Project 137.43.M.D.

LII. | INIURIA

LII.
INIURIA
(iniquity)

"Thank Merlin. There you are at last!"

Hermione raised her head in alarm when she heard Harry's familiar voice.

Indeed, she had only just stumbled out of one of the fireplaces in the atrium, so she was much later than usual. Thanks to her late-night visit at Pansy's, she had lain awake for hours mentally replaying the conversation, which in turn had made it very difficult for her to get up this morning.

„What's wrong?" she asked, instinctively quickening her pace.

Once she was with him, Harry put a hand on her back and shoved her in the direction he had come from - right towards the golden elevators.

"The Wizengamot has spontaneously scheduled your hearing as a complainant for this morning. If I had known you wouldn't be on time today of all days I would have sent a Patronus to you, but I was so sure you'd be early." In unison, they both quickened their steps even more. "Then I just had a bad feeling and walked by your office only to find the memo on your desk unopened. I almost had a heart attack."

Hermione cursed loudly and rushed into the elevator ahead of Harry, giving him a helpless look. He reached out and smacked the button for Level Ten where the courtrooms were located.

"When?" Hermione snapped tensely.

"Five minutes ago."

"Fuck!"

"You can say that again!"

"Where?"

"Courtroom Two."

They stared at each other breathlessly while Hermione frantically smoothed her clothes down. She just hoped that her request for Draco's memory had reached the archives in time. Otherwise she would have nothing to offer to the Wizengamot, except her own account of events.

It was the height of impudence, really. They hadn't given her the chance to mentally prepare for the appointment, and even provoked that she would accidentally miss it. That alone constituted another gross procedural error.

Hermione ground her teeth in anger. Now it was perfectly clear that they wanted to make things as difficult as possible for her (or rather for Draco), and she could imagine who was responsible. But being upset about the situation or said person wasn't an option. She needed to calm down and keep a clear head.

The elevator jerked to a halt and Harry squeezed her upper arm encouragingly. Hermione nodded absently, knowing he wouldn't be accompanying her. Despite running the Auror's office, Harry had no place in an initial conversation about reopening a case he hadn't been involved in at the time. He had merely been the executive officer regarding Draco's Obliviation. This hearing was her business alone.

"Good luck," he whispered, and Hermione squared her shoulders.

Then she scurried out of the elevator and across the polished black marble tiles straight to Courtroom II, where the Wizengamot was probably impatiently waiting for her.

***

The Wizengamot had sent three representatives. One of them, of course, was Ogden. In fact, Hermione would have bet her wand hand on that, so she wasn't really surprised. Beside him sat a plump witch named Ophelia Waters, who had her grayed hair pinned up in a tight bun, and Elphias Doge.

Hermione hadn't expected Elphias to participate, knowing he was only the Gamot's special advisor. But apparently a motion for reconsideration in one of the Death Eater trials of 1998 made this unusual constellation necessary.