The Trial
The two months of their almost vacation passed quickly. Cleaning the house to be fit for human habitation was the goal for the first week, after which everything turned to The Plan. The plan to take the Malfoys to court, to show them that their money didn't make them invincible and that their plans would not succeed.
Much of the time was spent thinking. What did they have against the Malfoys, what could the Malfoys use against them? The list for the former was longer than the latter. Another step was questioning Draco about what exactly his parents had done to him. The results were hardly surprising. Lucius punished him with either the cane or the boggart, while Narcissa seemed to prefer to pretend Draco didn't exist if he'd done something wrong, only using physical methods as a last resort.
Alyssa had skipped her appointment with the Healer, not trusting the safety of the hospital with Lucius Malfoy around. The house in Germany was well warded, and any excursion out of it was taken with practiced precision, glamors and fake identities being a skill of the two former spies. Between the thinking and the discussing, Sirius was putting together their case, sending letters to both Ministries as well as people that were going to testify as character witnesses, Poppy and Minerva at the top of that list. Everything had to be perfect, or else they would fail, and both Malfoys would be free to plot another day.
Even with all of the careful planning and consideration, they all spent a rather tense last day, the day before the trial. Even Harry and Draco, who had been running around the house constantly, were subdued, coloring or just talking quietly. Severus and Alyssa busied themselves with potions in the lab, attempting to find a distraction. Remus attempted reading, but after spending thirty minutes staring at the book without absorbing anything, he gave it up as a bad job, settling on watching Harry and Draco. Sirius kept going over the details of the case, all of their evidence lined up neatly in front of him as he went over facts and questions. It was almost a relief when it was time for bed, allowing sleep to bury all fears until the new day dawned.
Stepping into the courtroom was an eerie experience for Severus and Alyssa. The room picked for the Malfoy's trial was the same one that they were tried in when they were brought up on charges. Neither looked at the chairs nor the magical manacles, remembering all too well how it felt as they tightened, restraining you physically and magically until you felt weak, helpless.
When Lucius and Narcissa were brought into the courtroom, Remus laughed outright. Dirty and rumpled, disheveled and bedraggled, they possessed none of their former arrogance. Both seemed confused as to how this case got this far, and infuriated that all of their influence wasn't able to keep them from spending the past week in Azkaban. As the manacles surrounded the two prisoners, Barty Crouch began the trial.
Tuning out on the legal waffle that always precedes these things, Alyssa came back to attention as she was called to the stand. Defense last then. She calmly walked up to the podium, swearing an oath on her magic that she would not lie, and took her seat to await questioning. I wonder if they'll begin with the kidnapping in America, or the attempted kidnapping in Britain. America's ministry was here in force, the Minster of Magic, a term borrowed from their British cousins, was here with several of her best Aurors.
"You are Alyssa Lupin, nee Snape?" the attorney for the Wizengamot asked.
"Yes, as I specified when I made my oath," Alyssa replied, rolling her eyes at the inane question that was always asked first.
"You received a note from Mr. Malfoy in late July. Please tell the court what occurred, and what the message was."
"Very well. It was July 31st, the afternoon of my nephew's birthday. My family and I, as well as a few close friends, were watching the boy open his presents when an owl delivered the letter. My husband retrieved the note and handed it to me, as it was addressed to me. The letter, which was submitted to the court as evidence, implied that Mr. Malfoy would attempt to harm my family, using any means necessary, and implying that nowhere was safe." Alyssa spoke in a level tone of voice, hiding her emotions behind the blank mask both she and her brother had had to perfect before beginning to spy on the Dark Lord.
"Did you have any reason to believe that this was anything other than an idle threat?" The court lawyer was doing a fine job of incorporating the past and the present with his questions.
"Yes. Before we moved here, there were simultaneous attacks on the house I shared with my brother and his son, and the house where a friend of the family, Sirius Black, lived with my husband, then boyfriend, Remus Lupin. Lucius led a group of Death Eaters in the attack on my residence, while Narcissa led another group to Sirius's house."
"How can you trust anything she says?" Lucius interrupted, sneering unpleasantly at Alyssa, "She's a half-blood married to a half-breed. Her husband's a werewolf for Merlin's sake!"
"Mr. Malfoy, you will remain quiet until it is time for you to defend yourself. Until then, I do not wish to hear from you. I don't see what how blood status or what her husband is affects this ruling, except perhaps to show your obvious prejudice, a leftover from your time as a Death Eater perhaps?" Barty Crouch was nearly panting. He had the chance to put two Death Eaters away, ones he knew we guilty but had been unable to pin anything on. Granted, two of the people assisting him were former Death Eaters, but those two had proven their capabilities already. They were of more use in assisting him with the Malfoy's imprisonment than they were in Azkaban. Besides, he'd have to fight with the Americans to throw them there, as technically the Snapes, Lupins, and Sirius Black were all American citizens now. "Counselor, continue your questioning of the witness."
The lawyer nodded, looking at the papers in his hands before continuing. "After you read the letter, what did you do Mrs. Lupin?"
Alyssa smiled ruefully. "I used an excuse to have Harry take one of our guests, Minerva Mcgonagall, over to Severus's house, so that way we could speak without Harry overhearing and worrying. Apparently that was a wasted effort."
