It had all been leading up to this.
Every aspect of Jessica's year had been controlled and now the control was about to be handed back to her through the one thing she had been trained not to do...rebellion.
It was the day before her trial, and subsequently, the day of the Defence Against The Dark Arts O.W.L exam. Jessica had to attend the exam to keep up appearances, so she walked into the Great Hall that afternoon in her Slytherin robes like nothing was wrong and deposited a wand at the door like everyone else. She then sat down at her assigned seat like she normally would and pretended to be nervous for the exam - though she actually couldn't care less about whatever paper was put in front of her.
After fifteen minutes of the exam starting, Jessica nervously looked past Lavender Browns hair to spy on Umbridge, who had been surveying everyone from the front to make sure there was no evidence of cheating. Jessica hadn't thought it necessary for her to start writing an essay so she just sat there in the third row waiting for the plan Fred had devised to begin. Every now and again she would sneak a glimpse across the row to Hermione who was two desks down, but she was too occupied with actually still trying to pass the exam to notice her. Ron on the other hand, was happy to give her a reassuring nod, as he had opened the paper at the start and immediately closed it a second later after seeing the first question.
Ten...Nine...Eight...
Tick, Tock went the huge clock behind Umbridge, her toad-like features disgustingly gleaming at the silence that was sat down below her. It was going to happen any second now, and Jessica subtly rubbed her back along the chair, checking to see if her real wand was still hidden there and hadn't fallen out of her skirt. It had been Ron's old wand that she had given to Filch at the door, as the the old caretaker wouldn't be able to tell a working one from a snapped twig.
Seven...Six...Five...
Jessica clenched her quill, ready to throw it in case of emergency.
Four...Three...
Harry looked over, his hand itching at the bottom of his shirt waiting for the signal.
Two...One...
A bang was heard in the distance and Umbridge immediately was alerted to it. Jessica looked down and pretended to write something on her parchment as she stormed past her, searching to inspect where the sound could've come from. When she was clear, Jessica turned around and watched Umbridge reach the doors to the Great Hall, seeing Ron already grinning in anticipation as a single spark of light flew out to burn the tip of Umbridge's nose. This resulted in a very high pitched shriek escaping her mouth and even Hermione neglected her exam paper to turn and look alongside a few other students. Even those who hadn't been distracted were giggling under their breath, but one by one the curiosity got the better of them and soon the whole hall was watching Umbridge panic.
"Come on Freddie," Jessica muttered in support under her breath.
For a moment...nothing. The calm before the storm. But then, it all happened at once, a beautiful storm that was to break all of the stupid rules that Umbridge had ever set.
"How's this for unruly behaviour you old hag!" shouted Fred and George as they flew into the Great Hall straight over Umbridge's head. They were each carrying a bagful of Theo & Blaise's explosives that they had stolen from the party and started to throw them up into the air to create the most colour and light the grand room had seen in months.
Fireworks were everywhere. Brightness was everywhere. It reminded Jessica of how she and Fred had spent New Year's Eve and the vision she had seen on her first night at Grimmauld Place. It was like the necklace was trying to tell her to put her faith in Fred even then.
Every student in the room was mesmerised by the scene playing out above them and laughed when the twins flew across the hall to wipe all of the exam papers away from their desks. George took out a particularly sparkly tube and threw it at a clump of Slytherins that had gathered together in the corner of the room and shouted "take that!", to which the whole crowd cheered because the tube ended up covering all the Slytherins in sticky orange slime. Umbridge was furious and stormed up the Hall to try and tell Fred and George to come down, but she was unsuccessful of course, with George shouting a well-earned bit of abuse back at her.
Jessica stood up as Fred passed her overhead and caught the note that he threw down to her whilst aiming a Catherine Wheel at Umbridge. When she opened it, the note read: "he'll be here any minute, plan wicked witch is a go."
With that confirmation she ran towards the back of the room, relying on the hope that she would have time to spend longer with Fred if this all went to plan. By the door, she was met by Harry, Hermione and Ron and the latter of which pulled out one of Theo's dark crystals that he had managed to steal during potions class that morning. Ron threw it to the floor and a dark coal-like mist surrounded them to provide a shield from any onlookers (which they hoped would just be seen as another of Fred and George's tricks). They knew they only had a few seconds, so Hermione and Jessica exchanged gifts by sleight of hand and Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak from underneath his shirt, covering Jessica, Ron and Hermione in it entirely.
