Astoria: Astoria was walked into the wizengamot courtroom by the same two aurors that had arrested her. A cold stone expression sat on her face as her shoes clinked against the polished stone floor. She was quickly seated in the middle of the large round room and her eyes glanced over the council and Minister. She daren’t look behind her, knowing that Blaise as well as Padma, Ron and Harry would be there. She felt as though the room was engulfing her, the large walls and high ceiling, encasing her but at the same time expanding. Feeling every eye on her as she waited…

Kingsley: Kingsley looked down at the blonde woman seated before him. “Astoria Greengrass, you have been brought here because you are accused of assaulting, stunning and obliviating Miss Padma Patil. How do you plead to the charge?”

Astoria: Astoria looked up at her former boss, “I plead guilty.” She looked him dead in the eye, trying to block out everyone else.

Kingsley: “Well, I must inform you, Miss Greengrass, that if you do avoid Azkaban, we will no longer need you at the ministry.” He said staring her down before shuffling the papers in front of him. “I’d like to call the first witness, please.”

Astoria: She blinked a nod and bit her lip as she heard Padma stand and work her way down to where Astoria was sat. Another chair appeared a few feet next to her, and the aurors quickly stood either side of Astoria as Pamda sat down.

 Blaise: Blaise leaned forward a bit in his seat as he watched his lover intently. Chewing on his thumbnail, his eyes moved from Astoria to Padma.

Padma: Padma made her way down to the seat only a few meters away from Astoria, shaking almost uncontrollably. Wiping her sweaty hands against her skirt, she placed herself on the chair overwhelmed by the amount of people present. Taking a deep breath and sat up straight, not wanting to look intimidated before looking to Ron for comfort.

Ron: Ron gave Padma a reassuring smile but he knew it wouldn’t help. He looked at the blonde head for a moment and frowned before checking the aurors’ were protecting Padma from her enough. He gave an almost sad smile to Kingsley and leaned back in his chair.

Kingsley: Kingsley leaned forwards slightly looking at Padma. “Miss Patil, can you tell me in your own words what happened?”

Padma: She looked up at Kingsley and gulped lightly, quizzing her brow. “D-Do you mean what happened when I had the dream?”

Astoria: Astoria had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at Padma’s comment. Instead, she focused on the extremely cheap shoes of the auror next to her.

Kingsley: “Yes, please.” Kingsley said with a nod. “The dream would be a good place to start.”

 Padma: She nodded shakily in return before clearing her throat. “The evening went like usual and a couple of hours in my dreams became….very real.” she shuddered and took another deep breath before continuing.. “It felt familiar… I remember feeling angered for some reason and there was a knock on the door…so I answered it”. Padma’s hands tremored steadily, she shifted, placing them between her knees to try and suppress her nerves…not that it would help at all. “She barged in and stunned me. Bound me. Broke some of my possessions, poured red wine over me and….and obli-…obl-” she coughed. “Took my memory” she finished, looking down to study her shoes.

 Blaise: Blaise’s eyes closed, pained as he listened to Padma’s retelling of what had transpired. He swallowed, his mouth feeling extremely dry. He licked his lips and let out a shaky breath. His forehead was creased. He had known that it had been bad, but not quite so bad. He slowly opened his eyes upon Padma finishing and leaned back in his seat slowly.

Kingsley: Kingsley listened to Padma intently. “And when did you have this dream, Miss Patil?

Padma: “Over a month ago now. I…I can’t recall exactly” she replied, tapping her foot nervously against the stone floor. “Ron was with me though, he took the memory to give to the other Aurors as evidence and we came here straight away…”

Ron: He nodded along with everything Padma said, looking over to Harry every so often. “She’ll get what she deserves,” he whispered under his breath once he noticed how agitated Blaise was.

Harry: Harry gave a sharp nod towards Ron before diverting his attention back to the middle of the court where Astoria and Padma were both seated, listening closely.

Kingsley: He thought for a moment, before looking to the aurors in the room. “Can I see this memory, please?”

Astoria: Astoria suddenly gasped, looking up from the floor at the minister, her eyes wide and frightened.

