Hiraeth // draco malfoy

FORTY NINE

i wish i was the moon tonight

Fred was the first of the witnesses to testify. He spoke truly to his feelings for Ophelia while also making it known that Ophelia would never do anything to hurt others, as all she wanted was to help. He spoke of the events from Rodolphus's manor and when she saved his life, willing to take the risk of getting herself caught. And he spoke of the events that took place that dark eerie day when she defeated the darkest most evil wizard of all time, and it caused Ophelia to shut down a little, having to recall the scariest moment in her life.
Following him, was Severus. Severus went into great lengths of detailing their time at Hogwarts and all she had managed to learn under the guidance of him. Being that Severus spoke so solemnly, his testimony took just a little longer than normal.

Andromeda, Pansy, Blaise and several others had also testified in Ophelia's defense, and it was now her turn to take the stand. She slowly sat down in front of the crowd of journalists, peers and friends, trying to let her nerves calm themself. "Miss Pierce, what are you being imprisoned for?" Cormac began the examination. She looked to Draco, nervously as he nodded slightly, giving her the okay to go ahead and speak her truth.

"To be honest, sir, I believe it's for the safety of everyone around me." She said, not sure exactly what she should be saying as she was only granted an hour with her attorneys before this proceeding.

"Let me start again, do you think your powers are capable of mass destruction?" He asked and her mind was getting fuzzy. This was so much to handle all at once and she was terrified of saying the wrong thing. She, in that brief hour of preparation, had so much being told to her and all she wanted was the chance to say her side of things.

"I'd like to express that, Hermione," she looked directly at the girl, who now adjusted herself in her chair, nervously. "I understand your fears. I used to be scared of myself, too." She looked back to all of the people ahead of her, taking in a deep breath. "My whole life, my mother warned me to conceal and never let anyone know what powers I possessed. Only very few people knew and I spent a lot of time, as you all heard, training with Severus Snape to contain my abilities and use them only as needed. Then, I was obliviated and never even knew I held these powers. For seven years I never once suspected I could do these things. When Hermione asked for my help, I did what I could to the best of my ability to help her. With my hesitation at first, of course. But it took me a long time to learn how to manage it and then when the time came, I did what I was asked to do. Because I was told it was for the safety of everyone involved and I had no problem potentially sacrificing myself to this cause. When I got my memories back, I remembered a lot of pain from my past and I realized why my mother wanted this secret to be kept hidden. She feared for this exact outcome. She did what she had to do to protect me, and if me being in Azkaban makes you all feel safe, I will go back—,"

"No!" Draco couldn't help but shout as the crowd now erupted into conversation. Ophelia looked to him with tears in his eyes, and nodded. 'It's okay', she mouthed, assuringly. He stared at her, widening his eyes in fear of what she was doing.

"Quiet!" Judge Emberbody announced through her wand. "Please, Miss Pierce, feel free to continue."

"Thank you." Ophelia smiled at the judge. "I know you're all scared. I would be too, especially if I went through everything you all did. So I will do whatever is needed to keep your fears at bay. I know there's only so much I can say to convince you all that I would never do any harm or have any desire to gain control. All I want is to live my life in peace with my friends." She shrugged and Cormac, along with the other attorney's looked to Draco, slightly worried for this outcome.