Chapter 18: Judgement Day
Monday January 9th
Harry shivered as he stepped out into the freezing January morning air, his breath freezing as he exhaled. Why Care of Magical Creatures couldn't be held indoors during the winter months, he still didn't know. As they walked out in the thick snow, he noticed a woman standing next to a rather large horse, which upon second glance, he saw was a unicorn. Its white coat almost blinding, it seemed to reflect the light as it stood tethered to a tree at the edge of the forest. The white horn seemed to shine in the early morning light. Its gold hooves faintly visible under the long white coat covering its legs.
It eyed them all warily as they approached, but seemed to be less agitated when it looked at the girls. The girls all started cooing as they got closer.
"Morning class. This term, we will be learning about Unicorns, their social structure, and how best to care for them. Boys, please stay back, adult unicorns, both mares and stallions, tend to get agitated around boys and men. Stallions in particular get especially aggressive. Girls, you may approach, but cautiously, she's still a wild animal after all." The woman directed as she stepped forward.
"Who're you?" Ron asked, already sounding bored.
"Professor Grubbly-Plank, I'll be your instructor in this class for this term."
"What? Where's Hagrid?" Ron asked. Grubbly-Plank scowled, clearly not impressed.
"On special assignment for Dumbledore. Now, girls, please come forward, but don't crowd her. One at a time, that's it."
Harry hung back, feeling more than a little disappointed he couldn't get close enough to touch the beautiful equine who was now on the receiving end of some rather enthusiastic cooes and pets from the assembled girls.
Ron was already looking board after just a couple of minutes. "If we're not allowed to go near it, what's the point? What are we gonna learn from over here?" he groused. Harry wasn't sure whether to agree with him or rebuff him, but he was distracted by the giggles from the girls, along with a few comments.
"She's so soft! And warm! Her coat is really thick too!" That was Susan.
"She's gorgeous, shame the boys can't get near, I think some of them would enjoy petting her. She certainly seems to like it." That was one of the Slytherins, a girl whose name he couldn't remember, if he'd ever interacted with her at all.
It suddenly occurred to Harry just how limited his experiences with Slytherin were; usually revolving around Draco and his lackeys, and the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"I dunno, she seems oddly focused on them for some reason." That was Parvati, who followed the mare's gaze as Harry looked up, and his eyes met the unicorn's.
Harry couldn't help but stare. The mare truly was beautiful. Beside him, Seamus nudged him and grinned.
"Looks like she's eyeballing you mate. I think she fancies you." He snickered, which also got several of the other students sniggering.
"No, she's just focused on one boy." Lavender giggled as she began to stroke the mare's neck with a brush Grubbly-Plank had given them. Hermione also followed the mare's line of sight to her boyfriend and arched an eyebrow.
'Harry, come closer, I think she'll let you approach.'
Cautiously, he stepped forward, drawing the attention of all the students and professor.
"Mister Potter! What are you doing?" Grubbly-Plank spoke up, but Harry wasn't listening as he cautiously approached the mare, who nickered curiously as the girls parted to make way for him. As he approached, he brought up a hand, palm up and open, just in front of the mare's muzzle. The only sound was the snuffling the mare made as she sniffed his hand, then to the surprise of everyone, especially Grubby-Plank and Harry, she lowered her mouth to his hand and Harry couldn't help but smile with a sense of fascination and pride as he felt the mare's soft, warm and wet tongue drag across his palm and fingers. It was then that he noticed the grey scar on the side of its neck, and he realised he'd seen this mare before, years ago, when he'd first met Firenze, but he could have sworn that unicorn had been dead…
"Extraordinary…" Grubbly-Plank gushed, staring between Harry and the mare in wonder. "I've never heard of an adult unicorn accepting the touch of a boy or man, especially when the unicorn is a mare. What's your secret Mister Potter?"
"Uh…" Harry said as the mare started to lick up his arm, pushing up his sleeve. "I guess I just have a magic touch? Or I just have a certain way with girls." he shrugged, grinning impishly at his own joke as Hermione, Susan and Daphne blushed, and the Patil twins giggled, Parvati's face also darkening in a fierce blush.
"Or that's the hand he fingered Granger, Bones and Greengrass with this morning." Seamus spoke up, drawing some gasps from most of the girls, snorts of laughter from the boys, a weathering glare from Harry, Grubby-Plank, Hermione, Susan and Daphne.
"Mister Finnegan! That will be a weeks detention with me! And 25 points from Gryffindor for your crass language! A fine way to start the new year! Humph!" Grubbly-Plank snapped as she turned away from the other students to once again focus on the unicorn mare.
"And you were doing so well at the Ball Seamus…" Harry muttered, before turning back to the white mare in front of him. He then brought up his other hand and gently started to pet the mare's head, as she then moved to lick his other hand, then, to the surprise of everyone, especially Harry, she nickered, then stepped forward and pressed her snuffling velvet-soft nose into his neck.
"Wow, she really seems to like you for some reason Harry." Lavender said, smiling, before giving a fascinated looking Hermione a side-eye grin. "Think you guys have enough room for her in your quarters?"
"I've never heard of a unicorn acting this way to a human boy or man. This is really unusual behaviour, they must have met during our first year. Harry must have saved her from… whatever was attacking the unicorns back then." Hermione said, as she tried to process what she was seeing, Lavender's comment going completely over her head.
"What makes you say that?" Dean asked.
"I think Hermione is right. She's got a scar on the side of her neck, I think she is one of the unicorns that was attacked, the one that Firenze and me found after I ran into…what was killing them. But I was sure that unicorn was dead." Harry added, carefully omitting details.
"Maybe she's trying to make a move on him. What, Granger, Greengrass, Lovegood and Bones not enough for you Potter? You want a unicorn polishing your wand too?" Dean said with a snicker.
"Mister Thomas! That'll be a week in detention for you as well!" Grubbly-Plank snapped. "And another 25 points from Gryffindor!"
"I don't think she's trying to come on to him." Daphne said, though she seemed a little unsure as the mare started to nuzzle Harry's neck before delivering a long lick from his robe collar up across his cheek, causing him to readjust his stance as he started to laugh, bringing both hands up to pet the affectionate mare as he started talking to her quietly.
"And if she turns round and flags him, like that Horntail did?" Parvati asked offhandedly.
"What do you mean?" one of the boys asked. Daphne turned to him and grinned.
"When the Horntail turned round to pick up that Golden Egg, she lifted her tail and flashed her snatch at him. The swan he transfigured a rabbit into in Transfiguration climbed into his lap and started making moves on him. Literally. If the unicorn here does that, then we'll know one of two things: something is up, or for some reason, Harry seems to be sexually attractive to random females, not necessarily all the same species." Daphne said, with a smirk.
"Let us hope it is not the latter." Grubbly-Plank muttered.
"And if she doesn't?" Hermione asked. The blonde shrugged.
"Then we can just chock it up to this mare being unusually affectionate to at least one boy."
