Blind - drarry

Chapter 12

Published: December 13, 2020

Updated: September 30, 2021

"You do?" Draco asked. An Auror had stripped him of his sight?

"Yes. It's a gut feeling. He knew how to cast such a powerful curse and, as Aurors, we know a lot of dark spells. He could have had time to prepare it, too. Even if someone in the bank heard him call you out, well, it just doesn't seem like a spell someone casts on a whim. He walked in, maybe he was following you, and called you out to draw attention. Then he waited 'til it was over to come to taunt you, again? I just have a feeling, Draco. So, can we have your memory?"

"Harry, I can't use a wand to pull it out! I can't even touch it!" he responded, a chill going through him at the thought of breaking the law. The re-education center sure did its job. His breathing became rougher, and he brought his hand to his chest.

"I know, calm down. I'll have to try pulling it out. It's a harmless procedure. It's just... if you think of anything else, I'll pull a copy of it out, too."

Draco gave him a look of confusion. He didn't know that it was possible to pull someone else's memories, but it made sense.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Draco, it will be very disjointed this way. We'll see whatever you're thinking about at that time. Anything that you think about and, usually, people think of things that they might not want others to see."

"Really? But it's not... illegal?"

Ron snorted and said, "You have two Aurors and the Junior Head to the Department of International Cooperation here. You'll be fine, mate. None of us would let you get in trouble."

"Draco, it's legal. We do the magic, not you," Harry declared.

"Sorry, it's just that it's ten years, if I make a mistake." The tenth and last law of the so-called Retribution Laws made all the others so punitive. Any former Death Eater, who breaks these rules or any other Ministry law, will be given an automatic sentence of ten years, in addition to the sentence of the crime that they were convicted for. If Draco stole a loaf of bread, he'd get ten years. If he did magic in any way - ten years. If he refused a lawful order, it was ten years. Draco didn't want to go back to prison.

"It's completely legal," Hermione assured him and took his hand. "I promise."

"So, how will it work?" Draco breathed.

"A forced, or taken memory is subjective of what you want me to see... or don't want me to see. It will be very invasive, but we need it. Actually, Draco, only I need to see it, if you don't want Hermione or Ron to watch it."

Draco let out a deep breath and nodded. Harry wouldn't stop until he found the guy, and Draco wanted to know who did this to him. "Okay."

"Alright, it's simple. When I say go, try to remember everything you can about that meeting, even before you arrived at Gringotts and when he taunted you, again."

Draco took a deep breath. "Alright."

"I'll try to talk to you to get more of the memory out, okay? Kinda-like guide you through it. Hermione will extract your memories that you think about. Just try to focus on that day alone, or she'll get more. It's not a second-by-second thing, and she'll get the whole memory as you think of it. Should be quick, so keep it short and to the point."

Easier said than done, Draco thought, direly. Harry took his hands and asked if he was ready, and he nodded. "Okay... it's November 5th. You walked into Gringotts, and you talked to the goblins."

Draco was trying hard to focus on Harry's voice, but it was hard. He thought about what happened at Gringotts, and then he wasn't. He realized that Harry was holding his hand and squeezing it, in a very affectionate way. Unbidden memories decided to suddenly summon themselves into the forefront of his mind. It was a tangled mess of his train of thought, but it was clear what he was thinking about as the memories came waves.

Flash. Harry was standing up to him on their first train, eleven and glorious. Flash. Harry was flying on his broom, next to him as they raced toward the snitch. Flash. Harry was coming to rescue him in the fire, his eyes brilliant and hellbent on saving him. Flash. Harry was saving him at the trial, rescuing him from a different kind of fire. Flash. A blurry memory-imposed Harry was lying next to him this morning under his bed, holding him, so he didn't feel alone. Oh crap.

Harry interrupted his reminiscing, "You heard the Auror's voice, and you turned. You looked at him."

Draco thought, Right, the Auror. He recalled how the Auror looked and what he said. Then focused the mob gathered, getting hit with the spell and then blackness, amongst the cacophony of sounds.

"Remember what he said after you were beaten, too. When you think you have it all, squeeze my hand."

Draco was about to do it, when, at the last second, a forbidden memory of one of those "It's-the-end-of-the-world" nights where Theo and Blaise convinced him to join in on a three-way with them. Why die a virgin? was their method of persuasion and it was a valid one. He squeezed his hand, unsure of what went through.

"Alright, got it," Hermione announced, and Draco trembled, worried about what Harry was about to see.

"I'll go use the pensive," Harry declared.

"Just you?" Draco verified, unable to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

"Yes, I'll be back in a few," Harry said and squeezed his hand reassuringly, before letting go. Draco heard him go to the den.

Granger cleared her voice, and he hadn't realized that his head had followed the sound of Harry's steps to the den. He turned back to her, and she asked, "So, what did you and Ron talk about while we were in the memory?"

"Clearing the air, right, Draco?" Ron answered.

"Yeah, though I think he's crazy to want to."

"I don't think so, but there's something we do need to discuss. Accio bag!" she said, and it came from wherever. "I need you to sign this form."

He straightened up. "Form?"

"Yes. You can wait for Harry to get here, but it gives me Durable Power of Attorney to act in your stead in civil and legal proceedings."

That was a big responsibility and dangerous, though he had nothing to worry about protecting. "Why you?"

"Because Harry hates reading, writing, and talking to people. Also, I can provide on-the-spot answers and decisions. I know it's a lot to ask, but I...."

"Where do I sign?" he uttered.

"Oh..." Granger said, surprised by his compliance. "Yeah, right here." She guided his hand to a spot.

Draco was sure that it wasn't as pristine as his etiquette tutors would have liked, but near enough. Then she had Weasley witness it.

