The Defense
Hermione was first to wake up the next morning and decided to slip out of bed early. Knowing full well if she had waited they would have stayed in bed far longer than she meant to.
At least if he's asleep I can resist him, she thought, mentally rolling her eyes at herself. She would have enjoyed nothing more than to give into her desires of shagging Draco for the rest of the day but she wanted to get this business with Ronald over with. Sooner rather than later - she had laws to pass. Harry had owled them late that night that he had managed to get the trial moved up to that day. Great start to a Monday she had thought as she had read the owl. She felt a great sense of anger at Ron's actions but also a strong need to help him. He was family after all. And something about the last few days seemed off. She wouldn’t deny the progression of his behavior over the last few days but he had never been so cold and hateful to her. Something else had to be going on.
Was this a twisted situation? Yes. Was she using her position to help someone associated with her? Yes. Every time she felt any sort of guilt or shame over this she shoved it away. She was doing the right thing. She was getting Ron a fair sentence for the crime he committed, which was lawfuly a minor domestic violence situation. Not worthy of the kiss, certainly. Also she was hoping to shed a bit more light on Wizard alcoholism. This was not something recognized by most Wizards as it was seen as a Muggle problem. Hermione wanted to show this world that addiction was a human issue, not a Muggle one. She knew she could spin this all, it would just take some effort and some answers.
Yes she nodded to herself as she flooed to the atrium of the Ministry early that morning yes, this is a good thing. This will be okay. I'm just simply taking out multiple birds with the same stone. Either way she was doing as she wished. Feeling rather empowered she entered her office with her head held high for the first time in months and got to work.
Three hours later Draco found her in her office, Stacks of books and papers around her, face buried in a pile of paperwork in front of her. Her hair was a mess of frizz creating a halo. He smiled to himself and enjoyed the view for a moment. Had the circumstances not been so serious he could have laughed seeing her like this. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms watching her work. Research has always been her favorite he thought to himself. After a few minutes a stressed looking Harry Potter tapped him on the shoulder.
"You look terrible, Potter"
"Gee, thanks" Harry mumbled. "When did she get here" He asked quietly.
"She snuck out of bed at about 4 this morning. I don't think she slept much after you sent that owl but maybe it's better to get this over with. So she can move on"
Harry nodded slowly.
"Sorry, perhaps that's selfish of me to say.." Draco said
"No, it's really not. I want the same thing.. " Harry sighed. "This is just.. this is fucked up. Why is the victim mounting the defendants defense.. Its just.. But there's more, i have updates to give you both."
"Ludicrous I think is a valid description of the situation, Harry." Hermione's voice stated from her desk. She hadn't even looked up from her papers.
Draco tried to hide his smirk as his gaze returned to Hermione and Harry was shaking his head next to him. They both entered her office and sat in the two chairs in front of her desk.
She looked up to briefly smile at Draco. "I knew you were there. You're not as stealthy as you think, you know."
Draco put his hand to his chest in mock offense.
“Harry, you said you had news?” Hermione put the folder in her hands down and focused on Harry who sighed heavily.
“Well, I know I told you that he had provided some memories but he had not been fully interrogated yet.. They used veritaserum on him overnight. Hermione, everything has changed.. He revealed that he was approached by a pair of wizards. He said they had some charm that blurred their faces. It’s something that’s been used in some minor crimes recently but nothing too terrible. They cornered him in an alley after he left your place and they attacked him. The whole time they were telling him to incapacitate you or they’d find Molly and corner her the same as him. They told him to make you unable to attend the hearings for your Goblin bill. Ron said he was so drunk he didnt even think twice.. Just ..listened to them. Even with this evidence i’m hearing that they still want to at least send him off to azkaban for life, the kiss is still on the table as well. I didn't save us all from the dementors in 3rd year just for him to get this kiss over this.” Harry finished angrily.
They were all quiet once Harry stopped talking. Draco was fuming, completely flabbergasted as to how Ron Weasley could be so stupid but he could accept that this meant his actions were slightly less damning.
"So Hermione, What's the plan?" Harry asked nervously.
"Why am I always the one who has to have the plan?" Hermione asked, still scanning the papers in front of her.
"Well.." Harry stammered, looking to Draco for support who just shook his head as if to say that's on you mate
"I do have a plan but that's not the point" Hermione muttered. She turned the page she was looking at over, glanced at the back side and put it down. She clapped her hands together.
"Alright, so. " She leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together looking critically at the men in front of her. "Most recent domestic abuse cases have ended in protective orders. Very few abusers end up even on probation must less with jail time. The last case of someone attacking a minister, however, ended in an immediate kiss."
