She had played her part. In the end, Harry had lived to complete the final battle because of her longing to see her son again. Now she sat in a holding room at court beside her son and husband. All three were sentenced as Death Eaters. Would her actions at the end be enough to save her and her family?
The day passed, never would she remember the exact proceedings of the day. Her fear and nervousness prevented her from remembering more than the words that came from Harry Potter’s mouth.
”We come together today to begin the long days in court to sort out the true crimes of all the Death Eaters. I will not rest until all charged have had their day in court. I know personally how easy it is to believe false accusations, so we cannot blindly throw men into prison for supposed crimes. There are also special circumstances that need to be taken into consideration for some of these Death Eaters. Aid was given to me by Narcissa Malfoy during the final battle. Because of her, Voldemort believed I had perished after his first attempt to kill me that night. It is because of her I could wait to fight him after Nagini was killed, freeing Voldemort from his last Horcrux, allowing him to die at last. I gave my testimony for her husband and son. I ask that the court take these actions into consideration when sentencing all three of the Malfoys.”
She felt disgust that in the end it was that boy and his testimony that was her only hope of having a normal life. She sat shackled, separated now from her husband and son. Their trials had been first and the outrage and fear in their eyes was enough to show how hard the court was on them. She would find out their fate after her own sentencing. None of them could deny their actions as Death Eaters, especially Lucius. Draco at least could truthfully claim that he had no choice or his parents would have been murdered.
At the end of the final battle the three had sat together surrounded by the victorious…uncertain of their futures. The next morning the three of them had been arrested and taken to Azkaban. A month they had sat there uncertain of their futures. Trials had just started and their names were at the top of the list. Later she would find that it was because of Harry Potter that they got speedy trials. There were so many people under trial that it would take over a year to conduct all of them.
Never before had Narcissa feared the future so much. This time Lucius could not deny their ties to Voldemort. There was too much evidence to the contrary. Harry Potter had lived and so had his friends. Her own foolish son had tried to capture Harry at the beginning of the final battle.
She could not keep thoughts of her own death or imprisonment from her mind. Would they be hung or burned as in days past? Would they be forced to reside in Azkaban the rest of their days? She worried most for Draco who had only just begun his life. He had so much ahead of him.
Tears had even sprung from her eyes as despair overpowered her. She had fought them so long that there was no more keeping them bound. The door opened and her guard came to fetch her. At last she would know her fate.
The council was all dressed in black. She could not see their faces through the tears that she could no longer contain. Her body betrayed her fear and shook as she was moved and shackled back to the center stand. The man in the center stood and faced her.
“It is the decision of this court that Narcissa Malfoy is guilty of being a Death Eater.” Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. “But because of her assistance to Harry Potter she will be sentenced to time served and fined 100,000 Galleons. Her husband Lucius Malfoy will be sentenced to 10 years in Azkaban Prison, sentenced lessoned from life due to her actions. Draco Malfoy will be released with his mother, but will be closely monitored by the wizarding community. If it appears that either Narcissa or Draco Malfoy are participating any more Dark activities, they will all be imprisoned to Azkaban for life.”
Narcissa remained on her knees as more tears, now of relief, escaped to roll down her face. Times would be difficult for the Malfoy family, but things could have been worse for them.
