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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.

Chapter List
- 1-19 Years and 5 Minutes Later
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40
- 41-Ch. 41
- 42-Ch. 42
- 43-Ch. 43
- 44-Ch. 44
- 45-Ch. 45
- 46-Ch. 46
- 47-Ch. 47
- 48-Ch. 48
- 49-Ch. 49
- 50-Ch. 50
- 51-Epilogue
- 41
- 42
- 43
A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
Harry was so warm in Draco's arms that he was beginning to have trouble keeping his mind focussed on the present. The scent of Harry’s aftershave drifted upwards and Draco breathed deeply, despite the fact that he knew that he really shouldn’t allow himself to become unfocussed. He still had to testify that day and he knew that if he allowed Harry to distract him too much, he wouldn’t be able to give the effective testimony that he knew the case required. Pulling back from the embrace, he fully intended to step away from Harry and create some much needed space between them. Harry, however, seemed to have other ideas. Leaning in so their lips brushed gently together, he smiled. It was a strange sensation, but even such a simple expression had Draco’s carefully constructed walls crumbling. Returning Harry’s smile, he closed the tiny gap between them and sealed their lips together properly.
The sound Harry let out in response was part-hum, part-chuckle and it caused Draco's stomach to flip pleasantly. Despite the fact that they were in public, Draco found himself feeling comfortable enough to tighten his grip on Harry’s waist and pull him closer. He knew, in the back of his mind, that this was probably a really bad idea; that he was in danger of not being focussed enough during his testimony. The problem, he knew, was that he was completely unable to resist Harry, even when he really should. He should have been more cautious in public as they were and that fact was proven in the next few seconds. A sharp knock on the door was followed swiftly by the door being opened and Molly Weasley entering the room.
“Harry, I… Oh!”
Draco and Harry separated in a split second, Draco turning to face the opposite wall as his face turned beet red. Not in all of his wildest nightmares had he imagined that they would ever be caught by someone like Molly Weasley. Lily, yes, but not Molly. Running a hand across his face as his skin prickled with embarrassment, he could feel just how red he was from the heat emanating from his skin.
“Oh, I am so sorry, I’ll just–”
“No, no, Molly, it’s alright.”
Draco nearly flinched when Harry grabbed his hand. The possibility of having to deal with an awkward reintroduction to any of the Weasleys had never crossed Draco's mind, but he knew how important they were to Harry. Glancing over when Harry squeezed his fingers, Draco knew that he couldn’t disappoint Harry by being rude. Taking a deep breath, he nodded, pushing as much of the embarrassment to the back of his mind as he could. Harry had re-met both of his parents and had resisted the temptation to be rude to them, so Draco could do this for him. Taking his hand back from Harry, he turned to face her. Standing in the doorway, layered in countless colourfully knitted shawls and her face a shade of red that Draco thought must at least come close to matching his own, Molly appeared to be about to flee. Her fingers twined around each other as she wrung her hands in front of her and she was staring determinedly at a spot on the floor, giving away just how embarrassed she was. Taking a deep breath, Draco gathered as much composure as he could before speaking.
“Mrs. Weasley.”
Draco offered a small bow of his head, but couldn’t bring himself to smile at her. The years of resentment and hostility between their two families was going to prove to be almost impossible to overcome, he knew, but he would be damned if he would allow a Weasley the satisfaction of knowing they had unnerved him enough for him to be impolite. That had been fine when he had been a teenager, but as an adult, it was uncouth. Molly seemed to be the one who was unnerved, however, as her only reaction to his greeting was an edgy-looking smile and a jerk of her head. Draco glanced over when Harry stepped up beside him and placed a hand on the small of his back.
“Is everything alright, Molly?” Draco could hear the concern in Harry’s voice. “Is it the kids?”
“No, no, not at all. Percy made it back just fine. I, uh…”
Draco frowned in confusion as she glanced around the room, not meeting either of their eyes. He had obviously never had the opportunity to study her mannerisms before, but it certainly seemed to him like she was incredibly uneasy about something. Meeting Harry’s eyes, Draco raised an eyebrow in question. His mind worked furiously through the reasons she could be so jumpy and could only come to one conclusion: it must be him. Harry offered up a small shrug and opened his mouth to say something, but Draco beat him to it.
