OK SO I OWN THE PLOT AND GEMINI NOTHING ELSE OK??? (it's me from 2021, and the chapters are being edited one by one so bear with me while I fix this k?)
I hate Rowling but this belongs to her bla bla bla
It was cold in the courtroom. Cold and dark and damp and quiet. Oh, so quiet. So quiet, in fact, that Lucius Malfoy thought he was going insane for a few moments. Why were none of them talking? Why were the endless rows of Wizards and Witches belonging to the Wizgamot not saying a word? Yet they were looking, with either empty or bored expressions, some with traces of anger or guilt across their faces, a few whose faces glowed from dried tears under the faint candlelight. At that moment, it seemed that the entire world's eyes were on him. Not just the living, but the dead as well. And the creatures above, sealed away by a magical barrier, barely visible through the naked eye. If he wasn't the dreadful center of attention, the criminal, the Death Eater, the servant, the pathetic... He might have called the courtroom beautiful. But how beautiful could a place laced with Dementors be?
He wouldn't be there, in rags, bloodied, bruised, chained- if the Dark Lord had succeeded. If he hadn't been killed by a stupid half-blood child. Lucius Malfoy would have been on one of those chairs above, judging others instead of himself being the judged one. He should have been on those chairs, not in line for his imprisonment. Familiar faces greeted him as he looked at the attendees of the trial, friend and foe alike, all watching, observing what had become of one of the most powerful men in the Wizarding world. He was pathetic. And he should not be pathetic, he should be great, mighty, clean, rich, at the Dark Lord's side, like his servant and most trusted companion. As he looked above at the people, some faces seemed to be laced with fear, regret, even. They had sold him off for their own benefit. Who would have thought that the spineless cowards would do that? Not him, at least not while the Dark Lord reigned. Back then, traitors were at his mercy, and Lucius could watch in delight as they were punished. Is this what the traitors felt like when faced with his wrath?
One solemn expression caught the attention of Malfoy. Never in his life had he seen Narcissa so miserable. With bags under her eyes and tears flowing down her face, he almost felt tempted to speak. He wanted to tell her that he'd be alright, that a new age of power for the family would come in the shape of their son, Draco. He was the reason Lucius married Narcissa in the first place. Not for love, but to create a suitable heir for the Malfoy and Black family fortunes. Unfortunately, Draco came with a rather useless companion. An identical twin sister they decided to name Gemini. To Lucius, a female heir had no purpose, she was merely there as decoration, a nuisance to the Malfoys, even. Lucius refused to hold Gemini on the day of her birth and every day after that, and today marked more than one year since that day.
While the trial took place, the twins slept soundlessly in their mother's room, on identical cribs that were enchanted to move by themselves. Draco turned around constantly, Gemini stayed still.
Lucius Malfoy was snapped back to reality by Cornelius Fudge, the new Minister of Magic, who had soundlessly ended the room and begun speaking. The blonde man attempted to pull his hair out of his face and straighten his clothing, looking presentable was essential in all situations. Unbeknownst to him, the rows of wizards judging him thought he looked like a desperate clown searching for a past and position that were gone. Lucius knew, deep down, that they were right. He was pathetic, not elegant, not powerful, not beautiful, nothing. He was nothing. A coward, perhaps. But nothing to be admired for.
"Lucius Malfoy, the fall of He Who Must Not Be Named gave rise to suspicious behavior coming from you, as stated by multiple witnesses. As you are now under the judgment of the Wizarding World, the Wizgamot would like to ask if you lied about being under the Imperius Curse for several months, being forced to serve He Who Must Not Be Named as a spy within the Ministry of Magic."
For such a frail-looking man, Fudge had quite the intimidating presence when being serious. Malfoy didn't know how to describe the emotion crawling up his spine, sending an unfamiliar cold throughout his body. Was this fear? Genuine fear? Malfoy believed himself to be above such emotions as the Dark Lord's faithful servant- but the Dark Lord was gone. He had perished, but something led Malfoy to believe that his death was not... complete. It was merely a hunch. So he stayed quiet, as there was not much to say. He was guilty of his 'crimes', after all. In his eye, they weren't crimes. They were actions of justice towards the Wizarding World, a new cleanse to leave only the pure, the worthy, alive. If those were his crimes, he wouldn't lie about them. However, he'd do something else.