"Once is a one-off, twice is a coincidence, I think we'd need a third occurrence to actually decide." Susan said, who couldn't help but smile as the unicorn, whose eyes had half closed, as if she were really getting into it, was continuing to nuzzle and lick Harry's neck while nickering and snuffling quietly while he awkwardly stroked and petted her head, ears and neck, face red with embarrassment and confusion.
Then she did something none of them truly expected, least of all Harry.
She lifted her head away from his neck and their eyes met briefly, he smiled and playfully planted a kiss on her velvety nose, then started to say something, when she leaned in again, and this time, pressed her soft, velvety lips to his in a full-on kiss.
Harry was so stunned by the action that he opened his mouth wider to gasp on reflex, which only granted the mare more access, and Harry's yelp of surprise was turned into a muffled grunt as his mouth was suddenly filled with a large, flat probing tongue.
"My word!" Grubbly-Plank yelped as her eyes widened in shock, and a collective gasp was heard from the surrounding students. But that didn't compare to how Harry's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, or would have, had they been able to.
The shock of the kiss had rendered him utterly immobile, and unable to speak, not that he could anyway with the surprisingly dexterous and long tongue exploring his mouth and pushing back towards his throat even as he felt warm breath wash over his face from the mare's nose. When the tongue, which he would later recall had somehow gotten narrower as it had gone deeper, reached the back of his mouth and started to angle down into his throat, it paused for a couple of seconds, before it slid almost sensually down, it's passage aided by a combination of his own saliva, the mare's, and the already present slickness of his throat.
It took several seconds for Harry's mind to reboot as the reality of the situation hit him like a Bludger to the face. He was being french-kissed, no, deep-throated by a unicorn mare. Her tongue so long that had penetrated down to his collarbone before he could even process what was going on.
He then felt warm air fill his mouth and throat, as he tried to swallow around the invading muscle, as his gag reflex kicked in and he started to choke. Another rush of air came, and he realised what was going on. She was breathing for him, giving him oxygen. Another thing he noticed was a sudden surge of sensation through his body, a strange tingling sensation that seemed to coalesce in his lower abdomen, and his eyes widened in panic and horror as he felt an intense spike of arousal shoot through him, and his cock, already in a state of semi-permanent arousal thanks to that damn curse, suddenly hardened and throbbed.
Painfully.
With a jolt, he snapped back to his senses, and tried to pull away, overcome with the sudden desire to be swallowed by a hole in the ground and never be found.
'What…the…FUCK?!' he thought.
The kiss broke, and the mare's tongue quickly left his mouth with a slurp. He stumbled backwards in a semi-couscous stupor, into the supporting arms of Neville and Ron, who were both wide-eyed, like everyone else. Neville's face was red, Ron's was a pale shade of green. The mare gave a forlorn sounding nicker before turning her gaze back to the girls, who were all staring at her in shock. Some of the girls looked ready to faint, some looked on the verge of hysteria. Grubbly-Plank looked like she didn't know what she should do, Parvati and Lavender looked on the verge of collapsing from shock, or laughter. Hermione, Susan and Daphne all had varied reactions. Susan looked like she was ready to die laughing as she looked from a rather flustered and embarrassed looking Harry to Daphne's wide-eyed 'what the fuck' expression. Hermione's expression was unreadable, but it was clear to anyone who knew her that her mind was already going a mile a minute.
"Mister…Mister Longbottom, Mister Weasley, take him to the Hospital wing." Grubbly-Plank stammered, before she muttered something that sounded like "Note to self: Keep Potter away from any female animals from now on."
"Ya know mate, for once…I don't envy you." Ron muttered as he and Neville helped the still stunned and out-of-sorts Harry towards the castle.
"Well, at least it wasn't the Horntail." Neville quipped.
"You totally jinxed it." Parvati stage whispered to Daphne, "I can't believe she did that!"
"Neither can we!" Susan replied. Then she noticed the look Hermione was giving the mare. "Hermione?"
"We are not adding a unicorn to our group." The brunette answered quietly, biting her lip as she tried to get a handle on her own emotions. Harry's mind was in too much of a confused state for her to contact him and ask how he was doing, but she could certainly tell how he was feeling. And she knew, so could the blonde and redhead. That kiss had affected Harry far more than any of them could have anticipated, if the throbbing, almost painful ache coming from the apex of her legs was any indication, and even that was just a faint echo of what she knew their lover must be feeling at that moment.
"What if a female centaur decided to snog him? Or lift her tail and offer him her snatch? Would you accept her?" Parvati asked salaciously with a grin, ignoring Hermione's return glare. Lavender shook her head.
"If one did do that, she'd likely get exiled from the herd as soon as they found out, that's of course, assuming Harry would ever meet a female Centaur, they're almost never seen by wizards, the stallions are extremely protective of their females."
'You felt it too, didn't you?' Daphne asked over the link. Hermione gave a short nod of affirmation as the mare turned to the rest of the girls, all of whom now seemed less eager to get too close.
'I did. I honestly have no idea what that means or how to feel about it. It was probably just the curse reacting, and not actually Harry's response.' Her eyes tracked the mare's movement as she tried to walk a few paces before the rope tying her to the tree stopped her. 'I don't even know what the Magical World's stance is on that sort of thing.'
'Honestly, it's a grey area. If it's an animagus, it's perfectly legal, just considered very weird. If it's an actual animal, that's where things get muddied. It's actually the other reason, besides the official one the Ministry gives, for Animagi being required to register. Both to stop the Ministry wasting time and as a way to catch those that are unregistered. Whenever they get a report like that, the first thing the Aurors will do is check the registry. If there's a match, they ignore it, if not, they investigate.' Susan replied.
'You know whats going to happen now, right?' Daphne asked, the other two gave a mental sigh.
'I can guess, though the ones who would give him the most trouble are now in prison, so the fallout probably, hopefully , won't be as bad.' Hermione said.
'At least until Rita finds out.' Daphne pointed out.
'If that bitch prints anything about this, I'll hunt her down and kill her, after I make her tell me her source, who will then also suffer.' Hermione growled.
'How do we know for sure it was the curse though? You felt his reaction. That couldn't have been all the curse. Besides, Fleur never said anything about this curse affecting or not affecting animals. Considering how hyper-sexed the veela who created it were, they were likely so desperate to fix themselves, they were willing to fuck anything with a dick, human or otherwise. Back then, bestiality was not only accepted as part of Greek society, it was part of their culture, hell, it was part of their religion and mythology. It's literally how we got centaurs.' Daphne pointed out. Hermione turned to give her lover a stern look, Grubbly-Plank and the rest of the class forgotten.
'This isn't Ancient Athens, Sparta or Carthage. I'm pretty sure our boyfriend doesn't want to stick his willy in a dragon's pussy, or a unicorn's for that matter. Unless one of us became an animagus with that form, then I think he'd be okay with that.'
'I'm not saying he does, I'm just saying we probably should have expected this. The dragon flashed her snatch at him for gods sake, intentionally or not. Honestly I'm surprised Harry was the only one who noticed she did it. And on that note, I'm surprised more girls around the school haven't tried to polish his broom with their tongues or fannies.'
