[HP] Three thousand days of innocence

They landed awkwardly in the middle of the stairs of the house. "I'm sorry." John said absently, and he took out his wand and levitated Simon, still in a daze, to the second floor.Ginny stood up and followed him all the way to the door of Simon's bedroom, when John turned and saw her. "Kinzie will never forgive me if I let you see him like this," he said apologetically. "I'll explain everything, wait for me in the front room."

Saddened to be turned away, Ginny nodded and went back downstairs, dazedly into the front room, which perfectly embodies the concept of a bachelor pad.A widescreen TV takes up an entire wall, and a gaming system and controller sit below it.The old but comfortable furniture, most of which didn't match, caused as many jokes as the hideously ugly rug on the floor.A can of forgotten Guinness and a copy of TimeOut magazine sit on the coffee table.The wall opposite the doorway is different: there are many books on it, from Shelley, Yeats and Eliot, to the complete works of PG Wodehouse.90.00% of it belongs to Simon, a british literature buff, but it also has some outdated London guidebooks that John must have bought when he first came to the UK, some surfboard and bathing suit catalogs, a whole shelf of cookbooks and Foreign Cookbook - Draco's Bookshelf.

Draco's room at the Malfoy Manor was a thousand miles away.Not at all similar.

"Well, I can't help him now."

Ginny turned to find John standing in the doorway, wiping his hands on his trousers.He had taken off his disguise—he had gone to the hospital as a scruffy, balding man—but he still looked anxious.

"Can't help? Why—"

"Did you know when we were kids we had uncontrolled magic?" John said to her. "We get sad or excited about something and the glass in the next room shatters?"

"Yes." Ginny said slowly.

"Oh." He sighed heavily. "I'm not an expert on this. Kinzi refuses to talk about it, so I may be wrong."

Ginny sat on the nearest sofa, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know if Hogwarts offers this class," said John, walking into the room. "But here at Clencar we have a subject that is practical theory. Essentially - the air is filled with a flow of magic. The difference between Muggles and wizards is that wizards have the ability to control the flow of magic, which is what our wands are for. They It's like a baton. We can manipulate the flow of magic and apply it because it responds to us."

"Really?" said Ginny, raising her eyebrows curiously.She somewhat hoped that Hogwarts would offer such courses.

John nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. "Then," he continued, "unlike a seer, a wizard is only superficially connected to the flow of magic through a wand. A seer is like a funnel through which the flow of magic flows through their body, and I think you can That is to say. Because prophecy is not sudden and fleeting. If the prophet cannot control himself, he can only prophesy one after another."

John paused. "That's what Kinzie does now. Prophecy. Prophecy after prophecy."

Ginny put her hand over her mouth, her heart beating in her throat. "Oh, my God," she said softly. "they--"

"No, I've been upstairs listening to him for a while," John assured her. "No matter how many related prophecies there are, a person's appellation is usually the same, and I haven't heard anything about the Hollow Man or the rest of us."

"Is Simon conscious?" she asked. "Does he know where he is?"

"I don't know," John said helplessly, throwing himself on the couch beside her. "As I said, he never talks about it, even..." he said angrily. "And Kinzie's situation is worse than other seers, because he's not a wizard. Ordinary seers can use magic to block the flow of magic in their bodies, so that they only make really important or terrible predictions. Kinzie - he only Can fight it alone. He can't let himself get too angry or he might lose control and go into a trance, or get too excited or he'll explode." John laughed. "His favorite story was when he started prophesying in a large group of people - he was in college, taking a stressful exam. Luckily, it was Shakespeare, so no one was suspicious." King Anne smiled appreciatively, but the smile disappeared from John's face. "He pretends it's all funny, but I have nightmares where he loses control of the car - and I'm not there to help him."

"Poor Simon," said Ginny softly, with sympathy in her heart.

"As soon as I saw Ainsley, I knew he would scold that hypocrite." John shook his head and said.He stood up again, walked to the wall, took out a crumpled photo of magic from behind a row of books, and handed it to her silently.Ginny looked down and saw five children in beautiful dress robes sitting in a row on a chaise longue.They seemed to want to stay still, but the youngest girl was giggling and the boys in the middle were pushing each other.The oldest child—a carefree boy with twinkling eyes, aged maybe ten or eleven—was obviously Simon.

"Graham, Logan, Ainsley and Fiona." John introduced each child to her in turn.Logan and Ainsley are both blonde, but Graham and Fiona have the same dark eyes and hair as Simon.All children share the stunning beauty of an ancient pure-blood family. "We met Fiona... oh, three or four years ago in Hogsmeade, she was in her fifth year at Hogwarts. When Kinzie approached her, she spat at him and said to her The Lytlin boys said he was a—" John's voice cracked—"a 'filthy beggar.'"

