Sideways

“Name.” Kingsley Shacklebolt asked in a deep voice.

“Draco Lucius Malfoy.” The blonde answered simply, his eyes scanned the room for the one set of eyes that would make this all easier to handle no matter the outcome.

“And you held the status of Death Eater?” The entire Wizengamot surrounded him, along with witnesses and onlookers. While Draco Malfoy had not been thrown immediately in Azkaban like his father, he was to be tried. His name mentioned in the testimonies of others – including Lucius who vowed to get his son away from his mother even if it meant he was imprisoned. Draco knew this day would come so long as the mark was on his arm.

“Yes, I was a Death Eater.” Draco said the words softly, sitting in a chair in the middle of the courtroom, the chains hung loose but he knew from watching the other trials that they could snake around him faster than he could stand if they chose to bind him.

“You do understand that being a Death Eater is a crime?”

“Yes, sir.” Draco was in his best robes, trying to make the best impression and while it didn’t show on his face, he was scared.

“We have been asked to hear you out before we make any choices regarding your sentence, are you prepared to make your statement?” And while it was hard for him to talk about, hard to say how many people he saw tortured in his own home, hard to say how he felt like if he didn’t join and agree to what was asked of him, not only would he be killed but so would his entire family – he did it in front of a full court.

Draco’s eyes fell on his mother, she had been there with him through it all. Narcissa Malfoy didn’t cry often, but silent tears were in her eyes as her son’s trial continued. Ginny and Narcissa sat next to one another, other Weasley’s on Ginny’s other side. Draco swallowed hard. “I know I did bad things.” He began. Draco had to be careful of his wording here, and he knew that. Ginny had been up with him the entire night before, neither able to sleep knowing what was coming. “But I did them to protect my family.”

 

”Draco?” Ginny began softly. He lay in bed with her, his head resting on her torso just listening to her breathe, he was so still she didn’t know if he was awake.

“Hmm?” He muttered but didn’t lift his head.

“Don’t tell them you’re not sorry.” She told him, a kind of fear in her tone that he wasn’t used to hearing from her. He rose then, looking to her eyes in the firelight. “I know you’re not, and I know why, but if you say that to them, you’ll be thrown in Azkaban. They won’t care about your reasoning. You’ll be gone.”

“I won’t. I promise.” He told her moving in to wrap his arms around her, she was just as scared as he was. It took him back to when they first met, he’d been terrified all the time.

 

He turned to Ginny, he met her eyes and held his tongue and his temper. “Protect them from…” And he continued, giving a few occurrences of the threats, the murders he’d seen, evil things done in his own home. His eyes scanned the way they all looked at him, the way their eyes looked down upon him. He met Ginny’s eyes once more, the fear showing in both grey and brown. He glanced towards his crying mother only for a second before he looked back to Ginny. She nodded, their conversation from the night before not forgotten.

 

Draco sighed softly as he looked towards the window, the sun was slowly rising up in the distance. He sat on the edge of the bed, his bare feet on the floor. She lay behind him on the bed, her arm wrapped around his middle from where she lay – she didn’t want to let go of him even for a moment, growing scared of a time to come that she wouldn’t be able to hold him again. They had been trying to be positive about the situation, trying to focus on the things he hadn’t done rather than what he had. He hadn’t actually killed anyone, but he knew the past was coming back to get him this time. “Gin?” He whispered softly.

“Hmm?” She mumbled, tired, but refusing to sleep. She sat up slowly as he turned to face her.

“I need you to promise me something.” He told her, accepting the fact that he may not be coming back. “I…I know it’s hard for you to be around her alone, but…when I’m gone, I need you to check on mum. She’s going to be all alone here and she will say it’s fine, but it won’t be. Just…”

“I’ll take care of her.” Ginny interrupted. “I promise.” His arms moved around her, hiding his face in her bright red hair as the fear took hold of him. She held him to her tightly, her hand rubbing his back. Her head rested against his as her own eyes welled. She was trying hard to be strong for him, trying not to let him say goodbye to her, but it was hard not to admit this could be the goodbye they never said the night Dumbledore died and she went so long without seeing him again.

 

“We will take everything you’ve said into consideration.” Kingsley said simply, they all seemed so formal and cold it was hard to guess which way this was going. “Witnesses for the defense?” He called out and Draco looked towards the crowd not thinking anyone would stand for him. Narcissa and Ginny both looked around hopefully waiting to see just one hand raise, one person stand. If they just had one person it would help them more than anyone knew.

