The trial

It was the day before the trial. Harry had delayed this conversation, but he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

"Hermione? The Malfoy trial tomorrow. Who are you going to have as the interrogator on that?"

"What do you mean? I will do that. I have done all the Death Eater trials," Hermione said tersely. She hated being reminded of Malfoy and all the other issues that had come with him.

"Yes, but this one is a bit different. Some of Malfoy's charges are personally against you. You cannot both be the interrogator and a victim. That would be cause for a mistrial," Harry argued.

"That is absurd. That has not stopped people before."

"They have prepared well. And they have informed me, as a friendly gesture, that they are going to use that clause if you are interrogating. I checked. It will be cause for mistrial and the motion will be voted on by the court. I don't think we should risk that, do you?" Harry asked, deliberately not saying who "they" were. Hermione knew that anyway, but she didn't mention it either.

"I suppose not," Hermione admitted grudgingly. "But then, who?"

"I can do it," Harry said.

"You?"

"Don't you trust me, Hermione? Trust that I can be objective?"

"I suppose I do," she said with a sigh. "You are right. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Though I wish you would have done so sooner."

Harry drew a relieved breath once he was out of Hermione's office. That hadn't been nearly as bad as he had feared. Hermione had been known to lash out at anyone who mentioned Malfoy, or said anything about her family, ever since that Sunday when she had walked out of the Burrow. She had also spent long days at the office and barely talked to Ron when she was home. Harry did not look forward to the next day. He just hoped that he could get through it without causing a permanent split in his family.

***

Scorpius had received all his letters. After he asked about them, the guards had reluctantly handed them over. Those combined with the knowledge that Rose and most of her family believed in him had made the last two weeks in prison much better. He could brush off the guard's snarky comments. Someone believed him! He now felt a lot better about his trial. And he really wanted to be cleared. He had started preparing what to say.

It was packed with people outside the Ministry, where the trial would be. It was as if they were waiting for a celebrity. As soon as Scorpius arrived, with a guard escorting him, they all started cheering. Scorpius was taken by surprise. Even all the letters hadn't prepared him for this. All those people knew who he was and were cheering him on. Such a novel experience. Hopefully it wouldn't be the last time he saw this many people. He gave a smile and waved as well as he could with his handcuffs on before he was taken down into the Ministry itself. Down to the courtroom. Here, it was quiet. Scorpius felt like his heart was beating out of his chest. Every step felt loud, and the corridor seemed to never end. The handcuffs were removed once they were inside the waiting room. Scorpius thought the guard would wait there with him, but he quickly left, and he heard the distinct click as the door to the outside world was locked behind him. Now he was alone. After what felt like an eternity, the door to the courtroom opened. Scorpius braced himself and went in.

Many voices started whispering at once. The viewer bench was packed, though he couldn't distinguish many faces, as cameras flashed. Scorpius now understood why Albus had wanted him to appear dirty and pitiful from prison. These people were here to see him. And most of them would not be happy if the Wizengamot sent him to Azkaban. He tried to give the audience a smile, but he was too nervous.

"Will the accused please take his seat." Harry's voice came from the middle of the court benches. Good. He had been worried it would be the Minister standing there. With Harry as the interrogator, he could stick to facts and also avoid making the Minister look bad.

Scorpius walked over to the seat with chains, in the middle of the room. This was a crucial moment. Would the chains bind him? He sat down gingerly. The chains rattled but did not awaken. The crowd's murmur grew more excited.

"Quiet in the court please," Harry said.

"Scorpius Malfoy, you are charged with activities connected to the group called Death Eaters, the attempted murder of the Minister for Magic, Hermione Jean Granger, escaping custody, the kidnapping of Rose Granger-Weasley, and usage of Unforgivable Curses.

Interrogator Harry James Potter, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Victims present are Hermione Jean Granger, Minister for Magic, and Rose Granger-Weasley. The Council of Magical Law is gathered to vote on the guilt or innocence of Scorpius Malfoy on these charges."

Harry turned to face Scorpius, but before he could say anything, Albus' voice was heard from behind Scorpius.

"Witnesses for the Defence. Albus Severus Potter, James Sirius Potter and Rose Granger-Weasley. Character witness may be presented by Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts." At the last name mentioned, Scorpius looked up sharply. He saw Professor McGonagall there, up at the defence bench. What had prompted her to come?

Harry nodded and continued with the formalities. Once that was done he looked over at Scorpius. "We will go through each charge, and you will plead guilty or not guilty.

