Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

19 Years and 5 Minutes Later	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 58417 -:- 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
- 47
- 48
- 49
A/N: Thank you, anon, whoever you are! Jan: since I'm trying to keep it as close to canon as possible, they won't accept Veritaserum as a testimony :(

“A mind Healer?” Garrett Richardson stood and blinked at Harry for a few seconds, confusion clear on his face. He glanced over to where Draco stood in front of the stands in the courtroom before looking back at Harry. “Yes, of course Mrs. Potter has been seeing one. It is prison policy in cases such as these that the accused be analysed by a qualified professional before the day of their court case. He shall be called up to testify today.”
“But–” Harry cut himself off with a frustrated huff of breath. He was well aware of the prison regulations now that Draco had reminded him; it was the fact that he had had no idea what was going on with Ginny that was irritating him. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced over to see Draco frowning at Richardson as well. “Why weren’t we kept up-to-date with the case? Isn’t this something we should have been told?”
Richardson’s cheeks turned a dull red, his lips pressed together and he ducked his head, looking for all the world like he would like to be anywhere other than standing in front of Harry at that second. He cast his eyes around the courtroom as though he were looking for something to distract Harry from this line of questioning, but considering most of the people had filed out to take advantage of the recess, they were some of the only people left in the room. Harry glanced over to Draco, cocking an eyebrow in question. Draco gave a one-shouldered shrug before Richardson cleared his throat.
“Well, Mr. Potter, you see…” He sighed, a look of resignation now crossing his face. “You are no longer entitled to know all of Mrs. Potter’s health concerns. Your divorce is going through today and with the case you have brought against her, it would be inappropriate for me to give you details like that. If it was something you needed to prepare for – something you would be questioned on for the case for example – then of course I would have kept you up-to-date, but as it stands, Mrs. Potter’s health concerns are no longer your business.” He held a hand up when Harry glanced automatically over to Draco again. “With Mr. Malfoy being your partner, it would be equally inappropriate for me to give him such details as well. Rest assured that had something happened to her, you would have been informed, but as all that has happened is she has been seeing the required Healer, there was nothing for me to tell.”
His frustration at being kept in the dark building, Harry shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes and clenched his jaw for a few seconds. “Alright. Can you tell me when he will testify? Will the case be over today or will we have to be back tomorrow as well?”
He sounded testy and he knew it. The truth of the matter was that, despite Draco's best efforts, Harry had not been able to shed all of the anger that had built in him. He could feel it still simmering away beneath the surface of his mind and if taking his frustration out on Richardson for this was a way to expend some of it, then Harry was more than willing to do so. The affronted look Richardson shot him only confirmed that Harry’s tone of voice was as pissed off as he felt, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Drawing himself up to his full height, Richardson raised his chin so he was looking down his nose at Harry.
“I have never once led you astray when it comes to the important facts of this case, Mr. Potter. I kept Mrs. Potter’s health information private because that is what is legally required of me.”
His tone grated against Harry’s nerves, causing him to roll his shoulders. He was about to respond when Draco stepped in front of him.
“I’m sure Harry meant no offence, right?” Draco shot him a glare over his shoulder as he placed a hand on Richardson’s shoulder and steered him away from Harry. “How is your grandson?”
Harry shook his head as Draco removed Richardson before Harry could insult him further; he was damn sure Draco knew exactly how much offence he had meant to give. Forever the sensible one.
Moving up into the stands, he collapsed down onto his seat, allowing his head to fall backwards. The ceiling of the room reflected the flickering light of the torches and Harry watched, trying to make patterns out of the shapes in an attempt to calm himself down and straighten things in his mind. The prison had forced Ginny to see a mind Healer and hadn’t informed him. It was a strange sensation to know that today was the true end of his marriage. He and Ginny were over, he was about to embark on a whole new life with Draco, and Ginny was – hopefully – going to prison. Harry let that information sink in as he watched what could have been a rabbit form in the reflected firelight.
“Harry?”
