Harry hadn't seen the courtroom down in the Department of Mysteries so packed since the trials following the end of the second war. Usually court appearances were rather solitary affairs, with only the occasional spectator. But today the courtroom was packed, and there was a buzz of anticipation in the air at being witness to part of such a high profile case.
The press were out in full force, and a whole section of the courtroom was jammed with witches and wizards either wielding notebooks or cameras. A few of the photographers had even snapped his picture, but he ignored them as he continued to look around the courtroom, taking in the rest of the spectators.
Sitting as far away from the press as it was possible to get were the Flints and Goyles. Both couples looked pale and worried, and Harry knew they were all anxious about how the day would go. He was confident that Marcus and Millicent would leave the Ministry with at least one of their daughters, quite likely both of them, but that wasn't even an option for the Goyles. Their sons were destined for Azkaban, it just remained to be seen if they were both sentenced today, or if Xavier would drag out the torture.
Harry had actually spoken to Pansy and Gregory that morning, and he knew for a fact that they'd seen both of their sons. He hadn't been present at either meeting, but the Auror who had been there when they'd spoken to Xavier had confided that his parents had begged him to do the right thing and plead guilty. Harry hoped he'd listened to his parents and did as they asked, even if it was just to spare them the pain and suffering that a full trial would bring. However, Harry wasn't going to count on it as from what he'd seen of Xavier, he didn't seem overly concerned by the pain he inflicted on others, even those he was supposed to love.
Shaking his head at the thought of how cruel some people could be, he turned his attention to the other spectators that seemed to be made up of the general public. A few of them he recognised from around the Ministry, clearly eager to see what was going on. He even recognised a few of the lower ranking Law Enforcement personnel who had helped on the case, and he strongly suspected Ron would be putting in an appearance. But then he gaze landed on the familiar forms of his wife, oldest brother-in-law and youngest son. With a confused frown, he made his way to where his family was sitting.
"What are you three doing here?" he hissed. He was guessing some of the people present were just eager for gossip, but he hoped for better from his family.
"We're here to support Hermione and her family," Ginny answered. "I want her to know that we're here for her. In fact, I was hoping that if I could speak to her we could arrange to have dinner with her and Draco."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate the support," Harry admitted.
"And I feel involved," Bill supplied. "I spent a lot of time with Lucius while I was investigating the box, and I got to like him. Like Ginny, I'm here to show my support. And of course to see those little monsters get what is coming to them."
Harry nodded in understanding before turning to his second son. "And you? Why are you here?"
"I'm a trainee Auror, Dad," Albus replied as if that explained everything.
"I had noticed," Harry retorted sarcastically. "But you're nowhere near your courtroom training."
"I know, but this is the biggest investigation since the end of the war," Albus explained. "I might never get to deal with a crime of this magnitude, so might never experience a court day like today. Besides, these criminals are here because my father caught them, and I am proud of him. I want to see him get the justice he fights for every day of his life."
"Okay then," Harry conceded, unable to stop himself from smiling slightly at his sons words. It meant so much to him that his son was proud of him and following in his footsteps.
"Smooth, kid," Bill chuckled, giving his nephew a smirk at the way he'd expertly buttered his father up as Harry turned to return to his duties.
Harry was quickly distracted from his family when the court doors opened and the Zabinis strode into the room to make their way to their reserved seats. Alex was arm in arm with his mother as they crossed to their seats, with Blaise on the other side of his wife. Harry gave the family an encouraging smile, and as they took their seats, he noticed for the first time a subtle curve in Daphne's figure. If he wasn't mistaken she was pregnant, and he hoped that recent events hadn't had a detrimental effect on her pregnancy.
At the sight of the Zabinis the reporters had leapt into action, scribbling their notes and snapping pictures of the family. But it was a small reaction compared to the flurry of activity seconds later when the reporters spotted the Malfoys entering the courtroom. Lucius and Narcissa led the way, looking their usual confident selves. Scorpius was right behind them, looking as tall as proud as both his grandfather and father. And finally, Draco and Hermione brought up the rear, arriving hand in hand. The second the press, and the rest of the crowd, recognised Hermione and made the connection with her family, Harry could virtually hear the whispered gossip and the courtroom lit up with camera flashes as the reporters scrambled to get the best picture of Hermione with her family.
Aside from glancing towards Harry, and shooting him a small smile, Hermione ignored everyone else as she settled down in her seat between Scorpius and Draco. Admiring his friend's dignity, Harry took his own seat as he spotted Ron quietly sliding into the room and taking an empty seat further back in the public gallery.
