19 Years and 5 Minutes Later | By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 58416 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any characters related to that series; they are JK Rowling's. I make no money from this. |
A/N: Thanks fo the reviews!
Since we have no real idea how the wizarding courtrooms work, I've basically made it all up. Just letting you all know :)
The Ministry elevator jerked to a stop on the tenth level, causing Draco to almost stumble. He took a deep breath and paused to straighten his black formal robes before offering his arm to Astoria. She took it, but also shot him a concerned look that told him he wasn’t about to get away with simply not speaking that morning. His boot heels clicked on the black tiled floor as he led her through the dark corridor towards the courtroom. He knew Ginevra’s trial was going to be a huge deal with both the press and the public and it had him strung so tightly his nerves felt as though they were about to snap.Having Scorpius home for the weekend appeared to have soothed a lot of Draco's nerves, but Astoria had escorted their son back to Hogwarts that morning, leaving Draco with nothing to distract him from his anxieties. Harry had taken his kids off to the Burrow early that morning so they could arrive at the courtroom with their grandparents, so Draco also had no idea how Harry was doing at that point.
He had woken at his usual early time, but had been unable to focus on even his regular routine without his hands shaking or his mind wandering to what Harry was doing at that exact moment. All he knew for sure was that all three of Harry’s children were going to be there to speak to their Mother that morning, then they were to be taken back to the Burrow before the trial started. Whether Harry himself was going to be present at that meeting had been playing on Draco's mind all morning, although why it was bothering him was beyond him.
Maybe because the last time they were in the same room together, she tried to use a love potion on him? Maybe because you wouldn’t put it past her to try again?
“Draco?”
Gratefully dragged out of his thoughts, Draco turned his attention to Astoria. The second he met her eyes, though, she sighed and pulled him to a stop, moving to stand in front of him with her hands placed softly on his shoulders.
“I have never seen you this scared before.”
Draco blinked as a strong rush of affection for her almost overwhelmed him. He could wish that she had chosen a more appropriate place to confront him about this, but the fact that she could tell just how terrified he was despite his strongest Occlumency shields being up caused spots of colour to rise on his cheeks. He ducked his head, hiding his reaction from her.
“You didn’t know me in sixth year.”
“Oh, honey. By all accounts, you were a complete bastard in your sixth year. If I’d known you then, I may not have married you.”
This drew a genuine smile from Draco and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a quick embrace. “You are such a comfort, Tori. Thank you.”
Stepping back from him so she could run her hands over his robes, Astoria eyed him critically. “I need to visit the ladies’ room, but I need you to promise me not to spontaneously combust on me before I get back, alright?”
Draco unbent enough to smile at her without the cover of her hair hiding him from the rest of the world. “I believe I can manage to survive without you for five minutes.”
The look she shot him told him she was sceptical of that statement, but she left him anyway. Moving to the end of the corridor, Draco paused just before turning the corner that led to the courtroom itself. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he rebuilt his Occlumency shields, making absolutely certain that no one would be able to see anything he did not want them to see. The sound of Harry’s laugh dragged him back to reality. Low and warm, it was so familiar and reassuring to Draco that it almost undid all the focus he had regained. Reopening his eyes, he took a step forward and glanced around the corner.
What he saw froze his blood in his veins. Harry was standing near the doorway to the courtroom with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Thomas had his hand on Harry’s shoulder and they were both laughing as Finnegan gesticulated, obviously telling some wild tale. This was certainly not what he needed to see when thoughts of Harry with the Weaselette had been running through his mind all morning. Thomas and Finnegan’s relationship had made the front page of the Daily Prophet for months after the end of the War, with Rita Skeeter declaring to the world that Dumbledore’s Army had been nothing more than a bunch of sex-crazed teenagers. Draco had dismissed her claims at the time, but he was apparently more than willing to believe it now, if the jealousy clawing at his chest was anything to go by. Harry looked so relaxed and so happy in their company that in his current state of mind, it had Draco second-guessing almost every aspect of their relationship.