"It's brutal to treat a Squib like this," said Ginny, her voice trembling.

"It happens a lot," John said flatly.He looked at the photo again, then put it back in place.

The house was quiet, but Ginny could hear Simon mumbling upstairs.His prophecies seem never-ending.

It's going to be a little trouble, Ginny.

"Oh my God," she cried, sitting up straight. "That's it."

John looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Trouble—Simon, he warned me—"

"What are you talking about? Slow down."

Ginny stood up, running her hands through her hair. "You used magic at St. Mungo's—"

"I have to," John said. "Otherwise we'd be mobbed by people who wanted to see the real seer as if he were a circus monster—it's happened before."

"But they'll know you're there, and your name will be on the record," Ginny said. "And Harry - oh my gosh, Harry knows you're Draco's friend because he met you at pre-trial -"

"I don't think so," said John, but Ginny continued.

"It's all over," she whispered. "I just wanted to help Draco, but I totally... oh my god."

"Those spells you cast, remember?" John walked towards her. "I've been watching you. The spell is very effective and hides us well."

"My brother is a spellbreaker," she murmured.

"Indeed." John nodded. "So did a friend of mine in Kroncari. If anyone knew that spell, it would be a spellbreaker. Nobody would know we were there unless they expended energy and time trying to break your spell. They Now only traces of my magic can be traced, which is irrelevant."

"Your wand is registered with the Ministry of Magic." Ginny clenched her hands. "They know you're a permanent resident. Merlin, John, if that gets you deported—"

"I have nothing to do with Draco." He reassured her, smiling slightly at her. "As far as the Ministry knows, I've been living with two Muggles. I'm innocent."

Ginny's heart was beating so hard that she could hardly breathe, and her heartbeat gradually returned to its normal rhythm. "We did take every precaution," she said in a stronger voice, looking John in the eye. "We are careful not to be detected and have a plan for each situation."

"It's not us, it's you," John said. "You make all the plans, we just refine and execute."

"We'll be fine," she said. "Merlin, we'll be fine."

John smiled. "You can stay here as long as you want," he said. "I'm afraid I can't stay with you, though. I'm going to stay with Kinch for a while and try to get him back. If he's lost in thought for too long, his throat hurts so badly, and sick Kinch is no fun."

"Is it useful? Call him by name?"

"I'd like to think so." John looked away. "Anyway, as I said, until he comes back, I'm going to be an old hen—"

"I'm leaving," Ginny said. "I can't thank you enough for coming today. It's been a long time since I've heard Draco laugh like that."

"You're welcome," John said, giving her a small smile. "Don't give up on what you've done. Take care of him for us."

He escorted her to the door, and she hugged him goodbye and left, a little lighter than before.John was right; considering Draco's situation, he was surprisingly good indeed.Jesus, he lit up like a Christmas tree when John and Simon walked into the room... Ginny looked up at the sky, soaked in the sun, and smiled.He'd get his memories back, especially the ones related to it, and he could tell the Wizengamot with certainty that he didn't kill Colin.

No, it was the other allegations that worried her.Ron and Katie Bell were nearly killed by Draco - Bill was badly wounded by Fenrir Greyback the night he brought the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.The smile on her face disappeared.As Simon said, they still have a lot of hard fighting before the dust settles on Draco's fate.

But she was ready and willing to do it.That's the key.

The next morning, she meets Percy as soon as she arrives at the Ministry of Magic, and her troubles begin - she's late for work again.Instead of his usual gentle teasing, Percy gave her a worried look. "Watch every word you say, Ginny," he said after they had passed through the pipe into the fireplace in the Ministry Great Hall.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny said confused. "What's wrong?"

Percy took her arm and led her and the others to the elevator. "Just trust me." He lowered his head slightly and whispered quickly. “Answer people after they talk to you, give as little information as possible when answering questions, don’t gossip around the water cooler — don’t say anything. Just do the paperwork and mind your own business.”

"You scared me, Percy," Ginny said softly.

"You should be scared," he said, staring at her with clear blue eyes. "You're not officially in trouble, but there's evidence—"

"What evidence?"

"Very well, act innocent, no one will push you. Yesterday's St. Mungo's, Ginny. The man who had a psychotic episode in the crowded ward—"

Ginny held back the harsh rebuttal that came to her lips. "It has nothing to do with me," she said, her heart sinking.Damn.She and John thought Harry couldn't track them down, and they were wrong. "I don't know who he is or what happened. I just popped over to see... my old Hogwarts friend Beatrice."