Padma: She let out a sharp breath and her eyes widened. There was no way that she wanted to recall that evening again.. Though she was too scared to say this to Kingsley and certainly didn’t want Astoria to think she was a wuss about it. Padma raked her hands through her hair and sat forward as she tried to suppress a pained expression on her features and stared at the floor, glancing at Ron and stealing quick looks at Blaise every so often.

Blaise: Blaise swallowed hard as he watched Astoria’s reaction. Seeing nothing in her reaction that he liked he bowed his head and put his hands over his face, shaking his head a bit as his eyes stung.

Kingsley: “I suggest that I see this alone first?” He said, scanning the room. “I’ll decide how to proceed afterwards.”

Astoria: She let out a sigh of relief that the whole court wouldn’t see the memory, knowing they would unlikely let her off lightly if they were to. She looked over at Padma but only saw her knee through the auror. Her sudden movement jolted a camera flash and her eyes blinked against the light, trying her best to ignore it.

Ron: Ron shook his head at Kingsleys words, he had wanted the court to see it, to know what Padma had gone though. A surge of anger flowed through his body and he bore his eyes to the back of her head while the flashes of light engulfed her.

Kingsley: He waited until a pensieve with the memory was placed in front of him, before cautiously watching the memory alone. Once he was done, he looked at the two women in front of him. “I may call for the rest of the court to see this after i have finished my questioning.” he said calmly. “Miss Patil, when was it that you realised you had been obliviated?”

Blaise: Blaise’s fingers dug into the armrests of the chair he resided in as he looked around the room, his body tense. He swallowed as he looked at his lover before his eyes met Kingsley. He let out a shaky breath and swallowed, his eyes once more moving back to the young woman being questioned

Harry: Harry placed a supportive hand on his friend’s shoulder, watching with serious eyes as the proceedings continued.

Padma: Padma clasped her hands together and nodded at Kingsley before answering the next question… “I..uhm. Well I wasn’t aware that anything had happened until I saw Ron again. When he told me that I’d seemed to have forgotten the past few months then it seemed to form in my head as a possibility… I knew for definite that I’d been obliviated when I had an appointment at St. Mungo’s a few days later…” she concluded, leaning back slightly.

Astoria: She listened to Padma’s retelling, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Fighting a huge urge to turn back and find strength in Blaise’s face. She breathed, knowing it would instead make the whole thing 100 times worse. Astoria looked up around the court and made contact with a middle-aged man. She gave him her best impression of an innocent and deeply sorry woman before turning to look back down.

Blaise: He found himself chewing on his lower lip as he glanced around him a bit for old friends of the Greengrasses, or even of him. He wondered for a moment if Draco and Granger were behind him, watching the trial, though he wouldn’t exactly bet on it. Well…Hermione maybe. If only so she could silently give her friends a look of “I told you so” in regards to Astoria. He was listening intently however, and his eyes moved back to Padma as soon as she concluded her statement, wondering if she was going to be prompted to continue.

Kingsley: “Thank you, Miss Patil, I don’t think I have any more questions at the moment.” Kingsley looked around the courtroom. “Miss Greengrass, what happened on the night you obliterated Miss Patil?”

Padma: She nodded and walked a little shakily to where Ron was sat and sidled in next to him, grasping onto his hand and letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Ron: Ron smiled at her as she came to his side. When she sat he kissed her hand and mouthed well done.

Astoria:  Astoria sat bolt upright, adjusting her clothing before gently clearing her throat. “We had been arguing. It started a few days before. I found out she had se-she sle-” Astoria paused, taking a breath, “that she had been with my boyfriend back in school. I am a proud woman Minister and seemingly a silly one as well.” She gave a sad smile, “Our fight turned nasty. Both trying to get a rise out of the other. I snapped, she had challenged me and I snapped.” Astoria looked down, her hands clamming then quickly looked back up to Kingsley. “I apparated to her flat and-well you know the rest. I deeply regret every action I made that night. And I know my apologies will never suffice.” Astoria let her eyes water a little and gave a little nod of respect to the minister and court.  

Kingsley: “Miss Greengrass, other than taking Miss Patil’s memory, did you harm her or attempt to harm her? Did you take or destroy any of her personal possessions or attempt to take or destroy them?” Kingsley looked at the Blonde in the chair of the courtroom. He noticed her nervousness, something he had never seen in her before.