The charge of activities connected to the group calling themselves Death Eaters?"

"Not guilty."

"The charge of the attempted murder of the Minister for Magic?"

"Not guilty."

"The charge of escaping custody?"

"Not guilty."

The charge of the kidnapping of Rose Granger-Weasley?"

"Not guilty."

"The charge of usage of Unforgivable spells?

Scorpius hesitated. "I did not use any working Unforgivable spell, but I pretended I did, and I uttered the words."

"Very well. Let us hear from the first witness. Hermione Jean Granger, Minister for Magic."

Hermione went to the centre of the room. It was clear that she had prepared well. She told in detail about how she had been ambushed, beaten, and tortured. How she had watched her daughter being tortured in front of her eyes. How it had been Scorpius that held her daughter in chains.

She then described the scene of the execution. She rendered it in all its awful imagery, so the whole court felt that they had seen it. How Scorpius had held a sword to her neck. How she was rescued by the intervention of the Aurors and was Apparated to safety at the last second.

When she was finished, it was completely quiet. Scorpius tried not to show tears. He didn't want to think about that night, but he knew he had to. He was surprised that the Minister had been able to describe all of that without showing weakness.

"The defence may now present contrary statements," Harry said after a while.

Albus rose. "Madam Minister, how long was it between when the first Ministry worker showed up, until you were Apparated away? Seconds? Minutes?"

"It was at least a few minutes." Hermione replied.

"And what did Malfoy do during this time?" Albus asked.

"I do not know. I did not see him," Hermione said.

"But did he have the chance to finish his task before he was overwhelmed? Was there a moment when, if he had wished to do so, he could have killed you?" Albus asked.

"I-I suppose so," Hermione said. She understood where Albus was going with his questions, but she had to answer truthfully.

"Then why didn't he? That was why the Death Eaters were there, was it not? They would have counted their losses as acceptable if it ended with the death of the Minister for Magic. If Malfoy had wanted to kill you, he would have had the time to do it. He has little to lose by doing it if he really is a Death Eater. Yet he hesitates. He hesitates long enough to get the Ministry in position to interrupt. And when they do arrive, he disappears from your view. He does not attack or try to kill you, even then. You said you remembered when he arrived. He walked slowly up through the lines of the Death Eaters. He could, as you have proposed, have been savouring the moment, delighting in your terror. But couldn't he also have been stalling? He knew the Ministry had been alerted. We will come back to how he knew that later. He knew that there was a hope that they were on their way. Therefore, he dragged the process out as long as possible."

Albus then turned to Scorpius. "Malfoy, why did you hold a sword over the Minister for Magic's neck?"

"Because the man I believed to be Lord Voldemort told me to do it," Scorpius answered.

"But why did you accept?"

"I feared for my life if I refused."

"Only that?"

Scorpius also suddenly understood where Albus was going with this. Okay, he could play along.

"No. I also wanted to try to save the life of the Minister. And I knew that if I refused, it would not change the fact that they wanted to execute her. He would simply order one of the others to do the deed. That other one might use the Killing Curse instead and get the execution over with a lot quicker. And I wouldn't have been able to stop it, or any later events from occurring."

"So, you would say that this attempted murder that you are accused of should instead be called a successful rescue?"

"I don't want to take the full responsibility for the rescue. That was the effort of many others, including you, Rose and the Ministry workers that came to the rescue. But I was, as you said, desperately trying to stall the process so that the Ministry could arrive. I do not know why they waited to interrupt the process until I was that close to having to refuse to or pretend to do it. I do not know what would have happened if I refused. Possibly, Voldemort would have just killed me. Or he would have punished me and done the deed himself. Either way, there was little else I could do to stop it."

"As I am the only one present who was there when Malfoy was assigned this task," Albus added "I can confirm that he did not ask for it. Yet when he was told to do it, he did not refuse. What he did do was to point out that he did not know the Killing Curse, and so he needed another way. Voldemort gave him the executioner's sword. Malfoy here was trembling. It was clear to me that he was terrified of this task, though luckily none of the others there seemed to realise it, thinking it was excitement. Both Scorpius and I had at this point already pushed our luck when it came to pretending to do the evil deeds the man calling himself Voldemort had told us to do. But still he accepted, hoping that it would all turn out for the best. And as we can see, the Minister is still alive, which was the goal all along."

Albus now looked up at Harry. "That is all we have to say about this specific charge. I would, however, request that we not vote on this charge until after all the testimonies for the other charges have been heard, since most of them are connected."

