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As she had expected, Scrimgeour and Dawlish were there to meet them as their car pulled up in the dingy London alley that concealed the public entrance to the Ministry.
"And so back to the circus." She sighed, running her hands through her hair and smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of her dress. Ever the gentlemen, he exited first before offering his hand to help her out.
"Good morning gentlemen." The two pairs faced each other down the alley.
"Good morning, Miss Potter." Scrimgeour was at least being polite. "Minister Fudge would like to politely request that you keep your entrance discreet."
"I suppose that could be arranged." She shrugged. "He was so kind as to give me a peaceful weekend."
"My thanks." Scrimgeour nodded in appreciation. "Mr. Dawlish and I shall escort Mr. Malfoy down to the courtroom through the back passages."
"Very well," she sighed, "I'll see you down there." They kissed quickly, but surely; neither knowing when they would be together again.
She waited until they had disappeared round the alley corner before stepping into the phone box and dialling the number. She leant against the inside of the phone box as she slipped below the pavement, resting her left leg against the side at the same time. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to hear what he had to say today, but she was damned if she was going to look afraid.
She waited a moment as the door of the phone box swung open before stepping into the foyer, and it was no meek entrance. She strode with purpose, and soon every pair of eyes was on her. She cut a swathe through the grand foyer, her shoes clicking off the tiled floor as she made her way to the elevators. Even people who knew her well were gawping at her, and she knew why. Today, she was not here to give testimony; she did not have to dress to send a message or to make a good impression. Today she could come as herself; wealthy and powerful in her own right, not just because of a man.
Despite the fact that there were people clamouring to get into the lifts, being as it was one minute to ten, she was unaccompanied for her journey down to the ninth level. Again, on the stairs down to level ten, she was given a wide berth. She could feel the stares boring into her back, but she was quite pleased hat her current reputation afforded her the room to move in the crowded corridor.
Entering Courtroom Ten, she spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly, and gave them a quick nod of greeting. She paid Dumbledore and Snape the same courtesy as she passed. To her surprise, she saw that Harry had kept the seat next to him on the end of the row empty. Sirius was safely situated further along the row behind, near Lupin, Tonks and Bill Weasley, so she deemed the seat safe to take.
Harry did his best not to smirk as his sister approached, for he knew that whatever their personal opinions may be, every man in the room could not fail to be just a tad envious of Lucius Malfoy at that point. For today, she had chosen a long black coat that was made of some fluid fabric, with a deep collar that was trimmed with leather. It was obviously not intended to be buttoned up as it hung very open and loose around her figure, revealing the outfit beneath.
Even in the darkness that pervaded the great stone room, her dress shone out like a beacon. By the way it moved as she walked, it was apparently embroidered all over with tiny beads. It was a stark contrast to the dress she had worn the previous Monday, being so youthful and frivolous. This disparity way even more evident in the hemline, ending only half-way down her thigh. As perhaps a token gesture towards modesty, she did appear to be wearing stockings, as well as a pair of thigh-high black boots that looked like they were made of some velvety fabric. It was worth noting that, even in heels, the coat still trailed along the floor behind her.
"I take it you went shopping?" he remarked dryly as she sat down.
"Possibly." She smirked back at her brother. "Thanks for the seat."
"Well, I thought you could use a friendly face to sit next to." He shrugged off the thought he had taken in making sure they sat somewhere with a good view of where Lucius would be sitting. "Better than sitting nest to a bunch of gossips."
"Well, I think if Fudge had his way I'd be sitting down there." She nodded towards the still-vacant chair in the middle of the room. "To be fair, I might as well be."
"Well, you're not down there and you have no reason to be." Before she could thank Harry for such support, the courtroom hushed as the occupant of that specific chair was escorted in by Scrimgeour, Dawlish and other members of the Auror department. Though she could see him well enough from where she was sat, she rose from her seat and held his gaze until he had been securely chained down. As the doors at the side of the Wizengamot's benches banged open, the rest of the courtroom got to their feet, and Kathryn quite promptly returned to hers. She sat with her legs crossed, her back straight and her right hand on his cane glaring directly at Fudge, as if daring him to challenge her very blatant snub. He did not, however, and briskly shuffled his papers as they took their seats.
"Over the course of the previous week," Fudge addressed the entire room, "we have seen and heard testimony from Miss Kathryn Potter as to what transpired between herself and the accused, Lucius Malfoy. Today we reconvene in order to examine the reasons behind his actions." The assembled onlookers looked quite delighted at the prospect of being privy to such gritty details.