Astoria: Astoria took a deep breath, knowing what she was about to say would send her straight to Azkaban. She couldn’t even lie, Kingsley had seen the memory. She looked up at him, every emotion she showed was real this time, and her eyes were filled with fear as she began to answer his question. “I stunned then bound her. After I had made sure she couldn’t move I smashed some of her things and…. I poured wine over her.” Her eyes began to plead with Kingsley not to make her say it. Astoria turned around, catching the eye of Blaise, making her heart pain deeply. She blinked tears away and turned back. “I-I almost crucioed her. I had my wand raised and the spoke the first few letters.” 

Padma: Padma’s hand tightened and her face paled as she gasped sharply. So she had actually almost crucioed her? The thought made her feel sick and light headed and she rubbed her head soothingly.

Blaise: Blaise watched her, almost appalled before he quickly looked down at his lap. He wrung his hands and let out a shaky breath before he ran his hand across the top of his hair. He listened with his head bowed. He didn’t want her to turn to look at him to see his emotions right now.

Kingsley: “Why did you not go ahead with the curse?” He asked, intrigued.

Astoria: She shrugged lightly, “because reason started to set in.”

Kingsley: He looked around the room deciding what to do next. “Can I call the next witness, please.” His eyes catch the dark haired man up in the stands. “Mr, Potter. Would you please make your way forward.”

Blaise: He watched Kingsley hopefully, Astoria’s words somehow giving him some peace. At least she had ended up thinking about her actions…even if when she started out she hadn’t been.

Ron:  Ron gave Harry a short smile, nodding to him in support and squeezed Padma’s hand. His trust in Harry making him relax a bit.

Padma: Padma held tightly onto her lovers hand, looking up to Harry and giving him a nervous smile.

Harry: Harry stood immediately, giving Ron’s shoulder a supportive squeeze and Padma a look that said ‘I’ve got this sorted’. He straightened his robes and made his way down to the questioning area, giving Astoria a hard but not harsh look on the way. Clearing his throat, he nodded at Kingsley.. “Minister” he said in acknowledgement.

Kingsley: “Harry.” He said with a nod towards the man in question. “Can you tell me what you know from this case?”

Harry: He nodded, “Certainly sir…I’ve been co-investigating this case with my deputy auror Weasley since it opened. We learned that Miss Patil’s memory had been taken and took immediate action. We questioned Miss Greengrass towards the beginning but she remained as innocent as she had an alibi from her partner; Mr Zabini.” he stopped momentarily to clear his throat, “We had a couple of leads that came to dead ends before we learned that Patil was being followed. We had one of our own men follow her as well to try and capture the man who turned out to be an employee of Astoria’s. From then on more evidence came our way… Angelina Johnson found Padma’s wand on a visit to the Greengrass residence the day before Padma recalled the events of the attack. When this information reached us and I had seen the memory - I made the arrest.” he concluded, taking the seat finally.

Kingsley: “Harry, what was Miss Greengrass like upon arrest and during her questioning? How did she act throughout?”

Harry: He gave a little sideways glance in Astoria’s direction before looking back up to Kingsley. “She didn’t deny it…but she didn’t seem to feel guilty at all, either. Emotionless, sir.”

Astoria: Astoria bit her lips and looked down to stop herself from shouting out at her defense. 

Kingsley: “Thank you, Harry.” He said, nodding at him to dismiss him. “I’d like to speak to Miss Johnson, please.”

Angelina: Angie sat alongside George who had come in support, his hand squeezed her knee when her name was called out and she quickly smoothed her robes and took a deep breath before making her way down to the questioning. She caught Astoria’s eyes and had to stop herself from welling up slightly and so looked down and sat upon the chair.

Astoria: As soon as Angies name was called Astoria chest pained. The quick glance threatened to make her cry but she took a deep breath, collected herself and looked up to the court.

Blaise: Blaise bit his lower lip as he stared sadly at Astoria’s back. He knew that Angelina’s presence, as well as the fact that she was once more reminded of the dear friend she had lost, was hurting Astoria. Especially the fact that now she would have to watch Angelina testify against her.