“I’ll go. You obviously want some privacy.”
Leaving the two of them alone would also give Draco some time to compose himself before court started up again. It didn’t seem like he was going to get that time, however, as Molly held her hand up and met his eyes with a determination that reminded him sharply of Lily.
“No, stay.” Taking a deep breath, she straightened up, turned to face Harry and seemed to gather as much dignity as she could. “I wanted to apologise. To the both of you. I hadn’t realised the extent of everything Ginny had done to you and the children, Harry.”
Draco bit his tongue to prevent himself from snapping at her that she had simply refused to believe it when she had been told. His skin prickled with annoyance as he silently marvelled at the audacity of the woman. Did she really expect him to believe that she had simply not realised how Harry had been treated? Or that she hadn’t been one of the major contributing factors to Harry’s misery over the past two months? A quick glance to Harry swiftly put a halt to any anger that had been bubbling up inside Draco, however. The relief and happiness radiating from him was almost palpable and Draco couldn’t bring himself to ruin that. Placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder, he offered up a smile and nodded towards Molly. The grin that spread across Harry’s face sent a warmth through Draco that told him it was the right thing to do. If Harry wanted to make amends with Molly Weasley, then Draco was not going to deny him that. He watched as Harry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Molly’s shoulders and was pleased to see the embrace returned. He offered Harry another smile as he slipped past them, giving them some privacy to talk things over in the short amount of time they had left.
The courtroom was starting to fill back up as Draco re-entered. Ginevra, of course, had been unable to move from the chained chair and her lawyer was standing beside her, speaking in a hushed tone. The both of them glanced over when Draco passed by, which Draco would have considered an accident, if Ginevra had managed to keep her mouth shut.
“It’s alright, I know you’ll take care of me.”
The look that accompanied the words bordered on the looks Ginevra had shot Harry just before she did something that had upset either Harry or Lily. Draco almost jumped in surprise; his years of Occlumency training and disinclination to allow the general public to see his emotions the only things preventing it. He kept up the same pace as he made his way over to the plaintiff’s seats, his expression very carefully passive. One glance towards the chained chair told him that they were watching his reaction to her words and so he simply sat and studied his nails until he knew they had given up watching him.
Draco had known that Edwards would most likely try to take his focus away from what he was supposed to be saying and doing, but this was something he hadn’t accounted for. That Ginevra would be the one who managed to get beneath his skin was a complete surprise. It meant that Draco had to adjust his thinking about what was about to happen during his testimony, which he didn’t like: he much preferred to know what was coming. If their true aim was to try to make him lose his composure, then he would have to readjust everything he had prepared himself for relating to his testimony. He didn’t get a chance to overanalyse the idea, however, before he spotted Harry and Molly exiting the waiting room.
It was obvious by her red eyes that Molly had been crying. Harry appeared to be in better condition, with a smile on his face that Draco hadn’t seen in a long time. It showed a contented happiness that sent warmth shooting through Draco's chest and caused him to come to the decision that he wouldn’t bother Harry with what he had heard at that moment. Let him have these few hours of happiness before dragging him back to reality.
“What’s wrong?” Harry stepped into the plaintiff’s seats and sat down, pinning Draco with a concerned look.
“Excuse me?”
“I may not be as good at reading you as Astoria is, but I can usually tell when there’s something wrong. What happened?”
raco's eyes flickered unwillingly over to where Ginevra sat and Harry’s gaze followed. They were met with a smug look that told Draco that it was entirely possible that he was being played. He couldn’t simply dismiss the look he had seen in her eyes, but this was something he had to deal with himself. There was no way Harry could do anything, so there was no point in disturbing him with what he had seen. Turning back to Harry, Draco shook his head.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Harry eyed him for a few seconds before settling back into his chair. He kept his eyes focussed ahead of them, but his hand strayed over to rest on Draco's thigh.
