the trial ; d.m

21

7th February 2003

It came to absolutely no surprise when the Ministry sent owl post ordering Malfoy to be placed on trial upon the recent events of Crain's attempted murder.

After all, they have the evidence that Malfoy was in Appleby the day that it happened, regardless of the time or exact place. And whether or not Geneva will make for a convincing alibi is uncertain. However, as far as the Ministry are concerned, she has absolutely no reason to defend Malfoy. If anything, they're most likely positioned to believe that she would want him to be proven as guilty. To get him out of her house.

Alas, when Geneva offered to testify for his defence having been in Appleby with him on the day it happened, it certainly came as quite a shock. Even to Theodore.

And it seemed like the perfect plan. Many had seen the two of them together that day. Madame Avery, the barman, several other civilians who would stare and gawk, extremely conscious of Malfoy's presence.

Malfoy could not leave the Manor without the company of another and what reason could Geneva possibly have for allowing him freedom from the grounds. They would never suspect it. For this she was certain.

But the trial will go ahead. They must gather every slither of evidence they can find. And Malfoy is naturally the most obvious choice of suspect for such a case.

And he doesn't seem at all worried about these events. Though nothing much appears to worry Malfoy these days.

But Theodore has been in an absurd state of stress over the entire matter. Since the news was revealed of Crain's attack he's been acting noticeably strange. And upon hearing from the Ministry that Malfoy is their top suspect, this only worsened everything.

Geneva and Theodore were hardly speaking much before this entire matter erupted, but now she's lucky to even get a word out of him. Each time they are alone together for longer than five minutes or when a simple conversation occurs, he continuously cuts it short and complains about how busy he is.

Perhaps it's due to Geneva's increase in her callous mood towards him. He's never been very good in uncomfortable situations. Tends to hope the whole thing will pass over and fix itself.

But if anything her mood is worse now than it has been this past week. Truthfully, she doesn't even realise she's treating him this way. It just happens naturally. A subconscious bitterness for god knows what anymore. And he doesn't allow himself to stick around in her company for long enough to even attempt to resolve the matter.

It's been a week since their fight, since that poignant night, and already her marriage feels as if it's crumbling at the hinges. But presently, the only thing any of them are focused on is Malfoy's trial and how to get through it.

As for Malfoy himself, Geneva hasn't seen much of him. Mainly because she tends to keep to herself at the moment, hardly ever leaving her room some days.

But when she has run into him from time to time, he barely even looks at her, which she's weirdly thankful for. She doesn't want to be looked at. Not by anyone.

Over breakfast on this particular morning, once the three of them are clad in their finest robes that really suit the occasion of a trial for premeditated brutal assault, Theodore runs both Geneva and Malfoy through what is going to happen. And he lists the instructions to Geneva as if it's her first day at a new job.

She can hardly ingest a single spoonful of her porridge whilst she hears the words flurrying out of his mouth like sawdust. She just nods, barely glancing at either of them. And every now and then he makes a patronising comment like he's speaking to a student who's being forced to learn a complicated potions brew.