'I'm pretty sure it might be the curse, or something else, though what I'm not sure. We'll just have to be more cautious now. And on the animagus thing, would you be okay with that?' Susan added in, unconsciously rubbing her thighs together.
Hermione shrugged, 'Well, sure, I mean, I did suggest it.'
Unseen by anyone present, a small, green horned beetle sat perched on the mare's head, among the hair of her mane, then, while everyone was distracted, the beetle took flight, and quickly made a getaway, while the mare watched the retreating form of Harry being helped by his friends, her expression one of sadness, she hadn't finished thanking the human that had saved her life all those years ago.
-=-=-=-
Talk of what had happened in Care of Magical Creatures soon made the rounds, and yet again, Harry found himself getting odd looks from students who snickered at him, some even making fake animal calls at his back as he walked passed. He did his best to ignore these new taunts. A few students even asked if Hermione, Luna, Susan or Daphne liked to wear fake horse tails in bed.
Thankfully, there was no mention of the incident in the Prophet , which he was very relieved about.
Though he did send a letter to Sirius, informing him of the odd occurrence and wanting his opinion on the matter. On suggestion from Hermione, he used Susan's barn owl Archimedes, after advising that Hedwig was too easy to recognise and track, though he made sure to give his own snowy owl some extra attention, which she grudgingly accepted as compensation.
As it would turn out, Harry and the girls were too distracted by the upcoming trials to remember Viktor's advice about the Egg, Harry did casually mention to Cedric in passing that he should drop it in water before opening it. Cedric had given him an odd look, but the two boys had been in a hurry to get to their respective classes, so Harry hadn't had the chance to elaborate.
They also continued to notice the strange glow around Fleur, which seemed to be rather inconsistent with how it behaved, and even manifested, as it wasn't always visible. Harry casually mentioned it to Neville on Tuesday during lunch, and the boy had looked towards the french contingent, his gaze glassing over slightly as he looked at Fleur, but a quick hand-squeeze from Hannah snapped him out of it.
Tilting his head, Neville scrutinised the beautiful blonde girl who was chatting with the Ravenclaws, or more specifically, Luna Lovegood. The young blonde seemed to be quite excited about something, and seemed to be asking Fleur all sorts of questions. Fleur for her own part, seemed a little flustered, but evidently happy to have someone to talk to who wasn't either drooling over her or trying to insult her. Neville was happy for the girl. He honestly didn't get the bad reputation Veela got.
Yes…he could see some sort of faint glow around Fleur, but it was difficult, he really had to squint, and he was starting to wonder if it was a trick of the light.
"Do you see it Han?" he asked his girlfriend, who followed his line of sight to Fleur and Luna, before shaking her head.
"I don't really see any glow about her, I mean, besides the 'radiance' all Veela are said to have. She's certainly not actually glowing. No idea what you guys are seeing."
"We don't see anything either." The Gryffindor Chasers spoke up, having caught some of the conversation.
-=-=-=-
"Harry? Harry Potter? Can I talk to you for a minute?" the unfamiliar voice made Harry pause as he walked through the halls, heading for the transfiguration courtyard during his free period on Wednesday. The girls were elsewhere working on assignments, Harry had already done his homework. Because of the upcoming trials, the teachers had seemingly decided to go easier on them on the homework front, though Harry was fully expecting them to lay it on thick next year to make up the difference.
Turning, he saw a fourth year witch with short brown hair making her way towards him, her robes and tie indicating her as a Hufflepuff, but one he didn't really know.
"Yes? May I help you?"
"My name is Poppy, Poppy Sweeting? You met my mother this past Saturday." The girl said, coming to a stop and smiling at him a little uncertainly.
"Oh, uh, yeah, hi. She's definitely very professional." Harry said.
"She is at that, as is my father. He works in the Department for the Care and Control of Magical Creatures. I heard about what happened in your last class on Monday. I've never heard of a unicorn behaving like that."
Harry shrugged as he started to assess this girl. She certainly didn't seem to be judging him, or mocking him.
"Neither has anyone else, apparently. Its kind of awkward if I'm honest." She nodded, a sympathetic look on her face.
"Yes, I imagine it is. I want to become a Magizoologist when I graduate. I just wanted to thank you for getting rid of that awful cur Malfoy."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Didn't go after you did he?"
"No, but I heard what he did to that beautiful Hippogriff last year. I only got to meet him once. He was so handsome. Absolutely gorgeous. " She smiled, her face reddening a little, though he assumed it was from the cold.
Harry blinked. Buckbeak? Buckbeak was fine, with Sirius, then it clicked. No-one else knew Buckbeak escaped.
"Ah yeah, Buckbeak, don't worry, he's fine, he's safe. He's with a friend."
"Really?" Poppy's eyes widened, a hopeful smile spread across her face, and Harry found himself smiling, this girl seemed to really like animals.
"Yeah, the Ministry gave Hermione a Time-Turner last year so she could take all the elective classes. We used it to rescue him."
Poppy blinked in confusion. "They gave a Third Year student access to a Time-Turner? Why in Merlin's name would they do that? Why in Merlin's name would she want that?!"
Harry shrugged with a smile, "That's Hermione for you. If there's a book she's not been read yet, I don't know of it."
'Prat!'
"I can't imagine that was easy on her." Poppy said, her tone a mix of admiration and bafflement.
"No, it wasn't. But yes, Buckbeak is perfectly safe and happy, living with a friend of mine, well, friend of my dad, actually."
"That's very good news. I saw what happened during the First Task, and I was hoping to ask you about that, I also heard what happened in your last Care class, as I said, and I was wondering…"
"What?" Harry asked a little nervously.
"Well, since magical animals seem to have suddenly taken such a liking to you, I was wondering if I could introduce you to a friend of mine. Really she's the only friend I have here."
"You probably need to expand your social circle a bit. But sure, I've got time." Harry said. Poppy grinned.
"That's great! Come on, it's not far, you can tell me about that trick you pulled with the Horntail on the way." And with that, she turned and headed off, looking over her shoulder to beckon him to follow.
As he started to follow, he put out a question.
'Susan, you know this girl?'
'Poppy Sweeting, daughter of our legal counsel. Probably best to minimise our interaction with her until after the trial, don't want any rumours of us establishing a friendship that could prove problematic for our solicitor in court.'
'Is that even a risk?' Daphne asked.
'Best air on the side of caution. As a Puff, I don't like it, but from a practical and legal standpoint, probably best to wait.' Susan replied, regretfully.
'What do you know of her?' Harry asked as he continued to follow Poppy out of the front doors of the castle and onto the lawn, he noticed they we're headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
'Not much. She keeps to herself. Spends more time with animals than humans. I've heard rumours that she went with her father in a couple of raids to bust up illegal poaching, smuggling and breeding operations, but nothing concrete.'
"So, about that dragon." Poppy said as he caught up with her.
