Author's Notes: Hey guys! Its getting colder and colder over here and I can't wait to go home for Christmas!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his wonderful world doesn't belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling. I make absolutely no money out of writing this fanfic, its all for fun.

Right, on to the thank you's. I'm so glad for all your reviews, its great!

Lovespell: Glad you liked the mushiness. More is to come but I'm dreading it because I don't like writing it.

AngelSerpent 91: Lol, the pace will be picked up, I promise! After all a Christmas ball is coming up and trust me, u'll like it!

Boostrap Beka: I love ur penname, its original! Thank you so much, your reviews make my day! I'm glad you like Abigail as a character, its so hard to introduce Ocs into Harry Potter world, no one usually likes them. Glad u liked the mushiness, more to come…

Velvet Revolution: Hey, I know what u mean, so Hermione/ Draco love stories take place over a week and its so hard to believe them! Thank you for your review, its really helpful to hear from people who appreciate the rhythm, I never know if I'm going too quickly or too slow. Nasty repercussions unfortunately will occur but it will take some time…

Miz-sumone: I update about once a week, sorry can't go faster, glad u like the fic!

Starlight-Heart: Hey, thanx so much, I love your reviews! Yeah, you got the quote! I don't like Christina but when I heard the song, I thought it fitted perfectly! Sorry I didn't write it before but this chappie is dedicated to you! Hope to hear from you again!

Roguish Muse: Heya! Glad you liked the fluff! Like I said before, more coming soon, and Abby won't get away with provoking Voldie (so pratronising! Haha!), it would be too easy for her!

Kerry: Hey, I liked ur review! Glad u like the dark fic, if u enjoy this fic, try some of my favourite stories, Means to an End by Nexis is absolutely brilliant! It'll change ur mind about dark fics! Final battle is basically the final chapter which isn't for a bit, but till then, enjoy the rest!

Dracocrayem: Oh my god, I can't believe u enjoy this fic as much as hp books. That makes my day! Thank you for the review, Harry and Ron, won't find out for a while, but they have yet to find out Hermione and Abby are distant cousins… As for Dumbledore, Abigail will soon find out it wasn't him as Hermione already did… enjoy!

..~**~..

Chapter 21

"Stop her!" the Dark Lord shrieked and Lucius Malfoy immediately pulled out his wand. Abigail quickly cast a protection spell on Ginny as she woke up and spun around to face Lucius, but it was too late.

Hermione thought her heart would burst from beating so fast as she anxiously watched Malfoy Sr. cast the Cruciatus curse on the Slytherin girl. But once again, the spell backfired and narrowly missed Voldemort's second in command. It caused the rest of the Death Eaters to instantly back away from Abigail, even though their master continued to shriek at them furiously.

"Kill her, you idiots! She's only a little girl. Kill her, kill them all!"

Hermione wondered why on earth Voldemort didn't simply kill them all himself - it would have saved him a lot of time - but the thought quickly flew away from her mind as she suddenly realised that each and every Death Eater before her had turned around to face her, wand in hand.

Since the large, black cloak she wore hid her face and figure well, none of them could identify her, and they had no idea what to expect. They seemed too scared to strike the first blow after seeing what Abigail's shield had done. Instead, they watched her warily, and Hermione, terrified, stood frozen on the spot, helplessly trying to catch sight of her friends among the crowd. She spotted Ginny among the rows of Death Eaters, creeping away from the table unnoticed and then dodging spells sent her way.

She seemed unharmed, although her eyes were wide with fear. She had finally nearly reached Hermione, when there was a loud cry from the other end of the room. Immediately, the Death Eaters before them turned their attention back to the raised dais and saw Lucius Malfoy, lying on the floor on his side, his long blond hair in disarray, clutching a bleeding leg, his wand having fallen a few metres away from him.

Abigail stood above him, pointing her wand down at his chest, her eyes watching closely the rows of Death Eaters before her. Scarlet, slit-pupiled eyes watched on eagerly.

"Lower your wands or I'll blast him to pieces," Abigail warned them sharply, although she was trembling like a leaf. "I said lower your wands!" she yelled again when they did not respond instantly.

She jabbed her wand in Malfoy's side, who immediately hissed in pain and caused several Death Eaters to step back in shock and revulsion. The noise was animalistic, and hardly what they would have expected from Voldemort's second. Abigail grabbed Malfoy by the front of his robes and lifted him up as best she could, her wand pressed against his neck.