Clenching his hands into fists by his side and taking steady, controlled breaths, Draco told himself he was being ridiculous. Harry had a lot of friends and he was as open and honest with each of them now as he had always been. The fact that two of those friends just happened to be quite good-looking and interested in men shouldn’t affect Draco in any way. It did, however, and that knowledge loaded him with guilt on top of the jealousy. He almost jumped in surprise when Harry turned and spotted him. Instead of calling him over, Harry bid farewell to Thomas and Finnegan and trotted over to Draco, which he found himself grateful for, as he was unsure if he could fake politeness at that point.
“Come with me.”
Harry grabbed Draco's hand and spun him around, dragging him towards an open door. It appeared as though the room Harry pulled him into was deserted, but that wasn’t what Draco focussed on. Wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist, he pulled him close to his chest, inhaling the scent of his hair. Harry hummed in response and pressed as close as he could get. Draco knew he was being stupid; knew that Harry was loyal and would never cheat on him. He was doing him a disservice by allowing himself to succumb to such a petty feeling and the fact that he knew it was making everything worse. Draco smiled when he felt Harry’s fingers threading through his hair.
“Relax.”
“What?”
Draco gasped as Harry pulled back and sealed their lips together. The kiss was soft and slow, drawing Draco in much more effectively than it would have if it had held the kind of passion he associated with Harry. Tightening the grip he had around Harry’s waist, he surrendered to the sensations Harry was sending through him. Untangling one of his hands from Draco's hair, Harry slid it slowly downwards, trailing it across Draco's shoulder blades. The shiver it produced had Harry chuckling. Draco smiled in response as he broke the kiss.
“That’s much better.”
Watching the spread of warmth through Harry’s eyes as he met them, Draco knew he couldn’t burden him with his idiotic jealousy. It was a ridiculous emotion without foundation and Draco could and would deal with it on his own; Harry had enough on his own plate at that moment.
“You dragged me in here–”
“Because I can, pretty much. With all the press here and the public about to interfere with your private life, I knew you’d be stressed. It’s just a bonus for me that one of the easiest ways of getting you to relax involves me being pressed up against you.”
Draco chose to hide his reaction to Harry’s words with the raise of an eyebrow and it caused Harry to grin at him. “And you expect me to believe that you are not nervous about this trial as well?”
“Of course not. You’ve seen how worried I am that she’ll somehow manage to get off on a technicality. Having a few moments of privacy before the press gets hold of us does help, but…” He paused and leant forward to touch his forehead to Draco's. “I just want this over and done with.”
Adjusting his grip on Harry’s waist, Draco simply held him for a few seconds. He did know how nervous Harry was about this trial; it was one of the reasons he had only voiced his concerns once about having all four of the children at the Manor that weekend. If this little moment of peace before the insanity of a public trial would help to relieve any of that anxiety, then there was no way Draco was going to destroy that. He allowed a small smile to touch his lips when Harry pulled back with a soft sigh.
“As much as I would love to stay here all day, we have a trial to attend.”
Cold air assaulted Draco as Harry stepped back from him. Taking a deep breath to compose himself had Harry grinning again, although why was beyond Draco.
“Lead on.”
*~*
Courtroom ten was completely full. Every single member of the Wizengamot had apparently decided to make an appearance as well as a number of Ministry officials, all the Weasleys who could swing a few days off work, quite a few friends and distant family members and – most horrifying of all to Harry – Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. He knew he should have realised that they would be there since it was their son who had been attacked, but the fact of their existence had completely slipped his mind. He let out a small breath when Narcissa made her way over the second he and Draco entered the courtroom.
“Draco darling, how are you?” She leant in to brush her cheek against Draco's before turning and inclining her head to Harry. “Mr. Potter.”
“Harry, please.” He could hear the nerves in his voice and cleared his throat in an attempt to control them. “I hope you’ve been well.”
“Perfectly so, thank you.”
