Good lord I am so sorry this didn't come out until now. I have been so stuck on getting thorough this chapter and I honestly hate it to bits. But it's here now, and I'm sorry it's like this.
Also, I am going back to the past chapter, and reworking them a little bit. So if suddenly this is updated but it's like, 'what? There's no new chapter?' it's because I fixed a different one.
Hopefully this chapter gets a bit more attention than the last. Please, please let me know your thoughts, especially if I'm not hitting the right niche here.
And since I haven't done this in a while, I don't own this.
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Hermione, Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley worked their way through the Ministry's immense Floo networking room. Mr. Weasley had owled Kingsley earlier, before they left the Burrow, on a subtle entrance into the Ministry, so as not to show Harry off to the world and risk being mobbed. Kingsley had regrettably informed them that the Ministry would be unable to give Harry and the rest of the group any type of security, as most of the Death eaters trials were being held today, and Aurors were hard to come by. So, Hermione had cast a small disillusionment charm on the three of them, hoping to distract most people enough to get by them without a problem. The Malfoy trial wasn't meant to start for another fifteen minutes, but Mr. Weasley was trying his best to rush them down as quickly as possible.
"Dad, slow down a bit, yeah? We've got lots of time," Ron complained, hoping to slow down the speeding older wizard. Mr. Weasley ignored his son; continuing a silent speed walk to the lifts. Harry seemed content with the pace; still glancing around nervously like someone would jump out and tackle him. Though, once she thought about it again, Hermione figured he may have a right to expect that. The three of them really hadn't gone out of their way to show themselves in a public setting. The most Hermione got out was to Diagon Alley to visit the joke shop or purchase a new book. Her last foray into the wizarding world with her best friends had ended in a Witch Weekly cover, and with everything that had happened since then, she was hoping their Ministry visit would go unnoticed.
They reached the lifts and crowded inside, Hermione fitting herself between Harry and Ron's shoulders. Mr. Weasley manoeuvred to stand directly in front of her, partially covering half of both Ron and Harry's faces. She smiled at his back, suddenly glad to know such a wonderful wizard. The lift only stopped at two floors, letting in a meek looking witch, and a bored, half-asleep wizard, before it deposited all six of them on the black, damp floor. Harry had to move out first, dislodging the res t of them from their tight spot in the lift. They once again followed Mr. Weasley to a large door marked 'Courtroom 4' and pushed it open to reveal a half filled courtroom, full of loud murmurs from the already present Wizengamot.
"Don't just stand there, move along. Take a seat on the opposite side, the Wizengamot sits adjacent to witnesses." Mr. Weasley stage whispered, making Hermione wince slightly when his voice bounced around the room, and grabbed some unwanted attention. She pushed on Harry's shoulder, forcing him to move his feet and lead them to the second room of seats. The whispering and conversation had ceased quickly, and picked up just as fast. Only this time, she could distinctly hear their names being bounced around in conversation. Finally, once they'd been seated, Kingsley came lumbering into the room; a small entourage of two Auror's following at his sides. He came marching up to their small party, drawing even more attention than they had upon entering themselves. Once he was right in front of them, the Minister of Magic thrust his wand out and pointed it into Hermione's face.
"What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?" He thundered out in his deep voice, startling Ron and Mr. Weasley who had seated themselves on either side of her.
"Kingsley, you know it's her," Mr. Weasley said, perhaps hoping to draw attention away from her.
"No Arthur, Hermione and I have quite an extensive system set up between the two of us. I will know," He didn't stop looking at Hermione, who wasn't breaking eye contact, while running through every answer they'd learned together over in her head. It took her longer than it perhaps should have, but finally she grinned and said, "M,"
"M?" Harry asked, but Kingsley did not move. Hermione nodded; proud of herself for figuring it out.
"The letter 'M', Harry." Kingsley smiled at her, then at the boys and lowered his wand.
"Very good Miss Granger, it's good to see you all here unharmed." Mr. Weasley nodded and brought the conversation to include just he and Kingsley, and the two Aurors to position themselves a ways away from their group, but still within reach. Hermione occupied herself with looking around the large oval courtroom.