He jumped at the hesitant voice, scrambling to right himself. Once he managed it, he looked down to meet Charlie Weasley’s amused gaze. Charlie’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling before he started up the stairs towards Harry.
“Charlie! I – er – how are you?”
Harry went to push himself up from the chair, but was stopped by Charlie holding a hand up. Watching as Charlie moved to settle himself on the step closest to Harry’s chair, Harry’s mind raced. He silently cursed his younger self for never learning to read people’s expressions properly, thinking that it would make these kinds of interactions so much easier.
“Good, I’m good…” Charlie paused, his gaze moving towards the waiting room where Harry knew Ginny was still hidden with her lawyer. “Hell of a turn of events, these past few months.”
“I’m sorry.” Charlie’s head turned back to Harry to lock eyes with him so fast that Harry was slightly surprised he hadn’t strained something. “She’s your sister – your only sister – and I know how much she means to you all. I honestly didn’t mean to hurt her or any of you with this, but when I realised, I couldn’t keep living a lie any longer. Although, this–” he waved his hand out over the courtroom, “–wasn’t what I was expecting to happen.”
Charlie eyed him for a few seconds before running a hand through his hair. “No, I don’t think any of us were expecting this.”
The silence that fell between them seemed to not be too awkward to Harry and he let it fall, grateful that Charlie didn’t seem angry with him. Still, he automatically kept an eye on him, his Auror instincts not allowing him to leave himself open to danger of any kind. They sat in peace for a few minutes before Charlie spoke again.
“Bill isn’t happy with you.”
Harry sighed. “I figured as much. I’m actually quite surprised you’re not as well.”
“I never said I wasn’t.” Charlie stood and held out a hand for Harry to shake. “But I do understand where you’re coming from and am glad to see you haven’t changed. I’m willing to try to move past this if you are.”
Harry nodded before standing and grasping Charlie’s hand. At least Charlie had been honest with him, he figured. After an exchange of pleasantries, Charlie extracted a promise from Harry to allow him to spend some time with his niece and nephews before he made the journey back to Romania. Harry knew he couldn’t have avoided it once the kids knew their elusive Uncle Charlie was back for a few days, but he promised anyway before sinking back onto the chair.
He rested his head back against the back of the chair again for a few minutes before he felt someone else take Draco's chair beside him. The touch of fingers trailing lightly over the back of his hand told him it was Draco without him having to move an inch. He turned his hand and smiled when those fingers laced through his.
“Sorry I’ve been in such a shit mood today.”
A small huff of breath was Draco's only response, causing Harry to grin. Three days before, Harry had believed he and Draco to be as solid as they were going to get and had honestly not realised that this case would put so much pressure on their relationship. The past few days had opened his eyes to the facts though: they would have to work at their relationship just as much as anyone else did and not everything was going to come as easily to them as falling into the relationship in the first place had. He raised his head when Draco squeezed his fingers.
“You realise Edwards is aiming to piss the both of us off, right?”
Harry nodded as he sat up. “He did look up here a lot, but I don’t know why. There’s no benefit to it anymore, is there?”
“Benefit or not, I would advise the both of you try to not allow him to get to you.”
Harry turned his attention to Richardson as he moved to take his seat in front of them. He didn’t seem to be angry with him, but Harry apologised anyway and was thankful when Richardson accepted it without a second thought. He was about to ask if Richardson had had anything to do with Edwards before when the Chief Warlock and the rest of the Wizengamot returned. The room filled swiftly after that, causing Draco to take his hand back. Harry sat up properly when the Chief Warlock stood and addressed the room.
“Mrs. Potter, we shall now continue with your testimony, if you are ready?” She waited until Ginny had nodded before continuing. “Barrister Richardson, you may question Mrs. Potter first, followed by Barrister Leung. Barrister Edwards will then have the opportunity to call more witnesses. I would ask you all to please remember to keep your questions to the point today, as we have strayed a bit far from that the past few days.”
