Kathryn stared sadly after him as he was led away to one of the waiting elevators. She didn't notice the people closing in on her until a flashbulb went off right in her face. Her blank expression quickly turned to a scowl as they began shouting questions at her left, right and centre.
"What is your relationship with Lucius Malfoy?" one cried.
"How long have you been involved?" She slowly began to push her way over to the stairs.
"Did you pass information to the Death Eaters?" she began to feel claustrophobic as people tried to stop her getting away.
"How do you feel about the criticism of your actions?"
"Where is your relationship going?"
"What about the age gap?" she made it to the stairs and practically ran down them; concealing herself in an alcove just in case they followed.
She stayed there until the clock reached eleven. Only then did she make her way down to the courtroom. It appeared that everyone had already gone in and, through the doors, she could hear, above the chatter, Fudge asking for her to come forward. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the heavy double doors and strode forwards into the courtroom.
The entire room turned their heads to look at who had arrived, Lucius straining against his bonds to do so. Harry, looking at his sister, thought that she should have some kind of terrifying, powerful fanfare to accompany her entrance. Everything about her demeanour and dress spoke of power and, he guessed, was meant to convey that she meant business. She was wearing a pair of fine woollen trousers and a matching waistcoat of a green so dark that it looked almost black in the dim light of the courtroom. Lucius smiled when he realised she had indeed contracted the services of Mr Argorosso in the time she had spent confined in Malfoy Manor. Beneath this was a black shirt that was open at the collar, following the deep v-neckline of the waistcoat. Harry was sure that he could see, just poking out from beneath her shirt, a purple bruise that looked suspiciously like it had been left by teeth. A necklace of dark emeralds rested around her neck, with matching earrings and cufflinks in her shirt. Tucked under one arm was a small green bag and in the other hand was the infamous, serpent topped cane.
Her heels rapped across the stone floor as she walked and Harry could see that many of the people in the room were mesmerised by her, their eyes following her every move. Harry noticed that, as she passed the chair where Malfoy was chained down, her hand brushed slowly across his and an unspoken look of understanding passed between the two of them. Harry could tell that, as she walked up the flight of steps that led to where she was supposed to stand, she did not want to do this. He knew that what she was going to say would probably do him more harm that good, but Harry admired his sister for doing it anyway. Harry also noted the look she gave Rita Skeeter, sitting in the front row of the benches opposite, her Quick Quotes Quill poised and ready and her long, talon-like nails gleaming in the torchlight. Her look was one of pure venom; almost daring her to falsify what she was about to say
Kathryn's heart was hammering so hard in her chest that she was sure everyone else could hear it as she stood and faced the Wizengamot. She felt very exposed on this pedestal; everyone was looking down on her from their high benches. Keeping her face impassive, she stood and waited for Fudge to speak.
"Miss Potter," after what seemed like an eternity, he addressed her, "do you solemnly swear that everything you say will be the truth and nothing else?" she did not answer for a few moments, giving Fudge an appraising look.
"I can see no profit in lying." She replied dryly.
"Please answer yes or no." Fudge told her brusquely.
"Yes." Her voice was curt and did not conceal how much she hated the man she was looking at.
"And you are here to answer our questions as to what passed between yourself and the accused, Lucius Malfoy, yes?"
"Yes."
"And also to provide your defence to the charges of treason and passing information to Death Eaters that have been levelled at you?"
"Yes." Harry saw her eyes flash with anger at those last words. Considering what she had done for the Order, and that she had helped finally destroy Voldemort, it was quite an insult to have herself being labelled a traitor.
"Right," Fudge shuffled his papers in front of him, "let us begin with your activities exactly two years ago today, the twenty third of August."
"As you wish." She took a deep breath and began her story. "On the twenty third of August two years ago, I told my brother, godfather and my friends that I was going to stay with a friend of mine in France." She explained. "But I lied. I had decided to have a snoop around the Malfoys Wiltshire home to see if I could find anything out. As you probably know, I was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and I wanted to do something useful instead of just sitting around headquarters all summer."
"Were you even aware of how dangerous this was?" one of the Wizengamot asked.