The moments that followed as Draco made small talk with her would have made Harry laugh in any other circumstance, but now he just felt awkward. It was with a large amount of relief that he felt a small hand on his shoulder and turned to see Astoria smiling up at him. He moved aside so she could squeeze in front of him and join Draco in speaking to Narcissa. Feeling as though it wouldn’t be too impolite to move on, Harry ran a hand down Draco's arm and gave him a smile before slipping past him and searching out the Weasleys.
The courtroom hadn’t changed at all since the last time Harry had been in there: a number of torches cast flickering lights on the black stone walls, the benches for the Wizengamot loomed threateningly in front of him with two smaller sets of benches running along the side walls, and the chained chair still sat in the centre of the room. Turning from the chair, Harry climbed the stairs of the set of benches to his right. Arthur was shooting suspicious glances over Harry’s head as he moved to stand at the end of the row they had commandeered in the stands. He had to resist the urge to turn and see who Arthur was looking at, as he had the feeling that he would be met with a sneering Lucius Malfoy. There was no point in setting Lucius off-side without even speaking to him. Glancing down the row, Harry felt surprise rush through him when he saw Ron sitting between Hermione and George. It had been a fortnight since Harry had spoken to Ron at Fortescue’s, and he couldn’t help thinking that maybe if he could speak to him now, he would start coming around.
“Percy has taken the children back to the Burrow and Audrey will stay with them until we all return.”
Harry blinked and turned his attention to Molly. “Thanks for organising that. I didn’t think it would have been legal for me to see Ginny before the trial began and they were all looking forward to seeing her again.”
Molly nodded and appeared to be about to say something else when the guards posted at the doors snapped to attention. Harry knew this to be the signal that the trial was about to start and his stomach flipped with nerves. Smiling a farewell to Molly, he moved down to the appointed area for the plaintiff, just beside his lawyers.
Draco joined him a few seconds later, to the obvious fascination of the few members of the press who had been allowed into the courtroom. Harry could sense the tension running through Draco, despite the emotionless mask he was presenting to the world, but was a little stumped as to what to do about it, if anything. Surreptitiously sliding his hand down below the level of the bannister in front of them so no one could see what he was doing, Harry slowly traced his fingers over Draco's. He was gratified to feel Draco's fingers lacing through his, but made no reaction because he knew they were being watched.
The trial began as all the other official trials Harry had attended had: with the entrance of the Minister for Magic, the Senior Undersecretary, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Chief Warlock. Harry took a deep breath as they took their seats in front of the Wizengamot and was surprised to feel Draco squeeze his fingers. He was about to glance over to see if Draco had made any other reaction, but his attention was grabbed by the Senior Undersecretary.
“I call this trail of 30th October, 2017 to order. Bring the defendant in.”
Having spoken to Kingsley, Harry knew that it was unlikely that the trial would be overly long: not even the Death Eater trials had taken more than a few hours. Of course, the Death Eater trials from the second War had taken a few hours longer than the ones from the first War, as Kingsley had insisted that each of the defendants have representation.
The entire courtroom turned to watch as Ginny was led in. Her hands were magically bound in front of her and she was being escorted by two burly Aurors, one on each arm. To Harry, she appeared to be incredibly calm, considering what she was about to be tried for. Harry shivered as a chill ran down his spine. If Ginny could be so calm when she was facing so many charges, maybe she had something up her sleeve. Was there something Harry’s lawyers had missed that she could exploit? A slight murmured went up around the room when the chains on the chair clanked and secured themselves around Ginny’s wrists and ankles, but the room fell silent when Beatrice Haven, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, stood.
“Ginevra Molly Potter, nee Weasley. You stand accused today of a number of serious charges. Attempted fraud, attempted assault with intent to cause mental harm, grievous bodily harm with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, attempted assault on an Auror, and taking an Auror’s wand. How do you plea?”
A tall, thin man with mousy brown hair and forgettable features stood from the stands behind Ginny, offering up a bland smile. “Not guilty on grounds of mental impairment to all charges.”