"The request is granted," Harry said, feeling both proud of Albus and annoyed at how well he argued against him and against Hermione. This would be harder than he had thought, keeping a professional tone with his son on the other side. He hoped they would all manage to keep calm, on both sides. "Let us hear from our second victim, Miss Rose Granger-Weasley, on the kidnapping by Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose got to her feet. "Mr. Potter, I need you to be more specific, please. When did this alleged kidnapping occur? Was it the one that led to me being captured in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts? Because that is the only time I was taken anywhere against my will."

"No, this kidnapping happened when we were storming Malfoy Manor, after you had returned to your grandparent's house. When we returned to the Burrow, you were gone again," Harry had not thought about charging Scorpius with the initial kidnapping specifically and was very glad that Hermione had not done that either. It was part of the "Death Eater activities" charge though.

"I see. You were there, Mr. Potter, when I was reunited with my family. When I was rescued from captivity. Who was it that came with me?"

"That was Mr. Malfoy."

"So, he first gets me back to my family, after several days of captivity. Then, less than 24 hours later, he kidnaps me from their house again? That house also has heightened security. How did he manage such a feat?" She left the question hanging in the air. Albus got on his feet again.

"We have a witness here, James Potter, who can explain what happened with this alleged kidnapping," Albus explained.

James then got on his feet and told of how he and Rose stayed behind while the others went to Malfoy Manor. How he had smelled fire, and seen Rose running away, alone.

"So, to sum it up: You saw Rose Weasley run across the grounds alone. She set a fire in her room to be able to do that. And there was no one else there with her?" Albus added at the end.

"Yes," James confirmed.

Albus looked up at Harry "Does the interrogator have any questions for the witness?"

"No," Harry said. If he had wanted to argue this point, he would have pointed out that James had been phased out and would probably not have been able to see Scorpius if he had returned there, but he didn't want to draw attention to what had happened to James, and he knew that Scorpius had most likely not returned to the Burrow. Hermione probably knew that too. He wished he didn't have to deal with this part of the story at all. He sighed. As well wish he didn't have to deal with any part of this, at least not in an open courtroom.

"I would then like to request that this charge be voted over right now, as it has little relation to the other charges."

"I agree," Harry said. He turned to the other members of the Wizengamot. "We will now move to a vote. Those who would like to uphold the charge against Mr. Malfoy for the kidnapping of Rose Granger-Weasley, please raise your hand."

Not a single person raised their hand. Not even Hermione. She looked away, not meeting anyone's eyes. She wanted to leave but knew that she had to face this. She was the reason they were here at all, she had to see this through. She was glad Harry had persuaded her that she should not be leading this trial. She would not have been able to say the sentence that Harry was about to say.

"Cleared of the charge of the kidnapping of Rose Granger-Weasley," Harry stated. He slammed the gavel.

The audience clapped.

"The next charge concerns connections to the group called Death Eaters. The council have all heard testimonies from the other, already convicted Death Eaters regarding the activities of Mr. Malfoy in that regard."

"I will start by pointing out that Malfoy does not dispute that these actions took place. It is his motivation behind these actions that are the main defence," Albus said.

"I would also like to add a question to the Wizengamot. Malfoy and I did most of these acts together. We did them in order to undermine their plans and rescue prisoners. And to avoid being captured ourselves. When we returned, I was cleared of charges. Indeed, I was never even charged. Yet Mr. Malfoy here was not only charged, but he was also imprisoned until his trial could occur. That was 5 weeks ago. If Mr. Malfoy is telling the truth about working to undermine the Death Eaters, why did his trial not come up first? That way, his testimony could have helped in the conviction of the others. I was never charged, yet I was also there. I have noticed that I have also not been asked to testify against any of them. May I ask, why is that?"

"What question are you asking? Why were you not charged, or why neither of you were asked to testify?" Harry asked, a bit annoyed. He didn't like where this was leading. The truth was that neither he nor Hermione wanted Albus or Rose to come face to face with any of the others and they didn't want them to have to go through the events again. But of course, that would inevitably happen here today. He cursed Hermione's stubbornness. She could have dismissed the charges, but she wouldn't admit that she was wrong. The one time he had tried to suggest that, she had thrown him out of her office.

"Both," Albus replied.

