"She was WHAT!?"
Many thoughts crossed Draco's mind. All the possibilities raced recklessly in his head, fighting to grasp one inch of coherence, as what he had just heard was too obscene, too impossible for his mind to comprehend.
Only minutes ago he had been eyeing the Deputy Headmaster with disdain, barely registering what he was telling him, but now all his attention was focused on him. He wasn't aware of the chair he knocked back when he stood up so abruptly, his cool collected demeanour had been discarded and replaced by a far less elegant and hysteric version of himself. Nothing existed but this pathetic scum, this foul man that dared defile that which was more sacred to him.
"I said, Mr. Malfoy, that your daughter was found performing" he gulped, "oral sex on one of the other students in the boys' restroom." The poor man said in what he had hoped to be a professional tone instead of a terrified squeal. Despite all his years of experience, Neville Longbottom couldn't help feeling again like a little scared boy when in the presence of Draco Malfoy and seeing him rage through his office, screaming, swearing and smashing objects against the walls wasn't helping.
Next to where Draco had been sitting Hermione looked at Neville apologetically. She had the decency to look ashamed at both her daughter and husband's behaviour. Ex-husband, Hermione had to remind herself. Her brow furrowed at this thought, if they weren't married anymore why was she still putting up with his antics? A sharp flick of her wand and a loud bang was heard through the room. Though she felt more like hexing his face off there were more pressing matters and his silence would have to do. For now.
"Please, continue." Said Hermione, taking the opportunity before Draco continued his tantrum.
"A… As you b-both now," stammered Neville, his eyes never leaving Draco. "Intimate intercourse is strictly against our c-code of conduct and disciplinary actions will be taken on Miss Malfoy and her companion."
"I really hope that bastard gets more than a simple detention! An older hormone-crazed teenager seducing my little girl!" Interrupted Draco.
"Well, he's actually y-younger than her…"
"No doubt trying to boost his reputation by tainting that of my child!"
"I highly d-doubt that as he's the f-founder of the 'Hogwarts' Abstinence Club', this will destroy his reput..." Said Neville as he ducked behind his desk.
"The nerve of him! He preaches morality in public but seduces innocent girls at the first chance!" Draco bellowed.
Neville wanted nothing more than to run as far from this confrontation as he could, but kept on. "Mr. Malfoy," he said with his most soothing voice. "It has come to my knowledge that there was a bet going on among the 5th year slytherin girls on who would be the one to 'corrupt' this boy."
"I put my daughter in your and this institution's trust! I thought she would be receiving an education, not being bullied by her own classmates into indecent activities! It's called peer pressure and you should be fighting it!" Draco was one step away from climbing onto the desk and pouncing on poor Neville.
"Merlin's Beard! When will you stop making excuses for her! When will you open your eyes and see what she's turning into!" Hermione shouted. She had had it. She wasn't as naïve as Draco when it came to their daughter. There was something definitely wrong with her as much as it pained Hermione to admit it. She stood between her ex-husband and Neville's desk, shooting daggers at Draco and receiving his burning glares in return.
Oblivious to what was happening in the Deputy Headmaster's office, the reason behind the fight was merrily strolling her way to see Professor Longbottom. Cassiopeia Malfoy smirked to herself at her luck. It should have been Professor Sinistra who dealt with her, being as she was head of her house, but as the issue at hand had involved students from different houses it was Longbottom's duty to take care of it. Sinistra knew how to handle her, but Longbottom would be defenceless against her many tricks. Cassiopeia always planned her day in advance and would never leave her bedroom without having several alibis ready in case she got herself into any trouble, which was more often than not. She knew her roommates had spilled the beans, but she couldn't hold their betrayal against them, she would have done exactly the same thing in their place. Of course she still was planning on getting back at them, but it was a matter of politics, not feelings.
A few steps before she reached the Deputy Headmaster's door, she took out a vial of odourless onion extract and rubbed her eyes with a few drops. She elongated her skirt, messed her hair and wrapped her robe around her as if the world was a scary cold place she needed to be protected from. She knocked gently on the door and in a feeble voice asked:
"May I come in, Professor?"
What she saw as she entered the office made her stop in her tracks. So the wimp had summoned her parents? She forced herself to suppress the smirk that was forming on her lips. This is going to be easier than I thought. She came up to meet them with her eyes on the floor, doing her best to seem mortified and ashamed. Neville conjured a third chair and motioned for her to sit, but instead of sitting down, Cassiopeia flung herself at her mother, sobbing on her lap.
"Mummy, I'm sorry! I d-don't know why I d-did it, we were joking and s-suddenly it wasn't a joke anymore and-and I felt p-pressured to go on but I wanted to get out and-and then they wer-"
"Stop this nonsense at once!" Interrupted Hermione pulling her daughter up. "Do you really expect us to believe you this time? Do you really think your fake tears and pathetic excuses will work every time you mess things up!?"
Of course her mother hadn't fallen for her little scene. Not that Cassiopeia was expecting her to, it was someone else she wanted to fool. As if on cue, Daddy dearest tore her away from Hermione and held her in his arms.
"Don't speak to her like that! Alright, maybe she deserves some sort of corrective measure," Hermione snorted at his maybe. "But scolding her so harshly when she's trying to make amends and apologizing will only make things worse!"
Hermione rolled her eyes in despair. Harshly? The way Draco pampered their daughter made her insides churn and her head spin while, of course, Cassiopeia loved every minute of it. Hermione never thought she would be feeling like the third wheel in her own family, but as time passed she could see the breach between them growing wider.
"Listen, Draco," she said, massaging her temples. "This behaviour has to stop! Don't you see it? She's blowing random guys just to win bets, for Merlin's sake! Don't you care about her morals, her reputation, her self esteem?"
Her words had some effect on him as he lifted up the girl's chin to make eye contact with her.
"Your mother is right, Sweetheart, I know this is a difficult age for you and you are confused with all these new feelings and sensations, but you can't go around throwing yourself away like this. Sex and love are serious issu-"
"LOVE! What do I know about love!? If love is something so serious why did you toss it away at the first problem! I was so happy when we were a true family but you had to take it away from me! Don't tell me that love is serious when you got divorced without bothering to make an effort. I hate you both. I HATE YOU!"
That was it. The words that not even Hermione could resist. Her heart broke every single time she heard them and every single time she gave in, truly believing that her miscreant daughter's faults were hers and hers only. With watery eyes she walked towards her child, embracing her softly and letting her cry against her chest. Cassiopeia buried her face in her mother's jumper not able to hold back the wide grin that formed any longer. She had won. She always did.
******
A.N.: Does this brat deserve an ass whooping or what? So, first fic after a long long break; it's not a brilliant comeback, but I promise I'll try harder for next chapter. A bit of a warning, 1) ESL here, so please forgive me for any spelling/grammar mistakes, but do feel free to point them out. 2) I'd say I'm busy, but the truth is I'm lazy, lazy! LAZY! so I'm apologizing in advance for the decades long delay in updating the fic that is sure to happen. 3) I'm keeping this M rated not R, which means no smut. I'm okay reading it, but I don't feel comfortable writing it, so sorry if you were looking for that.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter books' characters or plot; if I did I would have fulfilled my lifelong dream of buying an underground villain overlord base where I could cackle maniacally in a proper setting. What can I say, cackling maniacally in a bedroom with chintz curtains just doesn't have the same glamour to it.