"And what are you going to do now, Serpent?" There was a mocking tone in the voice that addressed her. Voldemort, after his brief panic, was now sitting comfortably in his throne looked down at the scene before him in delight. "Do you think you can kill my most worthy Death Eater and that I will let you get away with it?"

"Malfoy's only a safety measure to leave this wretched building alive," Abigail told him, partly hidden behind Malfoy's large stature. "But if you or any of your Death Eaters try anything, he's history."

She pressed the tip of her wand deeper into Malfoy's skin, who glanced up at his master in turn, although his face held no fear.

"My Lord!" he urged, still clutching his leg, blood trickling from his wound.

"Silence," the Dark Lord spat, quieting him at once. "And what about your friends, my dear? I could very well have them killed for all the insolence you have shown me."

Abigail smirked in return. "What friends?"

Voldemort's eyes flickered up towards the entrance at the back end of the hall, where one of the oak doors was slightly ajar.

"Very clever," he congratulated her, his pitiless red eyes looking down at his subjects. "Believe me when I say my Death Eaters will be severely punished for letting that happen."

The black-cloaked figures squirmed under his stare and several exchanged nervous glances as they realised that the two girls had slipped out right under their noses.

Voldemort once more turned his attention to Abigail and slowly raised his crooked pale white hand, a spidery finger pointed at the door.

"You may leave for now, Serpent," he said quietly. "But remember, you are being watched and Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."

Abigail said nothing. She had never expected her plan with Malfoy to work. Voldemort would never have let her go so easily unless there was some sort of plan behind it all. Abigail didn't know what it was and certainly didn't have time to think about it. She roughly pushed Malfoy forward, who winced but staggered on, and the crowd of Death Eaters before them parted down the middle. Abigail kept a sharp eye left and right for any wands pointed in her direction, but there were none; no one was stupid enough to defy the Dark Lord's orders.

As Abigail approached the door, she stopped and stared for a few seconds at a certain Death Eater, who screamed in return and ran to her lord.

Abigail continued to march on, still using Malfoy as a hostage and shield and turned around as she finally reached the door.

"What is it Bellatrix?" Voldemort demanded loudly.

"She spoke in my mind my Lord! Her voice was in my head!" Bellatrix Lestrange cried out in terror.

"I'll be seeing you very soon, Malfoy," she whispered angrily in Lucius's ear before roughly pushing him forward and disappearing behind the open oak door, flinging it shut behind her.

She did not hear the rest of the conversation as she ran outside hurriedly and Disapparated as soon as she reached the gates.

"He's coming for you next, she said. He'll kill you, she said," Bellatrix continued crying out loud, clutching the bottom of Voldemort's robes. "He'll kill you!"

"Who?" Voldemort demanded, bending his head down to his most faithful Death Eater.

"Harry Potter, my Lord," she finally breathed out.

..~**~..

Abigail woke up the next morning with a start. Her head pounded painfully and she felt awfully faint. The meeting had taken a lot of energy out of her the previous night, especially since her shield had protected her from two Unforgivables. Her power had certainly increased over the previous year. She had not expected to escape the second attack, but was grateful that she had; one more curse and she would have surely been seriously hurt, or even killed.

After Apparating back to the Forbidden Forest last night, she found the two Gryffindor girls waiting for her at the clearing and all three of them walked silently back to the castle; Ginny trembling in Hermione's arms, whilst the Head girl remained quiet.

Abigail didn't blame them. Fear overcame her too as she walked back to the castle and she couldn't help but throw up in the bathroom as soon as she reached the Slytherin common room. More than anything she feared Voldemort's revenge and needed to speak to Malfoy about it. Only he could tell her what the Dark Lord had planned for her.

Getting out of bed, Abigail quickly got dressed and when she sat down to put her shoes on, her owl suddenly swooped into her dorm through the window, carrying a letter on its leg. She took it and trying not to wake her roommates, she quietly walked out of her dorm and went down to the Slytherin common room.

Curling up into a plush armchair, she opened the letter and read it to herself.

Dear Abigail,

Have you heard about your mother? She has been transferred to St Mungo's and I shall try and visit her within the next two weeks. I am still at Malfoy Manor and we have both been invited to stay over for Christmas, therefore I hope to see you here very soon. I miss you very much.

Your Father.

"Next two weeks!" she exclaimed out loud.

What the hell? Staying at Malfoy Manor for Christmas? Who is Malfoy trying to fool?

This definitely wasn't her father writing to her; now she was sure of it. Whatever was going on, she was going to figure it out. She would go to Malfoy Manor during the Christmas holidays and get her father back. How, she had no idea. But she had no other choice and would probably need Draco's help, although she didn't trust him at all.