It was almost completely filled now, every witch and wizard involved in conversation with their seat mates. The ceiling was filled with a murky looking cloud, and held Hermione's attention for quite a bit before she fully grasped what was filling the space between them and the roof.
"Harry?" She whispered loudly making a grab for his sleeve, making sure he was paying attention to her. He looked over quickly, looking around her for what could have caused her to react, until he followed her gaze up to the Dementors floating around, and making delayed grabbing motions with their skeletal hands.
"Oh, right I forgot about them. They can't get us 'Mione. They're here for insurance with their prisoners." He explained rather calmly, but it didn't relieve her fear of them looming over her. So distracted was she by the floating prison guards, that she missed the arrival of the new Chief Wizard, Vincent Ogden.
"Let's begin please, settle down. Bring in the accused Melcoff," a tough looking wizard nodded from the floor, and waved his wand above the center of the room, raising what looked like a birdcage. As the cage was lifted higher, Hermione realized it essentially was a birdcage for people. The three crowded in the small space looked mangy and dirty, none of them making eye contact with a single person in the room. With a gasp, Hermione realized the mangy trio in the cage were the proud family of Malfoy.
Ron slipped his hand into hers, delivering a sharp squeeze, and she knew he understood. The Malfoy's looked awful. Lucius was the lowest of the three, sitting on the ground of their enclosure, hugging his wife's leg and keeping a strong fist full of his son's pant leg. Narcissa looked ashamed, but Hermione couldn't tell if it was of herself or more of her husband. Draco, Hermione thought, looked rather disgusted at his father. His clothes were ratty and most likely from a past prisoner in Azkaban, and they hung off in a drastic fashion from his bony shoulders. His hair hung greasy and long in front of his face, breaking apart to reveal his eyes and long nose. He was glaring at the entire front row of Wizengamot wizards, glancing over each of them, and moving to the next row when he couldn't find whoever he was looking for. Every time he passed to the next row, Draco's entire body seemed to be relaxing in relief. That is, until the Chief Wizard began to speak, and he went stiff all over again.
"Mr's Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, you three are found guilty of aiding and abetting You-Know-Who in the past war at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and some cases from the years before. Mr Lucius Malfoy, you are also found guilty of being a known Death eater, confirmed by three witnesses. How do you each plead?" Ogden rumbled out, his voice lowered a pitch or two, like he was trying to act tough. Hermione thought he just sounded a bit like he was trying to swallow a dragon egg.
Lucius didn't say a word, or move a muscle. Hermione worried maybe he had been put into a full body bind. Narcissa was the one to speak up for herself first, pleading guilty. Ogden nodded and made a note on something on his podium. He looked back to Lucius, as the head of his household; he should have spoken first in this scenario.
"He's guilty," Draco burst out, gaining many grumbles and disapproving looks, but Ogden never the less wrote down the plea for Draco's father. "As am I. Guilty, that is. But with exceptions."
Ogden outright laughed at Draco's plea, but wrote it down anyway. Draco didn't crack, continuing to watch him shuffle through his paperwork, and basically draw out the silence as long as he could, "What are you exceptions, Draco?" Hermione cringed to herself, silently thinking Ogden was treating him a bit like a child who'd stuck his hand in the cookie jar. Draco Malfoy stood straighter still, his chest puffing out in the same arrogant fashion he had adopted throughout their years in Hogwarts. Again, Hermione regarded him as a small child, acting tough and over mature to prove a point for himself.
"I am guilty of the things I've been accused of, however my actions were influenced by a third party," His words were well practised and sharp, his eyes not moving away from Ogden until he looked at his father in contempt at 'third party'. Ogden dutifully made a note of this, Draco causing many different forms of curious chatter throughout the crowd.
"Bring in the first witness, we haven't got all day now," Ogden gestured to the same man who had raised the Malfoy's from the floor, Melcoff, and had him come closer to where the three of them were sitting with Mr. Weasley and Kingsley were sitting.