"Good luck," he said as the powder started to fade and he ran out from the fog towards Umbridge, ready to provide support for Fred and George if needed. Hermione and Ron ran out with Jessica, all underneath the cloak, and they headed straight towards the third floor. Luckily, no one got in their way, and when they approached the statue of the one-eyed witch Jessica was able to cast "Dissendium" without anyone seeing a wand alone in mid-air. Umbridge's efforts of concealing all the secret passageways had really had been futile, as Fred and George had been able to blast it back open again with only a few makeshift bombs.
"Right, just get to Hogsmeade and wait," said Jessica and she offered Hermione the cloak as she pulled the material off of her head, "do you want to take this in case?"
"No don't be silly," said Hermione and she pulled the cloak back over Jessica, "you need it as they're probably already after you, and besides, I'm good at charms and Ron's good at making up lies, if they catch us we'll be fine."
"Thanks...I think," said Ron as he and Hermione exited the cover, "right we best get going then-"
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A scream pounded through their ears as a body was thrown up the staircase next to them, a petite black-haired girl landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. She was unconscious but Jessica didn't have to see her face to recognise the girl, the sound was enough.
"Finally!" someone cheered from the bottom of the staircase and they hurried up the steps, coming into view of the three of them. It was Angelina Johnson, and she was smiling from ear to ear vengefully. She leaned down over Pansy's face and tauntingly pointed her wand at her chest, "how do you like getting cursed when your back is turned bitch!"
Jessica had never felt happier for Angelina. She had been owed that moment for a long time.
"Oh hi guys," Angelina said awkwardly as she noticed Ron and Hermione standing there, Jessica still being invisible, "I know it's bad that I enjoyed doing that...but you can't tell me she didn't have it coming right?"
Hermione and Ron just stared at her in surprise.
"Come on! Aren't you supposed to be gone right now?" Angelina ordered them as she tapped her watch with her wand, "formations people!"
You could take her out of the uniform, but you couldn't stop her from being a Captain.
Hermione and Ron nodded at Angelina and entered the passageway, Jessica closing it up as their bodies faded into the darkness of the long tunnel. Jessica then revealed her head from the cloak so Angelina could see her and walked over, pulling out the bottle Hermione had snuck into her pocket.
"Thanks for helping," Jessica told her, however, her gaze was lowered to the girl lying at her feet, "but you don't have to do this if you're not comfortable, you've already helped with Pansy."
"Jess a lot of shit happened before you even got here," said Angelina determinedly as she took the bottle from Jessica's hand, "and after you told me your story there was no way I wasn't going to help. I'm leaving this school in a few weeks and I'll regret it if I miss out on the opportunity to actually fight back."
She then lowered her eyes downward, looking shy as she tucked a lock of her braided hair behind her ear. "George always says I should let go and not be so worried about rules all the time, he's kind of wise like that I guess."
Jessica thought perhaps this was Angelina trying to tell her something, but not knowing how to say it. Either way, she thought she thought she owed it to both her and George to help them out.
"He's very wise, and smart," Jessica told Angelina kindly, "just like you. I think you'd make a great team."
As Angelina raised an eyebrow curiously there was a loud roar that came from below. Fred and George had let off the dragon already, and that meant they were running behind.
"That's for slut shaming me you piece of shit!" shouted Ginny as she ran up the staircase next to them excitedly, flashes of light following her but fortunately missing her body. She didn't stop running and grabbed Jessica's hand to pull her away, Jessica having to throw the invisibility cloak to Angelina which she caught effortlessly with her chaser skills.
"Go now!" Jessica called to Angelina as Ginny pulled her around the corner. Angelina obeyed and put on the invisibility cloak, disappearing from eyesight.
"The Slytherins have been on mine and Dean's tail ever since you left the Great Hall," Ginny panted as the two girls ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, "I just cursed Adrian so that his nose blew up to the size of a balloon. It's hilarious, he can't get off the floor as the weight of it makes him topple over every time he tries to stand up."
"What about the others?" Jessica asked, happy for Ginny but more concerned about the task at hand.