Harry nodded. He had known that Ginny could try to get off on an insanity plea, but had been unsure if she would have been willing. It was still a good chance that the lawyers had had to convince her to take this route, because Harry knew for a fact that Ginny would never consider herself to be mentally ill. The only real question he had left was how they would try to plead that she had been suffering from a mental illness the entire time. Harry was certain that there was something that needed treating now, but he had serious doubts that she had had the same kind of illness when this had first started. Surely he would have noticed if his own wife had wanted to injure him in the way she had tried to after their breakup, right? He jumped when the Chief Warlock spoke again, causing Draco to squeeze his fingers again.
"This trial has the most amount of interested parties since the Death Eater trials in 1998. Due to the potential length of the case, I have deemed it necessary to combine all three cases into one. Mr. Potter shall present his case, followed by Mr. Malfoy, with the representatives of the Auror Department to testify last. Barrister Edwards, you shall have the opportunity to cross-examine each witness after they have testified. My hope is that, by doing it this way, it will cut down on any unnecessary testimony and accusations. Barrister Richardson, you have first witness.”
Garrett Richardson stood at Harry’s left and made his way down to stand just in front of the Wizengamot’s benches. “The prosecution would like to call Harry James Potter to the stand.”
A small buzz of whispering followed this announcement, but Harry ignored it. The witness box faced the accused, but Richardson was blocking Harry’s view of Ginny as he sat in the box. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he knew he was probably as prepared as he could get for this testimony.
“Mr. Potter, you have been married to Ginevra Potter for the past sixteen years, is that correct?”
“Together for nineteen years and married for sixteen, yes.”
“Were they happy years together?”
Harry kept eye contact with Richardson, not wanting to see either Draco or Ginny’s reactions to his answer. “I believed myself to be happy at the time, yes. If I had been truly unhappy at any stage, then I would have made my feelings known to Ginny.”
“And Mrs. Potter never gave any kind of indication that she was unhappy with your marriage at any time either?”
“We fought like every other couple does, but it was never anything that we couldn’t and didn’t resolve. She never once stated to me that she was unhappy with me or our relationship.”
“In that case, could you describe your feelings to the court when you discovered that Mrs. Potter had been sleeping with other men for most of your marriage?”
Richardson stepped aside at this, allowing Harry his first real look at Ginny that day. Sitting in the chained chair, she was holding her gaze steady on a spot on the floor in front of Harry. To anyone at the side of the courtroom, it would have looked as though she was meeting his eyes. He had been expecting a wash of sympathy for her, but he surprised himself by feeling nothing. No resentment, no anger, no compassion; there was simply nothing left. Clearing his throat, Harry refocussed on Richardson.
“I was hurt and angry. I had never felt such a strong feeling of betrayal as I had when I discovered that Ginny had been cheating on me. I hadn’t even suspected that she could do something like that until fairly recently.”
“Why not?”
“Because I thought I loved her.” Harry blinked. He hadn’t been prepared to be asked such a direct question, but figured Richardson had wanted an honest answer. “I thought our marriage was solid and hadn’t ever recognised any signs that indicated that she was unhappy or looking elsewhere.”
Richardson smiled, confirming Harry’s suspicions. “Thank you, Mr. Potter. Now, if we could skip forward a few weeks to the night of your retirement. You and Mrs. Potter had split up by this time and you were in the process of filing for divorce, correct?”
“Yes, we had separated a month beforehand.”
“Could you describe the night of your retirement to the court?”
Harry took a few seconds to arrange what he wanted to say in his mind. Richardson had coached him on what the Wizengamot would need to hear in order to make an informed decision and Harry was determined to get this right the first time.