"I was well aware of Mr Malfoy's credentials as a Death Eater, but I was certain of my own capabilities to stay hidden and defend myself if necessary." She responded curtly. "Anyway, I slipped into his grounds without using magic as I assumed that he would not be expecting intruders that did not use magic. I was right, and I was able to traverse the grounds quite easily."
"How is that you were not seen?"
"I had witnessed Mrs Malfoy and her son leaving the manor earlier that day and I knew that it was only Mr Malfoy that remained in the house. I had also waited until nightfall so that I would not be spotted."
"As fascinating as these details are, Miss Potter," Fudge addressed her again, "please explain as to how you ended up in the situation we observed yesterday."
"That would come sooner, Minister, if you did not interrupt me." She retorted, her voice pure venom. "You asked me to explain so that is what I am trying to do." She waited for this to sink in before continuing. "I could see a light on in one of the upstairs windows so I climbed up the wall to see what it was. It was only Mr Malfoy in his study and I was going to watch for a while until my foothold gave way. As you can imagine, trying to save myself from the equivalent of a four or five storey fall, I made a sufficient amount of noise to attract Mr Malfoy's attention."
"And what was your reaction to being discovered?" one of the female members of the Wizengamot asked.
"I ran." She replied, speaking as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What else was I supposed to do?"
"Apparate." One suggested.
"Apparition is not so practical when you are clinging onto a stone wall that is liable to give way if you make any sudden movements. Apparition also needs concentration, which I was unable to provide when I realised that I had been seen and Mr Malfoy was now in the process of trying to stop my escape."
"So how is it that, even though you were, as you say, confident in your abilities to defend yourself, you were so easily captured?"
"I ran the wrong way." Kathryn shrugged, trying not to get annoyed at the people questioning her. "It was dark and I had no idea where I was going. Instead of running back to the fence I had climbed over, I ran straight into Mr Malfoy." There were several astonished gasps in the rows of observers. Kathryn supposed that they had not imagined such a version of events and their imaginations had created a much more sordid account of events.
"Did you make no further attempts to escape?"
"With a wand you knew capable of performing the killing curse in an instant pointed straight at me, I was not inclined to attempt such a thing."
"Now, Miss Potter, we saw the following events yesterday, but we would still be grateful if you would tell us what happened so that we may have your version of events." Fudge went on. Harry, Ron and Hermione were amazed that he was going to make her tell what happened in front of all these onlookers. Taking another deep breath, Kathryn began to speak again.
"What is there to tell?" she kept her gaze fixed on Fudge as she spoke. "I was removed of my wand, coat and shirt because I had sewn several maps into the linings in case of emergency and was then kept chained in the cellars of Malfoy Manor for several hours thinking that I was going to die."
"Surely you were not so pessimistic about your situation?"
"I knew his reputation as a Death Eater as well as the respectable reputation he presented to the public eye." She reminded the Wizengamot dispassionately. "With such knowledge I was not inclined to think that there could be a positive outcome of the situation."
"So you did not even consider trying to escape?"
"No." Her answer was firm. "I could not see a good outcome of any such attempt as I was without a wand and locked in a room that had been sealed with an anti-disapparation jinx. Do not think I didn't try to get out of there." Harry smiled when her recognised her tone as one similar to the one Snape frequently used when addressing him. "My imagination was satisfactorily equipped to understand what could happen to me at that point. I knew that I might end up dead, but I also understood my value as a captive and, judging by Voldemort's previous assertions," there was a collective shudder as she spoke his name, "I could see how it would be more advantageous to have me alive." She could see that several of the observers were surprised at how blasé she was about the fact that she could have met her death that night.
"Did this prospect not worry you?" a portly, balding man on the Wizengamot bench asked her.
"I have faced death before." She reminded him. "You get used to it after a while."
"So, instead of killing you," Fudge asked in a laboriously slow voice, taking pleasure in the discomfort and embarrassment he was about to inflict upon her, "what did Mr Malfoy do to you?" he fixed her with a curious look that implied that he had no idea. Where he was sat, Lucius was furious and wanted to strangle Fudge for what he was about to do.
"You saw yesterday." Kathryn snapped at him, trying to keep her face impassive.
"What you showed us yesterday was a memory," Fudge told her haughtily, "you must verbally explain what happened for it to have any bearing whatsoever." It was painful for Lucius to watch her. He could see how she was struggling to actually voice what he had done to her two years ago as, although she had never admitted it, she was ashamed of it.
