57

The Wizengamot focused its attention back on the Pensieve before them, as did everyone else in the chamber. With a wave of a wand, the torches were extinguished and one of the secretaries stepped up to the rim of the Pensieve. He prodded the red memory with his wand and, with a muttered incantation, it began to grow and a silvery image of Kathryn rose up from the surface.

Harry watched in amazement as an image of his sister, two years younger, rose out of the silvery pool. It was almost like watching a film in a Muggle cinema, not that the Dursleys had ever taken him to one, except that it was all three dimensional. He recognised where she was from what she had told them; she was standing in the grounds of Malfoy Manor. The entire courtroom watched as she snuck up to the house and climbed the walls to see who was there. They saw her terror when Malfoy spotted her and watched her try and make her escape, only to run straight into him. only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, Dumbledore and the Weasleys knew what was coming next and, despite not wanting to see this in the slightest, Harry found that he could not tear his eyes away from the scenes playing out before him.

The room was silent as they watched Malfoy restrain her, mockingly destroy the maps she had hidden and confiscate her wand. He heard Hermione quietly gasp in horror as, after a brief absence, he returned and began to taunt her with a huge, shining blade; reminding her of his area of expertise. They watched as it sliced easily through the lace of her underwear, as it teased at her flesh but never actually drew blood. Harry could see McGonagall wringing her hands together whilst Snape just sat stoically watching as Malfoy threatened her.

"But, then again," they heard Malfoy say, "why would I give away something so fine that has just walked into my grasp?"

Harry wasn't sure if he could stand watching the memory playing out before him, his sister's screams as Malfoy raped her almost too much to bear.

The gruesome details of what he did to her, however, did not stop there. The memory jumped forwards to another night. She was still in the same room, curled up in the bed sheets looking very afraid. They watched as she instinctively turned as the door slowly opened. The absolute terror in her eyes was evident as she caught sight of the robed, hooded and masked figure of a death eater that stepped into the room. She did not flinch as the figure ran a hand through her hair and across her face, only pulling the sheets tighter about her and moving slowly away. Once his mask and robes were lying on a chair, Malfoy advanced on her again; only to have her scrabble away and kick out at him, catching him sharply in the stomach.

Harry felt Ginny gripping his hand as anger flared in Malfoy's eyes and he grabbed his sister's hair and forced her face down onto the mattress. From out of nowhere, ties bound her hands and feet to the bed frame and they watched her shiver as Malfoy pulled the sheets down to her waist. Indeed, what happened next incensed Harry so much that it took every ounce of willpower not to lunge forwards and tear Malfoy limb from limb.

Looking over at Sirius, it seemed that he was having exactly the same thoughts and struggling against the very same feelings. Before them, they saw Kathryn muffling her screams in one of the pillows as she learned the price of refusal. Large gashes appeared in her back as the metal tip of the whip connected with her skin and, seeming not content with what he was doing already; Malfoy moved the pillows away from her so he could hear her scream. Her cries echoed through the chamber, chilling everyone to the core. Once he was done and the sheet beneath her was soaked with blood, Malfoy did not leave her alone. Instead he used her as if nothing had happened and he wasn't causing her any additional pain as he pushed her roughly into the mattress, tossing her aside like a rag doll, writhing in agony once he'd had his fun.

Down in the chair, Lucius was watching with a grave expression. He felt deeply ashamed for what he had done to her two tears ago and was astonished that she could even stand the sight of him after all of it. Judging by the faces of the people looking down on him, their opinion of what went on had drastically changed. Indeed, Fudge had gone very pale and was nervously looking at Harry; obviously regretting not listening to him in the first place.

In the memory, time now skipped quickly forwards; showing when he cornered her on the hill outside Hogsmeade, the Christmas ball and their trip to Dubai. Harry took note of the way he treated her as a possession; particularly at the Christmas ball where they saw him doing up her dress so forcefully it made her gasp in pain. Lucius noted, however, that she had also shown occasions when he had been kind to her; helping her up the stairs and giving her jewels. Although, in the eyes of Fudge, this was only seen as a means of buying her silence.

