Decree No.29 (O.C) Fred Weasley/ Draco Malfoy

The Fallout - Part 1

"So I won't ramble on dear, because I know you'll write to me back, but I want you to know that we are all so proud of you. Remember, people will always try to scare you into being someone you're not. You just need to have the courage to be yourself.

I've enclosed some homemade fudge as Fred has told me you have missed it while being away, but if he is telling lies, then please tell him off for me. I had to send Nymphadora to the muggle shops to get the ingredients, and you won't believe the number of trips it took her to get the right things.

Lots of love,

Mrs Weasley"

A tear fell from Jessica's weary eyes as she finished reading the letter on her bed, causing a small splash on the parchment. She had received it a few days ago at breakfast but had purposely not opened it before now as she knew it would make her feel guilty. After Umbridge's announcement earlier that day, she felt like she had nothing to lose, and she saw reading it as some self-punishment.

After dodging the crowd after a rather atmospheric dinner in the Great Hall (the Slytherins being overly happy and the rest of the students whispering in terrified gossip), she had run straight up to the girl's dormitories, locking herself in to get some peace. She could hear Adrian Pucey making a toast down in the common room below, surely holding up a glass of firewhisky lordfully above his head as the rest of the students copied around him.

"To Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad," Adrian cheered, "for all the power they are rightfully returning to Slytherin house!"

"To Slytherin house!" students chanted back in response, followed by an orchestra of glasses clanging together and loud cheers, each of which caused her nerves to twitch.

Jessica loathed them all, praising Umbridge and the terror she was about to enforce on the students of Hogwarts. There was nothing to be praised for, and their chants weren't doing anything to help drown out the internal screams that she was experiencing inside. If anything, their chants emphasised her inner turmoil, acting as a soundboard to amplify it.

There was no way she could write back to Mrs Weasley now, nor to any of the Order. Soon, everyone would write back to say that she had joined the Inquisitorial Squad, and all sympathy and affection for her would be gone. In their eyes, she would have let them down, and she wouldn't even be able to explain why.

"Not joining in the celebrations?" asked Theo as he opened the door to the dormitory, two full firewhisky glasses in his hand. He had already changed from his robes and was now wearing black tailored trousers and a white cable-knit jumper that complimented his warm complexion. Jessica jumped and quickly tucked the letter under her pillow, hiding it from view and wiping her eyes to remove all evidence of her unhappiness.

"I'm not really in the mood," she responded gravely, her eyes shifting to the windows where the dark lake water could be seen crashing against the castle walls.

Unlike the Gryffindor common room, there was no barrier to stop the boys from entering the girl's rooms, so Theo walked in and sat on the end of her bed, placing one of the glasses of firewhisky on her bedside table. At least with Theo, she didn't have to pretend she was okay, and he had picked up that she wasn't.

He sighed and twisted the snake-embellished signet ring around his finger before lifting his inner knee onto her bed, facing her in a cosy position. "I mean, in confidence between you and me, I'm not ecstatic about this either," he told her quietly, his grey eyes calming her anxiousness, "but I know not to have a face like a slapped arse. They'll clock it if you sit up here feeling sorry for yourself all night, and I won't be able to defend you."