"I was," she said quietly, "that is to say he, well, he," she could not get the words out properly.
"Spit it out girl." Fudge demanded brusquely.
"I suppose you think it is easy to admit that something like that happened to you?" she challenged Fudge, her eyes burning with anger. "You think it an easy task just to say those words."
"Miss Potter, please answer the question." Fudge asked coldly, not looking her in the eye.
"He," she took a deep breath, trying not to think of the damage this could do to the man chained in the chair before her, "he raped me."
"Just once?"
"Multiple times, over a week."
"Anything more?" Fudge asked, knowing that she was bound by her word to tell them what else Malfoy had done to her.
"He tortured me." She admitted. "Threatened to let other Death Eaters; Antonin Dolohov and Rabastan Lestrange to name but two, to have their turn with me."
"And did he?"
"No."
"So no one else knew that you were there?" Fudge clarified. "What about his wife and son?"
"They did not return to the house." She explained. "And, as I had told people that I would be in France, I was not missed."
"Forgive me if I seem to be asking you to repeat what you showed us yesterday, but, if deprived of you wand how did you escape?" Fudge asked, obviously trying to avoid another embarrassing telling off from her.
"I didn't." Many of the people sat in the gallery appeared to be stunned by this revelation. "He let me go. He returned my wand to me and took me to London early one morning."
"Just like that?" Fudge asked sceptically.
"The threats against my friends and family had already been made." She specified. "Mr Malfoy made it very clear very early on what would happen to the people I loved were I to tell anyone."
"Why did you say nothing?" an elderly woman asked from the bench. "Surely Mr Malfoy couldn't have found out had you only let your brother, godfather or Dumbledore know."
"I was terrified." Kathryn said slowly. "I knew his reputation and wasn't in a position to doubt what he would do."
"But surely his returning you to London was the end of your relationship?" the same woman asked.
"We didn't have a relationship." Kathryn snapped. "And, with the parting words 'I'll see you at school', I knew that this was anything but over."
"Forgive me asking, Miss Potter," Fudge began, although he didn't look sorry in the least, "but were you a virgin at the time of this incident?"
"And what bearing does that have on anything?"
"Just answer the question."
"I was busy helping fight a war." Kathryn stated. "I hadn't time for boys or adolescent fumbling."
"A simple yes or no will suffice."
"Yes." She snapped tersely.
"Thank you." Fudge motioned to his fellow members of the Wizengamot to continue with their questions.
"So, Miss Potter," the portly man continued, "after that, when did you next see Mr Malfoy?"
"The first Quidditch match of the season."
"When was that?"
"The end of September."
"And what happened then?"
"His son had injured me in training the day before," she explained, "I was unable to play and I encountered Mr Malfoy in the stadium whilst I was trying to find a seat."
"And what happened?"
"Nothing." She shrugged. "He invited me to sit with him in one of the teachers boxes."
"And you agreed? After what he had done to you?"
"What else could I do?" she asked him. "He had me cornered and my arm was in a sling."
"Did anything untoward happen?"
"He cornered me after the game." She admitted. "And confirmed my view that he saw me as only an object he could use for his own pleasure." Looking down at Lucius, she tried to convey how much it hurt her to do this.
"And you lied to your friends about this?"
"Yes."
"And the next meeting after that?"
"The next Quidditch game. Mid-October." She supplied. "I was, again, injured and I bumped into Mr Malfoy as I was walking out to the pitch."
"And, as before, did anything untoward happen?"
"No." She shook her head. "He was kind. He carried me up the stairs because I couldn't walk properly."
"Did your brother not suspect anything? Or your friends?"
"No. I was a Prefect, I passed off what I did as my duty as a Hogwarts Prefect. Mr Malfoy was a governor, as were the rest of the people I sat with that day. It would have appeared very out of place had I been rude."
"Why did, as you put it, think that Mr Malfoy saw you as someone he could use?"
"I think that is obvious."
"Answer the question Miss Potter." Fudge interjected in a terse voice.