The memory jumped again to Valentine's Day, their victory in the Quidditch cup and what she did when she sneaked off. Harry's stomach turned at the sight of what she had done to keep them safe. Then, they were watching as he undid the curse cast on her by his son. Harry, and the rest of the courtroom, was shocked to see the way her held her when he was alone with her in the Great Hall. There was none of the cruelty they had previously seen as he cradled her in his arms. Lucius was impressed by what she had done. The memories they were seeing showed what happened, but they also showed how their attitudes were slowly changing.

They next saw her trip to Paris and, after that, her week long stay at Malfoy Manor when she was supposed to be spending a week at Queerditch Marsh. Sirius' stomach churned as he watched Malfoy doing unspeakable things to his Goddaughter on the sofa in his study that they had sat her down on after she had been found. Ron, who was holding tightly onto Hermione's hand, was thanking his lucky stars that the twisted man before them had never got his hands on Hermione.

Hermione had flourished into a beautiful young woman with a fierce intellect, but Ron doubted that she had the strength to go through what Kathryn had. His mind snapped back to what was happening in the memory as they saw Kathryn do something they had never seen her do. They all watched with bated breath as she crawled slowly up the bed and, for the first time, kissed him. True, they had seen her kiss him many times before this, but for some reason this was different. Firstly, she had sought out the contact, and secondly, she kissed his lips. It was the most personal thing they had seen her do so far. Up until now, she had never made the first move; always having been forced out of fear.

For all those watching, Mrs Weasley watching from behind her fingers at one point, everything seemed to change. They watched as, when he had barged into her in the Three Broomsticks, she stood up clasping a small piece of parchment in her fingers. They saw their near discovery by his son and then their disappearance to Malfoy manor. Lucius noticed that she had omitted their dalliance in the Quidditch stadium, probably to preserve her dignity and not to incense her former Professors.

The courtroom was, quite perversely transfixed, as they watched her meet his wife at the Minister's Christmas reception, and saw his furtive glances when Narcissa wasn't watching. Harry, Ron and Hermione could not help but smirk as she played nice with Narcissa and then listened to what she really had to say about her. Sirius felt the anger well up inside of him as he realised the note she had sent him, saying that she was spending the night at the Minister's, had been a complete lie. A lie that she'd had no trouble in telling.

She had, indeed, included nearly everything in her account. She revealed to them what had happened on the next Valentine's Day; showing her first animagus transformation, their talk and how close Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had come to discovering the pair of them. Hermione saw how wrong she had been when she had talked to Harry and Ron after the Governor's visit; seeing that Kathryn had been doing exactly what Hermione had been confident she wasn't. They also watched how she confronted him over the pictures he had seen and were quite stunned when he informed her of her superiority to any other woman he knew.

The next images that flashed before their eyes were those of her at the Quidditch stadium, sitting in between Malfoy and Fudge. They listened to their whispered conversation. They watched as she ate dinner with Malfoy, Draco, Pansy and Fudge in, not Fudge's country residence, but Malfoy Manor. Harry couldn't believe the stupidity of Draco as he walked in to find her still with his father in his study when it was past midnight. How couldn't he have realised that something was afoot? Once again, they found it difficult to accept the ease with which she lied to them, both about where she was going for dinner and why she really didn't come home straight away the next morning.

The biggest shock came when they reached Easter and she discovered that her foster parents had been murdered by the Death Eaters. They stared as he ran to her aid and cared for her; his despair at her condition plain to see. They stared as she lashed out at him, hurting herself further in her anger, and then as he nursed her once again; barely leaving her side. Dumbledore watched curiously as, after the funeral, she went out in search of him before disappearing to drown her sorrows in a notorious wizarding nightclub. To his amazement, and that of everyone else in the room, they saw him go in search of her and extract her from what could have become a very dangerous situation had she stayed there.