"Oh, that, yeah, well, just figured the only humans she'd ever been around were pointing sticks at her, and I reasoned she was intelligent enough to realise that if I wasn't armed, then I wasn't a threat, and that the Golden Egg in her nest didn't belong there."
"That was… incredibly stupid and very… Gryffindor of you." She smiled, chuckling.
He snorted and rolled his eyes. Yes, it had been both very stupid and very Gryffindor of him.
"I'm just glad it worked and that I didn't lose an arm. I need all the fingers I've got." He said, smirking. Poppy blushed and stammered a reply.
"Y-yes, I guess you do at that. Anyway, when the dragon turned round, did you notice…"
"Did I notice her raising her tail and flashing me? Yes I did, and apparently, I'm probably the only one who did."
"You weren't. I saw it too. I'm not as familiar with dragons as I am with smaller magical animals, so what I saw was quite the surprise."
"Spend more time with magical animals than humans do you?" Harry asked. Poppy nodded.
"Yes, I just find magical animals easier to get along with and be around, well, besides my parents and my gran. Case in point, the friend I want to introduce you to. We're not far now."
A few more minutes of walking through the forest and Harry noticed that they'd entered a clearing. Grinning, Poppy stepped forward, stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled.
Harry looked around, not sure what to expect, then he heard the sound of flapping wings. Large ones. Turning, he looked up to see a white Hippogriff soaring over the trees and circling the clearing, angling down towards them as it chirped and called out a greeting.
He stayed back, remembering the last time he'd first met a Hippogriff, but Poppy showed no hesitation as she stepped forward, with a smile and a light laugh as the animal came to a stop in front of her, leaning it's large eagle-like head down to receive a pet and gentle scratch, its eyes closing briefly.
"Harry Potter, I'd like you to meet Highwing." She then stepped to the side, allowing the boy and Hippogriff to fully assess one another.
Remembering Hagrid's instructions with Buckbeak, and his own experiences, Harry squared his shoulders, straightened his back, then bowed deeply and held it. After a moment, he straightened up and met the golden eyes of the half eagle half horse, who held his gaze for a few seconds, before bowing just as deeply.
"Here, I snuck some food from the kitchens, see if she'll let you feed her." Poppy said, handing him a small pouch which he opened, finding a few pieces of roast chicken and beef. He hoped the House Elves didn't mind. Taking hold of a piece, he held it out, palm open.
Highwing scrutinised his offering before dipping her head and taking the offered meat, snapping it down. Several more pieces fallowed, then the Hufflepuff handed him a brush, before producing one of her own.
"I come out here whenever I, give her treats, groom her, spend time with her, tell her what's going on. I couldn't really do that last year because of the Dementors." Poppy spoke up.
Harry nodded, smiling as Highwing finished eating then extended a wing when she noticed him holding the brush, then did the same for Poppy.
"Never got the chance to groom or feed Buckbeak, after Draco acted like an idiot and got himself gored, the only chance I got to be near him again was when Hermione and I rescued him. As I said, he's safe with a friend now." Harry said reassuringly. Poppy grinned.
"I'm glad. It's a shame Buckbeak and Highwing never met, I like to think they would have got along quite well." Poppy said as she gently brushed Highwing's left flank, before moving down to her left back leg. "There you go." She cooed gently. "Beautiful, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is." Harry said, and he had to admit, she did have a regal grace about her. She looked well-cared for, more so than any typical wild animal. Almost as if she sensed what he was thinking, Highwing chirped quietly and he turned to look at her, giving her a gentle smile. In response, she leaned a little closer to him, into his touch as he ran his fingers through the soft fur under her wing, feeling the firm muscle beneath, along with the beat of her heart.
"I've never seen her take to someone else so quickly. She must really like you."
"At least she hasn't tried to kiss me." He said, jokingly, to which Poppy chuckled.
"Once you've earned a Hippogriff's trust, they'll always be there for you when you need them."
"So how long have you known Highwing?" Harry asked.
"A few years now, I was out with my father in the countryside, helping him round up some Unicorns that had stumbled across a muggle camping site. Or what we thought was a muggle camping site. Turned out it was an illegal breeding operation for Unicorns and Hippogriffs. They were trying to get the Unicorns and Hippogriffs to breed, both among themselves and with each other. I stopped a witch trying to force a Unicorn stallion to mount Highwing."
"Would that even work?" he asked, trying to imagine what a cross between a Unicorn and Hippogriff would look like."
"I'm not sure. I've never heard of a Unicorn crossbreeding with a Hippogriff. I have heard of them crossbreeding with Peggasi though, which is how you supposedly get Alicorns." Poppy replied. "Speaking of Unicorns, is it true what I heard? That you kissed a mare on Monday in front of your class?"
"There was kissing, and it involved a female Unicorn, but SHE started it. She just started eyeballing me, so I stepped forward, started petting her, then she started nuzzling my neck, then next thing I know, she's about to stick her tongue down my throat."
"Oh wow! That's…" Poppy trailed off, her face darkening more as she averted her gaze, seemingly unsure exactly what to say.
"You don't think it's gross?" He asked. Poppy blinked and averted her gaze again, seemingly not quite sure how to answer.
"It's…certainly unusual, especially for a Unicorn mare to do that to a boy, considering how skittish they usually are around male humans. In the past, when that sort of thing has happened, rare as those recorded instances were, it was usually a stallion and a witch."
"Seriously? That's actually happened?" he asked, moving towards Highwing's head, gently brushing her feathers.
She nodded. "It's the other reason Animagi are required to register, as there were a few instances of wizards and witches getting caught supposedly having sex with wild animals, only for those animals to turn into humans when disturbed and get rather irate." She paused, as if deciding how far to go with this. "As for actual animals, it's a bit more complicated, since magical animals are almost as intelligent as humans, and even non-magical animals will turn to humans if there is no other option for them. An animal doesn't need to speak English to consent to or offer sex. I've heard of some instances where the animals made the first move. And when someone makes deliberate advances signalling their willingness, what is that if not non-verbal consent?"
Harry blinked. This was a fair bit above his pay-grade, he reasoned.
"Uh, can't really comment there."
'Is that why they don't allow dogs at Hogwarts? I had wondered about that.' He thought.
'One of the reasons, the other was the typical issue of dogs making messes everywhere, getting aggressive, or students accidentally feeding their homework to said dogs. Supposedly.' Hermione replied.
After a few minutes, Poppy moved back to Highwing's face, gently stroking the Hippogriff's cheek. She chirped, nuzzled the human's hand, then spread and beat her wings, before running past Poppy and with a few wing-beats, took off and soared over the trees.
Thursday January 12
"Harry?"
Harry stopped as he heard the voice calling him, he turned, tensing when he noticed the boy approaching him wore Slytherin robes.
He'd seen the boy round the castle but never really interacted with him. He was tall, well built with dark blonde/brown hair, and he carried himself with an air of self-confidence that surprisingly lacked the arrogance he'd come to see in those of Slytherin, or at least most of them.