She folded up the letter angrily, stuffed it in her pocket, but when she stepped out of the common room, she bumped into Snape; a very angry Snape.

He pushed her back inside and put a silencing charm on the common room and locked the doors. "Did you get what you were hoping for?" he asked calmly, looking down his nose at her, obviously trying to control his wrath.

"I don't know what you're talking about -" she started, but he cut in angrily.

"That was the most selfish thing you could have done! You went too far this time you insufferable idiot!"

Abigail hardly listened to what he had to say and sat down in the armchair again.

"I don't care," she said quietly. "I did it to save my mother, it's none of your concern."

Unfortunately, she was pushing Snape to his limits. He blanched with fury.

"It concerns all of us now!" he yelled at her. "I've never known anyone to do something as stupid as what you did last night!"

His words finally seemed to hit her and she stood up to confront him.

"Don't you get it? I don't belong to your side. I'm not a pawn Dumbledore or you can play with for your benefit. My family is neutral, I can't choose sides!" she cried out in exasperation.

"Precisely!" Snape retorted and suddenly pointed an accusing finger at her. "You fell right into the Dark Lord's trap! He knew exactly what you were going to do. He knew you would go to him for a counter curse, he knew you would save the Weasley girl. And not only did you do that, but you also showed him the extent of your powers!"

Abigail looked back at Snape as if he'd gone mad.

It doesn't make sense! What it matter if I've showed Voldemort my powers?

"Don't you see?" Snape sneered at her. "You're indebted to him!"

And then it hit her. She finally understood what Snape meant. She had rescued Ginny, but her family was neutral to the war and so since she had helped the Light side, she would eventually have to help Voldemort.

"But… but someone had to save Ginny," Abigail retorted, finally realising the gravity of her act. "Besides, I prevented Blaise from becoming a Death Eater."

"Wrong," Snape told her, his face turning grave again. "They found another Muggle to sacrifice, the ritual continued."

Abigail looked back at him aghast. Blaise was a Death Eater now! Suddenly, something else struck her.

"So, are you saying that you wouldn't have saved Ginny?" she asked him slowly.

Snape looked back at her blankly. "She was a sacrifice we had to make."

Abigail opened her eyes wide and had the sudden urge of laughing at the irony and sadness of the situation. And they call themselves the good side!

"Listen Professor," she said very clearly. "There is no 'we'. I might be a Slytherin, but I still have a sense of honour. I don't give up on my friends, I don't leave them to die and honestly, I don't care about the consequences of my actions."

She then side-stepped him swiftly and stormed out of the common room, with Snape shouting behind her.

"If you help them, then we might as well all die now!"

..~**~..

Abigail ran down the stairs as fast as she could. She was suffocating in this enormous castle and needed to get out quickly. She needed fresh air, she needed to take in everything that had happened these past days.

She suddenly realised that she needed her mother. She needed to hear her soothing voice again telling her everything would be alright. She would have done the right thing last night and Abigail was terrified that she hadn't. She continued her trip down the stairs, passing students who looked back at her with curiosity. She didn't notice the dark-haired Slytherin coming towards her.

Feeling her arm grabbed roughly and pulled away from the next flight of stairs, Abigail spun around in fright.

"We need to talk," Blaise said sternly to her.

Oh shit!

"I've got nothing to say to you!" she cried out, breathing heavily, but he continued to pull her away from the crowd and towards a quieter spot.

"You've gone way too far, Abigail! What you did last night to our Lord was unforgivable!" he barked at her.

Pulling her arm free, Abigail's eyes glittered back at him angrily. "What he did to my mother is fucking unforgivable! Now get the hell away from me Blaise! We're over, you understand! It's over, so don't ever talk to me again!"

However, Blaise didn't give up so easily. He pushed her up against the wall and kept his hand tight around her throat. "This certainly isn't over Abby," he told her in a quiet tone, his finger tracing down her cheek. "We belong together and you know it. You still want me, your body wants me and you shouldn't fight it."

His hand fell down to her hip and over the thin material of her school skirt, suddenly grazing her skin just above her knee.