The next images that assailed their eyes were those of their near discovery, this time by Snape. They watched them talk, once he was gone, and they watched that talk turn nasty. Sirius shot out of his seat when they saw his fist connect sickeningly with her face, only to be pulled back down by Lupin and Harry. Harry was, himself, practically shaking with anger at what he saw. His heart was racing as she ran faster than he had ever seen her go, clutching her face with tears streaming down her cheeks. They saw the terror in her eyes as he caught up with her and, it appeared, tried to apologise. As she moved the ice from her cheek, they got a fleeting view of the snake that was now imprinted upon the soft skin. She flinched as he touched her and, again, she ran; pulling off her elaborate outfit and disapparating back home. Down in his seat, Lucius' stomach churned nastily, not wanting to remember what he had done to her.

Snape sat motionless and expressionless as these images played out before them. His question about her abrupt return to Grimmauld Place had been answered. His questions about the mystery woman that had been present at Malfoy Manor that day had also been answered, although not in a good way.

Time skipped forwards again to her receipt of the ticket to the Quidditch World Cup Final and her subsequent return to Malfoy Manor, mere days after he had lashed out at her so violently. They were astonished, bewildered even, to find him remorseful for what he had done. He was tender, kind even, as she finally went to him after having been cold towards him all day. They all noticed the way he seemed to dote on her and the way she seemed to bring out an entirely new person. They could not believe how brazenly he flaunted her in front of Fudge and the press, unable to decide whether they were angrier at him or Fudge for not realising anything.

Incapable of seeing most of the people sat in the benches, Lucius was incapable of gauging people's reactions to what they saw. He had heard a few gasps, but they could mean anything. He was slightly glad that she had omitted what had happened at his Manor afterwards, preferring that such details remained private.

Outside in the tenth floor corridor, Kathryn was pacing nervously. She had tried sitting down, but it was no better. Judging by the time, they were probably nearing the end of her memory. The corridor was completely silent and it annoyed her not to know how people were reacting. She had tried her best to show that he had been kind to her and that, however slowly, their feelings had changed substantially by the time they were discovered. She could only hope that they believed it, although she knew that Fudge would question everything. She kept her ears strained for any noise that indicated that they were finishing; not wanting to be waiting out here when everyone exited.

Inside, time had now advanced past their victory in the Quidditch Cup and the events afterwards. They were now being shown what had happened at the ball when no one was watching. She showed them everything; from his carefully planned solicitation of her hand to their clandestine kiss beneath the weeping willow in the gardens. Everything Harry, Ron and Hermione saw that they had thought was part of her ploy was now tinged with what they knew. The way her hand or hips subtly brushed against his was not a fake gesture, but a very much real expression of desire.

The next part was very surreal for the Order members sat in the courtroom. It had happened just over a month ago, but they found themselves watching that last battle against the Death Eaters. She let them see their brief embrace in the classroom, making sure that it was apparent that he saved her from death at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange by intervening when he did. They witnessed their apparent death and Lucius' selfless act that had saved them both. They then watched as everything else unfolded, as they disappeared in the ensuing mêlée and saw how she sought him out. The members of the Wizengamot saw, for the first time, the end of Voldemort in all its mundane finality and watched as she was flung out the window.

There was absolute silence as they saw Malfoy retreat out of the Hall and snatch Kathryn up from where she had fallen; taking her straight to Malfoy Manor where, to their astonishment, he set about tending to her wounds. Here, the silence was only broken as Mrs Weasley let out a scream when they saw the full extent of her injuries. Her ankle was broken, bruised and swollen and her legs were covered in gashes and deep purple bruising. He carefully tended to these before turning to her upper body. Once he removed her jumper, the shoulder and left arm completely burned away, they realised what she had meant when she had told them that her injuries had been 'pretty bad'. In comparison, she had fared worst out of all of them. Harry thought it was probably right to assume that, if he hadn't taken her with him, she would quite possibly have been dead by the time the rest of the Order reached her.