"Mr. Weasley?" Melcoff raised his hand in invitation, gesturing for Ron to move forward to the empty chair meant to hold witnesses. Ron gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze and slipped their fingers apart. Once he was seated Hermione finally looked away from her friend to watch Ogden and Draco. Ogden looked as if he could care less, but Draco had shifted from cool and collected to a frazzled mess once again.
"You are Mr. Ronald Billius Weasley, of The Burrow on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?" Ron assented that he was and began his questioning on the Malfoy's. Hermione tried to memorize everything Ogden asked Ron about, but after the fifteenth question, she began to drift and lost focus. Most of what she caught surprised her. Ron seemed quite forgiving towards their old schoolmate.
"Final question, Mr. Weasley. Do you agree with the accused pleas of guilty?" Ron paused now, taking a few more minutes to answer than the past questions.
"I believe Mr. Malfoy to be completely guilty, no doubt. Mrs. Malfoy was, er, persuaded I think, to continue with her husband's choices. And Draco," now he almost stopped, and tried not to turn and look back and Hermione and Harry, "I think he did what he had to, to help his family." No one made any comment of Ron's answers, and he was sent back to his seat next to Hermione.
"Miss Granger, if you would please allow me?" Melcoff asked of her, leaving his hand outstretched to give her a hand. She thought of taking it, but waved it off, lowering herself from the tall steps, manoeuvring in her skirt as well as she could. Melcoff retracted his proffered hand, but followed her to the seat. Once she was situated, she looked up, trying to ignore the small burning happening across her cheeks. Vincent Ogden was staring down at her in mild interest, but she kept her head up and didn't look over at the cage to her left.
"You are Miss Hermione Jean Granger, of the Burrow on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?"
"Yes," she answered tersely, not coming off as sweet as she had wanted. Ogden noted this once again on his podium.
"We will be taking a different point of view with your question, Miss Granger. Please describe to us, your first conversation with Draco Malfoy in your second year of Hogwarts." Hermione didn't know what to say. She sat back and had to think back to that year, what conversation they could possibly want to hear about.
"Oh, this is unfair," she blurted out, causing Melcoff to chuckle as the secretary, Pennilynn, startled from her quill and paper. If she had looked over, she would have noticed a dry smile crack Draco's lips.
Ogden didn't seem to appreciate her candor, "Miss Granger, answer the question." Hermione sighed drastically, perhaps being a bit too liberal.
"I do believe you're addressing the conversation during a Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch practise. If so, then I can say Draco called me a mudblood. Which, I am," Melcoff chuckled behind her, but she stopped herself from glaring at him.
"That is correct Miss Granger, was this the only time Draco and the rest of the Malfoy family used this term towards you?"
"No,"
"Would you please describe the events that transpired at Malfoy Manor, in May of 1998?"
Hermione could almost feel the tension radiating from Harry and Ron, as she sucked in a shocked breath. This was unfair.
"Could you build on that, please?" She asked meekly, chastising herself for sounding weak in this moment. Ogden didn't exactly glare at her, but he wasn't hiding his disapproval.
"It's been recorded that the skirmish at Malfoy Manor involving the 'Golden Trio', also included Bellatrix Lestrange; would you please grow on this event and what transpired between you and Ms. Lestrange?" Hermione felt completely frozen now, and couldn't seem to move her mouth. It had already been a year since their search for horcruxes. "Miss Granger?"
"Yes, I just," a sharp breath ripped through her lungs, shocking her back into reality, "okay," She took another deep breath and began her tale. "We were brought to Malfoy Manor by Snatchers because they noticed Harry's scar. Once we arrived, Draco was brought in to identify Harry through the Stinging Jinx I'd cast on him, in hopes of hiding him. For the record, Draco denied being able to spot Harry's face through the jinx. It was here Bellatrix discovered one of the Snatchers had pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of my bag. She cursed them all, and kept the sword with her as she then questioned me on how we came to have the sword,
"Harry and Ron were thrown in the dungeon downstairs, and I was kept by Bellatrix where she continued to use the Cruciatus Curse to try and gain information. She believed she had the sword illegally stashed in her vault to keep it safe for You-Know-Who, while she in fact had a duplicate. I was Crucioed, beaten and scarred. I blacked out soon after a friend of ours, a house elf mind you, helped us escape." Hermione stopped and looked back up to Ogden, realizing she had been staring at the floor boards while recounting her story. She ignored the Chief Wizard and looked around the seats next to him, and couldn't help the grin from forming on her face when she noted most of the witches were crying for her. Oh, when Fred heard about this.