"Blaise - don't -" But it was useless, he overpowered her and her body was already responding to his touch. Damn her for still wanting him when he had clearly become a psycho and Death Eater. He grabbed her thigh, pulling her against him as his lips suddenly hit hers forcefully. His tongue swept across her mouth and without realising, she opened to him suddenly in need of his touch - his kiss. She was confused, maybe even a little desperate and kissing Blaise made her more alive than she had felt for the past week. Her skirt had quickly bundled around her waist as his hands roamed up her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him more fiercely than ever until her mind decided to wake up and memories of her trip to St Mungo's and especially, Harry's worried green eyes, appeared before her eyes.

She stopped abruptly, realising that making out with Blaise was not only a stupid solution to her problems, but that it was a dangerous one as well. He took her sudden stiffness as a cue to start kissing her neck instead, nibbling at her skin with his teeth, but Abigail quickly put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away.

Looking at him out of breath, she hardly knew what to say to him as she rearranged her skirt around her legs.

"Blaise, I'm sorry, but this is over."

He looked back at her confused, his eyes wide open with surprise.

"You're a Death Eater now and you chose a path where I can't follow you."

She turned to leave, taking advantage of his shock to slip away, but before she reached the stairs, she heard his taunting voice behind her. "This isn't over Abby. You'll pay for what you did… Malfoy already has."

Abigail continued her way down, but in her mind she couldn't help wondering what had happened to the Slytherin Prince.

Hours later, she began to shiver from the winter cold. She had been sitting outside, by the lake, on the rocks, where she could stare out at the water's surface and the sky's reflection on it.

It was her favourite spot.

Sighing heavily, she stamped out her last cigarette and wiped her frozen tears away. Her world had been turned upside down and finally she had realised that she had acted impulsively, first with Malfoy and then with Voldemort - and probably with Blaise too. She had been like a hurricane that nobody could calm down until it was satisfied by its destructive path. And in the end, everything she had done hadn't been useful at all. She was still without a counter curse and felt even more lost.

If only her mother could wake up….

She stared out numbly towards the vast lake, contemplating the ripples on its surface due to the wind. It blew strands of her long black hair into her face, but instead of pushing it away, she simply continued to stare.

"Hey," a voice called behind her. "What are you doing here?"

Although she recognised the voice, Abigail didn't look up. She felt a warm and heavy cloak slip onto her shoulders and Harry eventually sat down beside her. He looked at her for a while and then turned his head to stare out into the lake.

"I use to come down here a lot when my godfather died," he finally told her. "It felt good being lost in my thoughts, away from reality. I could pretend he was still alive and any moment from now he would come and find me."

Feeling the cold wind caress her neck, Abigail pulled the cloak tighter around her, but remained silent.

"Hermione told me everything this morning. I'm glad you rescued Ginny," he told her quietly.

She didn't answer, preferring to stare out into the open landscape before her. She couldn't tell him what Snape had said. How could she?

"I'm sorry about your mother Abby, but please don't face your pain alone," he eventually told her. "Trust me, it doesn't help."

She gazed back at him sadly, pushing her hair back behind her ears. Her eyes couldn't help but look straight into his bright and sincere emerald eyes.

"I know."

Silence followed as they continued to gaze at each other.

"She was so frightened. I sensed it at the hospital, fear and panic totally overcame her and so her spells didn't work," Abigail suddenly explained to him softly.

Her chin began to tremble again, but she refused to let herself cry in front of Harry. "Magical spells don't work with a confused mind. Now you understand what I meant by fear being the basis to Voldemort's power."

Harry nodded and seeing her distressed face, he gently took her hand.

"It's okay to cry, you know," he said after a moment.

"No, its not," she said with an empty voice, getting back up on her feet. "My mother isn't dead after all, she's just not well at the moment."

Harry looked back at her surprised as she handed him back the cloak and, turning her back on him, headed back to the castle.

..~**~..

Reaching the castle doors, Abby noticed Ginny standing in her way.

"Abby, I'm so sorry about everything," she said gingerly.

The Slytherin girl gave her a cold look in return. "I warned you about him, Gin."

"I know and I should have listened. I'm so sorry for being such an idiot. Please, can you forgive me?" Ginny asked her anxiously.

"Of course I will," Abby answered, a smile creeping on her face. She hugged her friend and the two girls headed inside the castle. As they crossed the entrance hall, they noticed a fair number of students staring at the announcements board and talking eagerly amongst themselves.

"What's going on?" Abigail asked out loud. But as she saw the notice on the board she groaned.

Not again!

Ginny squealed at the news. "It's official! The Christmas ball is happening next week!"

..~**~..

Yeah, the Christmas Ball! So who's going with whom? Have a guess, trust me its going to be wild!

Next chapter, Draco's aftermath, its not looking good…

Review!