Just under two hours later, there was a sharp knock on the door of Malfoy Manor, swiftly answered by a house elf. Despite the fact that she had seen Lucius with them from the bedroom window, she left them stewing downstairs for a while. She had actually managed to change out of her scruffy clothes and into something a bit more suitable for such illustrious company. Her jeans this time stayed on instead of constantly trying to make their way to her ankles. Slipping her feet into a pair of black flats and pulling on one of his black shirts that she had re-sized to fit, she went to meet them, hoping that she looked decidedly better than she had that morning.
Walking down the grand staircase, she kept her eyes fixed on Lucius who was being guarded by a pair of Aurors. She noted that Umbridge and Percy Weasley were also part of the party.
"Are the Aurors really necessary Fudge?" she asked, skipping the pleasantries. "What do you think he's going to do?"
"The Aurors are for our security, Miss Potter, surely you realise that?" Fudge replied stiffly.
"And you'd better not be considering leaving a couple here over the weekend as I refuse to have my every step scrutinised by your lapdogs."
"Very well." Fudge agreed, probably afraid of what she would do if he refused. He dismissed the Aurors with a wave of his hand before speaking again. "Now might we commence our business here?"
"As you wish." She nodded, hoping that this would be dealt with expediently. "I would suggest that we start in the cellars."
"Very well, lead the way." Obediently, she led them down the concealed set of steps and into the cavernous cellars beneath the house. Lucius followed patiently, not saying a word as they approached the door where everything all began. Opening the door, she showed them all in without a word.
"So this is the room where he raped you, yes?" one of the women asked, trying and failing to conceal the disgust in her voice.
"Yes." She replied simply. She didn't want to be in this room. With so many people in it she felt trapped, a feeling she did not want to experience in this room ever again. She leaned against the fireplace as one of the members of the Wizengamot pulled back the bedspread.
"I see that Mr Malfoy does not care to change his sheets." Kathryn balked as her eyes settled upon blackened patches of what had been her blood that were spattered all over the white cotton. Her stomach lurched and she tried to look away, only to find herself drawn to the remnants of what had happened.
"You seem, uncomfortable, Miss Potter." One of the wizards commented. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she replied quickly, hiding the shaky tone in her voice, "I just haven't been in here for more than a minute since I left this room." She explained. "Two years ago to the day actually."
"Well, I believe we've seen all that we need to here." She was thankful for that decision and locked the door firmly behind her.
"You mentioned that you were grateful that you were 'kept' there and not next door." The witch with the bobbed ginger hair asked. "I was just curious as there does not appear to be a next door."
"Not one that you can see." Stepping forwards, the inserted the ring he had given her into the appropriate groove, gave the password, and waited until it released the ring. She saw several eyes widen as the portion of wall slid away, followed by several gasps as they saw the room's contents. She mouthed 'sorry' to Lucius, knowing that this was doing him more harm than good.
"I assume you now understand why I feel lucky to be alive." She said after no one had spoken for a while.
"Quite." That was all Fudge managed to say.
Kathryn was sure that she heard a small gasp as she walked in.
"And I'm sure that you'll all recognise this." She held up the dagger that they had seen him taunting her with at the start of the week. "After all, you did want proof."
"Yes, thank you." The brunette witch with the kindly face looked as if she was about to faint. Stepping out and closing the door behind her, Kathryn sealed off the room that was causing them such offence.
"What would you like to see now?" she asked with a sigh, her headache returning with a vengeance.
"You showed yourself being hidden in a room in the library." Fudge informed her. "We would like to see this room."
"As you wish." She nodded. "Not that there is much to see." They followed her in silence, apparently unwilling to make any form of conversation. As she showed them out of the door, she noticed that Lucius' hands were securely manacled together.
"Oh how ridiculous." She remarked sharply, pulling out his wand and releasing him from his bonds. "In your own home." Smiling gratefully at her, he rubbed his wrists where they had chafed against the rough metal.
"What exactly did they think I was going to do?" he murmured to her as she led them up to the library.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Kill them all maybe?" she suggested with a laugh. If any of them had any complaints about releasing him from his bonds, they did not voice it as they stepped into the huge library.
"Just through here." She led them into the reading room and, with a movement so quick that they didn't see what she did, the hidden panel slid away.
"Thank you, Miss Potter." Kathryn was surprised that Fudge was being passably gracious.
"It's not all that interesting you know." She told them as they had a poke around. "Just a hidey hole." She leaned into Lucius and buried her head in the folds of his jacket, willing her headache to go away.
"We are done, Miss Potter." Fudge said from behind her.
"Good," she replied, straightening up and closing the hidden panel with a wave of her wand, "onto the vast array of items that I have gathered for you to see."