"I didn't see Draco, Crabbe or Goyle," Ginny replied, "but Theo and Blaise are chasing me because Draco had tracked you to the third floor."
"Shut up Theo, I can't hear them!" said a voice in the distance behind them. The deep huskiness of it told Jessica it was Blaise.
The two girls pulled around a corner and stopped to listen so that Blaise couldn't hear their footsteps in the quiet.
"I can't hear anything either, because they're not here!" Theo argued back, "Ginny is a decoy, Draco said the tracing showed Jess walking down the passageway so let's go back!"
The two boys were getting closer, and Jessica tried to control her breathing so that she could pant quietly.
"Don't you know Jess at all? She's smarter than to still be wearing those earrings dumbass," Blaise replied plainly. Jessica knew the silence that followed was Theo seriously considering hitting Blaise around the head, but she was more concerned about the fact that Blaise appeared to know her more than her ex-best friend.
"We need to split up," Ginny whispered to her.
"What?" Jessica whispered back, "No way."
"I promised Fred I'd get you to the Astronomy Tower," said Ginny sternly, "I can't do that if we can't get off this floor. I'll battle both of them."
"But they're both skilled," said Jessica, "you won't be able to fight both on your own."
"She's not on her own," said Lee as he strutted around the corner from the other end. Jessica had forgotten that Fred and George has positioned DA members on every other floor. "Neville and Luna are on the sixth floor," he continued, "if you can make it to them they can take you up to the tower."
Before Jessica or Ginny could reply Theo and Blaise reached the hallway they were standing in and drew out their wands to point at the group. Lee and Ginny instinctively stood in front of Jessica, protecting her to give her time to run away.
"What are you going to do Jordan?" Blaise mocked Lee, "give us more of your commentary and bore us to submission?"
"Oh I've been waiting for this," replied Lee as he rolled up his sleeves, "McGonagall isn't here now to stop me from touching you little bastards and there are some insults you just can't deliver through words."
Blaise cast the first spell in retaliation and a battle broke out between the four wizards. Ginny and Lee almost seemed to be enjoying the fight, so Jessica felt okay to turn around and find her way towards the staircases. She was able to get to the next floor pretty easily, but the sixth floor was a different story. She began pacing around the corridors whilst whispering Neville and Luna's names to try and get their attention, but it was no use, they weren't to be found, and just when she had given up and chosen to head to the seventh floor herself she bumped into something tall and sturdy.
"Oh my god Neville I'm sorry-" Jessica apologised whilst being relieved she had finally found her friend.
"That is quite frankly the biggest insult you've ever given me you know," said a posh voice that she instantly knew wasn't Neville's. She looked up and, sadly, her fears were confirmed.
"Well at least you didn't throw me down a staircase this time and hurt me wear it actually hurts, my fucking good looks," said Theo jokingly as he gripped both of her elbows in his hands. Now she could get a good look at him, his left eye was bruised to a dark purple shine and his lip was cut deeply.
"You deserved that," Jessica hissed to his smirking face, "how the hell did you get here so quick, get your filthy hands off of me!"
She tried to flail her arms and wrestle free but Theo was too strong and pulled her into a dark broom cupboard that was full of buckets and smelled of damp. She was pretty sure this was where Filch stored his oldest and most precious cleaning tools. "Lee is a commentator for a reason, one kick and I was able to get straight past him," Theo explained as he pushed Jessica against a storage rack, "I had to get you on your own. You're going to listen to me whether you like it or not."
"Fuck you," Jessica spat. She was so angry that a little bit of spit actually did fly out of her mouth and land on his chin. Theo stared at her darkly with his eyebrows narrowed, but he said nothing, keeping her pinned down with one hand whilst he wiped his chin clean with his tie.
"I don't know if Weasley taught you that but that's not how I handle things alright," Theo warned.
"That's nothing compared to what Fred would do if he finds me in here, or George for that matter," Jessica smirked, "they want to kill you, you fooled them as well with your little best friend act."
