ensuring the safety of others
The sun had just come up when Ophelia woke that long morning. Draco had still been sound asleep in his bed as she gathered her outfit for the day, and got herself dressed. There was nothing more serene than waking up in the Malfoy Manor. It had only been a couple of days since the fall of Voldemort, and she was still trying to cope with everything. And the best way to do that, was a cup of tea and a good book to read. She hurried down the staircase, crossing through the large foyer and into the kitchen. Turning the stove on and placing the tea pot on top, she sat on the counter, swinging her feet back and forth while picking up her book she had begun last night after Draco had fallen asleep.
"G'mornin' miss Pierce." A voice squeaked from below and she looked to the small house elf, smiling up at her.
"Good morning, Wheezey." She greeted in response. "Sleep well?"
"Fine, yes." Wheezey stammered out, before shuffling over to the cabinet.
"Lucius awake?" She asked.
"Master is, yes." Wheezey scowled unintentionally. Ophelia hopped down from the counter as the tea pot began to screech from the boiling water, and she poured a cup for him.
"Take this to him. He should like it." Ophelia winked at the little elf, who smiled back. As she reached for another cup in the cabinet, a loud bang on the front door caused her to jump in her spot. Wheezey set down the tray for Lucius and headed to the front doors, which had just bursted open with several aurors and PA members emerging through.
"Ophelia Pierce?" The one in the front asked her as they approached with haste.
"Yeah?" She questioned.
"Bind her." The man spoke to one of the other officers and they charged toward her, casting a spell around her wrists. Draco, who had awoken from the chaos below, was now storming down the stairs and into view.
"What's the meaning of this?" He shouted at them, before locking eyes with a confused Ophelia. That's when Hermione appeared from the porch, stepping inside. "Don't you fucking touch her like that!" He shouted at the man gripping onto Ophelia's wrist rather tightly.
"We have right to detain miss Pierce for the time being to assess and assure she will not be a public safety issue." Hermione spoke loud enough for the two of them to hear. Wheezey looked panicked, hurrying up the stairs in fear.
"Public safety issue?" Draco sneered, with full rage. "Bloody hell, Granger, hasn't she been through enough?" He shouted at her.
"This isn't up for debate, Malfoy. She's a potential threat to society." Hermione glared at him, refusing to look at Ophelia, who wasn't even putting up a fight. She could easily take them all out right then and there, but that would only further prove their point.
"This is fucking rich. Real nice, Granger." Draco shouted at her, trying to get to Ophelia. "Let me through!" He demanded of the men, who blocked him off from her. "I'll fucking kill you if you hurt her!" He shouted at all of them, feeling absolutely helpless.
"She's not permitted to speak with anyone as of right now, Malfoy. You'll have to wait for court." Hermione insisted and he pulled his wand from his pocket, but before he could try anything, one of the aurors grabbed his hand, knocking the wand to the floor.
"Ophelia," he shouted at her and she attempted to look at him as she was being pulled away. "Use your powers!" He instructed but she shook her head, letting them take her away.
"This is the warrant from Judge Emberbody." Hermione stepped to him, showing him the papers. "You'll see we are well within our rights to enter your property and detain the asset."
"The asset?" Draco snapped. "Jesus Christ, Granger, what is wrong with you? I get it, Ron dies and you take your grief and anger out on all of us, but we all lost someone during this war. Do not target your rage on the one who simply did your bidding!"
"That's enough, Malfoy. I'll see you in court, I presume?" Hermione said, before turning and following them all out.
Pansy, Blaise and Draco stood on the doorstep of Hermione's home. Within two months, Hermione had already managed to get a job high up at Ministry and acquired a home, money and even a new love interest. Draco had been keeping tabs on her and what she had been up to. She got everything she could have wanted after all this destruction, but still had to take Ophelia down to get there. And that didn't sit well with him at all. Blaise stepped up, ringing the doorbell and they listened in on Hermione opening the door. "Really? First you show up at my place of work, and now my personal home?" Hermione was in no mood for their persistent nonsense.
"We need to talk." Draco demanded.
"I have a meeting at two." She crossed her arms, reluctantly.
"It's a good thing it's only noon." Pansy snapped, widening the door and the three of them forced their way inside. "Wow, you seem to be doing well for yourself, huh, Granger?" Pansy had looked around at all the fine things Hermione now owned.
"Hard work pays off." Hermione assured, following them to the living room.
"Hard work off the sacrifices of other peoples backs." Blaise muttered, plopping down onto her sofa. Hermione shot him a glare.