When it became very clear that no one was going to stand, Ginny stood defiantly. “Ginevra Weasley.” She said and Draco’s eyes locked on her. Molly grabbed for her daughter’s hand, not wanting her to walk down there, but she just pulled away from the women who raised her and stepped past her. Ronald glared down at Draco from his seat as his sister moved past him. How could she do this? Hadn’t enough happened? She’d been spending all of her time with them, gone all night many times without even an owl. Her loyalties had changed the night she learned who she was and he hated them for it.

Ginny spoke for Draco, how he had changed, how he wasn’t a malicious person, just made mistakes like everyone did at one time or another. “He has a scar, it doesn’t mean he did anything because of it. He only wanted to keep his family alive, that’s not a crime, I know he didn’t do it the right way, but…he didn’t know any other way.” She kept her chin stiff and strong, she wasn’t going to let these people see her cry. Draco’s eyes went from Ginny, thankful for her words, to scan the court, try to see if she could convince any of them.

Ginny was thanked for her testimony and sent back to watch the trial with her family. As she walked back up to her seat she paused at Harry. “Please.” She whispered to him. Harry had told her about the Astronomy Tower, about Draco being unable to kill and Dumbledore offering him and his family sanctuary. But Harry just looked sadly down at her and shook his head, he mumbled an apology to her as she moved past him back to her seat. She didn’t let any of them see her break at the lack of support and back-up. She sat with her chin jutted out, staring out in a way that made her look more like Narcissa than anyone had ever noticed before.

Draco’s eyes fell onto Ginny, watching her denied by Harry, watching her go sit with his mother and surprised to see her reach out to his mother even in her stone like state. Their hands joined between them and he knew she was telling him she would keep her promise to him, she would take care of his mother – their mother.

“If that’s all we’ll take the vote now.” Kingsley said in a booming voice seeming even louder in the silence of the large room. “Guilty?” He asked, and hands went up around the room. Ginny looked distraught as she saw the number of them. This wasn’t good. “Not guilty?” And another set of hands went up – far less than before.

“Draco Malfoy, it is the decision of this court that you are guilty.” Draco’s head hung, and he closed his eyes tight, reminding himself not to be weak. “You are hereby sentenced to no less than six months in Azkaban Prison.” After the last battle they’d let many off for claiming they were imperioused, for naming names, this time the courts were less forgiving and if you had a mark, you were going in, the amount of time you’d spend under the watch of Dementors was the discretion of the court depending on each situation. Draco had actually been given the shortest sentence of anyone tried, the fact that he was allowed to go home before his trial had said more than people realized.

“No!” Narcissa screamed out, sobbing as Ginny reached and put arms around the woman who gave her life. She didn’t cry as she stared down to the man she loved, and Draco understood.

 

Draco kissed her softly, his bedroom the only place they could truly be together without the fear of judging eyes. They left the world behind when they locked the door. They slept wrapped up in one another, they kissed and touched and forgot their blood and their histories. They stayed close and nothing else existed but them. “They’re going to send me away.”

“Stop. Don’t say that, they won’t. You didn’t do anything except get marked.”

“Ginny.” He sighed some, still so close to her that he could feel her breath on his lips. “Please.” She bit at her own lip to stop, letting him get what he needed to say. “They’re going to send me away in the morning and.” He swallowed hard. “And when they do, don’t cry okay? Please don’t cry. I don’t want the last time I see you to be you crying.”

And she understood then, this time he needed her to be strong for him, needed her to do what felt impossible and smile at him when they took him away. She swallowed hard and her words came easy then. “Do you love me?” She asked him, just as she had before.

“Yeah, I do.” He told her softly, fingers running through her hair and then sliding down her back. She wore the matching top to the pajamas bottoms he had on.

“Me too.” She told him as she leaned in to kiss him again, trying to take away everything bad on their minds. They were tangled up in one another and kissing deeply within moments.

 

Ginny looked over to a very frightened man as the doors to the court room opened. The cold wave hit the room and within seconds, several patronuses were hovering around the crowds, keeping them safe. Through the glow she met his eyes and she smiled down to him. He didn’t take his eyes off Ginny as they came for him. She silently mouthed the words ‘I love you’ to him through the glow of the patronus before her. His chin quivered as the fear and sadness overtook him, tears falling freely. It took everything for Ginny to keep the smile on her lips that he’d asked her to have, to wait until he was gone to let her tears fall as freely as Narcissa had.