"You were not charged because you were the one who was personally delivering the rescued prisoners from the dungeons. You were also the one who opened the barrier allowing the Aurors and Dumbledore's Army to enter Malfoy Manor and arrest all the Death Eaters apart from Mr. Malfoy. These two acts were enough to convince the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that you were, as you claim, working against the group from within. Mr. Malfoy was not present at either of those events. Therefore, he is facing charges. As for testifying, it was not necessary. We got confessions and testimonies from enough of them that we got a conviction without involving you. We did not want you to have to go through those events again if it could be helped," Harry explained. Albus seemed to have prepared for that answer though.

"And yet, here we are, one of us facing charges on the events you did not want us to have to relive. Well, let us proceed," Albus said while looking at the crowd, whom all seemed to agree.

"Yes. Now. Mr. Malfoy. Would you please tell us how you got in contact with this group of Death Eaters? You were at Hogwarts at the time of their escape, were you not?" Harry asked, trying to get back on track.

"Yes, we read the article in the Daily Prophet about the escaped Death Eaters and the alleged sightings of Voldemort. We were worried, but at the same time, we knew that Hogwarts is one of the safest places to be in the Wizarding world," Scorpius said.

"So why did you leave? How did you get the others to follow you out into the Forest? And how did you get away from Hogwarts?" Harry asked again.

"The next evening, Albus got a letter from Professor Hagrid. He wanted us to get down to his cabin right away. We were confused by this letter, as he usually does not want us to wander around in the school at night. We figured it must be important if he asks us to break school rules to get down there so late, so we decided to go down."

"I would like to add that it was I who insisted we go down. Malfoy only came along when I said I would go anyway. I have also brought the letter from Hagrid that I received. It mentions both me and Malfoy and asks us to come down as soon as possible. You may read it, Potter, if you wish," Albus added, handing Harry the letter he had received. Albus was glad that he had thought to keep that.

Harry gave it a cursory glance, then started passing it around to the rest of the Wizengamot.

Scorpius explained how they had met Rose on the way down and used the secret passage to get out of the castle. And how Hagrid's cabin had caught fire when they knocked on the door.

"So, you claim you had nothing to do with the fire?" Harry wanted to know.

"No, but it may be that the fire was started to get us to run to where the Death Eaters were waiting for us."

"Why did you not just return to the secret passage you had used to get out?"

"That was what we meant to do, but we must have run the wrong way. We soon ran into a group of adults. They seemed to have been waiting for us. They recognised me and Albus, who was right behind me. They quickly captured us, knocking us unconscious."

Scorpius proceeded to talk about their experiences at the graveyard, how he had managed to make Voldemort believe that he was on his side, how he had revealed who Rose was to prevent her from being killed. How he had then asked to be allowed to teach her a lesson to prevent anyone else from being set to hurt her.

He then explained about their plan on how to get the prisoners out of the dungeon. About the interrogation, where he pretended to torture Rose. How Rose then had been tortured by Voldemort to get information about her mother. How Rose had been taken to his rooms on the very night they were to get the prisoners out, preventing her from escaping with the others. "That is also why I wasn't able to help Albus get the rest of the prisoners out. I needed to be present in my room to prevent anyone else from taking advantage of Rose's position."

"I would like to add at this point," Rose interjected. "That Malfoy did not take advantage of this situation. I was completely in his power, and I could not have done anything if he had decided to abuse me. But he did not. We shared the bed, out of necessity. But he first offered to sleep on the floor. I was the one who insisted that that would look very suspicious. The others heard noises from our room one night and misinterpreted them. We decided it was safer for me if we pretended that Scorpius had had sex with me. That way, none of the others would attempt to "take" me. On the very night I was moved to Scorpius' rooms, the guards heavily suggested that they wanted to do just that. They tried to grope me and made rude suggestions. His protection was the only thing that prevented me from being sexually assaulted that night. That was as he said, the reason he was not present when the prisoners were rescued from the dungeon. The first thing he did when we were alone was to remove the chains on my hands. The first thing I did was to hit him. But even then, he did not hurt me in any way."

"So, you claim, despite being taken into Mr. Malfoy's room, that he never took advantage of you? Never taught you a lesson in humility, like he said to the man calling himself Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked, reluctantly. He hadn't really wanted to ask about these sorts of details. Why had Rose hit him? No, he wouldn't ask that here.

"Yes, that is my claim," Rose confirmed.

"I would also, at this point, like to remind the Wizengamot that Mr. Malfoy is not charged with taking advantage of or abusing Miss Granger-Weasley," Albus interrupted. "The only thing he was charged with regarding her was the alleged kidnapping, for which he has now been acquitted. So, is this line of questioning relevant to his charges?"

