the miracle of us || drarry

19 | draco's trial

The sun smiled down, bright and warm. The wind brushed against the grass, whispering softly.

Harry and Draco walked, side by side, together towards the courthouse.

The blonde didn't want to say anything more, but his legs shook with every step. A couple wizards gave them strange looks, but Harry kept his gaze straight ahead and didn't seem as bothered as Draco. Without turning towards him, Harry took Draco's hand and smiled softly.

"It's going to be okay."

"I know."

Harry laughed quietly. "Doesn't seem like you believe it right now."

"Well, it's kinda hard," whispered Draco. "I'm walking into the courthouse where my fate will be defined."

"I know. Just try to stay calm, okay?"

"Okay. You'll be in the crowd, yeah?"

"I'll be one of your defendants."

Draco chuckled lightly. "Oh, great."

They reached the entrance, then, and suddenly Draco's chest felt tighter than usual. Harry gave his hand one last squeeze, and they walked forward as the light inside engulfed them.

—

"So this trial is in reference to Draco Malfoy, a Death Eater survivor from the War."

Draco nodded slightly, gulping. The judge looked at him from under his spectacles, and Draco felt very, very small.

"Who are the defendants?"

Harry stepped out. "Me."

"Harry," the judge said, surprised. "Do you have any proof that he was innocent?"

Harry made eye contact with Draco for half a second, then looked away.

"Veritaserum," Harry began. "I know that Draco didn't do anything that warrants being put in Azkaban, and to prove that, we will put him on Veritaserum and ask him all the necessary questions. He can't lie about it, anyway."

Draco took a breath. The idea of being given Veritaserum at a trial that determined whether or not he was put into Azkaban scared the shit out of him, but he refused to show it. Below the table, he wiped the sweat off his hands on his pants. When the judge looked at him, he kept his gaze forward. Focused on a small, trivial point in the wood floor.

The silence persisted for a few more seconds, thick in the air. Draco could feel it heavy on his chest, and he swallowed quietly.

Finally, the judge cleared his throat. "Very well."

He motioned to the doorway, where an Auror stood. The man nodded and flicked his wand towards the hallway outside. The doors opened swiftly, followed by a potion that looked vaguely menacing to Draco.

Harry bit his bottom lip. Afraid to breathe, he spared a glance at Draco. The trial had begun.

—

"Did you intentionally murder anyone during the War?"

Draco blinked, forcing himself to relax, though his hands would not stop shaking. "No."

"Did you come close to doing it?"

The blonde closed his eyes. "I almost killed Albus Dumbledore. In Hogwarts. But it wasn't intentional. He would've killed me if I hadn't followed his orders."

"Who?"

"Voldemort."

There was a muttering among the crowd, and Harry's eyes flicked to the judge, who ran a hand through his hair.

"You were a Death Eater. That means you supported Voldemort, didn't you?"

"No," said Draco, voice firm. "I didn't."

The judge made eye contact with Draco, then took his spectacles off. "No?"

"I was forced to join them. I had no intention of doing it. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"But you didn't help him?"

Draco formed his hands into fists. "He would've hurt me. He would've hurt my family. It was my only choice. And I know many of you would've made the same choice with a wand to your throat, so don't even try to say you wouldn't." He was rambling now, and he knew it, but the words kept flowing. "He was evil, he was terrible, but I didn't purposefully join him. I didn't. I wanted to be something more than that, so I helped Harry. I wanted to be something more than just a goddamn Death Eater. Something bigger than that."

Harry closed his eyes, and shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from fidgeting. He wanted to cross the courtroom and pull Draco into a hug, tell him that he was so much more than just a Death Eater.

"But by fact, you were a Death Eater, weren't you?" the judge asked.

Draco sighed. "Yes, I was."

The courtroom exploded in chatter again, but the judge was studying Draco. "What was your intention with Voldemort?"

"Nothing," Draco replied, his voice a little louder than he meant for it to be. "Nothing. I didn't want to be on his side. I didn't do anything to help him." He resisted the urge to beg him, but the judge blinked. Draco fought back tears, tried desperately to reign back the fear that was consuming him.

Harry drew in a breath, and from across the room, cought Inigo watching the trial silently as he leaned on a wall. His face was expressionless, and Harry focused back on Draco.

The judge looked out into the crowd.

"Case 29: Draco Malfoy. A Death Eater survivor from the War." Harry shifted, his chest tightening. He looked up at the lights, all-too-bright.

Draco could not move. He felt cemented into place. This was it, he thought. There was nothing left to be said. Scared out of his mind, Draco stood to face the judge, whose lips were a thin, straight line.

After what felt like a century, he banged his gavel on the wood table. "I pronounce him innocent. Case dismissed."

Around the courtroom, Aurors began to disperse out of the courtroom, and Draco gasped quietly. He was okay. He was going to be okay, and he was going to spend the rest of his life with Harry. The blonde closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. When he looked up, Harry was being rushed out by the crowd of Aurors, but he had a bright smile on his face, and he motioned for Draco to meet him outside.

Draco's heart, lighter than it had ever been, cluttered inside his chest as he willed his legs to stop shaking and made his way out of the courtroom.

—

whew! hello everyone! it's been literally so long, i apologize for the long wait.

here is a chapter as promised, draco's trial. not sure if anyone still reads this story or if wattpad even exists anymore but if you're still here, thanks for sticking around!

i decided to finally start on finishing this story since it's just on my neverending list of unfinished things that i have to do. every time i check wattpad this story gets ranked within #800 to #300 on drarry fics which is pretty crazy considering this is the first time i've updated in two years lol.

i've been inactive for a whole bunch of reasons, no motivation to write being one of them, but also, being buried under the mess that is senior year, and the stress of college things.

not much to say, hope you guys enjoy and keep taking care of yourselves! love you all!!

ren