The Chief Warlock sat back down again, leading to Richardson standing and walking slowly to stop in front of Ginny. Harry’s nerves jumped and he leant forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. This was it; this was the testimony that would affect major parts of his life for years to come.
“Mrs. Potter.” Richardson paced back and forth a few times before coming to a stop in front of Ginny again. “If I understood your earlier testimony, you claim to be suffering from blackouts, correct?”
“Yes, I am.” Ginny nodded to emphasise her answer.
“How long would you say you have been suffering from these episodes?”
“It’s hard to say, really. I didn’t notice any time missing until fairly recently, but it may have been going on for much longer than that.”
“It seems rather convenient to me that you should suddenly start suffering from such a mental disorder around the same time you began having troubles with Mr. Potter. Especially considering the moments you claim are missing are the ones in which you have treated him with disrespect that borders on abuse. You have asserted that you do not recall attempting to dose Mr. Potter with a homemade love potion the night of the Ministry Annual Ball; that your memory is in patches. Can you tell me why you would have gone backstage that night?”
Ginny shook her head slowly. “No, I cannot. As you said, my memory is in patches.”
“You had no business there, especially considering you were no longer with Mr. Potter at the time. Could you take a guess as to why you went backstage that night instead of taking a seat in the ballroom with everyone else?”
Harry frowned and glanced over to Draco, trying to see whether he knew what Richardson was up to with this line of questioning. When Draco merely shook his head, Harry turned back to the centre of the room.
Ginny was shaking her head. “Maybe I wanted to speak with my husband.”
“You and Mr. Potter had been separated for a month and he had already moved on with Mr. Malfoy. You knew that to be a fact because you had seen it with your own eyes a few days previously when you entered Grimmauld Place to find the two of them together there.”
“I don’t recall that.”
“Really?” Harry watched as Richardson clasped his hands behind his back and rocked up onto his toes. “You don’t recall arriving at Grimmauld Place with your daughter, trying to convince Mr. Potter to stay with you, then leaving without your daughter when he refused you? Because that is the day I am speaking of. You stated yourself earlier today that you thought they were living together already by that time, so there must have been a moment that gave you that impression.”
Ginny stared at him for a few seconds before responding. “I’ve already stated that I don’t remember what Harry calls me ‘abandoning’ my child. And I would think that my reasoning behind assuming that they were living together would be obvious: Harry had left me in favour of Malfoy. I didn’t want to think about what Malfoy was doing with my husband, because it was too painful.”
Harry sat up straight and leant in to whisper to Draco as Ginny trailed off. “What is he doing? Trying to get sympathy for her?”
“Just hold on; there has to be a strategy here somewhere.” Draco's eyes were fixed on Richardson, but Harry could see the strain in his posture. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“Mr. Potter listed a lot of things you had done to him and your children over the past few months, do you recall that?” Richardson smiled when Ginny nodded silently. “Could you tell the court which of those things you do not remember doing or saying?”
“I don’t remember any of it, to be honest.”
Harry leant in to Draco again. “He’s proving what Edwards said is correct: that isn’t a strategy we what.”
“Shut-up Potter. He has been my family’s lawyer for longer than I have been alive; he wouldn’t fuck that up in such an obvious way. There has to be something more to this.”
Turning back to face the floor, Harry tried to suppress the worry that tingled along his spine. Richardson was pacing slowly in front of Ginny again.
“You already said you remember Mr. Potter standing in front of you as you struggled with the two Aurors restraining you. Do you recollect the first time you came back to see your daughter after your initial split with Mr. Potter? Or the amount of time you spent working over the past few months? How about your interactions with your family, are any of those moments missing?”
“Of course I remember all of that–”
“Objection!”
Harry jumped as the sound of Edwards’ voice echoed loudly through the courtroom. Having no idea what Edwards was objecting to, he turned to look at Draco, seeing a knowing smile tilting the edges of his lips. That gave him the clue that there must be something that he had missed and he turned to follow Edwards’ progress into the centre of the room.