"So, Mr Malfoy," as he had done with Kathryn, Fudge began the questioning, "I believe that first thing that the Wizengamot would like to know is why exactly you did not hand Miss Potter over to your Master once she had fallen into your grasp?"
"Simple," Lucius shrugged as best he could, "I wanted her." There were gasps from around the courtroom at this rather callous admission, but Harry could discern nothing in his sister's cool expression. Half the room was staring at her, hoping for some adverse reaction, but they were to be sorely disappointed.
"No other reason?"
"Well, being who she was, I knew she was party to a great deal of information that some of my associates would have gladly liked to hear." He explained, keeping his eyes fixed on the Wizengamot and not once looking at the person about whom he spoke.
"So she was basically a useful source of information?" Fudge surmised.
"Yes, although I was not about to go running to the Dark Lord claiming to have vital information when I did not know if she would give it up. Besides, delivering her to the Dark Lord would have swiftly led to her death, and I was not about to waste such a fine prize."
"And you therefore admit that you raped and tortured her?"
"Yes." There was a flurry of frenzied muttering as he coolly acknowledged what he had done. "I have no wish to deny it. However, before you condemn me as a monster, I would seek to remind you that the same would have happened had she chosen to spy on any other of the Death Eaters. The only difference being that she would not have left their residences alive."
"Be that as it may, I still do not consider your actions merciful."
"They were not intended to be so," though his voice was cold and curt, Kathryn could see the distaste in his face at having to recount his actions, "I desired to cause pain, but as opposed to the likes of the Lestrange brothers, I understood that far worse pain can be caused when the victim is left alive."
"What a charming insight."
"I intended to cause pain, and I believe I succeeded."
"Yet, as Miss Potter has explained to us, she still refused to give up and information concerning the Order of the Phoenix. Why, pray, did you continue in your efforts?"
"Her resilience was," he paused, considering his choice of words, "frustrating. I became somewhat obsessed. I wanted nothing more than to break her, to win."
"Did you believe you would be successful?"
"I did," he nodded confidently; "I had never before failed to get what I wanted from someone, be it by psychological coercion or more brutal methods."
"I see," Fudge made some quick scribbled note before continuing, "and why did you choose such a particular method with which to torment Miss Potter?" Harry kept his eyes on Kathryn as they waited for Lucius' response.
"I wanted her to hate herself, to feel ridden with guilt," he explained slowly, "because I made her enjoy it. I did not beat her into submission, I gave her a choice. She chose to prolong the pain, not I." Kathryn sat stoically through this statement, although Harry could tell from the way her face tensed slightly that she did not like what she was hearing. He also noticed that she was trembling slightly, her hand wobbling as she brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Yes, well, that appears to correspond with what Miss Potter has related to us, although I can't say it was much of a choice." With a wave of his hand, Fudge passed the line of questioning to another member of the Wizengamot. The woman who spoke was the one with the thick ginger hair that was going grey at the roots. Today she had a necklace made up of several strings of glass beads that were various colours of red, to complement her hair.
"Did you have no care for Miss Potter's age at the time of these events?" she asked, her mouth a hard, disapproving line.
"No." He responded coldly. "I did what I thought was necessary."
"So you had no emotional qualms over what you had done?"
"None. What I did that week, and on subsequent occasions, was naught but a means to an end. Emotion was not involved."
"And yet now this young woman, for whom you had no reservations about injuring in such a grievous manner, sits in an unparalleled position of privilege in your eyes. How do you explain that?"
"Many things have changed since two years ago."
"Well, let's begin first with reasons behind certain actions. For example, what I cannot understand is why you have bestowed millions of galleons worth of jewellery on someone who you only set out to hurt? Much of it also appears to have been given before the so-called change in affections that Miss Potter has told us about."
"All part of the illusion," he smirked, "I made sure that she was to be on my arm, where possible, and I made sure that she looked her best. It was all meant to make the guilt even worse, to make the betrayal deeper."
"What about now? For I do believe that Miss Potter has been seen with many a fancy jewel around her neck."
"What I like to lay around her neck is my own business, not yours." Whilst Kathryn cracked a smile at this comment, the witch looked visibly shocked.
"As you wish." With a nod, she passed on the questioning.
"Mr. Malfoy, where was your wife in all of this?" the gentleman who spoke was the portly one who had addressed Kathryn first the previous Tuesday. "Was she aware of your activities?"