Harry was silent for a moment. He glanced at Hermione. But she was still silent, her eyes glazed over, and it almost looked like she didn't hear a word that was said.

"Unless Miss Rose Granger-Weasley wants to add assault or abuse to the charge against Mr. Malfoy, this line of questioning is not relevant." Harry admitted. Though they had been the one to bring it up, Harry had taken the bait and asked the normal follow-up question. They really had prepared for this. Though in truth, Harry was glad he had this excuse to not ask for details about what exactly had or had not happened up in that room.

"I do not want to add charges," Rose said at once. "Because there is nothing to charge him for."

"Malfoy." Harry then asked, trying to get back on track again. "Did you say an Unforgivable Curse that night?"

"Yes," Scorpius had to admit. "But at the same time, I was focusing on it not working. I said the words with the intention of the effect failing. I did not want to torture Rose, or anyone else. I don't know if I would even be able to make the spell work if I wanted to, and I don't want to find out."

"Very well. Continue please"

Scorpius continued by explaining how he had been awakened by a guard, told to bring Rose down, and saw that Hermione had been captured, and tried to find a way to rescue her.

Scorpius then had to explain about the two meetings with Hermione down in the dungeon. How she had not believed that he was on her side. How she had reasoned out that Rose was chained in his room.

"I understand that she was angry about that," Scorpius added. "But as you have heard, I did not mean any harm by this situation."

"We have already gone through the details of the execution; I do not think any of us want to go through the specifics of that again," Albus added. "Do you have any more questions about this, Potter?"

"Yes. You mentioned that you were aware of the message sent to the Ministry. Did you know that the owl had been sent when you went down to meet the Minister?" Harry asked.

"I knew that it was being written. That is what Albus, and Rose were doing at the time. I trusted that they would find a way to send it. I also told this to the Minister on my second visit," Scorpius replied.

"But you did not know what it said."

"Not the precise words, but I knew what we wanted to say in the letter."

"So, you don't claim credit for the letter being sent?"

"Not the sending of the letter specifically, but I would argue that I was part of the plan. I knew that it was sent, it was written in my room, and I did not prevent it."

"Very well, let us move on. We have already heard about the attempted execution from the Minister for Magic. Do you have anything to add to that, Malfoy?"

"I would just like to reiterate that it was Voldemort who gave me the job as executioner. I would not claim to volunteer for the task to best save the Minister's life. My hopes lay in the owl we had sent to the Ministry. But when the task was assigned to me, I thought it would be a good way of stalling, though I was also terrified of what I would do if the Ministry was not there to stop it."

At this point, Hermione met Harry's eyes, and made a small movement.

"The Chair gives the word to witness Hermione Granger, Minister for Magic," Harry said. He hoped Hermione would not be too hostile.

"I would like to ask a question, Malfoy. At the time of this execution, where was my daughter? She had just been tortured by the man claiming to be Voldemort. Voldemort said he would bring her along. She was not with you. She was not rescued. Where was she?" Hermione asked. Her voice was steady, but there was a hint of both anger and sorrow there.

Scorpius looked down, a sad look on his face. He did not like to be reminded of that night. "She remained behind at the Manor. Voldemort wanted you to think we had brought her along, but for some reason he did not explain he didn't want Rose to leave with us. He said something about how having prisoners that needed watching would only distract us. So, after the torture session she was taken back to my room. My plan was to quickly return to the manor and get her out as well. But when I was dragged along in your Apparition to safety, I was detained and was not able to return quickly enough. When I came back for her, we met the second person calling himself Voldemort on the stairs. But that was also why I jumped out of the window of the Burrow. I needed to return to the Manor before any of the Death Eaters there found Rose and took her away or hurt her. I thought at the time that trying to explain all of this would take too long. I expected to be back with Rose within the hour."

"Did Albus know where Rose was?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, of course. He was the one bringing her back to our room after the torture."

"So why couldn't he go and get Rose back?"

"That is what I was hoping he would do. But then I saw him return with Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Rose was not with them. I realised then that she must still be at the manor. That is when I removed my chains and jumped out of the window."

Hermione sat down without commenting further. After a while, Harry continued the process. "This brings us to the third charge, escaping custody. You plead "not guilty" on that charge, yet you here openly confess to jumping out of the window? How do you explain that?" he asked

Albus interrupted. "Before we get that far, Mr. Potter, there is one matter we have not cleared up. Malfoy, when you saw the Ministry finally attacking and starting the rescue operation, what did you do? We know that you did not attempt to kill the Minister. Yet you were touching her when she was Apparated to safety. So, what did you do?"