“It isn’t Barrister Richardson’s place to determine whether or not Mrs. Potter is actually having blackouts. She has already stated what she does and does not remember, so what is the point in having her repeat it all?”
Sitting in his chair in the stands, Harry’s mind finally cleared to what was happening before him: Ginny was claiming that the only things she did not remember were the things that would have her prosecuted. He was unable to prevent the gasp that escaped him and saw Draco turn to him out of the corner of his eye.
“Strategy, Potter.”
He knew he would have to deal with Draco's smugness at being right later on, but right now there was a lot of drama unfolding in front of him, so Harry turned back to the centre of the room. Richardson was smiling blandly at Edwards, Edwards was glaring at him and the Chief Warlock looked exasperated.
“Objection overruled. It is Barrister Richardson’s job to question the witness before him and that is exactly what he is doing.”
Barrister Edwards’ shoulders slumped a little, but he returned to his seat with no further fuss. It seemed to Harry that Richardson was standing a little taller as he turned to face Ginny.
“Am I to believe that the only moments you do not recall with perfect clarity are the ones that have brought you before this court today? You don’t remember treating a man you claim to love with such disgust and contempt that it borders on abuse but you do remember acting like the loving Mother, daughter and friend that you would have us all believe you are. That is a fascinating mental illness, I must say.”
“Objection!”
“Sustained. Barrister Richardson, please stay on topic.”
“Apologies, Chief Warlock. Mrs. Potter, moving on to the night of the Ball again. The curses you cast at Mr. Malfoy could have killed him, did you know that?”
“No, because I didn’t know I had cast anything at anyone until the Aurors deigned to tell me the next day why I was being retained.”
“Fascinating. So, you don’t remember anything past leaving your… shall we call him a gentlemen friend?”
Ginny’s cheeks turned a dull red as she stared at Richardson. “No, I don’t. Not clearly, anyway.”
“You stated that you remembered a sense of fear as you were being restrained by two people. This must mean you remember something. Did you have a clear line of sight to the doorway?”
“No.”
“How about Mr. Potter? What do you remember of him that night?”
“He was standing in front of me with a look of complete hatred in his eyes. I had never seen him look so angry.”
“And Mr. Malfoy?”
“I didn’t see him at all.”
“Not even when you cast those curses at him?”
“I don’t remember casting curses at anyone. I didn’t have a wand in my hand at all that night.”
Richardson nodded. “The mind is an interesting thing, Mrs. Potter. For you to not recall going backstage at the Ball, to allowing you to remember the look on Mr. Potter’s face, to taking that recollection away again when it comes to Mr. Malfoy in the next few minutes…” He shook his head before turning to face the Wizengamot. “Based solely off her testimony here today, Mrs. Potter is claiming that the only memories that she is missing are the ones that are pertinent to this case. I would ask the Wizengamot to please take that fact into account when you make your decision this afternoon.”
With that statement, Richardson bowed to them and moved off to take his seat again. It was Draco's hand running along the small of his back that drew Harry’s attention from the centre of the room again.
“I’m good,” he murmured as he met Draco's questioning gaze. If he was to be honest, Harry really had no idea how he felt about what had been revealed. He had known that Ginny must be lying about having blackouts, but to have what he would term evidence to prove it in front of him… He shook his head. “I’ll be much better once this is over, though.”
It looked to him like Draco was about to respond, but the Chief Warlock called Barrister Leung to the floor before he could. Harry nodded to him before returning his attention to Ginny.
“Mrs. Potter, you have stated that you do not recall why you were backstage that night, yes?”
“Yes.”
“So you have no idea why you would have been crouched down by the doorway leading to the stage?”
“No.”
“Or why you would have begun to struggle when the two Aurors on duty caught you there?”
“I would assume–”
“I am asking for facts, Mrs. Potter.”
“Then no, I don’t.”
“How about when you kicked and lashed out at the two Aurors?”
“No.”