"No, she was not."
"And she raised no question of your attending functions at Hogwarts without her? Or the Quidditch match in Dubai?"
"Narcissa considered herself to have more important social commitments than those of a school, and she was no fan of Quidditch. She saw nothing untoward in my actions."
"But she was still your wife. Did you not even consider this to be a betrayal on your part?"
"Before I allowed myself to be emotionally involved, no." Kathryn did the maths in her head and guessed that he meant up until last summer. "So from summer last year up until Christmas, I suppose you could say that what I did was a disloyalty to her."
"Yet you do not sound like you regret it."
"I do not." Lucius' voice was curt and clear in the echoing room; the muttering ceased for fear of missing a single word. "Though there was affection between us when we married, the match was made with great financial consideration. She was everything she was meant to be, but after twenty years it becomes a little dull. There was little love lost between us really, she had her life and I had mine. Of course, I did care for her, how could I not? But I do not consider mine to be a great betrayal. Of course, were she here, I'm sure her feelings would be quite different."
"Ah yes, I suppose that her death was in some way convenient for you."
"I would not call any death convenient."
"But it has spared you and Miss Potter a further level of scandal now that this is all public knowledge."
"Considering what Miss Potter has already gone through, I'm sure one more bit of bother wouldn't have been too much to handle." Lucius shrugged in a nonchalant fashion.
"How did her death make you feel?" the tone of his question indicated that he expected Lucius to admit that he had been relieved.
"I was shocked," Lucius replied honestly, "and I was deeply saddened. There may have been little affection between us, but the sudden absence of someone who had been a constant in my life for twenty years was a profound blow. I didn't sleep well, I barely ate."
"How touching." His voice was full of mistrust.
"Miss Potter can vouch for my condition, although I believe she has already done so."
"And what about your son? How do you suppose he feels about this situation, seeing as Miss Potter is one of his classmates?"
"I would hardly call my son and Miss Potter 'mates'." Lucius drawled coolly. "Especially as they could barely stand to be in the same room, although Miss Potter tolerated it admirably well when she had to."
"Still, do you know what he thinks?"
"I have not seen my son since June." Hi response was brief and to the point.
"That would be during the Battle of Hogwarts?"
"Yes, but it was only a fleeting glimpse. I last properly saw him at the ball held earlier in June, but even then it was only a brief conversation; as you can imagine I was somewhat more pleasantly engaged." A smirk flitted briefly across his face.
"And so there has been no chance meeting in Azkaban? As he is also branded with the Dark Mark, and therefore considered to be a high security prisoner, I would have thought that you would have been to communicate somehow." Clearly the wizard was not aware of the special provisions that Kathryn had negotiated.
"Had I seen him, I doubt that he would have spoken to me." Lucius' voice was tinged with the slightest amount of regret. "I can't imagine he is very pleased about the situation, but then again I don't really care."
"You do not care for your son's opinion?"
"At the moment I do not care for my son."
"And why would that be?" his questioner raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Surely you share the same views, as you are incarcerated for very similar reasons."
"I'm afraid you are much mistaken."
"Well, would you please elaborate as to the main reason?"
"He has repeatedly tried to grievously injure the person I most care about."
"That would be Miss Potter, yes?" all eyes turned on Kathryn, wanting to see some kind of shocked response.
"Yes, it would." The whole room erupted in furious whispers and Lucius paused a moment until people calmed down. "He repeatedly attempted to injure her during their tenure at Hogwarts, and during the final battle tried to use both the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse upon her." The portly wizard's eyes immediately flashed to where Kathryn was sitting.
"Can you vouch for this, Miss Potter?"
"I can." Her voice echoed round the room in the hush that had descended.
"And am I right in assuming that you shall be contributing this to Draco Malfoy's trial."
"Yes, I shall."
"Most illuminating." He leaned back in his chair and motioned for someone else to continue.
"Mr Malfoy," the man with the wire-rimmed glasses and shock of white hair was the one who spoke, "You have just said that yours and your son's views differ considerably. How so? You both bear the Dark Mark, as my esteemed colleague noted, so how can you even claim to have different opinions when you subscribe to the same ideology?"
Harry noted that his sister was shifting nervously on the end of her seat, and wondered if this too was a question to which she longed to hear the answer.
"I'll admit that in my youth, my views were very similar to those of my son. But that was quite some time ago, and where some of my former associates have grown more fanatical with age, I find that I have not." Truth be told, Harry was also quite interested to hear what he had to say.