Moments later the official court speaker entered the room and called for quiet. He then called for everyone to stand as the court officials entered and took their seats on the far side of the room. With such a high profile case involved, the entire Wizengamot would preside over the hearing. It was rather unusual for the highest authority in the land to oversee plea hearings, but then this wasn't a usual case. As Albus had pointed out, it was the biggest investigation the Auror department had undertaken since the end of the second war over twenty years earlier.
Once everyone was seated, the first person was called into the room. The first one to face her punishment was Nina Bullstrode, and as she was magically restrained to the chair in the middle of the room, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He himself knew what it was like to sit in that chair and have dozens of witches and wizards casting judgment on him. The difference was, he'd been innocent, but it still wouldn't be a pleasant experience for Nina or any of the others.
"Nina Bullstrode you are charged with accessory to kidnapping and withholding evidence from the Ministry," the court speaker announced. "Auror Potter, would you please address the court with details of these crimes."
Rising to his feet, Harry moved to the witness box and after stating his name and occupation, and swearing an oath to tell the truth, he laid out the bare facts of the case in regards to Nina. Nina's lawyer then got to his feet, to say his piece, which basically consisted of the fact Nina was admitting everything, but stressing that she only knew of the kidnapping after the event.
"Auror Potter, in your professional opinion is the defendant being honest?" Kingsley, who was head of the Wizengamot, asked.
"Yes, your honour," Harry replied. "I believe she played no part in the planning of the kidnapping of Scorpius Malfoy."
"Miss Bullstrode, how do you plead?" the court speaker questioned.
"Guilty," Nina whispered, only the magic in the courtroom enabling people to hear her she'd spoken so quietly.
Kingsley nodded his head and a purple veil fell from the ceiling, hiding the Wizengamot from view of the public, as they reached their sentence. Harry knew the conference would be brief, as Kingsley already had sentences in mind for everyone, and all he had to do was get the agreement of the rest of the Wizengamot to proceeded with them. A delay would only occur if someone disagreed with Kingsley's recommended sentence. As expected, there was no delay and after a few short moment the curtain rose and Kingsley got to his feet to deliver the verdict.
"Miss Bullstrode, we have accepted your plea of guilty and we take the advice of our trusted Head Auror in that you had no prior knowledge of the crimes you became involved in. Even so, you were party to some serious crimes and then when you became aware of you role, you said nothing. We do not feel a custodial sentence would be appropriate, but instead are giving you two hundred hours of community service. You will be assigned a social worker, and will be subject to weekly check-ins with them. Take this as a very severe warning Miss Bullstrode. This will go on your record and if you find yourself in trouble with us again, this conviction will be taken into account. Do not waste the second chance we are giving you Miss Bullstrode."
Harry glanced over to the Flints, to see the relief in their expressions as their youngest daughter was led from court. Moments later their eldest daughter was led in, and Harry just so happened to catch the pained expression on Scorpius's face the second he sets eyes on Olivia. However, Scorpius was a true Malfoy, and almost as quickly as the expression came, it vanished again and his expression was once again unreadable. Even so, Harry could only imagine the pain the young wizard was feeling seeing the witch who had led him to his kidnapping ordeal.
The procedure with Olivia was exactly the same as it had been with Nina. Once the charges had been laid, in this case aiding and abetting a kidnapping and assault and withholding evidence from the Ministry, Harry did his part and laid out the case against Olivia. Her lawyer then spoke for Olivia, reminding the court of her previous good character and the fact she'd admitted to her crimes. He even went as far as to claim she had been manipulated by the man she loved, but Harry could see that Olivia was furious when he mentioned Xavier manipulating her and no doubt the Wizengamot had seen that.
Once again the purple veil was only down for a few moments deliberation before the Wizengamot delivered their verdict. This time there was a harsher punishment for Olivia as she received a twelve month custodial sentence, although it was suspended for two years, meaning as long as she kept out of trouble in the next two years she would never have to go to Azkaban. Like her sister she was also given community service, hers being four hundred hours, and she was also assigned a social worker she would be required to check on regularly with. Her magic was also subject to monitoring and she was barred from leaving the country for the two years her suspended sentence was in place. As with her sister, her conviction would permanently be on her record and would make it more likely she would end up in Azkaban if she ever found herself in trouble again.