Kingsley: “Miss Johnson,” He said, watching the woman take her seat, “can you please inform us, of how you found Miss Patils wand?”

Angelina: Angie spoke in a very deadpan voice. She was torn. She really didn’t want to have to testify against her best friend…her son’s godmother, but there was the fact that Astoria had lied to her and betrayed her through the whole thing. It was so, so painful. “I was visiting her…with my son er her godson. He was only a couple of weeks old and I wanted them to start bonding. I just popped to the toilet leaving Astoria with my son and on the way back I was admiring the flowers…when I uh, found it. The wand.”

Kingsley: “And how did Miss Greengrass react when she learned that you had found the wand?

Angelina: “She seemed upset for a bit…but when I questioned her about it… she seemed to put up a defensive wall” she paused and looked down, hurt filling her again.. “She always puts up a wall. An emotional barrier.”

Kingsley: “Did it seem although she was sorry about the incident?” He asked, watching Miss Greengrass and the witness.

Angelina: Angelina looked at Astoria briefly, watching how she sat in front of all of these people who were judging her. She felt pity for her…this mess that she had gotten into and merlin she missed her company. But the most important thing to Angelina was loyalty and trust…something Astoria had taken, promised and betrayed of her. She looked back up to Kingsley to make her final statement… “Yes.” she answered, “She seemed very sorry that I had found out…but I don’t think the same can be said for the attack. To be honest, I can’t be sure whether she was actually sorry to me…” she said, her voice wavering a little. She had to choke back a small sob before continuing.. “Astoria lied to me about the attack and It wasn’t the first time she’d lied to me either.” she concluded, wiping her eyes with her fingers and straightening up her robes again.

Astoria: Astoria turned sharply to Angie, her teeth clenched. An auror quickly stood between them and Astoria turned back to the court, her heart pounding in her chest.

Kingsley: ”Thank you, Miss Johnson.” he said, giving a nod to the woman he had just questioned. “Can I please call the next witness please?”

Ron: Ron smiled at Padma then turned to glare at Blaise, nodding for him to get up. 

Blaise: He swallowed as he got up, walking slowly to the stand. He didn’t look at Astoria, instead keeping his head bowed. 

Astoria: She looked up at Blaise, trying to catch his attention. Her heart sank when he didn’t look at her and she turned away. 

Blaise: He settled down into his seat, and only then did he look up to gaze at Astoria. His eyes were sad; he looked rather distraught actually.

Astoria: She felt his eyes on her and looked up, apologising with a soft, broken smile. 

Kingsley: He looked from the blonde to the man in his stand a few times before interrupting. “Mr Zabini. You are the partner of Miss Greengrass, yes? She resides with you also?

Blaise: He gave a small start and his eyes were torn from Astoria to look up at the man speaking to him. Putting his sweaty palms on his trousers and sliding them down, he gave a nod, clasping his hands together. “Yes, to both questions, sir.”

Kingsley: ”Mr Zabini, did you know of what Miss Greengrass had done?” He cleared his throat and continued. “Did she confide in you any details of the incident?”

Astoria: Astoria watched Blaise closely, as if trying to talk to him to tell him not to say anything. She doubted the court would look through his memory. She wanted so badly just to reach out for his hand but instead she just smiled weakly and turned away. 

Blaise: ”No,” Blaise responded, looking right into Kingsley’s eyes without missing a beat. “I had no idea that she had done anything of the sort. I’ve been away often lately on business, as I have a very demanding job.”

Kingsley: He nodded at the young man then looked at Astoria with a raised brow before turning back to Blaise. “A demanding job. What is your profession Mr Zabini?  And when did you find out about what Miss Greengrass had done? How did you react?” He questioned Blaise with a stern voice. 

Blaise: “I’m a model,” he responded. “For the Muggles. Often, I wake up very early and come back in the evening. I found out what she had done when I came home and she was…was…about to be arrested,” he swallowed hard, looking at his lap. His eyes started to water. “She…told me everything after Angelina had found the wand. I-I was shocked and upset, naturally…”

Astoria: Astoria smirked a little when he said model but soon remembered herself and frowned. She watched Blaise, creasing her brow as she saw his expression. She was glad he had answered like she asked but it didn’t stop her eyes from glazing over.