"Yes? Have we met?" Harry asked, the boy winced as he drew up short.
"Okay, I guess I should start by introducing myself. Sebastian Sallow. I'm sorry we never met before now, Draco and his lackeys always made sure to warn us off talking to you, plus he and Snape didn't present a very nice picture of you over these last few years. But, I'm happy we finally get to meet." The boy, Sebastian, said, offering his hand.
Hesitantly, Harry shook it.
"I wanted to thank you, for helping get rid of them. Things in Slytherin have improved a great deal since they were taken."
"Did you know what he was doing?" Harry asked, cutting right to the chase. Sebastian sighed and nodded, looking more than a little regretful, which scored him at least some points in Harry's book.
"Yes, my sister and I both knew. At first I tried reporting it to Snape when I saw the first instance, but that didn't go anywhere. I wasn't aware of every instance of it happening, just the two instances I saw last year and the one my sister Anne saw." Sebastian said, looking disgusted.
"Your sister? Did any of them try anything with her?" Harry asked.
"My twin, Anne, and no, they wouldn't have dared. Uncle Solomon is an ex-Auror, one letter from either me or Anne, and he would have had a group of Aurors in here within a day of getting the message. Thinking back, I can't understand why neither of us told him what was going on. Our own misplaced faith in Snape handling the situation I suppose, though that's no excuse."
"Perhaps." Harry said.
"I think Lucius probably told Draco to leave me and Anne alone specifically for that reason after I confronted Draco that first time I saw him attack Imelda Reyes, he was all cocky swagger 'I'm the Prince of Slytherin. I can do whatever I want! When my father blah-blah-blah!' hmph! I told him that I didn't give a troll's arse what his daddy would do, I only cared about what my uncle, an ex-Auror, would do once he found out what was going on. I'm guessing after that he wrote to daddy to complain, and got told to leave me and Anne alone. I guess someone in that family has some brains after all."
"You should have written your uncle. Might have gotten this sorted last year." Harry said. Sebastian sighed again, nodding.
"I was going to then Snape came in and put an end to the whole thing, telling me he'd take care of it all. Clearly he didn't."
"Clearly not." Harry muttered.
"Look, I know you don't have a high opinion of our House, we all know that, and we all know why, I just wanted you to know you've actually helped make things better in Slytherin, for all of us. The girls especially are grateful for what you did. If you hadn't gone after him, there's no telling how much longer this would have gone on. I dare say you might have made some allies in Slytherin."
"Why didn't any of you try and stop him more directly?" Harry asked.
"I think, though I can't be sure, that if one of us reported him to the Aurors, Snape would have known, and I think you can imagine how unpleasant he would have made things for us if he even suspected one of his house had sold out Draco, and by chance, also put him at risk, well…"
"I thought Slytherin was all about getting one over on your housemates to get an advantage." Harry said. Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"That was Draco's and Snape's way of doing things. Cleverness and ambition are valued in Slytherin yes, but also cunning above all else. And cutthroat politics honestly isn't very cunning now is it? That's a symptom of selfishness and paranoia."
In the distance, the school bells started to ring.
"Well, I've got to get to class. I'll see you around Harry, and again, thanks." And with that, Sallow gave him a courteous nod, turned, and walked away.
"Okay…that was odd." Harry muttered as he turned and headed off in the other direction, heading for Charms class.
'A little, but I'm glad someone from Slytherin made the effort to approach you and thank you.' Susan said over the link.
'Sebastian and his sister are pretty decent people Harry. Sebastian is loyal to those he calls friend, though not many in Slytherin would count themselves on that list, mainly because of Draco.' Daphne added.
Harry pondered the encounter as he headed for Charms, wondering who else had tried to report Draco and subsequently failed.
-=-=-=-
The only thing that really happened of note on Friday was Sirius' reply to his earlier letter, which arrived at breakfast, and was a moving photograph of Sirius rolling around on the floor, apparently having a fit or seizure of some sort, though Hermione pointed out he was just laughing so hard he couldn't stand, or sit. There was also a note from Remus:
He was like this for nearly an hour, kept going on about how surprised he is that in all the ways you could take after your mum, it would be that.
Hermione read the note, blinked several times and blushed with embarrassment as she tried to process what Remus really meant.
"What's he implying by that?!" Harry yelped, staring in wide-eyed Horror at the note, as if Remus had just betrayed him in the worse way.
"Well, he's probably referring to your mum… experimenting with your dad's Animagus form, Prongs, since that is actually legal—" Susan tried to explain before Harry clapped his hands over his ears.
"Nope! Can't hear you! You're not talking!" he protested.
Smiling at him, Susan decided to distract him, and slipped a hand into his lap, and into his trousers, and proceeded to make Harry's Friday morning worse, or better, depending on who you asked. Quickly grabbing her bowl of cereal and slipping it under the table, she used her hand to extract his shaft from his trousers as she worked him over, making sure to catch his offering in her cereal bowl, then mixed it into her milk and cornflakes, which she then offered to share a blushing Daphne, who smiled in thanks.
Later that day, he and the girls were called to Dumbledore's office to go over final preparations for the following days events, which went as well as any of them could have expected.
After they left, Dumbledore sat at his desk, contemplating. There was nothing more he could do about the trial, Draco's and Snape's fates were now out of his hands, Harry's fate though was still very much uncertain. He hoped Miss Granger would make arrangements soon for their summer months, or he would have to do it himself, and as much as he knew they would object, he still believed Privet Drive was the best place for Harry. Albus would just have to impress upon Petunia that her nephew's life now depended on the assistance of others they would have to allow into their home.
He knew Petunia would likely object, but surely she would see it was for the best ultimately. It had to be Privet Drive, it was the only place he was safe outside of Hogwarts, no where else would do. He was sure he could still persuade them. He had tried during the meeting, but they had all refused, Harry especially, but he was determined. As a muggle though, Petunia's opinion carried little to no weight, even if she was Harry's only living relative by blood, at least direct.
Things would work out the way he knew they would.
Saturday January 14th, 1995
Ministry of Magic, Court Room 10, 10am.
Harry sat between Hermione and Luna, with Susan and Daphne to Hermione's right, and Remus Lupin to Luna's left. Further along, the other witnesses and aggrieved parties sat in the hard stone seats looking down at the floor at the centre of the courtroom, as well as Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Sinistra. The rest of the gallery, the Wizengamot, started filing in.
Everyone was tense.
Though they had been assured that this trial was just a formality at this point, there was enough evidence to put Draco, and likely Snape, away for life, but procedure had to be followed. So they all had to testify.
After they had entered, the rest of the Wizengamot started to file in.
When everyone was seated, Susan leaned over. She whispered to Harry, pointing out a rather stern-looking woman in a rather nice suit, who seemed to have a rather nasty scowl on her face as she glared at a brunette sitting across the room from her, who was busy going through her notes.
"I think that's their barrister, Tempeste Thorne, who works for a man named Theophilus Harlow; they work for a law firm named Wolfram and Hart. Both very unpleasant people. And likely friends of Malfoy Senior." Susan whispered.
