get out [h. granger]

four

"The court calls to session the case of Shyla Fawley, accused of the murder of Carmen and Micheal Fawley. The accused presents new evidence to the court. Miss Fawley has requested to be questioned under the truth potion before this court. Evard, if you will administer the potion."

Shyla swallowed nervously, her throat dry and tongue too big for her mouth. She had been doing nothing but preparing for this moment for months. And the plan was foolproof. But the feeling of the enchanted chains around her wrists and the eyes of every wizard in the room was enough to make her beyond nervous.

Evard tipped the potion down Shyla's throat. A tingle ran down her spine and Shyla knew that the potion was in effect. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She knew better now than she had when she was eight years old and scared. When she had been convinced that they were only doing this to keep her safe. When she had been played by the system for a good headline.

"I will now ask some baseline questions to establish the efficacy of the truth serum," Minister Fudge announced, nodding to Evard in thanks. "Miss Fawley, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," Shyla answered automatically.

"What are your parent's names?"

"Carmen Garcia Fawley and Micheal Fawley," Shyla answered again, the potion forcing the words out of her.

"Very well. Madam Bones, if you will," Fudge said, leaning back and staring at Shyla with curious eyes.

"Hello, Shyla," Madam Bones said. "Eight years ago, you were accused and tried for the murder of your parents. At the time, this jury believed there was substantial evidence from eyewitnesses to convict you without the use of veritaserum. At your request, however, we will temporarily ignore the conclusion we came to during that trial and listen only to your evidence as you present it today. When you are ready, please tell the court what happened concerning the deaths of Carmen and Micheal Fawley."

Shyla took a deep breath and steeled herself. Just as she opened her mouth to begin, her head buzzed and her mother appeared before her, a warm smile on her face.

"The truth will set you free, my love," Carmen whispered, her eyes crinkling in the corners.

Shyla blinked and her mother was gone again. She exhaled and began. "When I was small, I started showing signs of magic earlier than most young wizards and witches. This is normal for Falweys, but my magic was more uncontrollable than any others in my family had been. As I grew, so too did. my power. It exploded out of me uncontrollably when I got upset. Until my grandmother put a blood curse on me. Instead of exploding out of me with no outlet, the magic worked to keep me alive instead. But it was a temporary solution.

"The day of my parents' deaths, they got into an argument. It was one of the worst ones I had ever seen between them. My father was aiming to kill my mother, claiming he was done with her for good and he would marry again after she was dead. I sought to protect my mother, but at eight, there wasn't much I could do. One of his many killing curses ricocheted, hitting him instead of her. But he had let off one final one and it struck my mother. In my grief, my magic exploded one more, taking the form of an uncontrollable fire. When the Aurors arrived after reports from eyewitnesses, they knew it was my magic that had started the fire. They saw the bodies of my parents, badly burnt. I was convinced by a ministry witch that if I pled for insanity, therefore solidifying my guilt, I would be taken to St. Mungo's instead of Azkaban.

"I will happily be charged for arson, but the death of my parents is the fault of my father," Shyla finished, staring Fudge directly in the eyes. She was daring him to send her back to St. Mungo's, she was daring him to go against the carefully crafted tale that, while all true, she had spent months perfecting. Shyla was going to fight for her freedom—tooth and nail.

"All in favor of charging the accused?" Madam Bones said. A few hands went up, but the majority of them stayed down. Shyla held her breath in anticipation. "All in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?"

Most of the hands in the room went up, including Fudge's. Shyla felt her hands tremble and her eyes get misty. The chains around her hands loosened and she freed herself from them, as well as the ones that had been holding her in place for the past eight years.

"Shyla Fawley, you are hereby cleared of all charges," Fudge said. "This session is adjourned."

Shyla stood, the first person she found being Healer Smythe, who was wiping tears away from her eyes.

"You did it," she said, her voice wobbly. "Oh, I'm going to miss you so much Shyla. I hope that one day our paths will cross again."

"Me too, Healer Smythe," Shyla said.

"Come along now, Shyla," Marienne said, holding out her outstretched hand to the brunette. "The Malfoys are waiting for you back at the manor."

"I knew you could do it!" Daniel said, just as cheerful as ever as he clapped Shyla on the back. 

"Daniel," Marienne said, shooting her husband a glance that shut him up. "Come, child. We have very important visitors that we cannot keep waiting."

Something told Shyla that it was more than just the Malfoys waiting for her back at the cold and dark manor that had once been her grandfather's and had gone into Daniel's possession after his death. But for what seemed like the first time in her life, Shyla Fawley was free. She would never be in shackles again and she would never know the stark white of St. Mungo's again.

She was free.

And as her aunt grasped her hand firmly and dragged her along to her new life, the sacrifices she made to earn her freedom seemed like gnats compared to the soaring feeling in her stomach.

She was free.

a/n: hello! i meant to update yesterday for my birthday but i was very busy and then i had a date today :o but this story is ramping up! there's a huge time skip in this chapter but i wrote out the passage of time and it was honestly so boring so i just had the plot skip to her trial. But she's free! and you know what happened to her parents as well.

some... interesting developments coming next chapter! still deciding if i am going to be a draco malfoy hater or sympathizer in this story—let me know what you want to read because i will happily go either way :)