Two months later.

"Another threatening letter arrived from Draco's mother this morning," Harry said, skimming the envelope onto the table in front of Ron and Hermione.

"God, what does she want this time?" Ron groaned as Hermione unfolded it. She ticked off her fingers as she read aloud.

"OK, that's defamation... that's libellous... that's slander... that's a threat... Harry, this is all nonsense!"

"Is this about the ecstasy thing again?" Ron frowned. "Why is she so desperate for you not to mention that when it's so useful in Malfoy's case?"

"I think the woman's got her priorities all out of order," Molly Weasley tutted, clattering a steaming plate in front of each of the boys before turning for Hermione's. "If it were one of my sons, I'd do whatever it took."

Harry sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. "She's not like any normal mothers though, Mrs. Weasley. Narcissa's the one who allowed him to get hooked in the first place. And besides, I think it's a Malfoy pride thing. Draco obviously doesn't want me to mention it either."

"Stubborn git." Ron shook his head, taking a big bite of the first sausage sandwich on his plate.

Harry and Draco had had a huge argument not long after the battle, after he'd been detained by the Aurors on Death Eater charges.

"I'll be your character reference in court," Harry had insisted, but he was met with a violent head-shake from Draco through the bars of his temporary cell.

"You can't, you idiot," he'd snapped. "Think that'll go down well with my parents? Having my gay lover speak at my trial? The boy who happens to be the icon of their opposition?"

"Surely the more it upsets your parents, the better?" Harry'd replied, bemused. "And surely my significance on the anti Death Eater front makes me a more respectable witness in court?"

"Listen, Potter. I don't want you to do it and that's that," Draco responded with a dark glare, and for a while, that was that.

But as Harry chewed his breakfast in the Weasleys' kitchen that morning, a week from the trial, a new idea was forming in his mind, and he knew he wasn't going to listen to whatever Draco wanted this time.

"A significant issue with Draco's case is his Mark," Harry mused, taking a thoughtful sip of his tea. "It's cold proof of his Death Eater affiliation."

Ron and Hermione regarded him with interest.

"It's undeniable," Hermione nodded. "Very incriminating."

"More sausages, dear?" Molly interrupted with a smile and a laden tray. "Better get in quick before Fred and George are up!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Harry smiled and offered up his plate, then turned straight back to Hermione. At the forefront of his mind, just out of reach, was a glimmer of a memory from a former Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

"How exactly is someone Marked, Hermione?" he asked, tapping thoughtfully on his glasses as he spoke. "It's nothing like a Muggle tattoo, is it?"

"No," she responded slowly. "It's much more complicated and involves a lot of Dark Magic. And it doesn't use regular ink - it's drawn in the blood of the recipient, which is what makes it so painful."

Harry gasped. "Oh my God, that's it! That's it, Hermione!"

His friends frowned, confused. "What's it, Harry?" Ron asked.

"We need to get Draco's Mark tested," was all Harry managed to say, choking down the last of his breakfast before pushing his chair back to run upstairs. "Thanks for breakfast, Mrs. Weasley!" he called, leaving his friends sitting at the kitchen table in bemusement.

"Thanks for keeping us involved, Harry!" Hermione called back irritably. "Glad I could help!"

"Thinks he's too bloody good for us," Ron rolled his eyes. "Bloody Golden Boy complex again."

***

Harry dressed quickly in a smart shirt and pressed black trousers borrowed from Percy's wardrobe, his best effort to look smart at the cells.

He glanced in the mirror and rubbed a little more gel into his hair, which was again swiped from Percy. Good. He looked as presentable enough; it would do.

"Are you going to explain what you're doing, or leave us in the dark?" Hermione asked when he reappeared.

"I'm going to see Draco," Harry said, lacing up his shoes meticulously. "Or possibly just his lawyer. I don't want to get my hopes up on it right now but I promise I'll explain if it works. Keep your fingers crossed, though- this could really win his case."

"We'll cross them," Ron rolled his eyes. "Have fun, Mr. Mystery."

"I will!" Harry grinned, and with that he was out of the Burrow and Apparating away to London. To Draco Malfoy, he thought.

***

Draco's lawyer was already at the cells when Harry arrived, walking thoughtfully up and down in the corridor by the entrance.

"Potter!" he said in surprise when he saw Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"Mallory," Harry nodded politely, shaking the other man's hand. He respected the lawyer; he seemed like a genuinely decent guy. He wasn't old and stuffy like a lot of the usual Pureblood legal advocates, but sharp and not too long out of training, yet clearly knowledgable and good at his job. This all seemed like a good sign to Harry.

"I had an idea," he began. "But perhaps we could discuss it somewhere a little more private?"

The lawyer nodded. "Of course - I believe there is an interview room free down the corridor. Do you think my client should be present?"

"I'd rather get your opinion first," Harry replied. "Draco can be... a little touchy on this subject."

"I understand," Mallory smiled. He lead the way down the corridor to a little room on the left, and no sooner was the door shut before Harry started talking excitedly.

"His Mark, Draco's Mark," he said, refusing the offered chair and instead preferring to pace. "Have you tested it?"

"Tested it?" Mallory leaned forward in his own chair, clearly intrigued.

"Tested the blood used to create the image on his skin," Harry clarified. "I take it you know how such Dark Magic is performed?"

"I do, yes," Mallory nodded. He reached for a pen from his blazer pocket and twiddled it thoughtfully between his fingers; a reflex action. "What, precisely, would we be testing it for?"

"For ecstasy," Harry responded. "That would be detectable in his blood, right? Even long after the Mark was performed?"

"I expect so," Mallory agreed. "The blood is the ink of the Mark - presumably the contents stay in the exact same condition they were in when the Mark was made."

Harry felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his body, so excited at this news that he was hovering above himself. "If ecstasy is found in the Mark," he said almost gleefully, pacing quicker with anticipation, "Then that proves there was ecstasy in his bloodstream at the time he was marked."

Mallory's eyes widened with full realisation. "He was high when he was Marked, wasn't he?" he asked. "He couldn't legally consent-"

"He couldn't legally consent!" Harry echoed joyfully. "He didn't want the Mark!"

"Oh my God, this is a breakthrough," the lawyer breathed. "How didn't I think of this myself? That's wonderful, Potter, really wonderful thinking!"

"How soon could you get it tested, do you think?!" Harry asked, slight anxiety tinging his excitement.

Mallory frowned, thinking hard. "I'd have to Owl the labs... I could obviously pull some strings, get it fast-tracked, but the trial's in a week and it's possibly quite a complicated process. And of course, you're aware he'd have to consent to the testing."

Harry bit his lip hard. Fuck. That certainly was a spanner in the works. "I'll work on him," he said quietly. "I sometimes have a knack for getting him to do what I want. But you're right, that could present an issue."

"I believe that if we can do it, it'll be ground-breaking," Mallory promised. "Just ask him if he wants to make it out of these cells before they're swapped for Azkaban. Because that's where he'll be headed if he doesn't help himself too. There's only so much you or I can do if he's destined for something else."

"I'll ask him," Harry replied. "He never used to say no to me."

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a/n: thanks for reading! we're getting very near the end ooooh i'm excited! vote and comment please since you're here, i love reading responses 🥰🤍

~ paradisedraco