"You may be seated Miss Granger," Ogden cleared his throat; she nodded and stood up once more without Melcoff's help. She couldn't tamper down the annoying proud feeling she felt in her chest, as Harry began his questioning. Most of the Wizengamot had sobered and peppered themselves up, watching Harry in complete interest as he sat down and stayed silent in his chair.
"You are Mr. Harry James Potter of Grimmauld Place, Number Undisclosed, as well as the Burrow, on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?" Ogden asked once again, and Harry agreed that he was. "Mr. Potter, please describe aloud your previous assessment of the Malfoy's."
Harry nodded, and scooted himself further up on the chairs seat, "Everyone who's met us knows Draco and I don't see eye to eye, and never will. But in the last year, Draco and I've come to a silent understanding." Ogden looked severely confused, and leaned over his podium like he was trying to intimidate Harry.
"Mr. Potter, do explain please," Harry went on to explain how Draco had been helping them; though by Ron's indignant scoff, Hermione figured the idea sounded more farfetched than Harry thought it was. He told everyone about their snatching, and being dumped in front of Draco to be identified, and being thrown into the dungeon after Draco refused to say who he was. Harry tried to think of another quick example but couldn't seem to think of anything fast enough. Ogden was beginning to look more unimpressed by the minute.
"Oh! In the Forbidden Forest, when I was facing Voldemort!" The entire room seemed to twitch at the name, but Harry went on, "once he sent the Killing Curse at me, and I-er-let's say I 'woke up', he sent Narcissa over to check if I had died. Now, by then, I was breathing properly, and was trying not to open my eyes and see what was happening. Narcissa reached my side, and knelt down to lean over my body. I was terrified; this woman was holding a wand and could have killed me again, and I wouldn't have woken up this time. But she had leaned over to cover me, allowing her to whisper a question in my ear, and giving me a chance to answer without anyone else noticing,
"'Draco,' she had said. When I didn't answer, she asked again, asking if her son was alive. I nodded, and she turned and lied straight to the Dark Lord's face, and said I was dead. Now, I know this may not be ground breaking, or any reason to excuse what this family has done. But, the only reason I'm still alive is because people helped me, and they were some of the biggest aids." Harry finished his speech, and stopped talking all together. Hermione couldn't believe it; she kept her mouth shut and waited for everyone to digest what had been said. Eventually, Kingsley had stood up and announced in his loud, booming voice, that the Wizengamot should reconvene to address both Narcissa and Draco's sentence, while it was clear Lucius was being sent back. Ogden nodded his agreement, and snapped Lucius Malfoy's wand unceremoniously.
Hermione watched the small broken family be separated from cage, Lucius staying inside, and the other two being taken out and shackled together. Lucius looked like he was crying, reaching out for his wife, who only turned to her son and pet back his long hair. Hermione couldn't watch any more, and stood to leave silently; hoping Harry and Ron wouldn't take too much longer.
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The door to Weasley Wizard Wheezes was jam packed with kids varying in age, the oldest being only a few years younger than she. Hermione decided to wait until the initial rush had either made their way into the store or had been dragged away by their parents.
"Do you two mind if we pop in?" Ron grinned at her and nudged her side with his elbow.
"Need a quick snog there, Granger?" Harry chuckled at the both of them and shoved a blushing Hermione closer to the shop.
"It's fine Hermione, we'll head back to the Burrow. You won't leave on your own right? Please wait for Fred," Hermione gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek and a wave to Ron before both boys went on their way opposite the joke store, while Hermione made her way towards the once more busy, bright orange threshold. Before she could reach for the door handle, another older wizard, with an old fashioned camera the wizarding world tended to use around his neck, swung it open for her with a quick smile, allowing her to enter first. She smiled kindly and went in, immediately zeroing in on the cash register where the twins' single employee, Verity, was working her pants off, but managed to keep a relatively sunny smile on her face. Once she spotted Hermione, she gave her an extra large smile and gestured for her to come closer.