"Witnesses have accused you of being a terrorist, a murderer, guilty of use of all Unforgivable Curses against members of the muggle and Wizarding communities. Reports have recently been unburied that give evidence of you holding people hostage inside of your Manor, even using it as Headquarters for He Who Must Not Be Named and his servants. You also possess the Dark Mark, a symbol that identifies you as one of his many followers, the Death Eaters."
Narcissa watched from a corner, her eyes filled with pent-up anger and frustration. She wished for a normal life, with her husband and her kids. A simple life where she could see the children sent to Hogwarts with laughs and smiles, where her husband would, perhaps, love her, cherish her. But her husband was a criminal, and so was she. Just like many of the undercover Death Esters present in the room, who got away from punishment by sheer luck or wealth.
"As you do not have evidence to prove your innocence, you are sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban prison, with treatment every five days."
Ah, treatment. He had heard the term several times during his days at the ministry, a dreadful punishment for criminals of the worst kind. Like his dear in-law Bellatrix, and that traitor Sirius Black. Lucius could imagine them, rotting away in their cells, all life gone from their pathetic bodies. He could see himself there too, in rags, and weak, and alone. No. He couldn't face that. Azkaban would not be his fate! He was Lucius Malfoy, goddamnit, and he'd sacrifice anything for his freedom, his power, his life. Even- even her. That useless child of his, who would serve no purpose in his life or his son's. The man cleared his throat and shakily stood up, lips dry from dehydration and coated with small drops of blood.
"Wait! Minister, council, I know I did bad things. And I was not under the Imperius Curse while committing said atrocities- but I was being manipulated. He- The Dark Lord, he threatened to destroy the Ministry if I did not comply- he threatened my wife's life! He threatened to kill my son! I was not doing those things of my own free will I just didn't want more innocents to die! And I know it sounds hypocritical, but he could have destroyed this entire Ministry in one moment had I not listened to his orders- I was defenseless, Minister Fudge, I didn't know what to do!"
Both Narcissa and Lucius knew those statements were anything but true.
"I have a proposition, Minister, and members of the Wizgamot. Someone of the Malfoy bloodline must serve time in Azkaban to atone for my crimes. However, that person will not be me. I am innocent at heart! And you need me in the Ministry, you need my abilities you NEED my status! But someone from my bloodline will take the punishment for the crimes I was forced to commit. That person shall be someone you can easily dispose of and will not pose any sort of threat while in Azkaban."
Narcissa couldn't bring herself to move and angry voices rose from all over the room. Some tried to silence the others but the chaos just seemed to arise further, some council members shouting curses at Malfoy while others, like Albus Dumbledore, stayed silent, but with disapproving glares plastered across their faces.
" I, Lucius Malfoy, will trade my freedom for my daughter Gemini's. She is my blood, therefore she will take my punishment and I swear on my life that I will never commit a crime against the Ministry or the Muggle world ever again!"
Amongst the yells of anger and disapproval, no one noticed the word 'Imperio' being muttered, directed towards Fudge himself, whose eyes now looked a rather light green. Clearing his throat, the Minister spoke once more.
"You are now pledged to the Ministry, and should you commit more crimes, your death will be immediate. This- trade of yours is unlikely and immoral, but as the authority here, it is fair, especially given that we need the financial and political support of Mr. Malfoy to rebuild the Ministry of Magic after this tragic war. For that reason, I must accept the deal."
The members of the council were now paralyzed. They elected Fudge for peace, equity, and justice, but what justice was imprisoning an infant? Though most of them fell for Lucius' manipulative speech, so they were reluctantly forced to agree with the Minister's decision.
"Dolores, you will apparate Mr. Malfoy to his Manor to bring the girl here, for the trade will be made now. " A toad-like woman stepped down from her seat and walked towards Malfoy, her heels clattering on the floor. She let out a giggle and waved at Narcissa, who was now crying, before she grabbed Malfoy's hand, disappearing from the facility. Tension filled the room for the next five minutes or so until they returned, an infant now wrapped in a blanket, who was being carried by Dolores as Lucius refused to even look at the creature. A nearly unnoticeable smile made its way onto the man's face when the Minister spoke his final sentence.
"Lucius Malfoy, I declare you free of all charges."
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I hope you liked this but it is only the intro and just so you know I update once a week since I am busy with school and tend to procrastinate. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and PLEASE leave things I could improve on down in the comments because I wanna become a better writer. Aaaaaanyways..... BYE BENCHES
(Future me here, I didn't realize how cringy my writing and author's notes were back when I started this book. But I do hope you guys enjoyed the rewritten version of the prologue, more of my rewriting marathon is coming soon! BYE BENCHES)