“I arrived at the Ballroom just before seven that night and made my way inside. I knew that there was a chance that Ginny could show up and try something, because things between us had been strained for a few weeks at that point. She seemed to want to get back together with me, but I had resisted both because I am happy with Draco and because I had discovered that I preferred men over women. Ginny waited until I was half-way through my retirement speech before she made an appearance. I didn’t see what happened when the Aurors on guard duty caught her, but I made my way backstage when I heard her screaming to see her being restrained by two of them with a third carrying a vial of potion he had taken away from her. She was shrieking and struggling to get away. After what couldn’t have been more than a minute or so, she managed to bite down on the hand of one of the Aurors holding her and he dropped her. She grabbed his wand and cast curses towards the doorway, hitting Draco and causing serious injuries.”
“You mentioned that relations between you and Mrs. Potter had been strained. Could you give an example?”
Nodding again, Harry pressed his lips together. This part of his testimony would dictate how his relationship with the Weasleys would go from now on, but he figured if they could listen to this without protesting, then things would eventually go back to normal.
“Ginny has always had a hot temper. When I came out to her five weeks ago, she seemed more disappointed than anything else at first. But after we talked for a while, her anger began to show through. She admitted to me that night that she had loved one of the men that she had been sleeping with, but it wasn’t until later on that her rage truly came to the forefront. She told both of our boys that I wouldn’t ever see them again; she spent so much time away from our daughter that Lily was convinced that she had been abandoned; she gave Yasmine Archibald a completely false account of what had happened the night I came out to her and expected her to publish it in the Daily Prophet; she lied to our family and friends that I had been cheating on her our entire marriage; she came to my house and tried to convince me to stay married to her when she was turned down by the lawyers she wanted; she even resorted to slapping me a couple of times. It was all of these actions that led to me giving the Auror Corps the warning that Ron had given me: there was a possibility that she would try something at the Annual Ball.”
“I shall now have to take you back to the potion you mentioned. Did you know at the time what was in the vial?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“When did you find out?”
“Kingsley came to the hospital the next morning and informed me that the vial contained a homemade love potion.” He wanted desperately to add that they assumed that she was going to try to dose him with the potion to stop him from continuing with the divorce, but after years of testifying at various trials for the Auror Corps, he knew that that would be pulled up as pure speculation. “She was standing backstage with the potion, in the doorway I would have exited the stage from.”
Richardson nodded thoughtfully and proceeded to walk slowly around in front of the benches. Harry had seen this tactic before: give the Wizengamot time to digest what they had been told while seeming to come up with the next question for the witness. It was a technique that many lawyers had used during the cases Harry had testified at over the years, so he was prepared when Richardson stopped in front of the benches to his left, having made a full circle of the room.
“Was there ever any chance of you going back to Mrs. Potter? Would you have thrown Mr. Malfoy over to try to rekindle what you had with your wife?”
“No.” Harry knew that a simple negative answer was not enough for the court, but he paused anyway, allowing the courtroom to hear the conviction in his voice. “I am a gay man, Mr. Richardson. I realised that fact a little over two months ago. Whether Ginny wants to acknowledge that fact or not will not change it one bit. I am happy with Draco because, for the first time in my life, I am with someone who loves and appreciates me for who and what I am, not because of what I have.”
The loud buzz of conversation this generated went on for long enough that the Chief Warlock had to call for order. Richardson smiled thanks to her before speaking again.
“So after trying to convince you to change your mind about filing for divorce, Mrs. Potter tried to use a homemade love potion on you at the Annual Ball.” He turned to face the Wizengamot. “The potion has been tested and it has been confirmed to have the same drugging effects as a love potion. While I acknowledge that the use of love potions is not illegal in itself, I ask the court to consider the way in which this particular potion was to be used. Mrs. Potter’s intentions involved keeping her husband under the effects of said potion for who knows how long. Would she dose him every day? Would she have only continued the farce long enough to witness the breakdown of Mr. Potter’s relationship with Mr. Malfoy? We cannot say. However, consider this: we have all lived through the results of extended use of love potions. The first and second wizarding Wars were caused by a man who was conceived under the effects of a strong love potion. That fact in itself should be enough proof that the use of love potions should be illegal. Mr. Potter was facing a life of lies if Mrs. Potter had succeeded in dosing him that night. It would have not only ruined his relationship, but it would have destroyed his entire life. I ask you today to convict Ginevra Molly Potter of both fraud and attempted assault with intent to cause mental harm because of these facts.”