Draco glanced at Harry to see his face has paled.
Hermione focused on Harry now. "If we handle his defense I know what sentence we'll work for but we have to put up a united front, Harry."
He nodded. "I want to suggest house arrest"
"But you.. but he's not living at your... old place anymore.." Harry said.
"No, I mean with his mother." Harry's eyes widened but she ignored it. "that way he can be put away" She used air quotes around the last two words "But he's still .. well. safe... I've also read about a potion that he can drink daily. It has no side effects other than making him sick if he drinks a drop of alcohol. I'd hope that if more wizards, as well as the court, heard of this potion perhaps we can spark up a conversation about Wizard alcohol abuse and laws regarding public and private incidents.”
Draco was looking at her admiringly as Harry just stared blankly on. Hermione focused again on Harry and her eyebrows knitted together. She bit her bottom lip and said "Well.. Harry what do you think. The old coots can decide a sentence up to 5 years at the trial but this keeps him out of .." She was cut off as Harry had gone around the desk and hugged her.
"You're a good person Hermione" He said and squeezed her shoulders. Hermione just smiled softly at him.
"I know. I'm okay with this. I know he's not been himself. Besides, after yesterday I couldn't take away another son from Molly and Arthur. They're my family." She took a deep breath "He's my family. He royally messed up but .. it’s not unforgivable."
Harry nodded but said nothing.
"So I've got the what but now .. the how.." she said, turning to look out her window pensively.
Draco cleared his throat. "As a bystander it does rather seem like you two are going to barge into a hearing and use your authority to get your friend off.. Even if the wizengamot are trying to make an example.. " he leans away from Hermione's glare "an unfair example... but still. I mean that's not even mentioning the fact that you're the victim Hermione. You have to think of how this will look as Rita is writing about it. How society will view it"
Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Well I'm sure she will bring it up in our interview tomorrow won't she..?"
He nodded solemnly at her. "Hermione, we can cancel the interview. This is important. We can focus on us lat.."
He was cut off as she huffed and shook her head. "No. No we'll get everything out in the open. If she asks about this I'll tell her the truth. I want to get out in front of this and then just move on."
Draco nodded. "Can't argue with that, can I?" Draco asked rhetorically.
"So.." Harry said "How do we do this without us both being implicated?" Harry asked.
They all thought for a few moments, looking at each other.
Draco spoke first. "When is the hearing?"
"6 tonight" Harry said.
Draco nodded and grabbed a spare bit of paper off the desk and scribbled a fast note, sending it off with Hermione's owl. He turned to see the other two looking expectantly at him.
"He needs a lawyer. A good one"
🖤
Ron was sitting alone in a dark room. He knew it was somewhere in the basement of the ministry. This is where they let criminals stew before telling them how much trouble they were in. His was still head pounding but he was finally starting to feel sober. His knuckles burned from where he was missing chunks of skin and the rest of his body had never gotten healed correctly after those thugs attacked him. How could he not have just gone to Harry? That would have been the right thing to do. His heart ached for what he did. For his mistakes. For the look Harry gave him after he came back from viewing his memories. From the flashes of Hermione on the floor beneath him. The sounds of her screams. His throat burned, yearning for the taste of alcohol. He was about to fall into the abyss of despair as the door to the room opened. A tall, thin man with brown hair entered and sat at the small table opposite him, placing a folder on the table between them. As the man sat down Ron took in his features. It didn't take long for him to recognize a grown up version of Theodore Nott.
Ron shook his head and was opening his mouth to verbalize his objection when Theodore held up a hand.
"Refuse my help and you'll go straight to Azkaban, tomorrow." He said darkly and Ron hung his head, silent.
"Im here," He continued "as your lawyer. As a favor to one of my oldest friends. I suggest you listen carefully as I don't enjoy repeating myself." Theodore opened the folder and Ron glanced at it only to see Hermione's neat handwriting across the top of the page and little notes here and there in hers and other's handwriting. Ron's eyes widened in confusion and he looked up at Theodore's face. He looked back at Ron with a cold expression. He folded his hands and leaned back in his chair.
"Who do you think sent me?" He asked. Ron pulled his eyebrows together again. "Malfoy".
"That's Mr. Draco Malfoy to you Weasel." Theodore leaned forward over the table. "And who is he doing this for, I wonder.." Ron looked down again staring at Hermione's writing. He sighed.
"He did it for her. He asked you here for her." Theodore nodded.
"and she did all of this. I haven't done an ounce of work or research in this. In fact, I just got here an hour ago. It was all her" He said motioning at the folder. "For you. The man that was going to beat her to a pulp. Not to even mention the damage you did to her during your marriage."