"Alright, I'll get that submitted to Gringotts. I'll be able to file some things, now. Those laws prohibited a lot of your rights, but with me as your legal proxy, so to speak, I have no such limitations."

Draco nodded. He doubted that she'd get far, though. They still didn't have to decide in his favor.

"I have some questions for you, too. The first is the most important, so don't lie or deny anything. I need to know, okay?" Hermione prefaced.

"Okay?"

"Did you, in any way, financially support Voldemort?"

"What? No," he growled.

"You're sure? Even to give him or any Death Eater money to buy food or provisions?"

"No... there was never a need. Almost all the Death Eaters were rich, anyway, and my father just gave the Dark Lord anything he needed. I wasn't a part of the process."

"What about the Vanishing Cabinet?"

"I didn't buy it. We left it at the store."

"The Hand of Glory?"

"Well, yeah, I bought it," Draco admitted.

"Why?"

"Protection," he said, as he didn't expect a mini-battle to erupt outside of the Room of Hidden Things.

"But not specifically for getting Death Eaters into Hogwarts?"

"No. I didn't want to have to fight or hurt anyone."

"So, it was purely for defensive purposes?" she pressed.

"Yeah. Why? What are you getting at? I didn't want to support the insane megalomaniac!" he snarled.

"No, Draco. It's not that I thought it or do think that. It's that there's no evidence that you did, but the Ministry seized your accounts. They can only do that if it was in your original sentence, which it is not, or they had verifiable evidence under the Retribution Laws. Neither of those things were the case. Your accounts were separate from your parents' accounts, and you were of age. Therefore, your accounts couldn't be seized due to your father's actions."

Draco stared blankly, which was easy to do. "Surely, you don't think that matters to them?"

"It matters to me. They had no right to seize your accounts. We need to build a case against them to get this overturned and get these laws rescinded. I'll go investigate your account withdraws and additions to confirm and get what we need to launch a complaint."

"It's not going to work."

"You don't know what we have. Harry and Ron can go anywhere, see anyone under the guise of a real criminal investigation. We have plenty of evidence, now. This didn't just start with you. We all hated how they stripped people of their rights. Krups and kneazles have more rights than you do! Do you realize that?"

"Alright, 'Mione, you're not on a soapbox right now," Weasley said.

"Shut up, Ronald, and don't call me 'Mione. Is there any more tea in your cup?" she asked.

"Yeah, a little," Weasley said and slid it over.

"I can make you one, Hermione," Draco offered.

"No, thanks, Draco. I just wanted a drink. Oh, I think he's out. Harry?" she called.

"Umm... yeah?" Potter said, sounding flustered. "Gimme a sec."

Draco had to work had to control his blush at what riled Harry up. Hell, Hermione said that he'd get the whole memory, not just the blips of one.

He came into the kitchen a minute later and growled, "It was Williamson. I'd recognize that git anywhere."

"Williamson? Fudge's lackey?" Ron hissed.

"He worked for Runcorn, too," Hermione interjected. "He worked with Death Eaters too willingly, in my eyes. You think he would attack a... umm... former Death Eater?"

"It's him or he knows who did it. His eyes, man, he just looked like he hated Draco, and he wasn't surprised that Draco was there. Williamson might have been following him."

"Him is right here," Draco huffed. It was bad enough that he couldn't see, but he didn't want them to talk about him like he didn't exist.

"Sorry, Draco. You know anything about him?"

He shook his head. He heard of the name but nothing else.

"Hmm... I have a new theory. He could have attacked Draco because he turned on Voldemort," Hermione theorized.

Draco frowned.

"It's possible, but we need to find him. You want me to find him or do you?" Weasley asked.

"He's mine. You go to Azkaban. Hermione, did you...?"

"Yep, all signed. Luna said that she and Ginny were testing out how to do it."

Draco wondered what "it" was, but was more focused at the mention of Lovegood. "What's Luna have to do with this?" he asked.

"She's going to help us," Harry replied.

Draco grimaced. "Why? She was a prisoner in my house for over four months, Potter."

"She doesn't mind helping. She said that you were always nice to her and brought her food and books to read."

"Still, it's not right. You can't have her help me!"

"It's not just you, Draco, and she's already working on it," Hermione said. "But I need to leave. Harry, was there anything else useful in Draco's memories?"

"A few things," Harry said, and Draco could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "But nothing that will help you out. Thanks, guys."

"No problem, Harry. Let's go, Ron. Talk to you soon, Draco," she said, and he barely said goodbye when they flooed out.

He turned to face Potter and spat, "What's going on, Harry?"

"I guess I neglected to tell you step three?"

"Three?"

"Yeah. Bring down the whole corrupt system on their heads."

Draco's mouth popped open, again. "You won't be able to, Harry. It was war, and too many people had family members and friends who died. They were tortured by Death Eaters. They hate us."

"They've had time to heal and forgive. Anjos hates himself for letting those pricks beat you. Madam Malkin talks to you kindly."

"I'm blind and defenseless, Potter! Of course, they don't care! That sentiment wouldn't be the same if my father, in all his demonic glory walked into their shops."

"Maybe. But what those laws do is cruel, humiliating. You can't defend yourself, you can't get help, and you can't get a job. Hate doesn't do anything but make it worse. It creates more Voldemorts. After ten years of wrongful, improper confinement, those people who got sent to Azkaban aren't going to become happy members of society. No, they're going back straight to hurting people to get revenge."

Draco frowned. "You're probably right, but you're still not going to stop it."

"We'll see. Luna and Ginny came up with something new. Like mixing muggle tech with magic. We're going to make sure everyone sees how cruel and inhumane the laws are."

"How?" Draco asked.

"Well, amongst other things, I have to make a deal with the devil."

Draco gave him a look.

"Sorry, no time to explain. I have an Auror to hunt down."