"Once I saw the attack begin, I threw myself down on the ground. I had no desire to be attacked or killed by the Ministry. I rolled away behind the pole the Minister was tied to. I raised my sword again, this time to try to cut away some of the ropes she was tied with. It was not the best tool for that work, but it was what I had as I had no time to get my wand out of my pocket. At that exact moment, she was Apparated away. That is also why I still held the sword when we arrived at the Burrow. It is very understandable that they did not believe me when I said I was not an enemy. I know how it must have looked."

"Thank you. That leads us to the charge of escaping custody," Albus said. He looked up at Harry. "Was Malfoy ever actually arrested?"

Harry looked taken aback. "What do you mean? He has just admitted to being detained and taken inside the Burrow, in a locked room where he had to jump out of a window to escape."

"Yes, but at what point was he arrested? Was there someone from the Ministry there to arrest him? The owners of the house detained him, but do they have the authority to arrest? Can he be escaping custody when he had only been detained? I would also like to point out that he did not attack anyone. When he escaped out the window, he ran straight to the boundary and Disapparated. And according to his own testimony, he only did this when he saw that I returned without Rose Granger-Weasley. So, what are your grounds for charging him with escaping custody? He had not yet been taken into custody!" A few of the members of the Wizengamot nodded at this argument. Harry and Hermione shared a look. Neither of them had thought about this, but it was true. That was yet another point in Scorpius' favour. He could see that Rose and Albus were very pleased with this argument, though they tried to hide the smiles.

"That may be true. But he still ran away before he could be questioned and created confusion about his allegiance. I say the charge still stands, and will be voted over at the end, with the rest. Continue with your testimony please, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said.

"Before we continue," Scorpius said. "I would like to add that the events of that night were the worst of my life. Watching people being tortured right in front of me was horrible. I felt like it was me being tortured. I am not saying I felt half as bad as the Minister watching her daughter being tortured in front of her, but it was still a terrible experience. It is the worst thing I have ever seen.

The look of fear and anger in the Minister's eyes when I walked towards her with the sword is another thing I will never forget. She thought she was going to die, but she was defiant to the last. The look in her eyes, and my actions, or lack of actions that night will haunt me forever. I don't know what I could have done differently. I only wish that if I ever find myself in that situation, I will be half as brave as she was."

This statement was met with total silence. Hermione stared at Scorpius with her mouth open. That was an unexpected statement, and it didn't seem like he just said that to seem modest or look good. He meant it. Even Rose seemed unprepared for it, so it wasn't like she had put him up to it either. Seeing the way Rose looked at Scorpius pained her. She really loved him. If this went wrong, would Rose ever forgive her?

Harry collected himself and continued "Would you now please tell us what happened after you returned to Malfoy Manor?"

Scorpius continued his story. How he had found Rose still in their room. How they had run down the stairs, but then saw Voldemort there.

"Unfortunately, he thought Rose was trying to run away from me," Scorpius explained. "One of the Death Eaters, I believe it was Lestrange, suggested we needed to punish Rose for the Minister's escape. I did not have a chance to protest against this, since I had to explain why I had been on my way out of the manor when the man calling himself Voldemort saw us."

"Why would he punish Rose?" Harry asked. "She had not been present when she escaped?"

"Voldemort had said that he would punish Rose more if the Minister made any more trouble. Voldemort also thought she had been trying to escape," Scorpius explained. He was not looking at Hermione when he said this. She had not heard this part. She desperately tried to stay collected.

"Rose… She was chained to the wall. And tortured again. I had been so close to getting her out. So close. And now I had to watch her being tortured again. While Brutus Malfoy eagerly took photos of it. It was horrible. Had I known at that time that this person was not Voldemort, I would have attacked him. In my anger, I could have taken out half the people present before they knew what was happening. There were only about 10 of them there at the time. But I believed I was facing Lord Voldemort himself. So, I just stood there and watched. Again. Begging for it to stop. Hoping it would stop before I would no longer be able to stand it."

Scorpius stopped and failed to hold back tears. Hermione looked at him, tears forming. The room was again completely quiet. It was Albus that broke the silence this time.

"I still have the photos of this event, if it is needed to prove this happened. I was given the whole roll and told to send the best to the Minister. Some of them even show Malfoy watching with anger in his eyes. I used the opportunity to send a message to my family, explaining that Voldemort was back again. That is when the idea that it was just an impostor started forming." Scorpius dried his eyes when the attention shifted to Albus again.