As Olivia left the courtroom, part of Harry wondered if she and Nina had gotten off too lightly. However, they'd been minimal parts of the plan to kidnap Scorpius, and Harry knew even the punishments they had received would haunt them for the rest of their lives. They now both had criminal records, and it would affect several aspects of their lives, including their job opportunities and possibly even their chances of finding someone to settle down with. The whole world knew what they had done, and they would have to live with that knowledge for the rest of their lives.
Harry knew the girls hearings were only the appetiser, and there was a distinct murmur when Kyle was announced and led into the room. As he was being secured to the chair, Harry turned his attention to where the Malfoys and the Zabinis sat. Neither Alex nor Scorpius were hiding their animosity at the sight of Kyle, and the air of anger coming from the rest of their family was palpable even from across the room.
"Kyle Goyle you are charged with the planning and executing the kidnapping of Scorpius Malfoy. You are also charged with extortion, assault on Alex Zabini and withholding evidence from the Ministry."
Harry then laid out the case against Kyle, before his lawyer got up to speak for him, which mainly consisted of pressing how he'd been led astray by his brother and how he'd admitted to everything. Kyle then pleaded guilty to all charges and the Wizengamot considered their verdict.
"Kyle Goyle, we accept your verdict of guilty," Kingsley announced as the entire court held their breath to see what sort of sentence the young wizard would be handed. "We also accept the fact your brother came up with the plan. However, you went along with it and would have profited from it. The fact you have admitted your crimes has been taken into account, but we can't ignore the seriousness of the charges you are facing. For the various offences, we sentence you to ten years in Azkaban with no chance of parole."
Kingsley's announcement was met with mutterings from the court, and the flashes started again as the reporters snapped pictures of Kyle, his family and the Malfoys and Zabinis to get their reaction to the sentence. Kyle seemed resigned to his fate, but Pansy especially looked devastated, while the Malfoys and Zabinis seemed pleased that he'd received a decent sentence.
Harry just wished the remainder of the hearing would go as well, but as Xavier was led in and secured to his chair, he knew it wasn't going to happen. The defiance was obvious for everyone to see, and Harry sighed softly as he realised Xavier was going to cause more trouble by pleading not guilty and forcing an unnecessary trial.
"Xavier Goyle you are charged with the planning and executing the kidnapping of Scorpius Malfoy. You are also charged with extortion, assault on Alex Zabini, the attempted murder of Scorpius Malfoy and withholding evidence from the Ministry," the speaker announced.
Out of all the evidence Harry had given, it took longer to give the evidence against Xavier, and he was especially careful not to miss anything as he suspected how things were going to go. Sure enough, Xavier's lawyer didn't offer any defence, and when he was asked his plea, he pleaded not guilty.
"Mr Goyle, do you understand the consequences of pleading not guilty?" Kingsley checked, as he was legally obliged to do. "The court has heard the evidence, and it will all be presented again at a trial. And I must remind you, a guilty verdict delivered after a pleading of not guilty will automatically ensure a harsher sentence. So I need to be sure. Do you wish to maintain your plea of not guilty?"
"I do," Xavier answered in a confident voice. "I wish to go to trial and defend these charges which have been laid against me."
"Very well," Kingsley said with a resigned sigh. "You will be remanded in custody until a trial date can be set. Take him away."
Once again the cameras started to flash as Xavier was led away, and Harry was repulsed to see him smiling for the cameras. Once Xavier had departed the courtroom, court was officially disbanded and everyone was dismissed. After checking that a couple of Aurors were escorting the Flints and the Goyles out of the side door, so the Goyles could see their sons before they went to Azkaban and the Flints could collect their daughters, Harry made his way over to where Hermione and her family were getting to their feet.
"I'm sorry about Xavier," he offered. "I was hoping his parents could talk sense into him."
"It would have been nice, but it was what we all expected," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "But at least the others received their sentences."
"Yeah, it's good to know the bastards that took me are going to spend the foreseeable future in Azkaban," Scorpius said.
"I know we've still got the trial to come, but I think we need to think of today as the end of a terrible chapter in our lives," Narcissa said. "I think it's time we looked to the future."
"I think that's a very good idea," Draco said as he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist. "And I think we should start with dinner with your friends," he whispered in her ear, nodding to where Ginny was approaching them.
Hermione fully agreed, and once dinner arrangements were made between the two couples, everyone went their separate ways as they got on with their day, knowing that for the moment, Scorpius's kidnappers had been brought to justice and were languishing in Azkaban where they belonged.