"It is a marvellous house." One of the women commented as they walked down the opulently carved staircase.
"Yes," she nodded, "twelve bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, two dining rooms, three parlous, four drawing rooms, two studies, ballroom, billiards room, music room, attic, cellars, kitchens and half of Wiltshire." She reeled off. "Yes, I'm quite pleased with it actually." She finished dryly, being careful not to laugh at their stunned expressions. "Lucius, if you would just show them into the drawing room, I'll be back in just a moment." Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she walked off in the direction of their bedroom. He could not help but smirk slightly; they all looked terrified at the prospect of being left alone with Lucius Malfoy.
"If you'll follow me." He said smoothly, leading them through to the drawing room next door to his study.
Head pounding, Kathryn walked straight into the bathroom and splashed her face with some cold water. Her head felt like it was about to split in two, something that she had not experienced since the night of the final battle, when Draco Malfoy had used the Cruciatus curse on her. Groaning, she clapped her hands and one of the House Elves appeared.
"What is it that I can be doing for you Mistress?" he asked, bowing low.
"Could you bring some tea coffee up to the study in about fifteen minutes?" she asked. "Enough for sixteen people."
"At once." The elf bowed and disappeared with a crack.
"Right," she spoke to herself, "pull yourself together," she took several deep breaths, "it's only a headache." Drying her face off, she replaced her glasses on her nose and walked through to the wardrobe to get one final thing. With the heavy blue box in her hand, she set off back towards the drawing room.
In the handsomely appointed room, each member of the Wizengamot was busy examining the things she had laid out for them to see. One large table was entirely covered with jewellery whilst her dresses floated eerily in mid-air, as if on invisible mannequins. Similarly, any other clothes that he had given her, like her favourite cloak, also hung in mid-air. Hanging at the end of the row of magnificent gowns was the outfit that she had worn during the final battle. She had made sure that it had been kept safe as it was, after all, a piece of history.
She had not set out the many notes that she had received from him, preferring that they did not invade her privacy any more than they were already doing. The only piece of paper that was set out was the set of deeds to what remained of her parents' house in Godric's Hollow.
"What, might I ask, was the first thing he gave you?" the witch with the fading blonde hair asked.
"Well," she shrugged, not letting go of the box, "I suppose it was this cloak." She walked over to the simple black cloak that he had given her when he returned her to London. "Although it wasn't really a gift, more a necessity for travelling at night seeing as he had presumably burned my other coat."
"So what was the first proper gift?"
"Diamonds." She replied simply, walking over to the table where all her jewellery was spread. "Lots and lots of diamonds."
"When?" Umbridge demanded.
"Just before the Christmas Ball at Hogwarts that year." She replied wistfully, running her fingers over the flawless stones. "A sort of Christmas gift really. Oh, and he sent me the dress too." She motioned at the black dress hanging nearest them. "I suppose you could say that was the first gift seeing as I received it in August, on the day he took me back to London."
"And what might that be." Fudge pointed at the box that was still firmly in her hands.
"Forty five million galleons." She replied with a smirk, opening the box to reveal the sparkling jewels inside. "I believe you've been wondering where they were." She added dryly, giving Lucius a smirk.
"And he gave this to you in Dubai, yes?"
"He did." She nodded. "And no, they are not insured, but up until the other day no one knew that I owned them."
"Thank you." Fudge nodded. "Might I just ask why your friends did not notice that you gained all of these things?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I didn't just hide in the house when we came home for the holidays, I went shopping, and they didn't think that the jewellery was real."
"What do you mean by real?"
"They just thought it was crystal or something like that, not real diamonds and stuff, I just told them that I picked them up in Diagon Alley."
"And they believed you?"
"They had no reason to think otherwise." She replied shortly. "Of course they did wonder who was sending me the dresses but they never seemed to make the link between my partnering Lucius and the arrival of a beautiful dress with no apparent note or card."
"Also the fact that you lied to them was probably a major factor." Umbridge shot in.
"The last time I checked," at least a head and shoulders taller than her, Kathryn rounded on Umbridge with a look of thunder on her face, "you were not a member of the Wizengamot and are therefore not qualified to make any comment." Lucius thought she was fabulous. Umbridge looked stunned and was unable to reply. "You are here at my discretion and are quickly outstaying your welcome." They still could not reply. "Now, is there anything else you wish to ask me?" her voice reverted to its normal, polite tone.
"These deeds," the wizard with the large eyebrows and moustache pointed out, "when did he give you these?