“We’re going to get her put away for a very long time,” he murmured, a strangely cold tone to his voice. It was just loud enough for Draco to hear and the tone sent a shiver down Draco's spine, causing him to wonder if Harry had momentarily slipped back into the Auror mindset he had glimpsed on a couple of occasions. “No matter what she says, or what tricks she tries to pull, there’s no denying the evidence. If the Wizengamot convict on evidence alone, then we’re going to win.”
Needing to see if the look in Harry’s eyes matched the almost cold tone in his voice, Draco reached to squeeze the fingers of the hand that rested on his thigh. Harry turned to face him immediately, showing Draco that he had been right: there was a chilling coldness to Harry’s eyes that matched his voice. It was only a very brief glimpse, though, as Harry’s expression softened almost the second their eyes met, a wide smile spreading across his face that nearly had Draco smiling back at him. Draco was about to speak when the Chief Warlock stood and cleared her throat.
“The court will come to order.” The small buzz of conversation that had cropped up as the room filled died down in the matter of a few seconds. “Barrister Richardson, please call your next witness.”
Taking his hand back from Harry’s, Draco took a deep breath, his stomach beginning to flutter with nerves again. Richardson strode down from his seat to stand in front of the Wizengamot and offered them a small bow, showing all the confidence that Draco knew he should have been feeling himself.
“The prosecution would like to call Draco Lucius Malfoy to the stand.”
A quick buzz of whispering filled the room as Draco stood. He was painfully aware of having all eyes in the room on him, but he pushed it all to the back of his mind. He had never once let the public’s opinion of him prevent him from doing what he knew had to be done and he certainly wasn’t going to let them start now. Straightening his back and holding his head high, he took another steadying breath and moved down to sit in the chair in the witness box. The whispering seemed to intensify for a few seconds, but Draco ignored it, choosing instead to allow his public persona fall over him.
Staring at Richardson, everything that he had been coached on came to the forefront of Draco's mind: play up to the public’s perception of you, as they won’t believe anything else; give considered answers, but keep the language relatively simple; do not accuse Ginevra directly. Because he liked to believe himself diplomatic in most situations, Draco figured he wouldn’t have much trouble with the instructions he had been given. He locked eyes with Richardson when he moved to block his view of Ginevra.
“Mr. Malfoy, could you please tell the court how long you have known Ginevra Potter?”
“Twenty five years; since I was twelve years old.”
“And in that time, how many physical altercations have you had with Mrs. Potter?”
Draco cocked his head to the side, considering the question. “We may have exchanged a few hexes during school, but nothing too serious. A few weeks back, I prevented her from slapping Harry by grabbing her wrist. And, of course, there was the night of the Annual Ball when she cursed me.”
“The Ministry’s Annual Ball.” Richardson laced his fingers together over his stomach and began to walk slowly off to his left, seeming to ponder what Draco had said. “Could you describe the night to the court? In detail, if you please.”
Casting his eyes down to stare at a small stain on the floor, Draco took a few seconds to order what he wanted to say. He knew that after what they had tried with Harry’s testimony, Ginevra’s lawyer would try to discredit everything he said, so he wanted to make absolutely certain that what he said couldn’t be taken any other way than the one he intended it to be. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and met Richardson’s eyes before speaking.
“I entered the ballroom a little later than I had intended, as I was detained out the front by the press, who wanted pictures and stories. It must have been a little after seven when I entered. The room was full and I spent most of the time before the speeches socialising with a number of different associates. The speeches were scheduled to last about two hours altogether and Harry was halfway through his retirement speech when there was a shriek from backstage. Our entire table was made up of Aurors and they all raced backstage. I stayed in the ballroom for as long as I could stand before I had to know what was going on, because Harry had run backstage when the shriek sounded. What I saw stunned me a little: Ginevra was being held by two Aurors and was struggling against them. It looked like they had her in hand, but she managed to bite the hand of one of them and grab his wand. I didn’t hear what she cast at me, but it was definitely me she was aiming at, as I was the only one anywhere near the doorway at the time. The first curse was an exsanguination curse to ensure I bled a lot and the second broke my nose. I honestly don’t remember much after being hit by the curses except a lot of blood and Harry yelling. The next thing I remember clearly is waking in the hospital.”