"Wolfram and Hart…I've heard of them, aren't they a muggle law firm though? Based out of Los Angeles in the States?" Hermione asked, Susan shook her head.
"They're global. They have a branch office in every major city on most countries. They operate in both the muggle and magical worlds, though the side that deals with the magical tends to lean heavily towards the dark arts. And I mean heavily. And before you ask, no, I don't know how or why the ICW has let them operate; apparently, they've been around a long time. "
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks. That did not sound very good in their opinion. If anything, it downright unnerved Harry to think there was a global magical law firm that catered to the dark arts.
It was then that the last people came in; the court scribe, which Harry wasn't surprised to see was one Percy Weasley - Minister Fudge, and his Under Secretary.
"All rise!" Rufus Scrimgeour said, and the entire room stood. "This court is now in session, for the joint trials of Draco Malfoy, Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson, on this the Fourteenth of January, Nineteen Ninety-Five, the Honourable Judge Christopher Whitemore presiding."
An wizard who looked to be in his sixties entered the room and took his place at the bench, before looking around at the assembled people.
"Be seated. Bring in the accused!"
Once everyone was seated, the far doors opened and a group of Aurors came in, escorting several people who were led to the six stone chairs at the centre of the room. As each one was forced into the chair, iron chains snapped up to wrap around their forearms and legs, securing them in place.
Directly opposite the chairs was a dais with a table on it, where their solicitor, Violet Sweeting, took up a position, as she was representing the prosecution, she would go first.
Then the charges were read.
Harry grit his teeth with rage as the full list of charges, including the ones filed after Draco's arrest, were laid out for everyone to hear.
Multiple counts of sexual assault alone for Draco. Whether that was only against Daphne, or all the girls whose families had pressed charges, it wasn't stated. To his right, Daphne whimpered as the counts were read. Susan and Hermione each offered their support.
The complete list of charges, against all of them combined, came to:
1 count of using an Unforgivable, 30 counts of Sexual Assault, 30 counts of being an accessory for Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, including 2 counts for Bulstrode and Nott, as they had only participated in the last assault against Daphne and participated in the kidnappings, along with 24 counts of assault and harassment on all six Slytherin girls including Daphne, and Hermione.
10 counts of Kidnapping. 1 count of Attempted Line Assassination of a Most Noble and Ancient family; the Potters, and 1 count of Attempted Line Assassination of a Noble Family; the Bones. When that charge had been read by Violet Sweeting, the look Amelia Bones directed at Draco could have frozen a supernova.
Then the two counts of using a borderline Unforgivable.
When all the charges were read, Draco was stone-faced, glaring straight ahead at nothing. Pansy looked ill, though whether that was from guilt or the weeks she'd spent in Azkaban, Harry wasn't sure, but she did look defeated, she was crying silently. He could see it in her puffy, dark eyes. She was fucked and she knew it.
Crabbe and Goyle at first had looked confused during the charge-reading, but once it was over, it seemed to finally dawn on the two idiots just how screwed they were. Their faces began to show panic and fear. Harry found himself wondering how long it would take for Azkaban to drive those two mad.
Nott just sat, looking up into the crowd of onlookers but otherwise showed no reaction, though he did seem to look somewhat remorseful. The small group followed his line of gaze to a couple sat high in the back, a quiet, ashamed-looking wizard and a quietly sobbing witch, his parents.
"How do the Defendants plead?" Whitemore spoke, his face stern, his eyes hard as he regarded all of them with a look of utter contempt.
Harry knew, that's to the preparation they'd all done over the past two weeks since Snape's arrest, that if any of them pled guilty, then those who did would likely be sentenced at the end of the hearing, but those who didn't…for once, Harry found himself wishing Draco was smart enough to plead guilty, thus sparing Daphne and the other girls the trauma of having to recount every experience they likely now remembered. Again.
He looked over at the other girls who were sat separated from them, yet together, all of them glaring at Draco, all of them from Slytherin, but different years. There was at least one he recognised as the seventh year Prefect.
Draco just sat in his chair, glaring up at them, at Daphne specifically, but his gaze travelled over all of them in turn, and when it came to rest on him, it turned positively hostile . Harry couldn't help but smirk at him in return and mouthed "Thanks for all the blowjobs, you worthless bastard."
The hate in Draco's eyes only seemed to get worse at that comment, but Draco then moved his gaze up behind Harry, and it became searching. Harry didn't need to look to know he was looking at his father, silently asking for help. Clearly none was forthcoming.
Out of all of them, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were the only ones to plead Guilty, their expressions made it clear they knew they were not going to win this, and they just wanted it over with as fast as possible.
The look the others gave them, particularly the two boys when they entered their plea clearly indicated they'd expected at least Crabbe and Goyle to show some form of solidarity. Draco looked the most affronted at their apparently betrayal.
"Let the record show that Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Millicent Bulstrode pled Not Guilty to all counts. Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle pled Guilty to all counts. This court has made the choice to forego the use of Veritaserum, and instead will be employing Oath of Truth wards, applied to the chairs and the Witness Stand, which I will now activate." Whitemore said, the court scribe, Percy Weasley, furiously scribbling.
A sob from further behind them and to the left pointed out Pansy's parents. Two more sobs located Crabbe and Goyle's parents. Harry wasn't sure who was more surprised, him, Daphne or Draco when Crabbe and Goyle pled guilty.
Then their lawyer, Violet spoke up, standing and turning to address the gallery, she laid a familiar looking book on the desk in front of her.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court, I have here Exhibit A, a book called 'The Dark Arts of Sex Magic' full of dark magic, much of it of a sexual nature. I intend to prove to this Court that Draco Malfoy willingly and intentionally used a curse he found in this book against Miss Granger, fellow Hogwarts student, an act that also resulted in cursing his rival, Mister Potter. Then again, a week later, he would try again, this time aiming for the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass, whom Draco also stands accused of assaulting multiple times."
She paused for a moment, letting the assembled audience digest that statement. "And here, I have written statements from Draco Malfoy's victims, all detailing the various assault or witness statements." Then she turned and picked up the book.
"The curse in question he used is one called 'The Touch of The Harpy' , it is considered a borderline Unforgivable and fell out of favour many centuries ago. It magically stops the victim's body from absorbing any nourishment from any food they eat or drink, no matter how much they consume, they will just get hungrier and hungrier, and more and more fatigued. Eventually losing all physical strength, and eventually, after at least several days, slipping into a coma, and if measures are not immediately taken at that point, death follows. And there is no known cure, only a form of treatment that must be administered constantly, at least every twelve hours."
She paused to let that sink in before she continued. "Once treatment is administered, the magical blocks on the body are temporarily lifted, allowing them to function normally, at least for a few hours. In a way, the curse forces the victim's body to function exactly the same way as a Succubus or Incubus body would function: drawing strength and nutriments not from food, but from sex."
Harry exchanged looks with the girls, wondering if it was worth speaking up and letting everyone know there was actually a cure, but that it was only effective on women.
