A/N: Before anyone asks, I am still working on Pretend and my other WIPs mentioned on my profile. This story is something that I got an idea for while I was in the middle of class and I just had to pursue it. I'm reeeally nervous about this one because it is rather dark and unlike anything I've ever written, and also it is based on some legal principles that may or may not be difficult to understand. I will do my best to clarify it so that it all makes sense. I may or may not update this frequently, and I may not update it at all if no one seems to like it, so please review if you want me to continue.

Thanks to Ash (Fire the Canon) for looking this over for me. ;)

The Ministry courtrooms, though quiet, were brimming with tension. The most controversial case of the decade was about to commence, and every witch or wizard in Britain was anxious to get a seat and witness history in the making.

People of all ages filtered in, and the young witch with the long mane of red hair watched nervously as she silently maintained her calm persona. There were people who she knew, but there were even more who she didn't. Having been an attorney for nearly five years, she was certainly used to the trial atmosphere, but this was going to be a whole different animal. This wasn't the typical case for her, not in any capacity.

She glanced sidelong at the man sitting behind her. His face was still and cold, and he was seemingly unaffected by the murmurs that were drifting in from the people who had come to watch him burn under the Wizengamot's ruling. But she knew he wasn't nearly as collected as he wanted the others to believe. His shaking hands betrayed him. Her client was very unsure if he had made the right decision when asking her to be his legal counsel, and the thought that he'd made a terrible mistake was one that was still in the back of his mind.

But it was too late now. The people were still piling in, filling every last available seat. It was almost as though they were gathering for a Quidditch match instead of criminal proceedings.

Her eyes shifted up to the far corner of the room where a family of six sat, each person adorned with the same head of hair that she saw in the mirror every morning. It warmed her heart slightly to see everyone there, watching her. If she closed her eyes tightly and tuned out the background noise, she could imagine she was back at the Burrow. The difference here was that, in this instance, her family was not present to support her.

In fact, for the first time in her life, she was entirely alone. But that was Ginny Weasley. Rather than doing what was easy, she chose to do what was right, no matter how difficult it would be.

Suddenly, the urge to vomit was present, and she swallowed hard to push back the extreme urge to be sick. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him looking at her. Her client had always been able to notice her nervous gestures, much in the way that she was able to identify his. Like her, all he gave in indication was a subtle passing glance, indicating only that her fear was not going unnoticed. It was as much comfort as he was willing to give, and it was as much as she was willing to receive from him.

Despite what she had said, she still wasn't quite so sure about him. She had no idea if she was making the right decision by defending what remained of his honor, nor did she know if the damage she had done in making this choice was reparable. But she shoved her emotions aside in favor of doing her job. It didn't matter now. It was too late to turn around and tell her client that she changed her mind. It was too late to tell her parents and her remaining four brothers that she realized how wrong she had been when she had decided to defend this case. It was definitely too late to tell the Wizarding public and the Wizengamot.

It was too late to go back.

A loud rumble sounded through the courtroom, and a regal wizard approached his chair, his long purple robes trailing behind him majestically.

"All rise for the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Ginny tapped her client's hand and together they rose respectfully.

Kingsley took his time and held his chin high as he took his seat, nodding to Ginny and her opposing counsel. Once he finally took his seat before the high court and the Wizarding public, he gestured towards her table. "Is the defense prepared for opening arguments?" he asked.

"We are, Your Honor," Ginny answered.

"Proceed."

She nodded at her client, who took his seat, before walking towards the center of the room, the arena-style seats suddenly more prominent and intimidating than they had ever been before. There had been dozens of occasions in which she had worked in the same courtroom, but there was just something different about being on the opposing side – the hated side. Her shallow breath was deafening in her own mind, but she kept her face expressionless as she ignored the jeers from various members of the public.

After addressing the high court and the Minister, she began with her opening arguments.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I stand before you today, not in my normal capacity as a Prosecutor, but as a solicitor for the defense, and I have only one thing to say. It alarms me, as a liaison to the law, that so many people have been determined to slander my name because of my involvement with this case. My reputation has been spotless for the years that I have been a practicing attorney, and not once have I ever allowed my personal life to get in the way of my job. This case is certainly no different.

"It is with that that I must first acknowledge the capacity with which I am here today, representing the man sitting behind me at the defense desk. I am not testifying, and so there is no personal gain to be made here. I am in no way trying to sabotage a man who has so clearly already faltered beneath the public's withering eye. If I am to defend this man, and I am to the best of my ability, then I expect a fair trial from everyone involved. Per the Ad Hominem standard, it is my arguments that must stand up here, not my reasoning for giving them, and certainly not my character. You must remember that I am not on trial here.

"By the same token, I must also discuss the reasons for why I am here today as a defense attorney when many people have stated that I would be best suited for arguing against the defendant. The latter I cannot comment on, but it is something that everyone should think about. Why am I here, defending a known felon? Why am I arguing to maintain the freedom of a man whose family has been nothing more than a menace to our society for decades, and why am I standing before a courtroom, before so many people, defending a man who had previously aligned himself with an army whose sole purpose was to tear apart the Wizarding world as we know it?

"Because every person, according to our law, is entitled to a fair trial with adequate defense."

She paused, allowing the murmuring in the room to silence.

"According to our law, each crime committed by a single individual, especially when charges are of a different nature and happen over a span of several years, must be treated as separate. I am appalled that the people of England have been so unjust in trying to tie his past crimes – for which he has already been tried and served time for – into what he is being accused of today.

"His previous felony charge occurred when he was a minor. His father's guilt – for which is being served for the remainder of his life in Azkaban prison – and his mother's support for her husband – for which she has been exiled from England – have no bearing on the matter at hand today. Differentiating these crimes and treating them as individual, while focusing on who is actually on trial, is all I am asking. With this help from the Wizengamot and the public, I will prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that Draco Malfoy could not have murdered Ronald Weasley."