Richardson nodded slowly. In the few seconds before he spoke again, Draco risked a glance over to Edwards, needing to know how much attention he had been paying. Sitting in the seats designated for the defendant’s lawyers, his head was bent over a notebook that he was scribbling in. Draco knew the mousey, bland image the man gave off had to be fake and that fact was proven the second Edwards glanced up. His brown eyes had turned sharp, holding such fascination in them that Draco knew that they were aiming at trying to throw off his stride; there was no other explanation as to why Edwards looked so fascinated when hearing facts he must have known beforehand. Out of the three testimonies that were to be heard in the case, Draco’s and the Auror’s would be the most damaging to Ginevra. Edwards met Draco's eyes and the look vanished almost immediately, to be replaced with the same blank expression he usually presented. Draco almost smiled in response. Even if Edwards had meant for Draco to see that look in his eyes, Draco now knew exactly how he would deal with him. Raising his chin a little, he offered up his best superior look before turning back to Richardson.
“You say you don’t remember much from the second you were hit with the curses to the time you awoke in the hospital, but could you describe what you do remember?”
This was part of what Draco had been coached on, so he knew exactly what Richardson wanted. There was no chance that Edwards could throw him off this part of the testimony.
“The pain of the curses was focussed on the bridge of my nose and through my sinuses. I couldn’t see much once she had broken my nose, because my eyes immediately began to water, but what I did see was covered with blood. Because of the exsanguination curse, the only people who could stop the bleeding were the Healers at St. Mungo’s, but Harry managed to Heal my nose at the ballroom. Everything goes fuzzy after Harry Healed my nose, unfortunately. I believe that I may have passed out.” Ginevra rolled her eyes at this, but Draco ignored it. “My memory is in bits and pieces from the hospital. I remember fighting the Healers when they were trying to Heal the exsanguination curse. The next clear memory I have is waking to see Astoria in my hospital room. The Healers had me on pain medication that was strong enough that the room kept spinning. I couldn’t focus on one thing for very long and kept becoming distracted. It took the pain away, however, and that was the point. Without it, the pain was bad enough that I couldn’t move; could hardly open my eyes. It was a full week before I could take an appropriately lower dose of the potion, which meant that I couldn’t even work once I was allowed back at the Manor.”
Draco couldn’t help glancing back over towards both Ginevra and Edwards, wondering what they had in store for him. Ginevra’s expression hadn’t really changed the entire morning, but she did look slightly more confident now than she had when Harry had been testifying. It was more Edwards that Draco knew he had to watch. The calculating look hadn’t reappeared, but that one glimpse was more than enough to have Draco on his guard. He refocussed when Richardson began speaking again.
“Did you do anything to provoke this attack? Did you speak to Mrs. Potter, or maybe gesture to her in any way?”
“No, not at all.” Draco shook his head. “I had gone backstage to look for Harry; to make sure he was unharmed.”
Turning to face the Wizengamot, Richardson smiled. “This was an unprovoked attack, this much is clear. The weapon used was stolen from an Auror, who was just trying to do his job and protect the people from a woman who was in the process of having a breakdown. What Mrs. Potter’s true motives were, we may never know. But this case is not about her motives. What we are here to establish is that she caused Mr. Malfoy a serious injury with the stolen wand of an Auror. If I could just go back over the facts of the case.” Richardson spread his hands and offered up a small smile to the Wizengamot, almost as though he were asking permission. “Ginevra Potter struggled out of the grip of an Auror and stole his wand. She then pointed said wand towards Mr. Malfoy and cast two curses at him. The first guaranteed that he would bleed a lot and the second broke his nose. He suffered massive blood loss that occasioned him being admitted to hospital and administered pain potions that caused him a loss of income for the period of a week. I believe that it would not be too much to ask that she be convicted of grievous bodily harm with a dangerous weapon, considering the facts of the case.” With a small bow to the Wizengamot, Richardson turned to face Edwards. “Your witness.”
The smile Barrister Edwards showed Draco had him shivering with anticipation. Draco was rarely in a situation that allowed him to match wits with someone on this level anymore and despite everything that was on the line, he knew that this would be entertaining.