"And why is that?" The question was from one of the wizards of the Wizengamot, and the man seemed honestly interested. Of course, how often does a soap opera come to court? Spies, lies, evil, deceit, everything necessary for a good drama.
"Harry and Minerva left, leaving us to decide our course of action. We decided to speak of it later, after Harry had gone to bed. I left to fetch both back to the party. In retrospect, I should have simply apparated from my house to Severus's, but I was not thinking clearly. I opened the door and stepped onto the porch, noticing a faint trace of magic in the air. I ignored it, and left the porch, leaving the safety of the wards placed on my home. As soon as I was free of the wards, a Stunning spell hit me in the chest. Then, of course, everything faded to black."
"When you awoke, what happened?"
"I was in a dungeon, on a rather uncomfortable cot, with a slight headache from when my head hit the ground. I looked around, trying to get my bearings, and heard footsteps approaching my cell. Lucius Malfoy appeared, letting me know exactly who my jailer was and what he wanted from me."
"And what did Mr. Malfoy want from you?"
"That is in my memory, one of the many which I submitted as evidence," Alyssa replied, not bothering to relate every detail of the ritual once more, and thanking whoever was listening for her forethought in excluding the part of the memory where she checked on her spare wand. They don't need to know everything now, just enough.
"Very well Mrs. Lupin, we'll change topics. You claim that Mr. Malfoy and his wife as mistreating their son, which is why you took him with you when you fled the dungeons, correct?"
"Yes," Alyssa nodded, "I was named as his godmother after his birth, and as such was required to vow to do anything in my power to protect him, keeping him from harm, no matter who or what is harming him. He was crying in the corridor outside my cell. Lucius came down when I was trying to convince the child to stop trying. Draco was thrown into the cell with me, and seemed very afraid of his father, which didn't surprise me considering the way he treated the boy. At some point, after Lucius left, I was able to get him calmed down, about the same time a house elf entered with our breakfast. A small piece of bread and a goblet of milk each. I requested that the elf take Draco to his room, but the boy refused, preferring to stay with me in the dungeon. Suspicious, seeing as I hadn't seen the child in two years."
There was some muttering in the court at that, but they quieted as Alyssa continued.
"With Draco's help, I was able to send a message to Remus, to let them know where I was being held. This was after I asked the boy if he wanted to come with me when I left."
The muttering was louder now, but it stopped once Alyssa resumed her story after a moment.
"The memory will contain full details of that, but suffice to say that Draco agreed, and we were happily shivering in the dungeons waiting for my rescue party." This was said with a slightly sardonic smile, causing Remus to shake his head. She really can't resist sometimes.
"Lucius came in, after I sent the message, and he was going to punish Draco for staying with me, rather than begging for his father's forgiveness. When I stood in front of Draco, Lucius decided to play Death Eater again and used the Cruciartus curse on me. After that, he left and Draco and I were able to escape, and after our return, it was decided that it was in our family's best interest to leave the country for a time, until we had amassed our evidence to bring up Lucius and Narcissa on charges of child abuse, unlawful detainment, and terrorism."
The Malfoys had grown increasingly pale throughout Alyssa's testimony, but at the last statement it looked like both of them would faint. They seemed to realize, for the first time, how serious the charges against them were. Children were precious in the wizarding world, and as such child abusers were punished much more harshly, with a minimum of forty years in Azkaban, more if the crimes were severe. Add that to the unlawful detainment, which was a good decade, and the terrorism charge, which in Britain amounted to life in Azkaban or the Kiss, and the Malfoys were doomed before they even brought Draco in for questioning, or called any other witnesses to the stand.
Alyssa returned to her seat beside Remus as Severus took the stand next, leaving to watch the boys while Sirius took his turn. After Sirius was Remus, and after that was a brief recess, following which Draco was called to talk about his parents' abuse. He didn't want to sit on the stand, insisting that either Alyssa or Remus come with him. Alyssa was allowed to hold him, comforting him when remembering became too painful. At the end of the narrative, which for some reason included his time with his new family, most of the people in the courtroom were in tears and ready to sentence the Malfoys to the deepest pit imaginable. Predictably, both attempted to use half-truths to avoid lying and telling the truth, but there was already so much against them that their words honestly didn't matter. Actions speak louder than words.
The Wizengamot left to consider what they had heard and to view the evidence that had been presented to them. Alyssa and the others took the opportunity to go to a room off the hall and attempt to calm Draco, Sirius going as far as turning into Padfoot for a few minutes. By the time the jury was back, everyone was ready to head back to the courtroom, Harry for the first time.
"The Wizengamot have decided that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are guilty of all charges, and are sentenced to life in Azkaban. Dwalish, Moody, take them away," Barty Crouch said, noting with satisfaction as his orders were carried out. "Now, Mrs. Lupin, if you and your husband would bring young Mr. Malfoy and approach the bench."
Alyssa stood, holding one of Draco's hands as Remus took the other. They walked into the center of the courtroom, standing in front of the chairs that had previously held the two adult Malfoys.
"You wish to adopt the child, via blood adoption, correct?"
"Yes, your honor," Remus said, answering for Alyssa, "We would like to make Draco our son officially." The unspoken, we already think of him that way, rang throughout the courtroom.
"Yes, well, in regards to that request, and your past…discrepancies," Barty Crouch said, eyeing both Alyssa and Remus, "The Wizengamot has decided…"