Her arm was an ugly mess of raw burns and pus-filled welts that oozed a sickly orange substance as well as blood. Her armour, that had protected her so well, had melted to her skin under the heat of the magical flame and she winced in pain as he tried his best to remove it gently. Hermione buried her head in Ron's shoulder as they saw her twist her hands into the sheets and close her eyes, Malfoy positioning himself to rip off the dragon hide. This drew a second shriek from Mrs Weasley as, with his leg braced on the bed frame, Malfoy tore off the armour. Ginny also hid her eyes as they watched flesh tear off along with the armour, leaving a bloody, burned mess where once flawless skin had been. Her mouth opened in a violent, guttural scream before her eyes fluttered closed. Harry was glad that, after such intense pain, she was now lying unconscious on the bed as he worked; probably best as he tugged the armour the rest of the way off her body. Realising that she must have used some of Malfoy's memories for this, as how could she have a memory of this if she was passed out, they continued to watch.

Madam Pomfrey, sitting next to Professor Flitwick, was knocked for six at what she was seeing. She would never have believed it if someone had told her what he had done. With injuries like that, she would have sent Miss Potter straight to St Mungo's rather than risk further damage. He staunched the bleeding with towels and then set to work healing the wound with the various potions spread around him. It took a while, but she was eventually healed and her side had returned to normal; the blood on the bed around her the only evidence of what she had been like before.

Time skipped suddenly forwards and she showed them the simple way that he held her close; stroking his hands through her hair and down her sides; apparently thankful that she was merely alive. Similarly, she clung to him as he kissed her, as if nothing else in the world mattered. It was there that the memory ended and, after nearly two hours, the torches were re-lit. Most people spent several moments adjusting their eyes to the light and, with a small cough; Fudge rose and addressed the courtroom.

"In light of what we have just seen, this trial is adjourned until eleven o'clock tomorrow in order for the Wizengamot to deliberate what they have seen." The rest of the Wizengamot stood. "Take him away." Fudge motioned for the Aurors to remove Malfoy.

Outside, Kathryn could hear the sounds of many feet getting up and she quickly disappeared up the stairs and into the lift waiting on the ninth level. As it clattered upwards towards the Atrium, she tried to plan what she would do next. From what she had heard, Fudge liked to make an example of the captured Death Eaters and had them escorted through the more public areas of the Ministry, namely the Atrium. She had also gleaned, from the chatter, that Lucius was being kept in the ministry as opposed to being returned to Azkaban every night. That meant that they would have to walk through the Atrium. Ignoring the stares as she exited the lift, she walked purposefully over to the fountain where she perched on the edge and waited.

Back in the courtroom, Lucius was being kept guarded whilst everyone else exited; most of them looking shocked at what they had seen. Once the corridor was silent, he was escorted up the flight of stairs and into the one empty lift that sat waiting. He had arrived at the Ministry the previous evening, just as many of the witches and wizards who worked there had finished work and were leaving for the day. He knew Fudge took pleasure in seeing his enemies humiliated and he was not surprised when he was escorted through the busting Atrium towards the dingy room where he had spent the night. It seemed that Fudge had the same planned for him today.

Upstairs, Kathryn was still sat on the fountain. She was carefully ignoring the large group that was standing watching her; Harry looking desperate to talk to her. She sat still and silent, her eyes fixed on the elevators until her patience was rewarded by the emergence of several Aurors with their wands out. Lucius was in the middle of the group, trying his best to look his usual haughty self, but she could see that Azkaban was taking its toll on him. Standing up, she pushed her way through the throng of people until she was standing right in front of Rufus Scrimgeour who was leading the group of Aurors.

"Out of my way, if you please, Miss Potter." He asked, trying to move past.