Kingsley: Kingsley nodded again. “Thank you, Mr Zabini. Why do you think Miss Greengrass would keep something like this from you? Surely your past would make you more….trustworthy with something of this nature.”

Blaise:  He swallowed and wiped his hands on his trousers again. “I-I’d imagine it was because she’d know how upset I would be…how upset I am that she’d do such a thing to someone out of just pure jealousy. I’d also assume because she knows that I still do care about Padma,” he looked to Padma, his expression full of sorrowful sympathy. He had flinched when Kingsley had mentioned his past, but didn’t touch on it.

Padma: Padma kept her eyes down throughout Blaise’s questioning up until the moment he had spoken her name… Her eyes darted upon him and she began to shake a little as she studied the state he was in. Had he just admitted that he still cared for her? Her mind fought in halves; one half telling her that although he obviously loved Astoria, that there was a possibility he still cared…then the other half screaming at her that he was a slytherin to the core and the whole of it was probably just lies. She really didn’t know what to think, her brain scrambled though the latter seemed to be more believable. She clung to Ron, forcing her stare to be more confident, though she couldn’t help the lump that was slowly but surely forming in her throat.

Ron: Ron glared at Blaise as he said he cared about Padma. He held her protectively, aware of every move she made. 

Kingsley: He watched Blaise very closely, looking for any sign that he could be lying. “You believe jealously was the only motive? Surly there must some other reason to make her react in such a violent way.” His face turned sympathetic, “you see Mr Zabini. Miss Greengrass’s actions, if believed to have no real reason behind them other than jealously, will land her a long stay in Azkaban.”  

Blaise: Blaise looked stricken when Kingsley said she may have to stay in Azkaban a long time and his chin quivered a bit for a moment. Clearing his throat, he wrung his trembling hands. “I know that they had been having a row of sorts on a website, and it kept escalating further and further as well. I assume that also had quite a bit to do with it,” he whispered. His eyes moved back up to Padma and he just gazed at her, so sorry and so sad that she had been put into the situation in the first place.

Padma: She looked at him with a sort of pained expression… It hurt her to see him in a state, but he’d hurt her back in school when he tossed her aside for a new conquest. Padma had a bit of a soft spot for Blaise, had done since Fourth Year. She felt lucky that he was showing an interest in her… A couple of months was all it was, she knew he probably had others as well but she just kept willing for him to be with her and only her. It’s not until she was just tossed to the side that she knew and felt that she’d been played like a fool. It really angered her…she was over him now and happy with Ron. She knew Blaise never felt anything for her so why was he playing this card? And why was the lump in her throat growing bigger every second?

Astoria:  Astoria clenched her teeth and looked down, just listening to Blaise and trying not to let his words get to her.

Ron: He furrowed his brow, continuing to glare at Blaise as he held onto Padma. Ron turned to Harry next to him and rolled his eyes. 

Kingsley: Kingsley looked at Astoria, noticing her reaction to Blaise’s words. “Mr. Zabini, am I right in assuming your relationship with Miss Patil was more than just a onetime thing, that you cared and had strong feelings for her? I need to fully understand why it is that Miss Greengrass reacted the way she did. Is she a possessive partner? Do you believe how she acted to be out of character, or is Miss Greengrass by nature violent and aggressive?” He eyes moved between the couple as he took down several notes.

Blaise: Blaise swallowed, “It was a few months, and yes…I did,” he nodded, “though I showed it poorly. Very poorly, in fact. I’ll be honest in saying that I treated her horribly…and I regret that. We were never fully official, but over the few months that I was seeing her I wasn’t seeing anyone else, though there were times that I allowed her and others to believe I was. I wasn’t a nice young man. I didn’t want to get too attached to Padma, or her to me…” he sighed. “Piece of work, I was…Astoria does get jealous, easily…she can be aggressive but I wouldn’t say violent.” 

