Project 137.43.M.D.

II. | RES IPSA IOQUITUR

II.
RES IPSA IOQUITUR
(the matter speaks for itself)

With trembling fingers, Hermione flipped through the pure white pages of the leather-bound statute book. The Death Eater Sentencing Decrees and the Offender Rehabilitation Act had only been incorporated into the Magical Criminal Law after the Battle of Hogwarts. Therefore, this part of the MCL was one of the more recent works in the extensive archive of the Magical Law Library. It still lacked the characteristic yellowing of older legal texts.

The Offender Rehabilitation Act had actually been the deciding factor as to why Hermione had applied to the Wizengamot Administrative Service in the first place. Putting witches and wizards who had dedicated themselves to the Dark Arts back on the straight and narrow was a profession she found very honourable. After all, resocialisation was a task that former offenders could hardly accomplish all alone. It was also — albeit unconsciously — part of Hermione's own coping strategy.

Training to become a Mentor had only been the next logical step after she had thoroughly acquainted herself with the administration of the Wizengamot. By now, she had already spent more than half of her working life at the Ministry helping witches and wizards who had committed criminal offences to distance themselves from their deeds. So far, of course, these had only been minor crimes.

The offence for which the Death Eaters had been convicted in 1998, however, was in a completely different league. Hardly any other crime warranted such a long prison sentence and such a high requirement for rehabilitation measures, which was also the reason why it had taken a full four years for the Council of Magical Law to agree on the conditions for release.

Decree 137.

Hermione's hand stilled as she found the right page.

Basically, she was prepared for this. Last week had been the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and of course Hermione had consciously thought back to it. Like every year. Like probably everyone who had been involved in the war. With the subtle difference that this year, with the expiry of the prison sentences, the releases of those who had been arrested as the first official act of the then new government were inevitably approaching.

15 May 2008, 11 a.m.

That was the date and time Draco Malfoy would be released and Obliviated. Only two more sleepless nights separated Hermione from that day. The timing of the release also told her that Malfoy had been sentenced and imprisoned barely two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts — on 15 May 1998.

Ten years in prison. Ten years in Azkaban.

She quickly skimmed Decree 137 of the subsequently added act. Actually, she knew the wording by heart. It was merely a formality to re-familiarise herself with the law before a prison release, but she took her task very seriously.

The night before, after they had overcome their initial shock, Harry had expressed the suspicion that they might even have been chosen for the task on purpose. Since then, a new mantra had become Hermione's constant companion.

You can do this.

Sighing softly, she rubbed her forearm, where the scar that had been inflicted on her at Malfoy Manor was still clearly visible. Mudblood.She shivered as her fingers grazed the small indentations.

Still, Harry's words, uttered so carefully after Ginny had disappeared up the stairs with James and Albus, had made sense. Malfoy would be Obliviated. His mind would be manipulated and the memories of the last few years would be replaced. It was quite understandable that the Wizengamot had assigned the task to people who knew Malfoy. People who had a basic idea of how to deal with him. Or at least with the boy he had been before he had become a war criminal.

Decree 11. Hermione flipped back to the front of the book and ran her fingertip over the lines. The definition of a Death Eater according to the decree clearly applied to Malfoy. He had served Voldemort; had even been given the task of killing Dumbledore. As far as she knew, he had borne the Dark Mark on his left forearm since sixth year. And during the Battle of Hogwarts, he had fought on the Death Eaters' side. All of this matched the description in the law.

She took a deep breath, licked her thumb and turned the page.

Decree 32 described the criminal offence of successfully casting an Unforgivable Curse as a follower of Voldemort. The mere attempt to perform such a curse, however, only fulfilled the offence if it had happened during the Battle of Hogwarts. This meant that Malfoy's attempt to kill Dumbledore could not be the reason for his conviction under Decree 137, as this event had taken place a good year before the battle. Therefore, he must have successfully cast at least one Unforgivable Curse after becoming a Death Eater or tried again during the battle. Both possibilities gave Hermione goosebumps in equal measure, so she hurried to find the next decree.

Decree 75. The ten-year prison sentence. Malfoy had obviously deserved it. In no other case would he have been sentenced so severely.

Hermione sat back and closed her eyes, her brow furrowing.

The queasy feeling in her stomach just wouldn't abate, no matter how sure she was that no mistake had been made in the sentencing of Inmate 43.M.D. In actual fact, she had no reason to doubt the Wizengamot's decision at the time, even though she had never read Malfoy's file. The latter was probably the reason why she didn't feel sufficiently informed now, but the need to suppress any thoughts of him had been stronger than her curiosity. Reading his file wouldn't have done her 'condition' any good.

For a few minutes, she just sat there, trying to calm herself down.

The Obliviation was a small benefit of the terms of release set by Decree 137. He would not be the Malfoy she had once known. He would not be able to remember that he had ever been placed in Voldemort's service. He would not know what he had done and how many wrong decisions he had made. Even the Dark Mark on his forearm would be concealed by a permanent Glamour Charm.

So he would most likely make a hostile but not particularly dangerous project. At worst, he would patronise her, bicker with her and generally irritate her to no end, just as he had done throughout their school years. That alone was no great challenge, because she knew how to handle this Malfoy.

The problem was that Hermione (unlike him) would not be able to forget what had happened in their sixth and seventh year. She would not be able to start over. She would not experience the relief of losing her memories and knowledge of certain things.

Things that had supposedly happened and things that had actually happened.

His attempt to kill Dumbledore, even though the headmaster had offered him nothing but help, protection and compassion until the very last second. His apathetic face when her forearm had been marred by his own aunt with that vile swearword of all things; the indifference in his eyes; his non-intervention. The efforts he had made to enable the Death Eaters to enter the castle; the lives he had risked in doing so; and the deaths he actually had on his conscience because, thanks to his help, Voldemort's minions had managed to break through the powerful wards of Hogwarts.

Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin, Lavender.

Hermione snapped the statute book shut and shoved it back into the large gap it had left on the shelf. Then she gathered her belongings and fled from the deafening silence of the law library. As she hurried back to her cubicle in OSAR's open space office, the corridors of the Ministry seemed much longer than usual. Too much time for too many thoughts that she had pushed aside as best she could for years.

Malfoy had contributed to the pain and horror that had caught up with her after the end of the war. He was partly responsible for her breakdown, ridiculous as it may seem.

Until a few days ago, Hermione had been sure that she had left that behind her. She had convinced herself that it was finally over. But Project 137.43.M.D. would bring it all back.

He wouldn't know. He would be spared. He would forget.

But Hermione would remember.

And it would stretch her to the limit.