Ron bit his lip as he glanced at what he could see of the papers in front of him. He only now realized he was in pretty deep. "You know. I've come to have a new appreciation for our Minister in the last few hours."
Ron nodded and took a deep breath. "what do I need to do?"
"You need to shut your mouth and do not open it until after the trial. Even if things escalate. Even when they ask for your head on a platter. Even if the old farts are trying to provoke you. Keep your mouth shut and keep that look on your face Weasley. Maybe they'll believe that you're actually sorry."
They spent the next thirty minutes discussing the worst and best case scenarios and what would happen through the process of the trial. Previous cases and their outcomes. Theodore also covered all of the points of defense Hermione had listed out. Ron became nervous knowing that he'd see Hermione and possibly Harry in the same room and knew that if this didn't go well.. well he didn't want to think about that..
"Let her go." Theodore said as he left. "Let her go and let him have a chance. A chance at happiness. This may be his only one."
🖤
Hermione sat uncomfortably in the witness chair as her former classmate asked her various questions.
"What is today's date?"
"March 21st." Hermione replied.
"And when did this incident occur?"
"March 18th. Three days ago."
"And that was the second time you had seen him that day, correct?"
"And what was Ronald Weasley's mental state on the morning of March 18th when he barged into your home?
"He was incredibly intoxicated."
"And that was early in the morning, correct?"
"Correct, He woke up myself and my visitor acting hostile due to a gossip article published in the Daily Prophet the morning of March 18th."
"And who was this visitor?" Theo asked and Draco rolled his eyes when he saw a hint of a smirk on Theo's face across the courtroom.
"My visitor was Draco Malfoy. Mr. Weasley punched Mr. Malfoy in the face before Mr. Malfoy convinced him to leave. I assumed he was headed home at that point to sober up. A few hours later I wrote a note for Ron to meet me at my home to discuss the incident and how we could move forward civilly."
"And when he returned that night?"
"It was clear he had continued drinking throughout the day, before he returned. He was acting extremely out of character towards me."
"So you don't believe this violent incident would have occurred had he been in his right mind?" He asked her.
"No, I do not. In fact we have been able to have civil conversations regarding our relationship just recently."
"And Mr. Weasely has been through rather a lot in his short life, hasn't he?"
Hermione nodded "Yes, I can assure you he has, being that I was there for most of it. Like many people who've fought in a war, he suffers from rather severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Knowing him well, I know that his PTSD combined with alcohol can have a very adverse effect on his personality. He can become very violent if provoked. He was also threatened at a local pub by a few unknown assailants. They coerced him."
Theodore looked to the wizengamot. "And everyone here is clear as to what PTSD is?"
They all nodded.
"And Ms. Granger, has an incident like this happened before?"
"No"
Theodore nodded "and you're not the one pressing charges correct? It is the DMLE and Wizengamot departments pressing the charges?"
"Correct"
"And what punishment do you believe the defendant deserves?"
She took a deep breath "I believe he deserves to be starved of any alcohol for the rest of his life."
Theodore nodded. "So you, both the victim of this case and the Minister of Magic agree with our defense. Do you agree that Ronald Weasely should not be sent to Azkaban?"
"Yes"
"You agree, as victim and Minister, that Ronald Billius Weasely should be sentenced to house arrest and monitoring for his drinking habit"
"Yes"
Theodore looked up to the Chief warlock and nodded "The defense rests"
The old man with a wrinkly face and beady eyes looks down to Hermione in the witness chair. "Minister, are you sure about this?" he asked with more contempt than necessary in his voice.
"Yes. He is not innocent but he used no unforgivable curses and was not in his right mind. I believe he deserves punishment but a just punishment. We cannot make the same mistakes as have been made in the past. We must rise above."Hermione paused. "I'll override your decision if I must.. Sir."
The man glared at Hermione with narrowed eyes. "Very well."
Hermione turned to Ron who's eyes were directed to the floor as the Chief Warlock banged his gavel and stated "Ronald Billius Weasley is hereby sentenced to two years house arrest where his parents will be responsible for his monitoring and is required to ingest the potion commonly known as "Drinkaway" and is required to submit to monthly meetings regarding his alcoholism."
Satisfied her work was done Hermione stood and exited through the door under the benches where she knew Draco and Harry were waiting for her. She opened the door to see Harry pacing the hall and Draco on a bench, leaned against the wall with this ankles crossed. Harry immediately stopped pacing and looked at her.
