The Darkest of Roses
Chapter 38: Blackmail makes people comply

Abigail

Over the next course of days – you could say almost a week – Hogwarts was pretty much a Hell to live in. Students were rarely in groups larger than three, or sometimes two depending on if the new headmistress liked the people in the group or not. Most people spent their days in detention and Abigail soon learned that Draco had been one of the beasts that led to Harry Potter and his clan of friends to spend almost an entire week in detention, writing lines in, so says, pens that wrote in their blood and left scars.

"How can you blame this on me?" Draco hissed, glaring at her. She glared back and didn't know how to defend her point of view. Draco was more stubborn than donkeys and didn't like people putting his actions into perspective.

"I'm not blaming it on you. But I know for a fact you dislike Umbridge as much as the rest of us!" Abigail defended back. It was the best thing she could come up with. She has heard him complain about her lack of intelligence in their defense against the arts classes. Draco had more sense than reading from a child's book that came inclusive with pictures and writing notes on a piece of paper on how to perform certain spells or charms.

"That's a useless defense, Abigail. Just because she's a crazy bat doesn't mean I won't take her side to take down St. Potter!" Draco shouted. Abigail glared at him and gathered her jacket and school bag, hastily putting them into her places – her jacket over her shoulders and her school bag slung over on of her shoulders. "Where are you going?"

'Away from you,' Abigail was tempted to say, but she didn't say anything as she headed for the door of the room of requirements. It was weird to say that Draco never took her back to the place they first had sex together. She couldn't even remember how to get there.

His hand shot out and grasped her by her upper arm, swinging her away. Out of impulse, her hand raised up to just push against his chest but ended up slamming – with a loud unfavorable smack – against his cheek. His head slung to the left in a daze as she stared at him, shocked and confused. "Draco, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to –"

"Get out," he whispered darkly. Abigail blinked, stunned by the tone of his voice. "I said get out!" She winced at the yell but didn't say anything as she turned around and walked out of the room. She hadn't meant to slap him in the face. It was aimed for his chest, but her depth perception was off, as usual. She frowned as tears burned the back of her eyes. She wished the headmaster Dumbledore was back. There was always less tension in the air of Hogwarts.

Her body was on autopilot as she made her way up to the Ravenclaw tower. Bumping into a certain person was the last thing she suspected. However, it was more common than not since where Abigail was heading and where the said person was coming from were closer than most students believed.

Hermione Granger had just finished a couple days' worth of homework from professor Snape and felt relieved, only to have it dampened by the fact that she needed an extra book from the library to finish her Arithmancy homework. She had been memorizing some lines in her head as she walked down the stairs and toward the library, which was only a few floors below her but the slow, tedious speed in which she was walking was creating more of a time waste than a leisure.

The two girls collided more chest than shoulder and Hermione's notepad and certain papers spilled out from her arms and Abigail's school bag slipped from her shoulder, spilling its contents a bit on the staircase. "Sorry," they both mumbled as they hurried to pick up the other's things.

They looked up and both paused a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry, Abigail," Hermione mumbled, putting on a kind smile as she said it. Abigail smiled back, but it wasn't as enthusiastic as one might be. Hermione noticed but didn't say anything.

"It's ok. It's partly my fault. I was…distracted, to say the least," she mumbled as she pushed all her things back into her school bag and slip it up onto her shoulder. The two stood and there was a hesitant pause between them as Abigail's mind floundered around her.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked. Abigail looked over at her and tried to put on her best smile, but even a stranger realized a lie beginning to start. "I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about. I'm merely concerned." Abigail sighed and despite her consciousness yelling at her, she decided to tell an acquaintance.

"To start, I'm sorry that Draco helped in separating your group with headmistress Umbridge. It shouldn't have even been remotely his concern what you guys were up to." Hermione frowned, glancing around her a little bit. She hadn't expected that part from Draco's girlfriend (if she knew Abigail more, she would know they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend). "And just now, we got into a huge argument about it. I just found out from Devon, another friend of mine and it was confirmed by Leon, who is a house mate. I confronted him and tried to make him see reason to maybe give up this whole Inquisitor thing he's pulling. But one thing led to another and without meaning to, I kinda slapped him."

"Slapped him?" Hermione asked, astounded. She couldn't stop the slight chuckle that sounded on the end of the word.

"Yes. I was aiming for his chest but my eye-to-hand coordination is off most of the time. And my school bag weighed down my other side so it was all out of balance. It wasn't much of a shocker to me, really but I feel bad. And then he sort of screamed at me to get out, which I did obviously but now I'm beating myself up about it," Abigail finished, letting out a breath of air that she hadn't known she'd been holding while she was talking.

"Wow. I'm sorry," Hermione murmured. "I don't know really what to say, except maybe you should give him some air. I'm not anywhere close enough to Malfoy to even suspect what he might be thinking." Abigail nodded, understanding that. Hermione was one of Draco's rivals, his enemies and he was unlawfully horrible to her, because of her blood.

"I feel better just voicing it, I guess." Hermione smiled. "Where are you headed?"

"To the library. I forgot to get a book for that Arithmancy essay due on Friday," Hermione answered, sighing.

"Is that all? I have it up on my bedroom. I'm finished with it if you want it," Abigail stated. Hermione smiled.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to worry about me turning it in late or something," Hermione stated, chuckling. Abigail almost laughed.