"I think the answer to that question is obvious considering who I am." She shot back at Fudge. "But as you do so enjoy concise explanations, I will oblige you." Harry had to admire the way she was handling this and he had to fight back a smirk as she continued. "At that time I was, and still am, one of the Potter twins. Voldemort wanted us dead because of a prophecy made years ago." There was a great deal of muttering at this statement. "If someone like that just walked into your grasp, as Mr Malfoy once described it, you do not let go. I was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and had lived at the Order's headquarters since I was fifteen years old. I was a veritable mine of information that would be of use to the Dark Lord." She paused for effect. "Only he had to break me first."
"And that was your understanding of why he chose to do this?"
"Yes."
"So after this encounter, when did you see him next?"
"On our first Hogsmeade weekend." She replied without hesitation. "It was half way through November."
"And where did you meet him?"
"We didn't meet, he found me." She said coldly.
"And what did you do?"
"He made me apparate beck to his Manor." She explained. "He tried to get me to tell him Order secrets. I mean, he must've thought that my fear of the consequences would persuade me to yield. When I didn't he, well," she paused, again trying to work up the courage to say the words a second time, "when I didn't, he, he had his way." Muttering again broke out in the benches, true she had not stated explicitly what had happened, but the meaning was clear.
"Was your absence not noticed?" the man asked curiously.
"No, I usually went off for walks on my own when we went to Hogsmeade so my absence wasn't noticed. I got back to the village at quarter to six and I got back just before the gates were shut."
"And what did you tell your brother and friends as the reason for your lateness?"
"I told then I'd gone for a walk and had gotten lost." She replied without hesitation, knowing there was no point trying to hid the fact that she had lied mercilessly to her brother, godfather and friends for two years.
"Why did you lie?" he asked inquisitively; asking the question everyone in the room was burning to know.
"I was afraid." she said quietly. "At that point fear outweighed reason."
"Very well." The man nodded and he motioned for one of his female colleagues to take over.
"Now, Miss Potter, as I understand it, the next time you saw Mr Malfoy was at the ball held at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays that year. Am I right?" this woman had a kindlier face than most and she appeared to voice her question more politely than others had.
"You are."
"Would you please be so kind as to explain the course of events surrounding that meeting?" Kathryn was grateful that someone was finally being polite.
"The day Mr Malfoy returned me to London," she began, "there was an item waiting for me when I went to get my school things in Diagon Alley. It was labelled 'do not open until Christmas Day' and, after receiving a bouquet of flowers from the Hogwarts Governors, I recognised the writing as his."
"So you kept the item even after you realised it was from Mr Malfoy?"
"Yes."
"Might I enquire as to why, considering what he had already done to you?"
"I was curious," Kathryn shrugged, "and it was from a clothes shop so I didn't think that it could be anything adverse."
"And what did you find when you opened that parcel on Christmas Day?"
"It was a dress," she replied, "nothing more, nothing less."
"And was there any note with the dress?" Kathryn cast a quick glance at her friends before answering.
"Yes," she nodded, "but I hid it from Harry, Ron and Hermione when I found it in the box."
"What did it say?"
"It just said Merry Christmas," she told the courtroom, hesitating over whether to tell them what was on the other side of the card, "on the other side it said that I was to consider myself taken for the ball."
"And you consented to this? After what he had done to you previously?" Kathryn liked the way this member of the Wizengamot was going about her questions. She was being given to opportunity to speak freely with few interruptions.
"I was more afraid of what would happen if I refused." She stated plainly.
"Why did you not return this, er, gift?"
"Well, that dress must have cost in excess of seven hundred Galleons and I wasn't going to turn that down, not even if I hated the person that had given it to me."
"Just why, exactly, did Mr Malfoy purchase you that dress?"
"Because, as he put it, he wanted the best looking girl on his arm." She said dryly.
"Was there any other reason you were not inclined to refuse?"
"He was polite," she said with a shrug, "quite the gentleman."
"Anything more?" Kathryn realised that she was referring to the necklace.
"Well, he did put about four hundred carats of diamonds around my neck." She said coolly. "As well as one hundred around my wrist and fifty in my ears." She finished.
"Just like that?" the witch asked, astounded.
"Yes, apparently they were a Christmas gift, at least, that's what I discerned when he said Merry Christmas."
"Why did you not return these?" she asked curiously.
