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Luna Lovegood was nervous. Today was her first solo trial as lead solicitor in front of a full Wizengamot and it wasn’t going well. The case was a simple civil matter. Her client, Ms. Bubach, had her entire vegetable, fruit, and nut crop destroyed and she was convinced it was her neighbor Mr. Drimple. The yearly harvest was sold at local markets for income, and Ms. Bubach was suing for her income loss. Mr. Drimple, however, was a hard man to crack.
As was common with a first solo trial, a junior partner from her solicitor firm was sitting with her as a co-solicitor, present more for a sign of strength. Working long hours the past few weeks with Draco Malfoy, the junior partner assigned to her case, made her quite fond of her former schoolmate and she wanted to impress him.
Luna took a deep breath and returned to her questioning of the defendant.
“Mr. Drimple, is it true that you and Ms. Bubach had issues in the past regarding her garden?”
Mr. Drimple crossed his arms in front of his chest and settled into the stand. “I wouldn’t call it a garden; more like an unruly forest.”
Luna smiled. “You didn’t answer the question, Mr. Drimple.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Yes I suppose we had issues, but that doesn’t prove anything.”
Luna nodded and looked back at Draco who smiled at her in encouragement. “You got this,” he mouthed at her.
Luna turned back to Mr. Drimple who sat smirking at her.
“Can you explain to me what you did on the evening of August 16 when Ms. Bubach’s garden was destroyed?”
“I had just returned from a two week holiday so I stopped for some takeaway, went home, let my snails out for some fresh air, and went to bed.”
Luna processed the information, looking for a hole in his story.
“So you just returned home, got takeaway, let your snails out, and went to bed the evening of August 16th?”
Mr. Drimple stared at her like she was a three-headed dog. “Yes..” he replied slowly.
Suddenly, Luna had an idea. She strode over to the table where Draco was sitting and grabbed Mr. Drimple’s file.
“It says in here that you have quite a few snails, Mr. Drimple. Have you been raising them for a long time?”
Mr. Drimple sat up straight, excitement in his eyes. “Oh yes! I’ve been a breeder for many years. My snails mean everything to me.”
“And what color snails do you have Mr. Drimple?” Luna pressed on.
“Every color you could imagine girl! I have red ones, blue ones, your standard gray and brown snails. My snails are one of a kind.” Mr. Drimple smirked arrogantly.
Luna looked him dead in the eyes. “Do you have any that can change their color, Mr. Drimple?”
“Objection!” yelled Mr. Drimple’s solicitor. “Chief Warlock, I don’t see how it’s relevant what color my clients' snails are! Ms. Lovegood is grasping at nothing.”
“Sir, I assure you I have a point!” Luna pleaded with the Chief Warlock.
He looked over the tops of his eyeglasses at her and frowned. “Get to it quickly Ms. Lovegood.”
Luna glanced back at Draco who sat watching, confusion evident on his face. She winked and turned back to Mr. Drimple, her head held high.
“I’ll repeat the question. Do you have any that can change their color Mr. Drimple?”
Mr. Drimple scoffed at her. “Yes, my top sellers can change their colors by the hour! They are quite rare, but they fetch a pretty Galleon.”
Yes! Luna thought to herself. Got him!
Luna smiled sweetly at him. “Mr. Drimple, is it possible that you are breeding Streelers?”
The smug smile disappeared from Mr. Drimple’s face. “I--, yes..”
“And if you are the avid snail breeder that you say you are Mr. Drimple, then you should know what is so special about Streelers, right?” Luna looked at him innocently, waiting for his response.
The color was now draining from his face, and he sat quietly.
Luna turned towards he Wizengamot. “For those not familiar with a Streeler, they’re a magical snail from Africa that are quite large and can change their color by the hour. Streelers also have toxic spikes on their shell, which make them valuable in Knockturn alley. Isn’t that right Mr. Drimple?” she turned back towards the now sweating man fidgeting in the stands. “Streelers are also known to produce an extremely venomous slime trail that destroys vegetation.”
Mr. Drimple’s eyes widened as Luna heard gasps from those watching behind her.
“I--, you--,” Mr. Drimple stuttered at her.
Luna whirled around and caught Draco’s awestruck gaze before she continued, driving home the dagger.
“If you are the breeder you say you are, Sir, then you know all this already.” Luna looked at Draco, who was smiling.
“Now wait a min--,” Mr. Drimple tried to interject.
“And as you already said, you let your snails out for air when you returned from holiday, which means you knowingly put Ms. Bubach’s garden in danger when you allowed your snails to roam. Isn’t that right, Mr. Drimple?”
Luna turned to see Mr. Drimple standing, his face beet red, his hands clenched tightly into fists. “Did she show you photos of her so-called garden? It’s a bloody menace to the neighborhood! Nothing but weeds and ugly, twisted crops. I’m glad my snails destroyed it!” He growled and pointed his finger at Ms. Bubach.
“I knew it!” her client screamed from the table. Draco clapped his hands, a giant grin on his face.
“Order!” yelled the Chief Warlock from his seat.
Luna walked back to the table breathing a sigh of relief that she had won. When she reached him, Draco put his arms around her and hugged her. “Would you like to get a drink with me to celebrate?” he asked, his breath tickling her ear.
Luna looked up at him in surprise and excitement, “I’d love to.”