"That will not be necessary," Harry determined. "But why did you not leave once this event was done, Malfoy? Were you watched?"

"I still feared for my life and Rose's. Voldemort was back and the situation soon made it impossible for anyone to leave undetected. There were guards everywhere. Voldemort decided we should all stay inside in the manor for now. He had created a barrier around the whole Manor that you could only pass through if you had the Dark Mark. We all took turns guarding the boundary and gate. But we rarely did that alone long enough to attempt any sort of escape or rescue."

"And where was Rose Granger-Weasley?" Harry wanted to know.

"She was once again chained in my room. Some of the Death Eaters heard noises from the room one night and believed that it meant we had sex. We decided it would be best for the both of us to not dispute this claim. That way, I had an excuse to spend most of my time up in my room, and she would be safer from being assaulted by the other Death Eaters. We used the time to work on a plan."

Scorpius continued to explain about the wedding. Why they had agreed, and the plan about the honeymoon and the drinking contest. Then the disaster of the Unbreakable Vow. And finally, how he and Rose had gone to meet her family.

"But why did you then run away? Why did you not return with Rose to her family, or come with us when we stormed the Manor? And how was Rose able to find you the next day?" Harry demanded.

"Malfoy has already been cleared of the kidnapping of Rose Granger-Weasley," Albus interrupted. "So those details are not important."

"I did not return with Rose because I knew that some in her family would probably resent me, and my presence may distract you from the chance you had of storming the manor. In hindsight, it may have been a mistake, but I thought it would be best to let things calm down before I made contact again. And I wanted to sort out my feelings and give Rose a chance to sort out her own," Scorpius explained. "I didn't want to force her to stay with me, if she didn't want to."

"Very well. Does anyone in the Wizengamot have any further questions for the accused?" Harry asked, looking around at the witches and wizards on the bench around him.

No one said anything. Harry looked at Hermione. She sat still, looking at Scorpius, but no longer with unfriendly eyes.

"Does the defence have anything else to add?" Harry asked, once it was clear that no one would speak.

"Yes," Albus said at once. "First, I would like to go back to what you said at the beginning of the trial. I was not charged with Death Eater activities because I was the one letting the Aurors and Dumbledore's army into the manor. But weren't you only there because Malfoy had told you when I would be able to open the door that morning? Or did you have close to 60 people there every day? You arrested all the Death Eaters without a single casualty. That is remarkable. But wasn't that mostly because Malfoy had challenged them to a drinking contest the night before? On a regular day, even taken by surprise, these witches and wizards would have put up quite a fight."

"We would also like for Miss Rose Granger-Weasley to add her testimony to that of Mr. Malfoy about the events surrounding her imprisonment. She has stated her willingness to do so, despite being a perceived victim in this case. Rose, would you please come forward?"

Rose went to the middle of the room. She deliberately did not look at her mother. "First, I want to assure the court that while I was captured by the Death Eaters in the grounds of Hogwarts, Mr. Malfoy did not have a hand in that. In fact, as you have heard, he was just as much a target as I was.

When I later heard him offer his loyalty to Voldemort, I was shocked. Perhaps even more shocked than I was when Albus Potter did the same moments later. That was because I never would have believed that Malfoy of all people would go over to the Dark Side. He has never shown the slightest inclination towards Dark Magic. And, because of his name and family background, many would expect him to have a thirst for it and have watched him especially for signs of it. It was completely out of character for him to do such a thing as declaring loyalty to the dark side.

And as I previously explained, he only pretended to torture me. He even risked asking for a favour to make sure he would be the one assigned to torture me, to do everything he could to prevent me from being harmed. He did everything he could to keep me safe. I was chained, true, but that was because of the orders from the man calling himself Voldemort. He kept up the pretence and thus prevented anyone else from taking advantage of my situation.

His only priority, even when it made himself look bad, like when escaping from the Burrow, was to keep me safe. When we left for our supposed honeymoon, he could have taken me anywhere. When he had to make an Unbreakable Vow, he could have made one that forced me to stay with him, or even to not leave Malfoy Manor. He did not. On several occasions during those two weeks, he could have chosen to hurt me or taken advantage of my position. I was completely in his power. But he did not hurt me. He did not force himself on me. He even left me behind with my family, to give me the choice of staying away from him, if that is what I wanted to do. His priority was not his own safety, but mine. And I owe him my life. I did not escape from my captivity unharmed. But I could have been killed. Or only wished I were dead. But I am here and recovering. That is thanks to Scorpius Malfoy."