The audience started to whisper and murmur once more, Harry noticed that the other girls who Draco had assaulted were now giving him and his girls sympathetic looks, most of them had a light of understanding in them, likely now realising why he and Hermione had been so 'active' in the corridors around the castle, enough to be caught by Skeeter at least.
Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him, though it was tempered by the looks those around them were now giving him. Clearly they remembered Rita's article that had plastered his and Hermione's sex life across the Prophet , and had put two and two together.
Some wizards were even giving him envious looks.
Then he noticed the smirk on Draco's face, though that smirk was tempered by a scowl of annoyance. It was clear to all four of them that Draco hadn't expected them to figure out the solution in time. It made Harry want to throw another Diffindo at him, or maybe even that cutting curse they'd found in that potions book.
Violet Sweeting then turned to address Draco directly.
"Mister Malfoy, lets start with with that. This book, how did you find out about it and where did you get it? And how long did you have it in your possession and why did you choose Miss Granger as your first target? I remind you that you are under an Oath of Truth ward, you cannot lie while you're in that chair."
Harry frowned. He'd never heard of that ward before, and he did find it odd that they weren't forcing Veritaserum down his throat.
"Veritaserum doesn't really give one a chance to defend themselves, plus they couldn't take the risk that someone had already slipped him the antidote. Also, the serum only makes you say what you believe to be true, which I know in this case is irreverent, but if someone were to drink it and then get asked a question, and they believed they knew the correct answer, they would give it, even if that answer is actually wrong." Susan whispered.
"Then why even use the serum? What would giving him the antidote first do?" He asked.
"If you give someone the antidote to Veritaserum then administer the serum, it turns into a poison as fast-acting as cyanide. If someone had slipped him the antidote, then they tried to give him the serum, he'd be dead before they could get him out of the room to St Mungo's. As for why it's still used in interrogations, it's generally not used to answer general knowledge questions. Usually the questions are specific for that reason. What is your name, your date of birth, where were you on such and such, did you do this, did you see that, and so on." Daphne said.
"This Oath of Truth ward is basically a powerful lie-detection ward that detects when anyone sat in the chair lies when questioned by reading their physical responses. The only potential flaw is when the one being questioned is telling a lie they genuinely believe to be the truth. In that way it's similar to Veritaserum, but there's no magical or potion counter to it, and you can still lie, it's just that the consequences for doing so are…unpleasant . " She smirked, gave Draco a weathering glare, then continued. "There's also a bowl-loosening hex built into that ward and is activated if he or the others try to lie." Remus explained with a slight grin. "So if they do , we'll be able to tell."
After a moment, Malfoy still hadn't spoken. Then he finally did, through gritted teeth.
"I've had the book since we started Fourth Year at Hogwarts. I found it in the Slytherin House private library." He ground out.
"Who told you about it?" Violet asked. Draco grit his teeth again, eyes screwing shut and his face colouring with effort.
"I…I can't say."
"You can't say?" Violet asked, eyebrow raised.
Murmuring started up in the gallery, even Harry found that odd.
"Son of a bitch." Remus whispered. The others turned to look at him. "Someone doesn't want him talking. Whoever gave him that book must have then placed that knowledge under the Fidelius charm, and it must have been recently. Draco can't tell us who gave him the book, because he no longer knows."
"Is there a way to counteract that?" Harry asked, he recalled the conversation he'd overheard in The Three Broomsticks about Sirius' supposed betrayal of his family, he momentarily grit his teeth in anger. If only he could go back to that day and tell all of them at that table they were wrong. Remus shook his head.
"No, I don't think even Veritaserum would have worked. The Fidelius is one of the best ways to protect something, most of the time. My aunt could tell you more later." Susan replied before Remus could speak.
"Why did you choose Miss Granger as your target? And why also hit Mister Potter?" Violet asked. Draco sneered.
"Why not? She's a Mudblood whore! Always quoting books word for word, she's a stuck-up know-it-all Ravenclaw pretending to be a Gryffindor, always has to answer every question. Always has to be the best. I thought it was time she got put in her place, and that mouth got put to better use, servicing her betters. Had Potter not interfered, she would have either starved to death before figuring out what to do, or would have eventually had to accept the reality her station, get down on her knees and realise that all her mouth is good for is being filled with dick. Though she probably didn't know what to even do with a dick without reading a book first."
Harry wasn't sure if the spike of murderous rage that overcame him was his own, Hermione's, Susan's, Daphne's, or all of the above. He very nearly jumped to his feet, intending to somehow leap across the chamber, wrap his hands around that bastard's neck and twist.
The reaction from those around them wasn't much different. Angry shouts erupted, namely from the witches, but also from some of the wizards. The other girls Draco had assaulted, of which there were 6 or so, were probably the loudest.
Hermione found herself truly surprised by the outpouring of support the other girls, all Slytherin, were seemingly showing, even if not directly. Most of these girls were not a fan of her, at least those that acknowledged her existence.
Draco meanwhile was smirking, but suddenly, the smirk vanished and his eyes widened first in surprise, then horror. His face lost all colour then flushed red in embarrassment and he started to fidget in his seat, but the chains held him fast, he then cringed, and Harry grinned. The charms on the chair had kicked in, a fact that was reaffirmed when he saw the tears of humiliation starting to build in Draco's eyes.
It was even more obvious when the two sat to either side of Draco sniffed, looked at him with disgust, then turned their heads, even leaning away from him as much as they could.
"Odd, I'd have thought it would have acted faster." He muttered. Next to Luna, Remus cringed, Harry suddenly remembered that as a werewolf, Remus had a sense of smell far stronger than humans. A pang of sympathy for his former Professor surged through him, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
The yelling was soon brought under control by three loud bangs that echoed through the chamber, the Judge calling for order.
Draco's barrister didn't look any happier than Violet did, though perhaps for a different reason. Her client was effectively putting his own head in a noose with every word he spoke, worse, he looked like he took pride in what he'd just said, at least until he filled his briefs.
Defending him certainly wasn't going to be easy. She was definitely charging extra for this.
Draco now looked very uncomfortable, his eyes darting left and right, no doubt looking for help that wasn't coming. After a moment of struggling, he seemed to give up, then looked like he had decided to forge ahead.
"I didn't intend to hit Potter, but once I had I realised what a bonus that was. I knew that he likely wouldn't figure out what he had to do before he starved to death, and even if he did, the idiot is too selfless and noble that he'd rather die than ask a girl for permission to stick his face between her legs. Though given his only option was Granger, I could actually respect him choosing death over sticking his face in that. "
A growl started to work it's way up Harry's throat as he leaned forward, preparing to stand, but a hand on his shoulder from behind stopped him, and he looked back over his shoulder, glaring, only to meet the stern face of Auror Singer who gave a slight shake of her head, though her gaze was sympathetic.
"I mean, he very nearly did. I heard he'd started refusing to go muff diving, and got so weak he passed out during one of our Defence lessons, ended up in the Hospital wing where Granger had to force-feed him, apparently. Though she wasn't alone." He added, sending a glare at Daphne, who glared right back.