“Mr. Malfoy.” Edwards moved to stand in front of Draco, but did not block his view of Ginevra. “Who was the instigator of your relationship with Mr. Potter? Who approached whom?”
“Objection!” Draco was unsure if Richardson had even had the time to sit down before standing with his arms raised in protest. “Relevance?”
Keeping his expression carefully neutral, Draco's eyes flicked back to Edwards. He was smiling in a way that made it look like he was enjoying himself immensely.
“Mr. Malfoy’s relationship with Mr. Potter is the reason he was in that ballroom at that time. It is also the reason he ventured backstage and got himself injured.”
If looks could kill, Edwards would have been a smoking pile of ash on the floor of the courtroom. Richardson strode out of the stands again, anger emanating from every inch of him.
“Your client is the reason Mr. Malfoy was injured.”
“Perhaps you should have tried to prove that.”
“Silence! You will both come to order or I shall have to eject you!” Draco turned so he could see the Chief Warlock standing in her seat. “Barrister Edwards, you shall keep your questions to the point. Barrister Richardson, if you have an objection to anything that is being said, you shall remember that you are a grown man and not lose your temper in my courtroom.”
It was obvious that she was exasperated and Draco had to hope that she wouldn’t take it out on either him or their case. Making absolutely certain that he wasn’t showing any emotions he didn’t want anyone to see, Draco turned back to face the two lawyers. Richardson offered a bow before moving back to his seat. Edwards, on the other hand, was still smiling.
“If you had not been in a relationship with Mr. Potter, would you have attended the Annual Ball?”
Draco nodded. “Yes. I make it a point of attending this Ball every year. It’s the only formal function that I am guaranteed to attend.”
“Would you have been sitting where you were this year if not for your relationship with Mr. Potter?”
“No.”
“Would you have gone backstage at any point?”
“No.”
“Would you have spoken to either Mr. or Mrs. Potter?”
“No.” Annoyance tightened Draco's muscles at not being asked relevant questions. How was he supposed to prove that she had injured him on purpose if her lawyer was intent on avoiding the point? “But–”
“Please just answer the questions as they are asked, Mr. Malfoy.” Edwards shot him a smug look hat had Draco's hair standing up on the back of his neck before continuing. “You were the reason Mr. Potter decided to retire, is that correct?”
“No, he–”
“Can you guarantee that you were the only one who was standing beside that door?”
“Yes, I–”
“Is there not even the slightest possibility that Mrs. Potter could have seen someone behind you whom she was aiming for instead and just happened to hit you as you came into the room?”
“No! I was the only–”
“How exactly do you know that, Mr. Malfoy? You didn’t have the same viewpoint as Mrs. Potter.”
“I–”
“Objection!”
Draco huffed out a frustrated breath and turned to glare at Richardson before he could prevent himself. It was the returning glare that Richardson shot him that told Draco that he had lost control over his temper. Closing his eyes, his rapidly beating heart, tense muscles, clenched fists and heated face finally registered with him. It had been a while since he had lost control like that in public and even then it had been with Harry. That Edwards had the power to break through his usual calm exterior unnerved Draco enough that he could feel his hands beginning to shake.
“He is badgering my client.”
“I am questioning the witness, not badgering.”
Keeping his eyes closed as humiliation washed through him, Draco could only guess at what was happening in front of him. He did, however, hear the sigh the Chief Warlock gave before speaking.
“I am calling a halt to today’s proceedings. Court shall resume tomorrow morning at 9am. Barrister Edwards, I suggest that you reconsider the way in which you are choosing to question the witnesses. Barrister Richardson, I suggest that you regain some control over your own temper before entering my court again. Court dismissed.”
His face burning a bright red for the second time that day, all Draco could think of was escape. He had disgraced himself in public and possibly damaged the case against Ginevra by losing his temper with her lawyer, so there was really no choice in the matter as far as he saw: without even waiting for Astoria, he stood and exited the courtroom as fast as decorum would permit. He had to get away.
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19 Years and 5 Minutes Later