"Well that's done." He tilted his head in confusion. She sighed. "Two years house arrest and monthly meetings. And the potion but after I gave it to her yesterday I'm sure Molly will force it down his throat every day at breakfast anyway"
Harry let out a long breath, he must have been holding that a while Hermione thought as she sat down next to Draco. He sat up and gently took her hand into his. She smiled softly at him. She sighed and closed her eyes leaning her head back against the wall. She could feel both men's eyes on her and she took a deep breath.
"I did the right thing.." She said quietly and she felt Draco squeeze her hand.
"Yes, you did" She heard Harry say as the door she had just came through opened again. The Wizengamot members paraded past them, all giving Hermione their kind acknowledgements aside from the chief warlock who ignored her. She stared at the back of his retreating head with a raised eyebrow wondering what the next fight with him would look like. Or if she could force him out and bring up a younger member of the group. She felt Draco squeeze her hand again as Arthur Weasley and Ron walked through, followed by Theodore.
Harry stared Ron down and Arthur stopped to give her a hug, unable to verbalize his thanks and steered his son out of the hall by his elbow, a bit roughly. She looked at Harry.
"Why don't you go with them? Give them the run down of what happens next?" she suggested and Harry nodded, leaving her with Draco and Theo.
"We must rise above, good line Minister"
Hermione could feel Draco glaring at his friend from next to her and tried not to laugh. "It was not a line, Theodore."
Theo was looking at Draco now. "She was brilliant in there, mate. Really. Stickin' it to the man. And SHE'S The man!!" He said excitedly. Hermione couldn't help but laugh now. "You've got to let her boss you around in bed, mate" He looked Hermione up and down "That'd be a sight to see"
Draco's desire to hit his friend dissipated as Hermione burst into laughter. "I don't know about you two but I feel the need to celebrate. It may be a Monday but I need to blow off some steam. Would you two like to go to a pub?"
Draco smirked at her awkward invitation as Theodore looked at her incredulously. She turned to Draco "Perhaps you could invite Blaise and I could ask Harry and Ginny to join if they're not.. well.. too busy" Draco stood up and offered her his hand.
"Come on Ma'lady. Drinks await."
🖤
Hermione and the two Slytherins walked into the Leaky Cauldron to see Blaise waiting for them. Apparently he had been rather eager to hear the results of the trial. He was sitting in a circular booth that would be big enough for them all.
Hermione smiled at Blaise and tucked her skirt under the back of her knees and scooted gracefully to sit near to one end next to Blaise. Theo scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Okay Princess" He muttered as Draco slapped the back of his head then scooted in next to Hermione as Theo sat next to Blaise. There was just enough room for Harry and Ginny to slide in next to Draco once they arrived.
Tom was directly behind them and was prepared for their order as soon as Draco sat down. Once Tom walked away to get their drinks Blaise spoke up. "Well? The suspense is agonizing. Is the git getting the kiss or what?" Blaise asked, looking between the three of them.
Hermione shook her head but Draco spoke. "The git, will be serving two years house arrest and can never down so much as a sip of booze."
Theo spoke up next "All thanks to her." he said nodding his head towards Hermione.
Hermione smiled kindly at Theo. "No, that's not true. It was a group effort to save a war hero from a terrible and unfair fate." She said strongly.
They all looked down and Hermione thought it may be a touch of guilt for having fought that war on the wrong side. She did not feel bad about that.
Tom arrived with their drinks and they all took a few drinks before Theo said "Fair enough. I will say that you are a bad ass Minister, Hermione."
Draco smirked at her from beside her and traced circles on her thigh as Harry and Ginny arrived and Theo proceeded to tell them all the story of the trial in an excited tone. She laughed at their reaction to her words to the Chief Warlock and shook her head.
"You all seem so surprised." She said laughing softly as she took a drink.
Harry and Ginny then told the group that Ron was settling into his new jail quite nicely.
"Mum and I brainstormed different ways to force that potion down his throat each morning. That was quite fun and shes rather excited to have someone to do the chores. I expect she'll be treating him rather like a house elf." Ginny cleared her throat as she noticed Hermione glaring at her. She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Sorry Hermione. Like a slave" Hermione nodded in approval and they all laughed together.
Talk moved to more general topics and a while later Hermione was gazing at Ginny. She caught her eye and looked pointedly at Ginny's glass of water and looked back to her face. Ginny smiled at her and she smiled back.
Hermione leaned into Draco's arm that was now around her shoulders and looked around at this group of former foes. All smiling, all happy, Drinking and rejoicing.
This is right she thought. This is what we fought for. She caught Harry's eye and they smiled broadly at each other. She knew he was thinking the same thing.