We Open at the Close (Drarry)

A Second Chance

The elation of victory after the Battle of Hogwarts was a short-lived affair. There were trials to be conducted to imprison those Death Eaters who hadn't been killed in battle. Funerals had to be arranged on both sides for those who had fallen. There was relief that the Dark Lord had finally fallen, this time for good, but now the process of healing and rebuilding what was broken and lost had to begin. Witches and wizards were waking up into a new world, and they each would have to find their place in it.

Draco Malfoy had no such place in this new and bright future. He didn't deserve it, not after everything he had done. In the immediate aftermath of the Battle, his father— already a fugitive of the law —had been re-imprisoned in Azkaban to complete the rest of his initial sentence with an additional sentence imposed for the subsequent mass breakout and his involvement with the Dark Lord's operations at Malfoy Manor. Meanwhile, Narcissa and Draco had been kept in the holding cells in the Ministry dungeons because there was simply no room left for them in the old fortress; the number of Death Eaters too large to contend with.

Now Draco sat in the centre of the courtroom chained to his chair next to his mother. He expected the worst and, as far as he was concerned, they deserved no less. Not after everything that had happened— not after everything he had done. Chief Warlock Bedelia Eswrick hammered the gavel loudly to gain the bustling courtroom's attention before declaring loudly, "The court calls Harry James Potter to the stand."

An excited murmur erupted throughout the courtroom as the door behind Draco creaked open. Draco felt his heart sink and fixed his gaze on his shoes as he heard Harry's uneven steps approach, the squeak of his trainers echoing throughout the hall as he walked past Draco and sat in a witness chair nearby.

"Mr Potter, you have come here of your own free volition to provide evidence to this court?" asked Eswrick in a monotonous voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Harry.

His shuffling footsteps may have betrayed his nerves to Draco, but his voice gave nothing away— it was unwavering and self-assured. Draco continued to stare unblinkingly at the laces of his shoes.

"Very well," said Eswrick. "You have requested to provide testimony for the court on the case of Draco and Narcissa Malfoy."

"Actually Ma'am, I'm here to speak on behalf of the defendants," Harry replied.

Draco's head snapped up at this and the courtroom erupted into shouts and jeers. Draco looked at Harry then; he looked tired and weary, but his mouth was set in a thin line of determination. Draco glanced at his mother to gauge her reaction, unable to believe what he was hearing— was this some kind of prank? Narcissa Malfoy, unlike the rest of the courtroom, looked entirely unruffled by this revelation.

"Order! Order!" shouted Eswrick, banging her gavel hard. "Mr Potter, am I to understand that you are here in support of the defence?"

"That is correct, Ma'am." Harry answered. "I'd like to speak on behalf of Draco and Narcissa Malfoy."

The former Boy Who Lived, now hardened war-veteran, pleaded the case that it was Draco's refusal to identify him that had saved his and his friend's lives that late winter evening at Malfoy Manor before they had managed to escape. And furthermore, that it was Narcissa's defiance against the Dark Lord that saved him that night in the Forbidden Forest during The Final Battle, and thus played a key part in the war's victory. Draco stared at his feet while Harry spoke but listened intently to his testimony, his mind racing. The Wizengamot, however, didn't look convinced.

"Mr Potter," Chief Warlock Eswrick sighed. "This family supported and aided in the Dark Lord's campaign of terror against the Wizarding World. They opened their home to him, harboured him during the height of his reign. They are incriminated in a number of crimes— kidnap, torture, murder—"