“Nor would you remember taking Auror Gould’s wand and using it on Mr. Malfoy?”
“No, I’ve already said that.”
Leung nodded. “You know Aurors Gould and Reynolds personally, is that correct?”
“I have known them both for a few years through my husband’s work, yes.”
“Did you recognise them the night of the Ball?”
“I recognised Alexa after I came around, but Kyle was behind me, so I didn’t know it was him who was holding me.”
Barrister Leung was asking the questions so fast, Harry was almost having trouble keeping up with what was being said. He laced his fingers together in front of him and leant forward, watching intently so he didn’t miss anything.
“When did you ‘come around’?”
Ginny paled. “I don’t…”
“You recall Mr. Potter standing front of you, but you were still struggling, kicking against the hold Auror Reynolds had on your feet. You must have recognised her then, in the same moment you recognised Mr. Potter, yes?”
“I – uh – I don’t…” Ginny paused, her eyes flicking around the room. “I was focussed on my husband, not on who was holding me. I wanted to be released. I was panicking because I had no idea why I was being restrained.”
“How about when Auror Gould dropped you. Do you remember that?”
“No.”
“You don’t remember biting him and grabbing his wand?”
“No.”
“You don’t remember being Stunned?”
“I remember something hitting me from behind.”
“Why would you have grabbed Auror Gould’s wand, Mrs. Potter?”
“I don’t know.”
“Could you have been trying to aim at one of the Aurors surrounding you but missed?”
“Of course not!”
“Or maybe you were aiming specifically at Auror Reynolds?”
“No, I–”
“Or perhaps at your husband?”
“He would have deserved it if I had been!”
“Then you were aiming Auror Gould’s wand at Mr. Malfoy on purpose?”
“He’d taken–”
“Objection! She is badgering my client!”
Ginny jumped, her face twisted with the same kind of hatred Harry had seen from her over the past few months. She seemed to realise that she had said something wrong in a few seconds, however, as her face went blank when Edwards strode out into the centre of the room. His heart racing, Harry turned slowly to Draco.
“Did she just…?”
“Fuck up quite badly? I believe she did.”
A buzz of conversation filled the courtroom in a few seconds as people all around the room began to discuss what they had just heard. If what Harry had heard was correct, Ginny had just admitted that she remembered aiming the curses at Draco. Squeezing his fingers together even tighter than he had been originally, he turned back to the floor. Leung was staring at Edwards with a smug look in her eyes, Ginny was also staring at Edwards but with a look of slight horror, and the Chief Warlock was standing in her seat, trying to call order to her courtroom.
“Silence. This court will come to order!” She waiting until the noise had died down to acceptable levels before continuing. “Barrister Edwards, you have been using the same technique to question every witness you have spoken to.”
A look of incredible frustration crossed Edwards’ face before he spoke again. “If Barrister Leung is done with my client, may I call a short recess? Mrs. Potter is obviously exhausted by the questioning and I would appreciate her being able to have a few minutes in peace.”
“I believe I have what I came here for,” Barrister Leung responded with a small bow to the Wizengamot when the Chief Warlock turned to her. “Thank you all.”
Harry sat still and watched as Edwards released Ginny from the chair and guided her into the small waiting room. His mind a confused jumble of emotions, he allowed his eyes to become unfocussed as he tried to sort through what he had just seen and heard. Between the two of them, it seemed that Richardson and Leung had managed to throw Ginny off just enough so that she slipped up. But what if the Wizengamot members hadn’t heard what Harry had? What if they had taken it as Ginny simply supposing what would have happened in the scenario Leung had posed? He frowned as his stomach churned with worry.
“Harry?” Draco's voice was soft. “Come on, come out and clear your head a bit. Get out of this room for a few minutes.”
Nodding slowly, he followed Draco out of the courtroom, but kept his head down, knowing he could trust Draco to lead him wherever he wanted them to go. Listening to the rumble of voices around them, he knew Draco was right: he needed to clear his mind.
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19 Years and 5 Minutes Later