Darkness Within

CHAPTER XX

July 3rd

Draco

As soon the minister concluded my trial, the chains in the chair released me and an Auror came to guide me out of the room.

She took me to a side chamber outside the courtroom where I found my mother.

The moment she saw me, she jumped out of her sit and came to me, she hugged me tight and cried, and I just knew she would be ok.

Later she told me how Potter testified in her trial as well changing the mind of the court into a less severe sentence.

The Auror came back after a while to talk to us. She introduced herself as Evanora Thompson and said she would be our probation officer and explained the conditions of our probation.

After a long talk a group of Aurors came to take us to an office upstairs and from there to the Manor.

In the moment I stepped outside the fireplace my stomach churned with the memories of so much terrible things that happened here.

The Auror, Mrs. Thompson told us that the manor had been thoroughly inspected and cleaned of any dark object they could find. And the west wing, the place where the Dark Lord took for himself was sealed off.

I am pretty sure that mother just as I, had no problem with that.

But a question remained to be asked and I approached Mrs. Thompson just before she left us.

"Excuse me Mrs. But if you could tell us, what happened to my father? I didn't see him at Azkaban and didn't see him at the ministry today as well." I asked carefully.

She was thoughtful for a second before she answered.

"Lucius Malfoy, known as an active Death Eater were kept isolated in Azkaban, today as well he was kept in a different cell from you and Mrs. Malfoy. After your trial, Lucius was called before the Wizengamot where he faced his trial. But differently than you and your mother, no one spoke in his behalf. He is facing a life sentence, without the chance of parole."

My heart sunk a bit, but I had little love for my father. It was all his fault our family's name was in the mud today. A life sentence in Azkaban was what he deserved.

"As the new Head of the Malfoy family, soon representatives of the ministry and Gringotts will schedule a meeting to set everything straight"

After Mrs. Thompson left, mother and I summoned the house elves and we started to put the manor together. The place was a mess after the ministry turned every piece of furniture upside down looking for items to apprehend.

I took a lot of joy in the manual labor for the first time in my life.

Harry

As soon they took Draco away and brought Lucius, I decided to leave, he already had enough charges against him to secure a lifelong cell in Azkaban just for himself.

I left the circular courtroom and hurried to the lifts, once in the Atrium I walked at fast pace to the fireplaces before anyone recognized me, and from there to Grimmauld Place.

I stumbled into the kitchen with a deep sigh, speaking in behalf for Mrs. Malfoy and Draco wasn't what I had in mind when I decide to attend to their trial, I just wanted to say the truth about what happened. In the end it felt like I was defending them. Which probably will have a lot of repercussions and I don't know if I am ready for that.

Kreacher notice my distress and after a few minutes he came into the living room where I was sitting, balancing a tray with a steaming teapot and a piece of treacle tart that he knew it was my favorite.