrug against his back, "As long as Astoria is her middle name, I can pretty much be happy with anything right now. I'm so tired of calling her 'little madam' all the time." Harry chuckled lightly and bent his head to rest it against Draco's. They stood that way for a few moments before Draco spoke again, "What about Cecelia?" he suggested softly, "It means new beginning. And if we've learned nothing this past year, is that we both need to start over."

Harry gave a soft smile and pressed a kiss to the corner of Draco's mouth, "I love it. I love her. I love you." He turned his attention back to the sleeping baby, "When we're next at the Ministry we should sign her birth certificate with that name and officiate it."

Draco smiled and blinked away a happy tear, "Sounds like a good plan to me." He turned Harry away from the cot and entwined their fingers together, tugging him towards the door of the nursery. Before he closed the door, he smiled back at his sleeping daughter, "Sweet dreams, my little Cecelia."

A/N: Thank you to FanofBellaandEdward for helping me choose the name for this little angel at long last!