One week?" Kathryn hissed as people stood and began to head for the doors. "Why the delay?"
"Dunno?" Harry shrugged as they too stood up. "Maybe just to annoy you?"
"I hope so. I'll meet you in the Atrium." She sighed, taking the steps down from their seats at a quick pace; reaching Lucius in a matter of seconds. She was given a wide berth by all others passing, most regarding her suspiciously, but she had gotten used to that.
"A week?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as she gave him a quick kiss.
"That's what I said." She sighed as Scrimgeour finally released the chains that held him down. "Needless to say the Minister and I are going to have a little chat." She finished with a smile as he folded her into his arms.
"How did you think that went?" he asked after a moment's silence.
"Well, I guess I knew what was coming from Sirius," she shrugged with a frown, "but I think the rest could be seen as positive, and I think I have a very good brother."
"I think you do too," he murmured in her ear, "and very good friends, although I don't like being reminded of that little episode on Flourish and Blott's."
"I can imagine!" she giggled. "Although I would have paid good money to see it."
"I'll show you the memory some time." Any further conversation was halted with a rather unsubtle cough from Scrimgeour. Rolling his eyes, he kept an arm firmly clamped around her waist as they were escorted to the doors of the courtroom.
"Hopefully I'll see you before next week." She whispered in his ear as he kissed her goodbye; his arms crushing her to his chest, as if he would never let her go.
"Be careful with Fudge," he cautioned her in return, "I'd rather he didn't have cause to make you join me." After a final, bruising kiss, he was pulled away through the concealed door by the Aurors and she was left alone.
It was a short ride up to the Atrium in the golden elevator, and a quick walk over to where Harry was standing by the fountain with Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Where's everyone else?" she asked, looking around for any sign of the Weasleys or Sirius.
"Back to number twelve," Harry informed her, "and back to work."
"Of course."
"What are you going to do now?" Hermione asked, hoping that her friend was not just going to disappear back off to the Manor.
"Well, I need to go and speak to Fudge," she explained with an impish smirk, "but if you don't mind waiting, I was thinking a spot of tea and cake is in order. I mean, after today, it's the least I can do."
"Sure, we'll wait." Harry smiled at his sister. "Go see Fudge and we'll meet you back here."
"Thanks!" she smiled brightly and turned on her heel, heading back towards the elevators.
"Try not to do too much damage!" Ron called out jokingly after her.
The journey to the Minister's office didn't take long; most people electing to take a different lift to the one she stepped into. Percy Weasley was sitting at his desk, just like he had been the last time she was there; his head bent studiously over some document.
"Is he in Percy?" she asked confidently, making Percy jump about an inch off his chair in fright.
"Miss Potter, oh, no," he sputtered, pushing his horn-rimmed glasses further up his nose, "but he's due back any minute."
"Well I'll just wait inside then." Slipping into the opulent office, she closed the door with a click and perched herself on the edge of the old, well polished desk. For someone who could get so flustered, it was a surprisingly neat space. Papers were in neat stacks, or carefully collated in tidily labelled files, and there was not a sign of an over-stuffed drawer. Of course, this could all be down to the fastidious organisational skills of Percy Weasley as opposed to the office's occupant.
The rest of the room was generally impressive; but she supposed it had to be. It was high ceilinged, just like the outer office, and had had tall windows that were flanked by heavy royal blue drapes that matched the upholstery on the chairs and contrasted with the muesli coloured carpet. A handsome Persian rug sat invitingly before the fireplace, where a large ornate clock ticked away the minutes. There was plenty of art on the walls, including one grimy brown canvas tucked in a corner, its occupant elsewhere for the time being.
Fudge's arrival was signalled by the scrape of a chair, presumably as Percy jumped up from his seat, and the mutter of conversation through the heavy doors. She hoped that Percy wouldn't tell Fudge that she was there, preferring to maintain the element of surprise. Opening the door, Fudge strode through in a distracted manner; gazing intently at a piece of parchment in his hand. Glancing up, his eyes sprang wide and he jumped at least a foot backwards as he caught sight of her sitting brazenly upon his desk.
"Miss … Potter!" he choked, clamping a hand over his heart in shock.
"Good afternoon Minister!" she smiled sweetly, as if it was perfectly normal for her to be in his office unannounced. "Why the delay?"