Richardson fell silent after this, simply watching the Wizengamot. Another small buzz of whispered conversation sounded again, but died down quickly this time.
“I believe that is all I need, Mr. Potter. Thank you.” Turning to Ginny’s lawyer, Richardson offered up a bland smile. “Your witness.”
Barrister Edwards was not someone Harry had ever seen operate in the courtroom, so he had no idea what to expect from him. Eyeing him as he stood and made his way slowly towards the witness box, Harry used his Auror instincts to assess him. He was completely forgettable, with his mousy brown hair and bland features, but those characteristics in a lawyer always had Harry’s instincts screaming at him that he was in danger. Training his focus entirely on Edwards, Harry tried his best to block the sight of Ginny from his mind as Edwards moved to stand beside her.
“When did you start your relationship with Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter?”
Harry’s nerves fluttered, but he had been coached on this as well. He had known that he would be interrogated about his relationship with Draco.
“Just over two months ago.”
“And when did you inform Mrs. Potter of your transgression?”
Harry briefly bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from glaring. “I confronted Ginny about both her infidelity and mine six weeks ago.”
Edwards nodded slowly. “During those six weeks, has your wife given you any reason to fear that she would attempt to use a love potion on you? Were there ever any verbal threats of her using something to physically stop you from continuing with this divorce?”
Harry had to bite back a sigh. “No, she never once said she was going to use a potion on me.”
“So the only proof you have that the potion Mrs. Potter was caught holding was for you is your own fear of being with your own wife?”
“She–”
“Objection!” Turning to glance over to the plaintiff’s seats, Harry saw Richardson striding out of his seat. “This is mere supposition.”
“As is your theory that the potion was to be used on Mr. Potter.”
Taking a deep breath to regain some of the composure he had lost, Harry watched as the two lawyers faced off. He had no doubt that Richardson had won many more cases than Edwards, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that Edwards was more than he seemed.
“Silence!” The Chief Warlock stood from her chair, glaring down at the two of them. “I shall allow the statement to stand, as I allowed the original statement to stand. However, I shall ask that you not continue along that line of questioning, Barrister Edwards.”
Richardson turned and marched back to his chair, obviously unhappy with the result of the small altercation. Harry returned his attention to Edwards to see him smiling triumphantly at him.
“No further questions.”
The Chief Warlock stood again. “Thank you, Barrister Edwards. Mr. Potter, you may return to your seat.” The courtroom was silent as Harry exited the witness box and moved back over to sit beside Draco. “I believe now is a good time to take a short recess. Please return to your seats in half an hour.”
The entire courtroom seemed to rise and try to exit at the same time, turning the double doors into a swirling mass of bodies in a matter of seconds. Harry hung back a few seconds, waiting to see if he could get through without being detained by someone he didn’t wish to speak to. However, he found himself dragged over towards the second entrance to the room. He let out a sigh of relief when he turned to face both Draco and Richardson in the small waiting room off to the side.
“That was good, right? I mean, the only thing he could come up with was to try to discredit me, so that has to be a good sign, right?” Harry’s nerves fluttered when Richardson didn’t smile.
“It wasn’t bad. You’re right in thinking that Edwards has very little to go on in this case and that he will try to discredit both of you as well as the Auror Department. I guess we will see how well it went when Mr. Malfoy here is called up for witness.”
Richardson bowed his head to both of them before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. Left completely alone with Draco, Harry grinned nervously.
“Well?”
“I love you.”
Draco stepped forward and drew Harry into his arms. There had been an almost palpable sense of tension that had been running through Draco that morning when Harry had first cornered him in that empty room, but it seemed to have dissipated a little over the course of the morning. Relaxing into Draco's arms, Harry sighed.
“I love you, too.”
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