Harry raised an eye-brow, wondering just how Draco could have heard such a thing. Then again, considering the Hogwarts gossip and rumour mills, it wasn't a total surprise.
"Who was with her?" Violet asked, her expression measured.
"Daphne Greengrass." Draco snarled.
"Ah, so that's why you then targeted her sister." Violet stated.
At this, Tempeste spoke up, "Objection! Speculation."
"Overruled." Whitemore said.
"In fact, that brings us to the other list of charges against you. You're repeatedly assaulting Miss Greengrass, each time followed by the application of a memory charm. At least 15 counts that we know of over the last year. And she wasn't the only one, there are six other women in this room who you violated similarly, just not as frequently. Where did you learn the memory charm?"
"Lockhart taught me." Draco drawled.
"Why were you so fixated on Greengrass?"
Draco looked like he was thinking for a moment, considering his words.
"I'm next in line to inherit the position of Family Head for the House Black. There is a marriage contract between House Malfoy and Parkinson so that I would need another. Greengrass was the best option, as her family has many connections, and historically, they have shown their support for proper Wizarding families and causes." Draco said confidently.
To his right, Harry heard Daphne snort derisively. "You don't know anything you little shite." She muttered.
"So you thought the best way to court her and her family was to have your friends pin her down to a table while you sexually assaulted her, then wiped her memory of the event. Hardly the best, or smartest approach." Violet cut in, looking like she wanted to kick Draco in the balls herself. "What about the other girls in Slytherin you attacked? Were you 'courting' them too?"
Tempeste looked like she wanted to Silencio Draco and shut him up, as the more he spoke, the more impossible he was making her job.
Draco shook his head, while glaring at Crabbe and Goyle, who had their heads bowed.
"I didn't touch any of them, but Crabbe and Goyle are useless with the memory charm."
Draco's eyes then suddenly shot open, and his face seemed to loose all colour again. Now he definitely looked uncomfortable, and those sitting to either side of him were now actively trying to lean as far away from him as possible, looks of disgust on their faces.
"Evidently, that is not the case." Violet said, glaring at him, as she made a mental note not to get too close.
Again there were murmured whispers and even a few cries of outrage. Hermione and Daphne felt their own indignation rise, the thought of those girls being pawed at by those two primates was somehow even worse than the thought of Draco doing it.
"No wonder Crabbe and Goyle pled guilty." Susan muttered.
"Objection! Speculation." Tempeste spoke up, actually looking rather relieved that she finally had a way to interrupt the questioning.
"Overruled."
"So why kidnap so many of Mister Potter's friends? If you wanted to get his attention, surely you could have thought of a better way. I remind you to be honest Mister Malfoy." Sweeting inquired.
Draco actually shrugged, well, as best he could with the chains binding him. It was clear by the look on his face that he now understood what the detection ward did, and he seemed to slump a little in defeat and humiliation, though the hate still burned in his eyes.
"Greengrass's sister and her friend Davis were a warning to her. The squib Longbottom and his Huffleslut and that Ravenclaw airhead were just a convenient bonus. It's not a full day if one doesn't take advantage of an opportunity to remind the Weasels of their place in our society. At the bottom of the ladder." At this he sent a condescending look towards Percy, who paused momentarily to glare back at him. He flinched again, evidently the bowl-loosening hex had triggered again, though it was impossible to say which statement had triggered it. Harry silently found himself wondering if Draco's bowels had anything left in them, then decided he didn't really want an answer.
"So, let's get to the final charge. Casting an Unforgivable. You do realise that carries a life sentence do you not Mister Malfoy?"
Draco snorted. "After the hexes she hit me with? It took Pomfrey ages to reverse the damage!"
More murmuring and whispers of outrage and disbelief. Violet raised an eyebrow.
"You got hit with a breast-enlargement jinx and you had your face transfigured into a vagina, and you think that justifies trying to kill someone?"
Several gasps, and more than a few chuckles, giggles and outright laughter echoed around the room. Draco looked up and glared around the room, his eyes alight with indignation and fury. The Quartet could practically hear him saying in his own head 'When my father hears about this!' They could pretty much see it in his eyes, even though Lucius was also in the room.
"Oh Merlin! Why did she have to remind me of that?!" Ron moaned somewhere to their right. This drew several more laughs from those in the room, until Whitemore banged his gavel and called for order.
"Of course it did! That bitch disfigured me! If Pomfrey hadn't stopped and reversed the enlargement jinx when she did, I probably would have bled to death when my chest exploded! " Draco cried.
"You say it like that would've been a bad thing." Susan muttered.
"I think you're over exaggerating Mister Malfoy. Perhaps you were hoping or planning to use this curse on one of your victims?"
At this, Tempeste spoke up. "Objection! Speculation."
"Sustained."
"No further questions for this Defendant your Honour." Violet said, before she moved on to Millicent.
Bulstrode's questioning pretty much went the same way. She had helped Draco out of familial loyalty, as houses Bulstrode and Malfoy apparently had close ties for nearly a century. Plus, she'd always seen Hermione as her biggest intellectual rival, and apparently she hadn't forgotten the little tussle she and Hermione had in second year during one of Lockhart's defence classes. Hermione certainly remembered. The Slytherin girl had her in a headlock until the fight had been broken up. Hermione felt for sure the girl had been trying to break her neck.
Then came the time for the first witnesses to be called, Harry was first. Tempeste was the one to question him.
"Mister Potter, how would you describe your relationship with the accused?" she asked cordially. Harry considered his words, his immediate reaction was to answer that it was pretty much antagonistic, which was ghostly the truth, but something told him she was looking to try and bait him.
"Honestly? Not the best. We've been pretty much rivals since we met in Diagon Alley our first year, in Madam Malkin's, he made some off-hand comments about Muggle-borns that didn't really sit right with me, he also said he hoped to be in Slytherin, the house Voldemort belonged to." Harry said, rolling his eyes at the shivers and murmurs from the people in the room. "I decided then and there that I didn't want to be in the same house as the creature that killed my family, nor did I want anything to do with someone who thought that particular mind-set was a good one."
Harry wasn't sure if anyone else saw the scowl that decorated Tempeste's face, at least for a moment, or if it was just him.
"Rivals. A rivalry that has often turned to physical violence, has it not?" Tempeste said.
"Not on my account, I've never attacked or hurt Malfoy directly." Harry said.
"Is that so? And yet, the day after you and Miss Granger were released from the Hospital Wing you attacked Mister Malfoy while entering your potions classroom." Tempeste said, seeming rather smug. Harry's eyes narrowed. He was starting to wonder what she had been told.
"After what happened? What he did? What did you expect me to do Miss Thorne? Shake his hand, smile and say 'Thanks Draco.'?" Harry replied.
The questioning continued like that for a while, Tempeste doing her best to try and paint Harry as the instigator of all of the confrontations between him and Malfoy, but with every recounting, Draco just came off more and more as the instigator.