"Excuse me?" her crossed legs afforded a view of enough pale, smooth thigh to make Fudge unsure where to look. He settled for the painting of the Thames that hung behind his desk.
"You have adjourned for the week, and considering your desire for swift justice, I want to know why." She explained bluntly, fixing him with an uncompromising stare.
"Believe it or not, Miss Potter," he wrinkled his nose as he spoke her name, "the workings of the Wizengamot do not revolve around you."
"I never suggested that it did." She contradicted him calmly, not wanting to start an argument, at least, not yet. "I am merely curious."
"Other Death Eaters need to be brought before the Wizengamot, Miss Potter," he ventured closer to the desk, shrugging off his cloak, "ones who will not have the support that your Mr. Malfoy enjoys."
"I cannot help that he deserves to be spared Azkaban," she shrugged, "he managed that on his own."
"Whatever outcome you desire," he tried to be as diplomatic as possible; knowing that, despite how much he resented it, she was destined to become even more powerful than she already was, "I will not have the Wizengamot's progress to be halted on the whim of one young woman."
"So who are you going to be sentencing this week?" she, in turn, did her best to be civil.
"Rabastan Lestrange," he cast a glance at the sheaf of parchment he had brought in with him, "Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle and, ah yes, Draco Malfoy."
"I see." She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"Surely that should interest you?" Fudge raised an eyebrow, knowing that she was more interested than she let on. "Given what you have invested in the situation."
"I suppose so," she shrugged in a noncommittal manner, "when were you planning to hold the hearing?"
"Wednesday afternoon, at two o'clock."
"Do you think it reasonable for his father to be in attendance?" she asked curiously, fixing him with an uncompromising stare.
"Absolutely not."
"Give me one good reason why."
"It makes him look innocent." Fudge spat angrily.
"So have him guarded," she shrugged, "it makes you look in control."
"He has no logical reason to be there."
"It's his son!" she exclaimed, finally sliding off the edge of the desk. "What better reason does he need?"
"What's your reason?" he asked pointedly. "You obviously have one."
"I want to send a message," she conceded, "I want him to see how things stand."
"I do not want you creating a scene." Fudge hissed in an aggravated fashion. "I've had enough of that."
"I do not wish to make a scene," she shot back tersely; "I just want to make sure that Draco is fully aware of where I stand. Besides, have you thought that other members of the Wizengamot might wish to hear from Mr. Malfoy in order to ascertain the depth of his son's involvement with the Death Eaters?" from the way Fudge's face fell, it appeared that he had not.
"Well…" he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat, "when you put it like that…" his voice trailed off.
"I'll leave you to make the necessary arrangements then." Her calm, clipped voice filled the silence.
"Very well." Fudge sighed again, knowing that she would accept no other answer.
"Until Wednesday." Giving him a curt nod, she swept from the office; saying a quick goodbye to Percy before stepping into the nearest available elevator.
"The building's still standing, I'm impressed." Ron quipped as she rejoined them at the fountain.
"I assume it went well?" Harry asked, sliding off the edge of the fountain where he had been sitting with Ginny.
"Well enough, yes," she nodded, "Fudge was more amenable than I expected. Anyway, who's for tea and cake?" they all nodded in agreement, Ron with particular enthusiasm.
"So why is he delaying this for a week?" Hermione asked as they walked towards the visitor's exit.
"To allow other trials to start," she shrugged, "not as sinister as I had believed."
"Did he tell you who?" Ginny asked curiously. "We haven't heard anything yet. I think it's just going to be announced on the day, at least, that's what Dad and Tonks say."
"Rabastan Lestrange," she counted off on her finger, "Yaxley, Rowle and, for the piece de résistance, Malfoy."
"Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks.
"Keep your voice down." Kathryn hissed as they all squeezed into the red phone box that would take them up to ground level.
"What does he want to do," Ron continued as they spilled out by her car, "start a fight in the courtroom?"
"I hope not," Kathryn brushed off her coat, "he said he didn't want me to make a scene, but I think Draco's perfectly capable of doing that on his own."
"Why didn't he want you to make a scene?" Harry asked as he slid into the car. "Did you plan on making one?"
"No." Kathryn paused and turned to the driver. "Diagon Alley, please." He gave her a silent nod; closing the door after her once she had slid into her seat. "I don't plan on causing a scene, but I wouldn't want to bet against something happening."