Padma: Her brow furrowed as Blaise recalled their relationship. She was so confused…so he had cared for her? Surely not… Her head was beginning to hurt now, the weight of the whole trial coming down on her. She was attacked, yes and been through hell these past few months bt at the end of the day, she couldn’t help feeling that this was partly her fault. She had obviously provoked and encouraged Astoria to attack her even though the witch shouldn’t have done it anyway but Padma should’ve known better. 
Seeing how hard it was affecting others… affecting Blaise…this whole thing. It seemed too much.
“I can’t do this Ron…” she whispered to her lover, leaning into him as she raked a hand through her hair.

Ron: He kissed Padma’s cheek sweetly and whispered, “don’t worry, it will be over really soon. Look at Kingsely, you can tell he wants’ to wrap it up.” He kissed her again and held her hand tightly.

Kingsley: “You wouldn’t say violent?” Kingsley repeated Blaises words disappointedly and he looked to Astoria. He wrote a note on the page again before shaking his head lightly at her that in frustration. He leaned over to whisper something to an auror and then leaned back, just staring at the couple.

Astoria: Kingsleys look the whisper, his tone. Astoria knew what was coming next and she couldn’t fight the tears anymore. She hadn’t prepared herself for Azkaban. She always knew it was a possibly but she assumed it was the worst case scenario and it would never happen. Her hands trembled almost violently as tears silently fell from her face. She bowed her head, the last things she wanted was to let everyone see how scared she was, especially Blaise.

Blaise: He shook his head, “No, I wouldn’t say violent,” he whispered. He licked his lips and sniffled hard, glancing at his lap to pull himself together.

Padma: “No Ron, I really can’t… H-Blaise… Look at him. He did nothing wrong and he’s in pieces” she stuttered, biting at her nails.

Ron: “What? You can’t be serious, after what she has done.” Ron looked at Padma utterly confused, with his brow creased.

Astoria: The aurror walked over to Astoria with a snarky grin. She looked up at him then quickly blinked away, catching Blaise’s eye. Her heart pained, it felt as if she was going to colapse and all she could do was look at him and try to apologise. Her eyes continued to tear up as she mouthed she loves him, wishing she could hold him one last time.

Ron: “What? you can’t be serious, after what she has done.” Ron looked at Padma utterly confused, with his brow creased.

Astoria: The aurror walked over to Astoria with a snarky grin. She looked up at him then quickly blinked away, catching Blaise’s eye. Her heart pained, it felt as if she was going to collapse and all she could do was look at him and 

try to apologise. Her eyes continued to tear up as she mouthed she loves him, wishing she could hold him one last time.

Blaise: Blaise looked up just in time for her to catch his eye and he mouthed back the same sentiment, blinking his eyes quickly, hard. He wrung his hands, watching her with wide, upset eyes.

Padma: She looked at him seriously, though her eyes showed the agitation and stress that she was feeling “I know what she did to me was wrong…very wrong.” she whispered “But imagine…imagine going through that. Separated from the person you love and having to live with the fact that they’re in a dark grimy cell all alone.” she said frantically, her eyes wide. “And I’ll have to just get on with my life whilst he possibly sinks into a bloody depression because she’s not with him. It’s just too much. I want it finished. But I want it finished right.”

Ron: He looked at her, stunned. “Padma! What are you saying? “ 

Padma: “I’m saying that I don’t want any more stress to deal with and I don’t want to see anyone else in distress because of it either.” she looked up at him and cupped his cheek lightly “Please don’t hate me for this… I’d kick myself if I lost you again, Ron”

Ron: He looked totally confused. “What are you going to do? Padma?” 

Padma: ”I’m going to request a sentence reduction…”

Ron: His eyes widened, “you can’t be serious. You’re just going to let her get away with it?” He turned to look at the couple and sat back. “I can’t believe this.” 

Padma: ”What would you feel like if you were in his position? I’m not saying that I don’t want her to be
 punished, Ron. Just not Azkaban.”

Ron: He thought for a moment and huffed, “fine. Fine. Do it. But I won’t pretend like she doesn’t deserve every moment she would have been sentenced to.”

Blaise:  Blaise yearned to hold her in his arms, kiss her…stroke her hair. Anything to try to quell her fears and make her feel better. Instead, he felt rooted to a path back to his seat, a path that didn’t wander to his lover. Sliding down into the seat he let out another shaky breath, his eyes not leaving Astoria.

