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

The Great Escape - Part 2

"What pressure?" the Jessica asked him in response, clearly staying strong during the pain they were enduring and leaning against the rails for support, "Draco what pressure would cause you to do this?"

The Jessica on the ground watched on from the steps, judging when would be a good time to reveal herself and step in.

"My father, the Dark Lord," Draco answered forcefully, his wand arm shaking as he shuffled forward towards her, "for generations my family has been respected and this was the first chance I could prove myself worthy of the name. When I brought you home at Christmas it was the first time my father ever said he was proud of me - I'm not going to let his words go to shame. I can't let you leave Jess."

There was a tremor in his tone that was so different to the way Draco had revealed himself to her only a couple of days before. When he had told Jessica what he had done in the Room Of Requirement he was confident, cocky even, there was no remorse at all. Now it appeared that he wasn't so self-assured, desperate even, and that was probably because his mission was going to be in tatters as soon as she slipped away from reach.

"But I was proud of you," insisted the Jessica as she bravely stepped forward, wincing as her hurt leg touched the ground for a second, "I thought we had formed a real relationship and you were starting to open up. I thought you wanted to go against the grain, become a Healer, was any of that true?"

Draco looked to weaken for a moment he saw her hurt, his arm bending down before quickly snapping back up again with the shame of having an emotional reflex. "No, I told you," he shouted, "everything I said was to make you trust me."

"Draco, please, you're not a great actor," the girl said as she tried to encourage him to back down. Jessica was surprised she had said it to his face so boldly when Draco had to power to injure her even more. "Even if the words were fake I know you couldn't have pretended the whole time. If you're going to talk about Christmas, what about the time we spent reading in your garden? It meant something to me, and I know it did you too."

Jessica watched as the memory of their time studying in the Manor Maze seemed to finally bring Draco to break down and lose character, surrendering to the pain that his eyes were reflecting. In the distance, she could still hear the fireworks Fred and George were letting off in the Great Hall seven floors down, but weirdly enough - Jessica hoped that they were having too much fun to move on with the next stage of their plan. She was intrigued as to where this was going to go, and their presence would've ruined the work the other Jessica was doing.

"I can't," Draco admitted, his whole body starting to tremble and seize up. It wasn't unheard of for boys to find it difficult expressing their feelings, hell, it had taken Fred a long time to be honest about his, but there was something so fretful about his body language that showed this was his own version of torture and pain.

"Can't what?" the Jessica asked him. She looked just as confused and concerned for him as the real one did.

"I can't say it," he stated as he gripped his wand tighter, "I just can't."

"Why can't you?"

"Because-" he stuttered, his jaw clenching tightly as he tried not to let the tears fall out of his eyes, "if I admit it then it's true. I can never go home to my family again without feeling disgusting. The words would betray everything my ancestors held dear. I'd be a traitor, I'd be exiled. The Dark Lord would kill me and disgrace my whole family. I can't do that to them."

Jessica watched the copy herself express pity for Draco, limping towards him as she took the risky gamble that he wasn't going to attack. From the staircase, even she could admit that unfortunately, his words made her feel a certain way towards him. It was the last weakness still within her, as she had known deep down that Draco was a product of the family in which he was raised. That still didn't excuse his actions, but it gave a decent reason for them to be understood.