"You turn a book in late? That's more bizarre than pigs flying." The two laughed and Hermione agreed. The two headed up the stairs and to the Ravenclaw tower, which was absent of people so Abigail led Hermione into the common room and had her wait by the front door as she darted up the stairs and to her bedroom where she searched for the book before finding it in the trunk at the end of her bed. Her dorm mates all eyed her weirdly but she didn't pay them any mind as she rushed from the dorms and to the common room where Hermione was still waiting.

"I've never seen any other common rooms before. This is pretty homey," Hermione stated, smiling as Abigail handed her the book. Abigail smiled and shrugged.

"I suppose they're almost all alike. I mean, how creative can two geezers and two old bats be about decorating common rooms," Abigail joked. Hermione laughed and shrugged. Abigail walked her out and bid her farewell, and that she'll see her in Arithmancy for sure, before retiring to the couch to stare aimlessly into the fireplace for hours.

Even though she had talked to Hermione, she still felt heavier about the whole thing with Draco. She had chosen the right word when describing it was beating her up. She liked Draco, a lot and she would never dream of hurting him, yet she did. If she tried to explain to him that it was an accident, his judge-before-knowing nature would call her a liar. And his subconscious wouldn't be loud enough to tell her she wasn't a liar. She put her head down on the arm rest and sighed, watching the flames flicker and spit in the fireplace, like a dance. She hadn't meant so but she had soon passed out from the peaceful sound and the rather odd quietness the common room had.

Draco

'She hit me!'

His mind screamed it at him and he couldn't stop pacing to and fro in the room of requirements as his head spun. He was a raging ball of fire and if anyone walked in at that moment, he'd tear them a new set of eye sockets, only they wouldn't be in their face. Draco had no idea that could ever happen to him from a girl he knew loved him.

'But what it really was an accident? She had been trying to say something before you rudely cut her off, had she not?' his annoying subconscious countered. Draco growled a bit and shook his head violently side to side before running an agitated hand through his hair. "That wench would say anything to get out of that!" he bellowed.

'Yes, but did you see her face when she slapped you? It had been just as shocked as yours was. And that was the truth. She's not that good of an actor, remember?' He wanted to scream as his subconscious to shut up but even he was smart enough to know that wasn't possible. It was called his subconscious for a reason. It was uncontrollable and didn't come with a mute button.

"So what if she did it on accident? Am I supposed to forgive her?" Draco snapped, disbelieving he was trying to get information from his subconscious. "It bloody well hurt, too."

There was no answer, as he suspected. He couldn't answer questions that he couldn't verbally answer. His subconscious was…him and that meant that he'd have to go to outside help to get the answers. But he didn't trust anyone. He didn't even trust Blaise all the way and that was the only person who came to mind.

'There's always the Richards girl. She's not just good for a shag, you know?' his subconscious stated. Draco sighed irritably and grabbed his jacket before heading out of the room of requirements. What he needed was a girl's perspective and the Richards girl was the only one who was take him seriously. But the thing that put a stop to his walking was that he had no idea where that girl would be. He didn't know her schedule and he, surely, wasn't the only guy shagging her. Even he would admit she was a catch.

"I'll try the common rooms first," he stated aloud before rolling his eyes. "Great, I'm talking to myself." He walked from the room of requirements and headed swiftly through the hallways, shoving practically anyone in his way out of his way. He moved down the stairs quickly and down to the dungeon hallways before hearing a weird, echoing noise. He paused in his hurry and looked around. The sounds were familiar since he had been making those same sounds only hours ago with Abigail. He walked towards the sound before coming to a curtain that was hanging over an archway with a solo picture in it that had a look of shock on its face. "Open now," Draco snapped. The picture squealed a bit and put down the piece of ham steak he had been holding. It was a picture of a man dressed in a bizarre 15th century outfit and a long, pointed nose.

"N-not without the p-password, dear Slytherin," the portrait stated.

"I said open now! I demand to know what or who is in there!" Draco bellowed. He hadn't meant to sound so cruel but he wasn't in a good mood. The portrait was about to say something but it was soon sliding open and a familiar face popped out. "Well, it is you," Draco stated, smirking.

"M-Malfoy?" Devon hissed, stepping out and shutting the portrait before the contents inside could be seen. Draco smirked a bit wider and crossed his arms. "What do you want?"

"Well first I want to know who you were doing in there," Draco teased. "It seems weird to be doing somebody way out here and not in the dormitories. Or is it somebody that you're not supposed to be doing?"

"I…" she began but her face darkened into a glare as she moved passed him. "It's none of your business."

"I supposed it's that one kid. What's his name? I think it started to a 'J' or something. Oh, Jackson right? That dark skinned guy? I wonder what you're parents would say if they knew –" He was shoved roughly against the brick wall by Devon's forearm and her eyes glared heatedly at him. He put up his hands defensively and smirked. "So defensive. I guess I hit the ace then, right?"

"What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy?" she hissed.

"I need your help," he answered, blatantly. Suspicion brewing in her, she stepped away from him and narrowed her eyes.

"My help? My help with what exactly?"

"Oh, don't worry. It's something right up your…let's say, alley," he mumbled, glancing back at the portrait that was opening and the dark haired Portuguese was walking out because Devon had only told him to wait about five minutes before heading out himself. Draco smirked and started down at Devon, knowing he had blackmail so she had to help him.

But the truth was, Draco didn't give a rat's ass who she shagged. Whether he be black, Indian, Mexican, Chinese or Italian. Devon was no longer his concern and the help he needed was more important than their little love affair, to him.