"Thank you, Rose. Do you have any more questions for Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter?" Albus asked, looking up at Harry again.

"No. It is obvious that Miss Weasley has a clear picture of what she believes happened. I don't think any more questions are necessary," Harry replied. He hated that Rose had to recall these events in an open courtroom. But it was too late to turn back now.

"Now, we would like to present Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. She will be a character witness, not a witness for the specific events mentioned in the trial," Albus continued. Scorpius wondered why she had agreed to come.

McGonagall rose and entered the middle of the room. "I would like to say, witches and wizards of the Wizengamot, that I absolutely believe Mr. Malfoy's story. If someone had said three months ago that we would be here and debating whether Scorpius Malfoy was a Death Eater, I would have asked if they had had too much Firewhiskey. Scorpius Malfoy would be one of the last people I would have believed to go over to the Dark side. I would hate to think that he was only imprisoned because of his last name, but hearing his testimony and the evidence here tonight, I wonder why anyone still insists on this trial.

After so many years as a teacher, I would like to think that I know something of the human character. And in Mr. Malfoy I have not seen any of the signs that would indicate a tendency for Dark Magic. And as Miss Granger-Weasley has pointed out, he has been looked at more closely for such signs because of who his family is. We should be above such prejudices, but unfortunately, we are not. But I would like to think that Mr. Malfoy here can be a perfect example of why we shouldn't let such prejudices cloud our judgements." With that she sat down.

Scorpius nearly fell off his chair. Had Professor McGonagall just said that? Such nice things? About him? She had never seemed particularly friendly before. Then again, she hadn't been unfriendly either…

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. Now I would like to make my own testimony," Albus said. "I was, as mentioned, present at all the events described in this trial. I did many of the same deeds, and some even worse. I also uttered an Unforgivable Curse that did not work, and it was against my own brother. But I was not arrested because of the good deeds I did. So, I ask, should Malfoy now be punished for his bad deeds, while ignoring the good? If so, that is the exact opposite of what happened to me. If you want to punish Malfoy for his actions, you should also punish me for mine. We both did things we wish we didn't have to do. We both saw things we wish we hadn't seen. But we did this to keep ourselves and others safe. Malfoy did this specifically to keep Rose Granger-Weasley safe. In the process, we had the chance to stop the murder of the Minister for Magic, and to aid in the capture and death of many members of the group called Death Eaters. After these events, in the last weeks, I have received much praise for my actions. Some have also argued for the release of Malfoy on the very same grounds. There have been over 200 appeals sent to the Ministry for Malfoy's release. They were all ignored. So now we are here. If you, honoured members of the Wizengamot, want to punish Malfoy for whatever deeds he may have done, you must also punish me. He did nothing wrong I did not do, and in many cases he did less."

"And if circumstances around a deed are not important, then I am equally guilty," Rose suddenly exclaimed. Hermione straightened at this sudden turn of events, but Rose was not looking at her. "It was because of information I gave that the Minister was captured. Sure, it was given under duress. But so were Malfoy's actions. He had to improvise to keep himself and others safe. Today you have heard the reason behind all his actions. They are much the same as Potter's reasoning. Much the same as mine. I ask, what did Malfoy do that Albus Potter did not?"

Without Scorpius noticing, Albus and Rose had placed themselves on each side of his chair. They placed their hands on the armrests, as if to see if the chain judged them. The chain near Albus rattled slightly, as it had with Scorpius. The chain near Rose did not move at all. Scorpius startled. What were they doing?

"It seems we are ready to face the judgement of the Wizengamot," Albus said quietly.

Everything was quiet. The faint rattle of the chain had been clearly audible for everyone present. A low murmur came from the viewing benches. This had never happened before. Someone asking to be judged alongside the accused? Harry looked angry. This was the part of the plan that he would not be happy about. He wanted to throw the whole case out of the door right then and there, but he knew that they had to see this through to the end now. He just hoped he wouldn't end up sending his son to Azkaban.

"The court will adjourn for 30 minutes while the Wizengamot confers. Judgement on each charge will then be given. I ask that everyone not on the jury leave this room. The accused may wait in the room from which he entered," Harry said finally.

The crowd on the viewing benches reluctantly rose and started to leave. Scorpius looked up at them and saw a surprising number of familiar faces. The whole Weasley family was present, as was his father. Many of his classmates were there, since the summer holidays had begun. Once they had cleared out, Scorpius started walking toward the other room. To his surprise, Albus followed. Rose reluctantly went the other direction, with James and Professor McGonagall.