"I was brought up to think it impolite to refuse gifts." Kathryn replied. "Also, what nineteen year old girl would turn down a gift like that? I don't want to sound selfish by saying this, but it almost gave some consolation for what he was doing."
"So he was, in effect, making it worth your while?"
"I'm not sure that it was intended that way, but yes, in a sense he was."
"Thank you." She motioned for one of her colleagues to continue the line of questions. The man that took over was thin and balding, with a very large moustache and set of eyebrows that appeared to compensate for his lack of hair on his head. He had large, square glasses with a thick, brown rim which made his eyes appear twice their normal size. All Kathryn could think that he and Professor Trelawney would go together quite well.
"Now, Miss Potter," he had a thick, nasal voice that Kathryn knew was going to irritate her, "after the Christmas break when did you next meet Mr Malfoy?"
"Early January."
"And for what reason?" he asked inquisitively.
"He had arranged a week's work experience for me at the Ministry because I had mentioned it at the ball over Christmas." She explained.
"And was it actually work experience?" he asked, clearly doubting what she said.
"Yes, although he did manufacture a situation in which to spend time with me."
"And that was?" he raised his formidable eyebrows at her.
"The Quidditch World Cup qualifier that England played against Australia in Dubai." She replied. "We left on a Friday evening so my absence would not be suspicious, as I was not expected at the Ministry on a Saturday or Sunday."
"Did you know of your destination before you left on that evening?"
"No, I was just told to pack for somewhere hot."
"And what did you tell your Godfather, Sirius Black?"
"I lied," she said simply, "I told him that I had been asked to fill in for a secretary on a business trip and that I would be gone for a few days."
"Did you feel no guilt at lying like that?"
"Guilt?" she said incredulously. "Guilt? Do you honestly believe that the fact that I was lying so much wasn't destroying me inside? I couldn't stand it."
"But you admit that you did lie?"
"Of course I lied! What was I supposed to say?" she retorted harshly. "Oh yes Sirius, I'm just popping off to Dubai for the weekend. Oh, by the way, I'll be staying with Lucius Malfoy. I'm sure that would have gone down well." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm of the highest quality and Harry couldn't help thinking that she sounded almost like Snape did when he was really angry.
"What happened after you returned from Dubai?" the wizard asked, changing his tack of questioning. Kathryn spotted Fudge's face pale slightly as he realised that he was going to become involved.
"I returned to Mr Malfoy's manor, along with Minister Fudge, for dinner." There was a sudden outbreak of muttering in amongst the stands.
"And did Minister Fudge notice anything?"
"No."
"Did it not seem odd that you were apparently staying with Mr Malfoy?"
"Minister Fudge knew that we were staying in the same hotel and that Mr Malfoy had invited me, but nothing else. Minister Fudge also received an urgent message after dinner and had to leave immediately." She explained. "He asked Mr Malfoy to ensure that I got home safely, but other than that, to him nothing seemed amiss."
"And what happened after Minister Fudge left?"
"My position was reaffirmed by Mr Malfoy. As you saw yesterday, he made it quite clear where I stood."
"Now, Miss Potter, I am aware that some photographs appeared in the Sunday Prophet of you and Mr Malfoy at the Quidditch match."
"They did."
"And did your friends not find this odd?" he asked curiously.
"I lied." She replied simply. "I told them that I merely ran into Mr Malfoy at the match, not that he had invited me."
"And, might I ask you what you were wearing at the match?"
"It was a black dress, one of my own, although I do not see the importance of this question." She responded curtly.
"It is not your dress I refer to, Miss Potter, but the object around your neck." his moustache curved into what she supposed was a smirk.
"Ah yes, once again Mr Malfoy had procured some jewellery for me."
"And that was?"
"Two hundred carats of pale blue, pear shaped diamond." She told the court. "One of the rarest diamonds in existence, due to its colour and brilliance. I did my research."
"Yes, well, so do we." He said in a self satisfied tone. "That diamond was cut from a rough stone of four hundred carats." He read from a piece of parchment. "The cut stone was purchased three years ago by an unidentified buyer for the record sum of thirty million Galleons. The other stones went for fifteen million Galleons to the same anonymous buyer."
"Your point being?" her stomach was doing somersaults at the figures.