"Monday night," she replied amiably, "a belated birthday present. Apparently some Muggle company wanted to build something right next door. The deeds include the house and other lands around it." Not that there was much left after Voldemort's attack and Pettigrew's subsequent faking of his own death. No one had wanted to live there anymore and, when they had visited, the other houses were all in various states of disrepair.
"I must say, Miss Potter, it is hard to believe that you are in no way coerced into remaining at his side when looking at these gifts."
"Have I given you any reason to think that I need coercing, sir?" she asked politely, although a little something in her tone warned him to tread carefully. "I believe I stated my position the other day."
"But the terror you have experienced, the violence?" he tried to reason with her. "Surely you must need a better reason to stay."
"It has been forgiven." She told him sharply. "Everything that has happened has only served to make me stronger."
"Very well."
"How moved in are you?" the woman with the fading blonde hair asked. "You seem at ease in the house; technically somewhere you should be uncomfortable. Your clothes do not have the appearance of living out of a suitcase."
"I've had things here since about January." She replied. "I'm fairly moved in; after all, I've been here since the end of July. Minister Fudge saw to that."
"But you already had things here?"
"You know, small things," she explained, "spare underwear, socks, nightwear, a hairbrush, toothbrush," she listed, "it made it easier to travel light."
"And Mr Malfoy had no problem with this?"
"Did you?" she turned and asked Lucius directly, instead of answering for him.
"Not at all," he smiled, "it made everything easier. She could show up in her evening clothes and, if she so desired, be able to stay for several days."
"And what if you hadn't planned to stay, like the night he brought you back after Minister Fudge's Christmas reception?"
"Well, Lucius' clothes are so well cut that all it takes is a little re-sizing and I'm good to go." She answered with a smirk.
"How fortunate." There was a silence as they continued to look at everything she had laid out for them to see.
"Just out of curiosity," another piped up, "how large is the estate?"
"Four thousand acres." She shrugged, as if it wasn't much. "The house and gardens are set on five hundred; the rest is just countryside and farmland."
"And I understand that Minister Fudge placed you under house arrest?"
"He did, although his decision to have Dementors guard me was rather misguided and nearly resulted in my death." She explained, all the while glaring at Fudge.
"Oh."
"Since then, we have come to more acceptable terms." She smiled. "And I am not constrained for reasons that no one understands."
"Well…" Lucius said from the edge of the room, shrugging his shoulders.
"OK, well, I am still unaware as to what people consider me to be guilty of." She added with a smile back at Lucius. "If there is nothing else," she sensed that they were running out of questions, "there is some coffee and tea next door should you wish any refreshment." She waved her wand and the trays zoomed into the room. Settling themselves on the only available space left, Kathryn left the Wizengamot to help themselves whilst she tidied up the room. Fastening the string of grey pearls around her neck, everything else disappeared to its relevant drawers and rooms about the house. All the spare tables she had conjured disappeared and the room was as it normally was.
Taking the cup of tea that Lucius handed her, she leaned against him and hoped that they would not stay long.
"It is a magnificent house." One commented as he sipped his coffee, apparently at a loss for any other kind of conversation.
"It has been mentioned," she smiled dryly, "although more than I thought I'd have by the time I was twenty."
"But what do you do all day, I mean, if you're here on your own?" another asked, apparently quite interested.
"Oh I just wallow in my wealth." She replied dryly.
"Oh."
"Well what do you think I do?" she shrugged. "I read, go for walks, go riding, mope, plot world domination, sleep," she listed, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but yes, it can get rather lonely. Minister Fudge's demands of me and the general public animosity have made it difficult to do much beyond the Estate. Although I have discovered that a door will be opened no matter what time I knock."
"And where did you live before this?"
"In London," she replied, wishing her headache would go away, "at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
"You lived there?" Fudge spluttered.
"For five years, yes." She nodded in a nonchalant fashion, ignoring how surprised he was. "Why do you think we were impossible to find?"
"I thought that you were supposed to live with your Aunt and Uncle, or the Weasleys?"
"We only had to stay with my Aunt and Uncle for a week at most." She sighed thankfully, setting her cup down. "And who says that the Weasleys didn't live with us for a while? It's not like our lifestyles were exactly safe, what with the fighting for our lives lark. After all, such a high octane existence generally necessitates a nice secret place to live." She smirked wickedly as Fudge's face turned an interesting shade of pink
"I don't believe this!"
"Oh come on, Fudge, Harry and I have been members since we were about fifteen."
"I think," Fudge seemed to finally recover from the shock, "that it is time we were going."
"Very well." She nodded. "Please don't be offended if I don't show you out but I'm not sure that I have the energy to get down the stairs." The pounding in her head was still there and she felt her legs shake from standing for so long. With a few nodded goodbyes, they left.