"Well well, if it isn't the future Mrs. Weasley-number-four! Or would it be five, I honestly don't know which one is technically older?" Hermione laughed at the witch, glad the two of them got along so well. Honestly, with the amount of time she would be here, it was good not to have a bad relationship with her. Being on the bad side of someone who worked in a joke shop didn't seem like a smart choice. She took a seat off to the side of the counter, allowing Verity to continue to check out her current customer and sent them on their way.
"Number four; I've overheard this argument before so I asked their mother." Verity nodded sagely, like Hermione was the smartest woman she had ever met, which only set the bushy haired witch off on another round of laughter. The next customer was a young boy with a pile of Skeeving Snackboxes piled up in his arms. He struggled for a minute to place them all carefully on the counter and then reached over to grab a Canary Cream and placed it on top of the pile. Verity was holding back her giggles behind her hand as she watched the boy place his purchase so carefully before her. Hermione on the other hand was already reaching forward to hold them if they suddenly decided to collapse.
The young boy grinned up at her when she had to snatch one out of the air as it finally jumped from its treacherous position, "Fanks, miss." Hermione's chest constricted at the boy's obvious lisp. He couldn't have been older than six, and probably shouldn't have been buying these pranks on his own. Verity finished up with the money he had passed to her, and was trying to fit them all into a bag.
"What have we here? Two beautiful young women without a companion? 'Tis a tough decision, but I will take one for the team," George announced loudly from behind Hermione's chair, landing a large, wet kiss on her cheek. The little boy gave them a grossed out face and left with another 'fanks' thrown at Verity. The young witch gave her boss a weird face but turned to the next customer in line without comment. Hermione in turn looked over at George, fighting the grin trying to flit across her face.
"Hullo George," he grinned and said 'hi' back, popping up to sit on the counter behind the two girls. Verity looked back at them, once more with a strange quirk to her brow,
"Merlin you're not even Fred? Oh, this relationship is so weird." She turned back and told herself to ignore it. George grinned at his employee and turned his attention to Hermione once again.
"My less-attractive-than-me twin is in the back, finishing up the first test of our new product as punishment."
Hermione felt like she shouldn't ask, but she still asked, "Punishment for what?" George only grinned and chucked her under the chin.
"Never you mind dear future twinster-in-law." She gave him another strange look, but ignored it this time. She watched Verity check out a few more customers, and glanced around the store hoping to find a distraction until Fred came out. Hermione spent the next ten minutes watching the young witches and wizards play with the prank filled shelves. She thought she saw a bright flash on her left, but George was blocking her view of what it could have been, and eventually gave up on amusing herself.
"Is it okay if I go see Fred? Or is this test not safe?" George waved her away, hopping down and going to a couple of young girls, trying to catch themselves a Pygmy Puff. Hermione got down off her chair and made her way slowly through the crowd. Eventually she made it to the back room, where the large magenta door held a large sign that boldly read, 'Weasley's Only' with the smaller print underneath that said 'Potter's Too'. She grinned and pushed the door open, feeling the light shield pass over her as she entered the room.
"Fred?" A loud explosion answered her and she rushed to the very back, where she saw a vibrant green slime crawling up the walls, and a completely covered Weasley twin standing in the middle of it. He was looking right at her and they stared at one another for a minute before he broke out in laughter. She watched the green slime continue to crawl up the wall and reach the ceiling, where it continued to swing itself to the chandelier.
"If that wasn't a good representation of our future, love, I dare you to find a better one." Fred continued to belly laugh as Hermione raised her wand arm with a sigh, and began to try and wrangle to green ceiling monster.
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Ugh. I'm sorry this is so bad. And so late. This is a terrible ending, but I couldn't go on much longer without it dragging. I need to start anew! NEW CHAPTER ON THE WAY! Promise
AJ