Padma: She nodded thankfully at Ron, pecking his cheek. “This doesn’t affect us, right?” she asked nervously.

Astoria: She watched him walk back up to his seat, her heart paining all over again. She let out an almost silent and strangled cry, keeping her eye fixed on him.

Ron: He bit his bottom lip and ran his hand through his hair, “No, of course not. this is your choice,” 

he shook his head a little defeated and gave her a weak smile. 

Padma: She gave him a reassuring and thankful smile before raising up out of her seat… “Excuse m-me sir? Can…can I have a w-word?” she asked hesitantly “Before you continue?”

Ron: He watched her, his knee shaking.

Kingsley: Kingsley looked up from his parchment, a little confused and gave her a small smile. “Miss Patil?….Of course you can. Of course.” He gave a short nod and waved his hand for her to join him. 

Blaise: His eyes snapped to Padma, watching her in confusion. He was also extremely nervous. Also, now that the truth about his feelings for her back in school had came to light, he wanted to apologise to her in person at some point and time. Though, now his mind was mostly on his lover. 

Padma: She gave Ron’s hand one final squeeze before shuffling towards Kingsley. “Look, Kingsley… I’m really sorry but I wanted to ask if you could…avoid sending her to Azkaban p-please?” she asked, nervously “I know that your team has spent months on this case but seeing the way that it’s affecting…others….It’s really making me uneasy…”

Kingsley: Kingsley watched her curiously, “Miss Patil. Are you sure you know what you are asking.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “You do understand the gravity of what she did, don’t you?”

Padma: She nodded sincerely “I do, sir… I’m not saying that I don’t want to see her punished for her actions…just not Azkaban…” she said, stumbling slightly “As much as I resent her for doing what she did…I don’t think I’d be able to live seeing Blaise distraught by her absence…I just couldn’t”

Kinsgley: He looked over at Astoria then to Blaise. “If I do this, it will be final. I need to be sure this is a sober decision and not one that change as soon as you leave this court.” 

Padma: ”I give you my word.”

Kingsley: He looked at her and sighed. “Go back to your seat and I’ll talk to the council.”

Padma: She nodded sharply at him “Thank you, I’m sorry if I’ve wasted any of your time..” she muttered before returning to her seat and clasping her hands together.

Kingsley: He gave her a small nod before turning to the council and talking in hushed tones. His eyes kept flickering to Padma, Blaise and Astoria. After a moment he turned back and coughed lightly for attention. 

Astoria: Her eyes quickly shot from Blaise’s gaze to Kingsley. Her hands trembled and she wiped her face of all tears.

Blaise:  He looked up as soon as he heard the cough and swallowed hard, watching him. He took in a breath and let it out, wiping his palms on his pants once more. 

Kingsley: His eyes gazed around the room, making contact with people every so often before finally looking at Astoria. “Miss Greengrass. After careful discussion and hearing everything said today, this court is sentencing you to,” he paused, looking down at a distraught Astoria. ” 2 months home detention and 3 months living as a muggle. Your wand will remain at the ministry until this term is up. You are forbidden to use any magic at all. You will attend anger meetings as soon as your home detention is up and will report to a auror weekly until we see fit. If, Miss Greengrass you fail to comply with any aspect of this sentence, you will be sent to Azkaban. Do you understand?” 

Astoria: She was practically shaking as he read out her sentence, then her face suddenly fell as she realised she wasn’t going to Azkaban. She didn’t understand. Had she missed something? She creased her brow and stuttered, “wha-what? I’m not…”

Kingsley: ”No, Miss Greengrass. You are not going to Azkaban and you have Miss Patil to thank for that but do you understand the terms of your sentence?”

Astoria: She nodded quickly “yes, yes I do. ” She turned her head to face Padma and gave her a look of confusion.

Padma: She looked between Blaise, Astoria and Kingsley, promptly looking down when Astoria had made eye contact with her. It was all over…just a few more moments and it would all finally be over.

Astoria: she kept on looking at her and a small smile grew on her face before sharply turning to Kingsley, “so….what I’m free?”

