 Bother botherPuffskein
Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: on a Vacation from Real...
Posts: 1,831
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ok kiddos...new chapter up...sorry for the long wait but christmas and all that jazz you know how it is...lol...i'll add chapter 4 v. soon and then hopefully will get some new stuff written before school f'ing starts up again or it'll be a long wait  ..hate schooooool!
Chapter Three: Lawyers and Surprise Guests
Draco lay on the cold floor with his eyes open. He had been staring at the ceiling for several hours, not knowing how else to pass his time. He was almost done with his one month detention within his cell.
As he stared upwards, an odd sound met his ears and caused his forehead to wrinkle. Clip-clop, clip-clop… Draco listened as the sound moved further down the hall before he recognized it as the clicking of a woman’s heels on a hard floor. Just as he realized this, he heard a few whistles from inmates who had bars on their doors that they could see out of and the scrape of a chair as the guard stood to greet their visitor.
What woman would be on our block? As Draco wondered this, he was surprised to hear the sound of the clicking heels stop in front of his cell.
Whisperings could be heard from on the other side of the large metal door and Draco quietly moved closer to try and hear what they were saying. He stopped suddenly when he heard his name.
“…Mr. Malfoy is not only paying me very well to see him but he has a right to lawyer and you cannot argue with that fact. Now tell me,” there was a pause as she read the guard's nametag, “Sid, how would you like getting the feds to come visit your block and see how you’re running your prison? Would you like that because I can arrange a nice little meeting for you,” Draco could hear her tapping her shoes and could almost see her hand impatiently set on her hip. He could tell that he liked this woman already.
“N-n-no, ma’am, I think we’ll be fine right here without any visits from anyone. You going on in there, then…” the security guard mumbled as he picked out the key to Draco’s cell door.
“Actually, my client and I would like to speak in private. Do you have a nice room you could get for us and maybe some coffee and something to eat for the two of us?” She didn’t wait to hear an answer. “Thank-you so much.”
The door slid back and the woman poked her head in. Draco’s jaw dropped. She smiled at him and came around the door. Finding a seat and lowering her briefcase she turned back to the guard. “That room, please.”
“Yes ma’am, it’ll be ready in a moment..” and he scurried off down the hall, his key jingling noisily as he went.
Draco was still staring at the woman sitting cross-legged in the tatty chair on the other side of the room. Her auburn hair fell in slight curls around her warm face. She had on just a little make-up and a subtle smell of flowers floated over to his nostrils as he sat still on the freezing floor. She was wearing a woman’s piece suit in a deep blue. Her skirt came to just above her knees and Draco could see perfectly sculpted legs jutting out of her professional-looking black shoes.
Her face had also changed dramatically. Gone were the buck teeth he had teased her incessantly about back at school. Her eyebrows were thin and well taken care of and her skin practically glowed in the dim light of the cell. But her eyes were the same chocolate brown he remembered. They radiated a warmth as she watched him watching her. He stole a glance at the letters on her briefcase to see if he was just hallucinating.
Surely she knew who he was. How could she have forgotten someone like Draco Malfoy. The two had been locked in an epic battle their entire seven years at Hogwarts and they hadn’t often seen eye to eye when they ran into each other after graduation. He hadn’t seen her after he had met Camilla, though, and he hadn’t been aware that she had become a lawyer. He was surprised she had agreed to take his case.
Finally he found his voice lodged deep in his throat. He swallowed hard before speaking. “Hermione…Granger?” he whispered so quietly he wasn’t even sure she would hear. She smiled again and gave a little nod but said nothing.
The security guard soon returned and escorted them down the hall and into a room with one table, two chairs and set of glaring lights. Two cups of steaming coffee and a few donuts sat on the table as they entered the room. The concrete walls were painted a disgusting blue colour.
Hermione turned to the guard. “Is that glass soundproof?” she asked, pointing to the clear wall showing another room where two men in dark suits watched them carefully.
“Yes’m..I believe it is,” he began to tip his hat and then realized that he wasn’t wearing one. He made a quick exit and shut the door firmly behind him.
“Well, would you like to take a seat?” Hermione offered, sitting down in the second chair. Draco remained standing.
“I don’t get it,” he said. Then realizing how incompetent that sounded, he decided to elaborate. “What I mean is, why are you here? I didn’t know I’d get a lawyer for my trial and I don’t understand why it’s you? I mean, you’re still a,“ he glanced at the glass wall and lowered his voice. “You’re still a witch, right?”
Hermione nodded. “Yes, I am. But I found a law firm that deals with cases where the person charged is a witch or wizard who finds himself in the hands of the muggle authorities. I.E. you,” she explained, taking a sip of her coffee and wincing. “That’s what I get for asking for coffee from a prison.” She smiled weakly and lifted her briefcase onto the table-top.
Draco nodded his head and bravely picked up his coffee. Compared to what he had been eating since he had first come to the prison, the coffee was delicious and he continued to drink it.
“Try a donut, if you’d like,” Hermione offered, pulling some papers out and laying them on the table. Draco picked one up and bit a piece off. He hadn’t eaten food like this in what seemed like forever. He quickly finished the donut and greedily reached for another. Hermione ignored this and ploughed on with the work they had to get done.
“Now, Mr. Malfoy, you have been charged with the rape and murder of Mrs. Camilla Malfoy, maiden name Jones.” Draco swallowed the piece of donut he had been eating and laid the remaining piece down on the plate in front of him. Hermione continued on, “You were found at the scene of the crime, cradling the deceased and wailing incoherently.” Draco hated himself for blushing as she said this; the report didn’t seem very sympathetic. “Neighbors have been questioned and we have reports that they heard a lot of noise at just before 8 O’clock on the night of the murder, Sunday April 3rd. They have also told us that at about 8.15 that same night they heard your screaming and more noise from inside the house. Police arrived at 8.20.” She stopped to take a look at Draco. He was sitting dead still in his chair, staring at the table, eyes wide.
Finally, he spoke. “Why did you take my case? You hate me, I hated you. I was awful to you in school.” He lifted his head to look at her. “Why not give this job to someone else?”
Hermione face softened as she set down the document on the table and looked Draco directly in the eye. “I took your case because I don’t hold a grudge. That was a long time ago and I’m sure you’re much better now.” She smiled at him and he nodded. “Plus, I’m the best in the business and Malfoys always need the best,” she adding, grinning with fake pride.
Draco found himself chuckling at what she had said. He stopped immediately and looked up at her. It seemed so weird for him to laugh. This was the most he’d talked since he had arrived at the prison. To anyone.
“Well, I’m glad it was you they sent. I have changed, a lot. And I’m not sure if I’d talk to someone else they might have sent instead. I haven’t spoken much in here,” he told here, his eyes roving the stain-splattered walls.
“So I’ve heard. Well, I guess you have changed,” she joked. He grinned and took another sip of his coffee, surprised at how relaxed he was.
Her demeanor changed suddenly as if she just realized where she was and that she was, in fact, dealing with a case. A very important case. “Ok, so I’m going to be visiting once a week while we get this whole thing sorted out. You’ll probably have to attend a trial, I don’t see how we can get you out of that…which means we’ll need to write up your decision on how you will be pleading and then begin to set this case up.” She began putting the papers back in her briefcase and stood up. She held out her hand for Draco to shake but he remained seating.
He looked up at her. “Can I ask you a question?”
Hermione’s eyes darted around the room quickly before finally settling on her clients face. “Yes, of course. Ask whatever you want.”
He swallowed. “Do you think I’m innocent?”
Hermione swallowed hard and gave him a weak smile before answering. “Yes, I do.”
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