"No, no Scrimgeour." She gave him a dry smile. "Out of my way." She used his cane to push him out of her way and, moving before any of the Aurors could stop her, practically flung herself into his arms. Whilst what she was doing seemed like a loving embrace to the rest of the people in the room, it was, in fact, a sneaky method of allowing her hands to roam across his chest inconspicuously. As she expected, as their lips met, she found severely pronounced ribs and shoulders.

"Miss Potter, we must ask you," Scrimgeour said politely, trying to get rid of her.

"No, I'm sorry gentlemen," she slowly pulled away from Lucius, turning to face them with a scary fire in her eyes, "but you'll have to wait." She found Lucius' hand with her own. "Mr Malfoy and I have a meeting with Minister Fudge."

"The Minister is busy." Scrimgeour protested as she turned and made to walk off. "He is not seeing anyone this afternoon." He motioned to the Aurors to stop them going any further. Many people were now watching this unfold, including Harry and her friends.

"I don't give a damn!" she shouted, whirling back around to face him. "He will see me whether he likes it or not!" pushing past the Aurors, she swept away to the lifts with Lucius; disappearing into the nearest one before they could do anything. The people who had been in that lift speedily vacated it as soon as it reached the next floor, even if that wasn't their destination.

"I'm going to kill Fudge." She muttered once they were alone.

"Nice to see you too." He smirked.

"I'm sorry." She sighed, leaning into him, exhausted, as the lift travelled upwards.

"It's alright." He placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "Besides, it wouldn't do you much good to kill Fudge." He shrugged. "Unless life in Azkaban has been one of your lifelong dreams."

"Fine, I'll just give him a very large piece of my mind." She smirked back at him, gliding out of the elevator once it stopped on the top level.

Percy Weasley was on his feet immediately as soon as she came through the door; doing a slight double take at the sight of Lucius behind her.

"Minister Fudge," he began in his overly pompous voice, trying to look and sound important.

"Don't get in my way Percy," she warned, striding through the desks, "or I will curse you, and I would hate to have to tell your mother it was me." Percy gulped and, looking at the way she fingered the top of the cane, he retreated to his desk. He ducked as she withdrew her wand, only to watch her use it to release the lock and send the doors flying open with a bang.

"Miss Potter!" Fudge stammered as he saw her. "What are you…?" his voice disappeared when he saw Lucius behind her. "What do you think you are doing? What happened to Scrimgeour?" he demanded, getting up from his chair and scurrying across the room towards her.

"I would like you to explain," she told him in an icily calm voice, "if you always go back on your word, or if I am just a special case."

"What, what do you mean?" Fudge stuttered, backing away from her as she advanced on him.

"I kept my side of the bargain!" she shouted at him, the strength of her anger making the room shake slightly. "So explain to me why he is thinner than he was the last time I saw him?"

"I cannot appear to be treating prisoners with more favour than others." Fudge protested.

"That is no reason to starve someone!"

"I am not starving him!" Fudge retorted, trying to wrest control of the situation.

"I kept my side of the bargain!" she shouted again, not even listening to him prattle on. "I kept it, dammit!" she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before she spoke anymore. "I did as you asked." She sighed. "I didn't run to the press, I waited until now to tell what happened and I only went out when necessary."

"The one time you went out, you did so to pressure me." Fudge challenged, the colour rising in his cheeks.

"I wasn't going to wait forever."

"Favourable treatment of one inmate will spark riots!" Fudge protested.

"They don't have the strength to riot you fool!"

"I will not treat him differently." Fudge spluttered.

"Oh so you starve the other prisoners too, do you?"

"He deserves what he gets!" he blustered, failing in his attempt to get her to back down.

"Fine." She replied casually. "If you want to play it like this, I'll show you some real hardball tactics."

"I beg your pardon?" Fudge became even more flustered than he already was, uncomfortable at the sound of this veiled threat. "We, we can compromise." He offered in a stuttering voice, trying to salvage the situation as best he could.

