Project 137.43.M.D.

L. | CONSUETUDO

L.
CONSUETUDO
(habit)

A clearing of a throat broke the silence of Hermione's cubicle in the OSAR office.

She lifted her head and realized with a relieved sigh that it was Harry, leaning against one of the separating walls and looking at her curiously. It was probably nonsense, but Hermione had been worrying for days that Ron would show up unannounced to talk to her about Draco again, and she wanted to avoid that confrontation for a while longer if possible. Accordingly she met Harry's gaze a bit more relaxed as he slowly approached her desk. She suspected that she had nothing to fear from him for the time being.

"Are you preparing for the retrial?" he asked, glancing quickly at the stack of parchments that were on the table in front of Hermione.

"No, not today. I had a few other things to take care of that, frankly, I've been neglecting lately. I feel really bad because since Draco's Memory Restoration I've been entrusted with two minor cases and haven't dealt with them at all."

She made a face.

„Mh. Is there a date yet? For the retrial, I mean."

Hermione shook her head.

"No, thank Merlin. That gives us a little more time. But I guess it won't be long before they want me to make a statement. I have to figure out a strategy." She frowned. "Have you found out anything about Ogden?"

"Hardly anything. However, he and Parkinson often worked on cases together in the past, and Kingsley and Hestia both agreed that the two of them always got along remarkably well. And there are no significant connections between Parkinson and any of the other Gamot members involved in Malfoy's trial - at least none that are obvious." A bitter grin tugged at the corners of Harry's mouth. "I'm now certain that you were right about him and that he really is our man, although I still don't understand why he let Parkinson drag him into his charade."

Hermione had also been thinking about the latter for the last few days, but so far she hadn't come up with a satisfactory answer. She hadn't wanted to bother Draco with this question. She knew there was only one reason, if any, why he would testify before the Wizengamot: because Pansy and Nott had provoked him to the limit with their ridiculous attempt to intimidate him. While he had listened carefully as she told him all about the retrial and her suspicions about Ogden, he had remained thoughtful and silent himself the whole time.

On the one hand, it saddened her that Draco still seemed convinced that he had deserved his sentence. Hermione, meanwhile, disagreed as the reason for his conviction had been undeniably inadequate, albeit she still hadn't dared to ask him again about his time in the Death Eater ranks or the memory she had seen. On the other hand, anger was seething in her. In fact, she was downright furious that he simply accepted his fate and still seemed to consider doing nothing for his own rehabilitation. So far he hadn't even given her a clear promise that he would testify.

Hermione was aware that over the last few months she had often tended to get distracted and confused by her feelings, but in this particular case she didn't allow herself to be naïve. It was crystal clear that, despite the evidence, their chances were slim to none unless Draco appeared in court himself. If he didn't, the Wizengamot would insist on the correctness of its initial verdict to avoid a long, nerve-wracking retrial and a public scandal. After all, more than ten years ago, Draco had already had the chance to defend himself - and unfortunately hadn't taken it.

Also, there was no reasonable explanation for Thomas Parkinson's behavior that Hermione could provide to the Gamot. The support Parkinson had secretly given to the Death Eaters by deliberately passing false information to the Aurors she would not be able to prove on her own. She needed witnesses. And there were only a few to choose from.