"Fine." Percy let her go. "Hold on to the story and don't change it. If the therapists hadn't heard your name, they wouldn't have taken Mrs. Greengrass' complaint seriously. We'll tell him he made a mistake."

Ginny frowned. "Mrs. Greengrass?"

"Ainsley Kincaid Greengrass," said Percy, raising his eyebrows. "If there's any pure-blood family you don't want to associate with, it's the Kincaids. Radical blood purists. They didn't follow the only prophecies of Coim Kincaid, the matriarch of the family. Tom Riddle ganged up. They both believed in divination."

"They got a good result, didn't they?" Ginny said through gritted teeth. "What did she complain about, Mrs. Greengrass?"

"Let the 'non-magical rogue' enter St. Mungo's." Percy rolled his eyes. "It could mean that some poor Muggle-born came within fifty miles of her. But anyway, keep a low profile, do what I say, and be careful. Promise me?"

"I promise you," said Ginny.Percy squeezed her hand before they entered the elevator, and they didn't talk any more after that.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as soon as she walked into the Auror's office, because she saw the look in Ron's eyes through the open door of Ron's office.He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.She smiled apologetically at him.

Ginny was so focused on Ron that she didn't even notice Harry walking towards her from the opposite side. "Did you have an exciting weekend?" he asked.

She was startled, but calmed down quickly. "I don't want to talk about potions," she said, making her way to her desk. "No one told us it was going to be this intense, we were all terrified."

"Malfoy was taken back to the holding cell last night," said Harry casually, leaning against her desk with his arms folded. "The treatment didn't work. Still don't remember anything."

Ginny feigned shock. "After all this? Merlin, what shall we do now?"

"I thought you already knew," said Harry.

"Why would I know?"

"Weren't you at St. Mungo's yesterday?"

"Going to see my friend, Bea. She works in the Permanent Charm Injury Ward."

"If I ask her about your visit, will she know what I'm talking about?"

"Of course." Ginny frowned. "Why doesn't she know?"

Harry shrugged. "Oh, I just... wonder. I learned this morning that Malfoy's trial is scheduled for Monday. The Leaky Cauldron is fully booked for the weekend, as are many of the wizarding hotels in London. It should be a Wonderful performance."

Don't mess with him, he's just testing you, she said to herself. "Yes." She said noncommittally, turning to the pile of papers on the desk.She was relieved when Harry finally returned to his office.

It was much the same up until Draco's trial, with Harry and Romilda sometimes asking her leading questions about what she had been up to that weekend.Romilta even foolishly omitted the name Kincaid, which immediately aroused Ginny's vigilance.Ginny immediately stopped talking, and tried to answer Romilda's question in a normal tone, until she walked away angrily.

However, she wasn't exactly on the defensive this week.Knowing now what she had to do to win the case for Draco, Ginny started working on her plan as quietly as possible, without raising further suspicions in the office.As much as she wanted to visit Draco in the holding cell, she didn't.Simon sent her a note via owl apologizing for causing her so much trouble at St. Mungo's, but he wisely left out his name and signed it "Your Favorite Shani" ; Ginny did not reply.Ginny wouldn't be surprised if Harry monitored her mail at home.

The Friday before Draco's trial, Ginny was here watching the main actors come on stage.As with every case involving a suspected or convicted Death Eater, all the Wizengamots would be present, and then the accused's attorneys would be announced to the elite press corps present.

"Please state your name," Kingsley said to him.

A normal-looking, pale-faced wizard in a gray robe bowed his head. "William Harper of Boston," he announced. "I am here to represent the interests of the wizarding public in the case of Draco Malfoy against the British wizarding community."

The court clerk immediately took notes on the case file with a quill.Lucius Malfoy grunted rudely next to her, but she was the only one who heard it. "Competent," he said. "But kind of stupid."

"You know him?" Ginny asked.

"He was the prosecutor when I was on trial after World War I," Lucius said. "Let's hope he fails against Draco, too."

Draco sat on the wooden chair, handcuffed and anklet.His hair and face were cleansed, and it appears the guards are letting him shower regularly now.She looked at him unabashedly, as if she were a woman dying of thirst and he was her water.Ron kept elbowing her, but Ginny ignored him.He can't do anything.Coming to her soon...

Kingsley looked down at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy," he said, "are you determined to defend yourself?"

"Yes." Draco said.

"Please stand up on behalf of the lawyer and report your name."

On Lucius' other side, Malfoy's family lawyer, Giles Montgomery, shifted in his seat, preparing to stand.

However, before he was fully on his feet, another voice rang out in the courtroom.

"Genevia Weasley in London," said Ginny, standing up. "Come for Draco Malfoy's case against England, and I will represent Mr. Malfoy's interests."