"It was recorded entering an unspecified Gringotts vault, although due to privacy reasons Gringotts cannot disclose the name of the account holder or the number of the vault. It was then recorded being removed from said vault a little over one and a half years ago." The wizard looked down at a page of notes before him. "There has been no mention or sight of that diamond since. No jeweller in England has admitted to it passing through his hands and it has not appeared on the market, it is quite a mystery as to where it went. "
"That's because it is in my top dresser drawer." She shrugged.
"Excuse me?" there were several shocked gasps from the benches around the hall.
"That necklace, and the earrings and bracelet made from the other stones, have been in my possession since Mr Malfoy laid them around my neck." She took a deep breath. "I have been in possession of forty five million Galleons worth of diamonds. They have been with me all through my time at Hogwarts, and during the summer holidays."
"Did you never question the value?" he asked in disbelief.
"Never, although I was knowledgeable enough to know that such finery would not have come at a low cost, the figure you present is a surprise to me." She spoke honestly, trying not to convey her amazement that he had spent such a sum and then given it to her as opposed to his wife.
"Have you ever worn it again?"
"Not in public."
"And in private?"
"Only at dinner that evening with Mr Malfoy and Minister Fudge." She replied shortly.
"And what would you have done, had you known their true value?" he asked curiously. "I mean, you knew that they were costly, but what would you have done, how would you have reacted, if he had told you that their worth was forty five million Galleons?"
"I would have told him that he could keep them." She answered quickly.
"Did you not see it as the ultimate means of buying your silence?" he pushed. "Was it enough to tempt you into holding your tongue?" he continued harshly, fixing her with a beady stare.
"My silence was a product of fear, not lavish gifts that were only intended to make sure that I looked good on his arm." Her voice was sharp, ensuring that the man understood that he was straying onto dangerous ground.
"And how many of these, er, gifts, has he lavished upon you, Miss Potter?" he asked, continuing his line of questioning.
"Too many to count." She responded curtly. "He has grown rather fond of spoiling me." She said with a smirk, glancing first at Lucius, and then cocking an eyebrow at the moustachioed wizard.
"And what was the last thing he indulged you with?" he asked with a cruel smile. "If you would be so good as to tell us?"
"The necklace I'm wearing now." She shrugged. "And he did purchase my parents' house in Godric's Hollow as a birthday present, both for myself and my brother." She added, hoping to indicate that he was not all they perceived.
"To what purpose?"
"A birthday gift," she shot back, "and because he thought it should belong to us."
"So he was buying your allegiance." He accused from his elevated bench.
"No."
"Well, I'm dreadfully sorry Miss Potter, but that's the way it seems."
"You are quite mistaken." She said with a cruel smirk.
"Well would you care to elaborate?"
"He does not need to buy my allegiance." She stated.
"And why would that be?"
"He already has it." She snapped. "I thought that would be obvious." For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, scandalised muttering broke out amongst the benches of seated observers.
"Why does he?" the wizard asked. "Why do you bestow your loyalty upon someone who did such horrific things to you?"
"I have my own reasons." She replied tersely.
"Why are you faithful to someone so unworthy?" he gestured to Lucius, bound to the chair. "To someone who has done such things, not just to you, but to other innocents? To someone who bears the Dark Mark upon his arm?" he gestured again to Lucius and one of the guards stepped forwards and roughly yanked up his shirt sleeve to reveal the brand beneath. "Someone who stands for everything you have ever opposed since your very birth?" Kathryn did not know what to say, he had her slightly cornered and was forcing her to voice the very thoughts that had run through her mind many times before. She had known that one day she would have to explain her reasoning behind this; explain why she had come to this.
"I made a choice." She replied shortly.
"A choice to do what?"
"If you will let me finish," she snapped, "I will explain."
"Go ahead."
"I made a choice, exactly a year ago as it were."
"And that was?"
"I decided that I was in too far to ever turn back." She explained. "That I would have to stand and be judged for what I had done."
"And what have you done?" he asked curiously.
"I do not know; you have yet to tell me what you consider my crime to be."
"Did something change?" he demanded harshly.
"I think so." She said quietly. "I became more than the abused. He told me that he was going to ask me for information about the Order one final time."
"And was it the final time?"
"It was." Apparently satisfied, he leant back in his chair and let another member of the Wizengamot take over the questions.