"Too late, Fudge." She shook her head, a vicious smile tugging at her mouth. "As of tomorrow," she began in a painfully slow voice, "the trial is open to anyone who wishes to attend." The colour drained from Fudge's face.

"But you can't!" he spluttered.

"Do not cross me Fudge." Kathryn shook her head. "When will you get it that I am not going to slip you a sack full of Galleons when I want something done?"

"I, I can't believe." Fudge spluttered, unable to put a sentence together.

"I'll see you at eleven tomorrow morning." She gave him a curt nod goodbye. "Oh, and seeing as you have proven incapable of keeping a promise, I am taking Lucius home with me." She did not give Fudge time to reply before sweeping out the door, stopping before Percy; who as usual sprang to attention.

"Send an urgent message to the Daily prophet offices," she instructed Percy, "it needs to state that the trial, as of tomorrow, is open for all to attend." Percy nodded, scribbling feverishly. "That has to go in this evening's edition and tomorrow's" Percy nodded, rolling up the scroll and, with a wave of his wand, it disappeared in an orange flame.

"Anything else, Miss Potter?" Percy asked. She had never gotten to know Percy, arriving in England just after he and his parents had their argument and he had moved out. It was strange to hear someone from a family she knew and loved addressing her so formally.

"An urgent memo to Scrimgeour." She recited. "Informing him that Mr Malfoy will be returning to his manor with me and not to Azkaban." Percy nodded, again scribbling at a speed Kathryn wouldn't have thought possible. "Thanks Percy." She smiled at him as the memo zoomed off.

"No problem." At this point, after having heard her unflinching dressing down of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic himself, Percy wasn't in a mood to argue.

They let the memo disappear in the first lift, waiting for the second one to arrive so as Scrimgeour would get the memo and read it before they arrived back in the Atrium. This would save even more time having to explain what was going on as, eve though he would never admit it, Lucius was beginning to flag. She could see the weariness in his eyes and noticed the way he grasped the edges of desks or leant against the wall when he was standing up for a long period of time.

"How did you get here?" he asked nonchalantly in the lift, hoping that she hadn't apparated as he doubted he had the strength to do so.

"Car, it's waiting outside." She told him, slipping a supportive arm around his waist. The elevator ground to a halt in the atrium and they stepped out, Kathryn not letting go of his waist as they crossed the room.

Scrimgeour eyed them as they walked past, clutching the purple memo in his hand and looking annoyed. Kathryn merely gave him a smile and kept on walking.

"Keep walking, we'll be out before they find out the order didn't come from Fudge." She whispered in his ear as they approached the phone box.

"What is this, a rescue?" he asked.

"Sort of."

"Kathryn!" a voice called to her as the red door of the phone box came even closer. "Wait!"

"Not now Harry." She told her brother as he ran over to them, just as they reached the exit. "I'll talk to you all later, promise." She stepped inside the Muggle phone box and closed the door.

He sank into the soft upholstery of the car with a tired smile.

"Home, quickly." Kathryn said as soon as she shut her door and, silently, the driver reversed out into the busy London street and drove off; ignoring several red lights as it went.

"It's nice to feel something other than cold stone." He commented, running his hand over the fabric. "Nice not to hear the other prisoners talking to themselves or screaming in their sleep."

"You'll be home soon." She reassured him. "And you can sleep in a comfortable bed too, not on a thin mattress with a threadbare blanket."

"Azkaban is not conducive for a good night's sleep." He agreed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"I'd imagine." Kathryn replied, but he had already fallen asleep. Gently, she pulled him down so his head was resting on her knee. After all, she thought, he might as well be comfortable. She stroked her hand through his hair as they drove, noticing the signs of neglect in the usually lustrous mane. His hands too also showed the signs of his internment; they were chapped from the cold and a fine layer of dirt rested behind the nails. Leaning back in her seat, she shut her eyes and, despite knowing full well that it could not last; she allowed herself to feel content.