"Now what is it I can help you lot with?" Hermione groaned.
"Ophelia." Pansy snapped.
"Well, I assumed that. Didn't think you came over for a nice chat and a cup of tea." Hermione rolled her eyes, not wanting to deal with whatever this would be.
"You're such a bitch. I should have guessed that the Granger we always knew would turn out to be such an uptight prude." Pansy began with the insults as Hermione dropped her hands to her sides, annoyed.
"Pans," Draco stopped her, before walking closer to Hermione. "What can I do to convince you to drop these accusations?"
"The judge will determine if she needs more assistance or not. I simply just work with the prosecutors."
"But you are the one who made the claim that she could be a threat. You sent in that report and you are the main reason she's locked up in a cell in bloody Azkaban!" He said, trying to keep his cool.
"Correct. And?"
"And it's not warranted. Have you seen her lately? Been to question her?" He asked, curiously.
"Not in a few weeks, no." She shook her head with a shrug. "Why does that matter?"
"She's fine. Yeah she's got a little bit of ptsd maybe, and Azkaban isn't entirely helping her feel safe. But she told me that she's fine." He insisted, practically begging. He never once thought that he'd be at the mercy of Hermione Granger.
"Well of course she would say that. She'd do or say anything to be set free." Hermione scoffed back.
"Don't you think she'd have actually done something by now then? With all that power she has, not once has she tried to escape or kill a guard or do anything. She's had good behavior and has been orderly her entire stay there." His pleading was actually getting somewhere, as Hermione's scowl dropped and she thought to herself. He had a very valid point.
"Maybe she's doing that so she can get set free and then turn on all of us." She found a rebuttal. Of course.
"You knew Ophelia. You know she'd have done something by now. Hermione, she needs to come home. She needs to live her life and feel happy or she will only get worse." Draco begged once again and Hermione felt a soft spot form within her.
"This is something that can be discussed in court."
"Fucking ridiculous." Pansy scoffed, shoving past Hermione and out the door, with Blaise following. Draco continued to stare at Hermione, his eyes begging for her to just listen and give Ophelia a chance.
"Just, please consider dropping the accusations. Please." He muttered, before following his friends out the door, leaving Hermione alone to her thoughts.
— — —
"Not only is this a defamation of character, but false accusations based off loose conspiracies with no substance to them and no actual facts. Your honor, my client simply followed orders from Miss Granger and is the entire reason we are allowed to return to the lives we once had before this 7 years war. Miss Pierce had only done what she needed to do for the sake of everyone involved and has never shown signs of wanting to take power and do exactly the same as what she set out to destroy. She solely risked her life for the safety of others. These accusations are a biased opinion based on Miss Grangers own personal grief of losing her partner. There's no consistencies with her accusations and this is unfair to assume my client would do anything of destruction, simply because of what she was born with, and Miss Granger instructed her to put those powers to use." The voice of Cormac McLaggen echoed through Ophelia's ears as she sat in the chair amidst the court that had been filled with people. The irony of Cormac being one of her four attorney's was slightly humorous, but this was no time for laughter, considering her life was on the line. And as much as Draco hated to admit it, Cormac and his team at McLaggen & Hamill were some of the best defense attorneys around nowadays.
Ophelia glanced over at Draco seated beside her. He was tapping his quill nervously on the parchment on the desk in front of them. "Objection, your honor. Hearsay." The prosecutor claimed, standing up.
"Hearsay? How? Clarify please." Cormac snapped at him.
"No one actually heard Miss Granger give Miss Pierce any orders to take out an entire group of people." The prosecutor spoke as Cormac let out a hoarse chuckle.
"Nobody heard? Many people heard. We have three witnesses in this room alone who heard—," he began but Ophelia tuned him out, and her eyes drifted behind her to see Fred seated nearby. He gave her a brief sympathetic smile before she looked to Pansy and Blaise who waved slightly. Then she saw Severus and Andromeda. All in favor of her, and all wanting her to be set free. She finally looked over to Hermione, who sat beside the prosecutor's chair and was scribbling down some notes. When she looked up, she felt the eyes on her and glanced over at Ophelia. Ophelia's lips formed a small smile, just happy to see everyone once again. Even if Hermione is the reason this was happening, it didn't stop her from still loving her to some degree. They all were her friends. And she did what she had to do to make sure no one else was killed. She wouldn't change a thing, no matter how many times she would end up exactly in this position.