"Why did you not act upon this shift in opinion?"
"The Dark Mark meant a lifetime of service, and when the Dark Lord returned I was not about to sacrifice all I had gained."
"So you saw yourself as opposed to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named upon his return five years ago?" Kathryn decided that she quite liked this wizard's style of question, as it gave Lucius scope to properly explain.
"Not then, not so much as I do now. I was brought up to believe in my superiority over, well, most people. It was this idea that originally attracted me to the Death Eaters, as well as the promise of power; another thing I had been told I deserved from the moment I could understand the concept." Looking around the room, Harry could see that people were hanging on his very word, desperate to have this glimpse inside the mind of such a man.
"How would you describe your son's opinions on the issue? What attracted him to the Dark Lord's cause?"
"He too was attracted by the promise of power," Lucius explained, "but in the past five years I believe he has been more influenced by his late Aunt. I cannot personally vouch for it, but I believe that there are others who will be able to accurately describe his attitude to Muggle-born students. I merely heard his accounts of school; I was not there to witness his behaviour."
"When you refer to his late Aunt, you mean Bellatrix Lestrange?"
"Yes. I believe he picked up some more of his fanatical traits from her." Hermione, now wondering if she would be called upon to bear witness to Draco's behaviour, could well agree with that statement.
"You consider yourself blameless?"
"No, I do not. I instilled in him the same beliefs that my father gave to me. It is only in these past two years that I have been introduced to the view from the other side of the fence."
"You cannot expect us to believe that you credit your change of heart solely to the influence of Miss Potter!" the wizard scoffed, his eyebrows raised.
"No, I do not credit it solely to her. I was weary of the killing, of the pain we sought to cause." He sighed. "I have seen enough of it to last me ten lifetimes."
"So what do you credit to Miss Potter?"
"I was brought up to believe, and have lived most of my life on the premise that everything has a price; be it a law or a human being. I began all of this with the belief that I need only find Miss Potter's specific price, and the rewards for such information would be great indeed." Glancing across at his sister's face again, Harry noted that the implacable mask had returned. "What can I say? She was young; I thought she would cave easily."
"Mr Malfoy, does this explanation actually have a point?"
"My apologies, yes, it does." Lucius realised that he had been rambling slightly, but that was more a distraction as he worked out what he wanted to say. "As I have already said, I have never before failed to get what I want from someone. Yet here I was faced with a young woman who had no second thoughts about putting herself through such torment; all for the sake of her friends. At first I mocked her for such grand delusions of nobility, but I do believe that I gradually came to respect her for the obviously high esteem in which she held her friends." Kathryn's face softened for just a moment as he spoke and Harry was sure that he saw happiness burning in her eyes.
"Just out of curiosity, what was your opinion of Miss Potter before all this began?" the eyes behind the spectacles scrutinised Lucius closely, as if searching for a vain of falsehood running through his explanations.
"I'd never bought in to the whole 'children who lived' euphoria," he shrugged, "nor did I believe that they were somehow 'chosen'. In my mind, both she and her brother were simply an attention-seeking inconvenience."
"An obstacle to your cause?" the wizard suggested.
"Yes, I suppose they were. But over the past two years I have watched her take the weight of our world on her shoulders, as well as the burden of deceiving her friends about our relationship, and walk calmly towards her death. For the sake of everyone she loved, she was willing to surrender her life, and for that I can do nothing but respect her."
"A very profound act," the wizard's white hair shook as he nodded, "what did it mean to you? What did it teach you?"
"It is hard to explain what it taught me, but if anything I believe that night was when she showed me the true meaning of nobility." There was silence throughout the great room as everyone waited for him to continue. "They may have been lauded for years as the 'chosen ones', but it was only at that moment that I began to believe it."
"And when you discovered that she was alive, what was it that made you lie? Did you not care for the potential ramifications were it discovered that you lied? We all know that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did not take kindly to liars."
"I did not care."
"I find that hard to believe." The wizard shook his head. "After all the time and money you had invested, I find it unlikely that you could so easily abandon your cause. However, I do find it easy to believe that it would have been very simple for you to choose to back the winning side. Is that what you thought?" he asked. "When you found she was alive, did you make that decision to lie in order to save your own skin?"
"No. I lied for her, no one else."
"Why? You could have brought things to an end in your Master's favour."
"I had watched her die once, I was not about to do it again."
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