"Malfoy's going to be pissed at you, I mean, that's obvious." Ron drawled from his seat opposite Kathryn. "But you're not exactly going to try and get him angry deliberately, are you?"
"Well, that's not the idea, but…" Kathryn's voice trailed off.
"But what?" Hermione asked inquisitively.
"But I'll be sitting next to Lucius," she revealed with a sigh, "so I think I can safely say his reaction will be bad."
"How the hell did you manage that" Harry asked incredulously.
"Fudge brought it up and I suggested that it wouldn't be unreasonable for Lucius to attend. He came round to the idea eventually."
"Why do you want to put yourself through that?" Ginny piped up. "Think of the field day Rita Skeeter's going to have!"
"It's to send a message," Kathryn explained, although in more detail then she had to Fudge, "Draco has to be made aware of how things stand, and my being there alone would not do that."
"So when is it?" Harry asked.
"Wednesday afternoon, I'd arrive early to get a good seat." She informed them with a laugh as they pulled into the dingy yard behind the Leaky Cauldron.
"Will there be anything else?" the driver asked politely as he held the car door open once again.
"No," Kathryn shook her head, "I'll just apparate back. Thank you."
"Very well." With a dutiful nod, he slipped back into the driver's seat and the car rolled silently away.
"Right," she flicked her hair over her shoulder with a bright smile, "let's get some cake!" without a flicker of worry, she strode confidently through the archway into Diagon Alley.
In the end, they ordered a large plate of sandwiches as well as cake; having eaten very little since breakfast.
"Did you see yesterday's Prophet?" Harry asked between mouthfuls of a ham and Pease Pudding sandwich.
"Not really," she shrugged, taking a sip of coffee, "anything interesting?"
"Colin sold you out." Ron offered, trying not to spray crumbs all over the table as he spoke.
"How?"
"He's sold pictures of you and Lucius to the Prophet." Hermione clarified.
"Which ones?" Kathryn couldn't think of any time when Colin Creevey had taken a photo of her and Lucius. "Was he taking photos last week or something?"
"He took them in school," Harry continued, "but you didn't know he did. I don't think anyone knew he had those kinds of pictures."
"What do you mean, 'those kinds of pictures?" in response to her question, Hermione produced the clippings from her bag. "Oh." Kathryn's face fell as she cast her eyes over the images. They had once been intensely private moments, but were now laid out for the public to see.
"Do you think it's good or bad?" Ginny asked, moving on to her slice of carrot cake.
"I don't know," Kathryn shook her head, "I mean I suppose they show a different side to the relationship," her fingers shuffled through the images, "but on the other hand it doesn't exactly do me any favours. I mean, you can tell how much we enjoyed having our little secret." With a sigh, she set the clippings down and pulled over her choice of cake; a butterscotch sponge with a shiny topping of cream-cheese icing.
"They're photos and people will think of them what they want." Harry shrugged, taking a bite of brownie. "Not much you can do about it now anyway."
"True," his sister sighed, "there are more important things after all."
"So, moving on," Hermione said as she stuck her fork into a slice of coffee cake, "do you really think today went well?"
"I think it could have been a lot worse, but the questioning seemed fair, and I think they actually gave him a chance."
"It was definitely informative," Ginny added, "I wouldn't have thought he would be so, well, candid."
"Neither did I." Kathryn confessed; having also been quite shocked by the detail Lucius had included in his statements. "And under normal circumstances, I don't think he would have ever gone into such detail."
"Well, I suppose he has to," Hermione offered, "considering what's at stake."
"But you helped too." Kathryn reminded her. "You all did. I don't think anyone expected you to come out with statements in my favour."
"And don't forget Dumbledore." Ron added, swallowing a large mouthful of treacle tart. "Blood hell you should have seen some people's faces. Rita Skeeter looked like she's swallowed a Dungbomb!"
Another hour, and two more rounds of tea and coffee later, Kathryn bade her friends goodbye and apparated straight back to the Manor. Taking care not to apparate directly to the front gates, she instead appeared several hundred metres to their right; hidden from any lurking journalists by a thick copse of trees. Picking her way through the greenery, she reached the walls that enclosed the grounds and, after a couple of attempts, found what she wanted. Tapping her wand on the stone that was eight along, four down and two left from the darkest stone in that section of the wall; a discreet archway appeared, just like the entrance to Diagon Alley. Slipping through, she made sure the entryway sealed behind her before apparating straight to the Entrance Hall.