Kingsley: “No, Miss Greengrass. You are not free. You are just serving your time in the comfort of what I imagine to be your boyfriends mansion.” He looked at her harshly, “do not. I repeat do not. Take this sentence lightly; we will be keeping a very close eye on you.” He looked up, catching the eye of Blaise then Padma, to smile at her. He then turned to face the body of the courtroom, “I would like to ask everyone not involved in the case to leave.” He stood up, motioning for an auror to go over to Astoria. 

Padma: She looked up in time to see Astoria’s smile, replacing her composure with a hard expression on her face. She looked at the witch with a look that said ‘You’d better be bloody grateful…’

Blaise: He let out a shaky breath of relief as he stood up, wiping his eyes roughly on his suit jacket before he gazed to Padma, waiting to get eye contact with her so that he could smile gratefully and whisper his thank yous.

Astoria: The court slowly started to empty out, leaving just witnesses and aurors. The auror that had approached Astoria asked her to lift up her right sleeve before placing his wand on her pale wrist. She watched him curiously as a  small Ministry logo formed on her skin. The auror looked up on her, “it is a tracker. The moment you step into your home is the moment it will stop you from leaving it.” He stood up straight, “this tracks magic as well as movement. So don’t get any ideas about using magic just because we can’t see you. We will know.” He gave her a nod to stand up, and she did shakily. Her nerves were still very apparent. She gave him a small unconvincing smile and looked up at Blaise then Padma again, unsure of the emotion she should be feeling for her. 

Ron: He took Padma’s hand, “what you did was brave in some way I guess. Not many people would do that.” He kissed her cheek then accidentally catching the eye of Blaise and glaring.

Padma: She turned to Ron and leant into him, placing her arm around his waist “Thank you…” she breathed, nodding thanks to Kingsley, Harry and the rest of the team before looking up at Blaise, unsure how to feel… She gave him a nod and turned back to Ron. “I need a drink…”

Ron: He nodded, “I think we all do.” He kissed her cheek again before pulling away only to put on his jacket and turn to Harry and sigh.

Harry: He shook Kingsleys hand before hugging Padma tightly.. “All over now, love” he said with a reassuring smile. He looked over at Astoria and then back to the couple, patting Ron’s shoulder. “I need to go through the paperwork with Astoria and escort her to the Zabini mansion…you two go and have a drink” he said.

Padma: She returned Harry’s hug, smiling thankfully at him as she leant into Ron. “Okay, Thanks so much Harry”

Ron: Ron smiled at Harry, “alright, see you back at the house yeah?”He looked over at Astoria once more before placing he arm around Padma’s waist. “Let’s go get that drink then.” 

Padma: She nodded up at her lover and looked back at Astoria one last time before being lead out of the courtroom.

Astoria: Astoria watched Padma and Ron leave, looking nervous again. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked down at the logo as her sentence finally started to set in. Live like a muggle? She didn’t even know how to turn Blaise’s TV on, how was she going to be able to live like a muggle. She sighed as she saw Harry approach her.

Harry: He marched over to Astoria and removed the sentence papers from his briefcase, placing them on the table that appeared in front of them. “Well…looks like someone made a very lucky escape.” he said sternly “Please sign here, here and here as an acceptance to your charge, evidence that you plead guilty and lastly, the contract to your sentence. I will repeat again what Mr Shacklebolt said at the end of the trial; if you do breach any of the rules and regulations of your charge, the ministry will be notified straight away and you will immediately be taken to Azkaban, is that clear?”

Astoria: She nodded, swallowing her pride as she signed the papers. “Yes, Potter. It is clear. Can I go home now?” She looked up at him, finding it hard to hide a bit of anger in her voice from being spoken to like a child.

Harry: He raised his eyebrow at her, giving a sort of warning not to even try to be rude. “Yes, Miss Greengrass you may return to the Zabini mansion now although you two will have to travel separately as I will be escorting you” he said, taking the papers and putting them back into his briefcase before gesturing a hand towards the corridors…”After you…”

Astoria: She looked a bit confused, “Oh…okay.” She slowly stood, looking at Blaise and smiling softly, hoping he knew what was going on. Her eyes scanned across the back of the court room properly for the first time. The thought of the vast rows of seats being full made her stomach do a flip, glad she didn’t the time to get a good look during the trial. Her head spinning with emotion and confusion as she walked through the heavy doors.