Once she was changed and sat in the upstairs drawing room with the morning copy of the Daily Prophet, she was once again struck by how empty the house felt without Lucius there. When considering the day's events, however, she found that she could afford some measure of hope, however small it might be. It was with this comforting thought that she fell asleep that night, hoping that she would not be sleeping in an empty bed for much longer.
On Wednesday afternoon, it felt like half of Hogwarts had descended on the Ministry to attend Draco Malfoy's trial. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sat together in a tight huddle; their eyes scanning the room for faces they recognised. Dumbledore was again present, along with Professor Snape; the pair of the sitting in the front row looking grave. Despite the hum of gossip, a hush did fall over the room as Lucius Malfoy was escorted into the room by two Aurors. He took his place in a small, roped off section of the seating, with a perfect view of the chair so similar to the one he had occupied in courtroom number ten.
"Where's Kathryn?" Hermione whispered as the clock struck two.
"No idea." Harry whispered back as the Wizengamot filed silently in.
Up in the atrium, Kathryn was doing her best to politely excuse herself from conversation with the Chief Healer of St. Mungo's. She knew her late arrival would be frowned upon, considering what she had promised Fudge. With a few well chosen words, and a promise to finish the conversation at a later date, she hurried in the direction of the subterranean courtrooms.
With a nod from Fudge, the doors opened and Draco Malfoy was led in. It would have been somewhat charitable to say that he looked haggard. His clothes were crumpled and bore the distinct signs of having been worn for a considerable period of time. His hair was unkempt and he looked like he could do with a good shave. It was a far cry from how well kept Lucius had looked when he had arrived for the beginning of his trial, although Harry knew that was entirely due to his sister's intervention.
Hi watery grey eyes scanned the rows of seated observers as he was chained into place, his eyes fixing on an all too familiar blond head. Harry, along with the rest of the room, was transfixed as Draco's face contorted with anger.
"WHERE IS SHE?" he bellowed hoarsely, his eyes fixed upon his father. "WHERE IS SHE?"
"Mr. Malfoy control yourself." Fudge said authoritatively, as if hoping such a warning would put him off any further outburst. It didn't.
"WHERE'S YOUR WHORE?" he screamed again.
"I will not warn you again." Fudge looked ready at any moment to order the Aurors to subdue him.
"WHERE IS SHE?" that final yell was flowed by the creak of the main doors opening and closing. In one swift movement, every head in the room turned to regard the late arrival. Standing at the end of the room, Kathryn looked stunned to have walked in on such a scene. She raised her eyebrows as if to say 'Who, me?' before squaring her shoulders and striding confidently towards the head of the room. She was dressed today in a figure-hugging pencil skirt that began just under her bust and finished at her knees. A pair of braces, embellished with pewter beading, began at her hips; where the beading formed a feather-like shape, and snaked over her shoulder and down the back of the skirt. Tucked into the skirt she was wearing a loose, translucent cream silk blouse with a ruffled neckline that hung quite open, revealing just a glimpse of the lace of her underwear, and sleeves that were rolled up to her elbows. A jet black fur stole was clutched in one hand and Lucius' cane in the other.
"You are late, Miss Potter." Fudge commented as she drew nearer.
"My apologies Minister," she replied politely, "I was detained on my way."
"WHORE!" Draco shouted again as she drew level with his seat. She made no reply, fixing him only with an icy stare before turning sharply on her heel and climbing the small flight of stairs towards the cordoned off section where Lucius was sitting. This Malfoy she greeted with a smile and a fleeting kiss as she sank down into the seat next to him; crossing her legs neatly and waiting for Fudge to continue.
"Are you quite finished, Mr. Malfoy?" fudge asked one final time. "For if you continue in this vein you shall be removed from this courtroom and the hearing conducted in your absence." Draco's head nodded in submission; watching out of the corner of his eye as his father wrapped an arm round the waist of the one person he despised most.
"That was painful." Kathryn murmured in Lucius' ear, getting as close to the comforting curve of his body as she dared.
"You took it well." He reassured her in a similarly hushed tone. She wanted to reply, but there was no more conversation as Fudge cleared his throat in order to finally begin what hey had come to observe.