"The only person I've fooled is Draco," Theo told her, gripping onto both her shoulders, "you've got to believe me Jess. Pansy and I wanted out this whole time. Yes, in the beginning, we wanted an easy ride and thought it would be a bit of fun, but we didn't think it would go this far. When Draco planned the ambush in Hogsmeade I fully believed that once we get got the necklace everything would stop and you would be left alone. I didn't know all the shit that was going to come after and become this grand scheme. We've been trying to help you and mess up Draco's plans when we could but we had to play two faces to him in the meantime otherwise he'd have been suspicious."
Theo's pupils were widening in desperation to convince her, and Jessica really wished that she could believe him because she had never seen her friend so serious and intense. But that was it, she had never seen him like it, meaning there was a high chance that this was all just another story to buy Draco some time to get his hands on her.
"Jess you've got to know how much doing this killed me," Theo pleaded, "I'm risking everything even telling you this. I need you to believe me."
"I couldn't give a fuck about your feelings Theo," Jessica hissed, "so many people lied to me this year but you know what? You hurt me the most. I thought you were actually my friend!"
"I was! I am!," Theo insisted, "just stay with me, I can prove it to you, we can find Pansy and we can chat through this together. We have something you really need to hear."
And there it was. The confirmation. This was a trap to get her outnumbered so that they could imprison her before shipping her off to god knows where.
"Bull-shit," Jessica shouted and she kneed Theo in the balls, causing him to fold over to the floor in agony.
With Theo unable to fight back, Jessica opened the door to the broom cupboard and ran for it, her vision focused as she sprinted around the hallways to find the staircases. Near the boy's toilets, she found the joyous sight of Neville and Luna, and as she quickly explained how everyone else had dispersed, they listened on either side of her whilst holding out their wands in case Theo had recovered.
The seventh floor was empty, with even the Gryffindors stuck in their common room thanks to Umbridge's rule that they were only out for Exams and Lessons only. This meant a clear path to their end post, the Astronomy Tower, and a flicker of hope started pulsing through Jessica's blood.
They were nearly there. She was finally going to break free.
"I'm going to miss you guys you know,' Jessica breathed as they ran past a wall of brightly lit windows, "you were the first people who believed me. When I can I'm going to write to you."
"Of course," said Neville merrily, "I want to go to that place you told us about in detention, with the rollercoaster things."
"And I want to see those Christmas lights some time in London," Luna spoke, "the way you talk about them always sounds so beautiful...and you don't get big towns where dad and I live."
"Well we'll do both," Jessica told them with a smile, "all we have to do is-"
They approached the corridor which led to the entrance of the Astronomy Tower and saw two stone-faced bouncers guarding the door.
"...get out of here," Jessica finished disappointedly.
"How did you get here?" Crabbe asked her, both him and Goyle looking dumbfounded to see her there.
"Taking a stroll," said Jessica sarcastically as she held out her wand, "now move over!"
"You can't tell us what to do," Goyle barked.
"No only Draco can do that, you two can never bloody think for yourselves," said Neville who stepped forward to take charge of the situation, "I'm surprised you even have independent working brains!"
Just like everyone else who had been taking their revenge in the last couple of minutes, Nevilles's anger came from a deeply personal place, and he was ready for a fight. Which in a way was good, because fighting was the only way Crabbe and Goyle knew to communicate.
"You're gonna pay for that," Crabbe threatened.
Luna drew out her wand and waved yellow sparks out of it, "like hell he is."
And just like that, Jessica watched two of Hogwarts most gentle and nonviolent students take on two of its most brutal and boorish. It was the battle of the brains versus brawn, skill viruses strength, and Luna and Neville were just about able to hold their own whilst dodging the hits of boys twice their size. Jessica crouched behind them and hid as they shielded her towards the Astronomy Tower door, getting her safely there with ease. As Crabbe and Goyle were clearly trying to guard the door for a reason, she wasn't naive to think this meant that she was now in the clear, so she opened and closed the door as quietly as she could whilst stepping inside.
"But I had to do it. You had no idea the pressure I was under!"
Jessica froze as she heard Draco's voice shout above her on the second level of the tower. That's obviously who Crabbe and Goyle were guarding...Draco. She crept slowly up the first two steps so that she could see who he was talking to and became wide-eyed when she saw that he was directing his wand at...herself. There was a Jessica Clarke standing against the rails, fully complete with the Slytherin uniform and big dark curly hair. She even had her bright green emerald eyes.
But there was one big difference...Draco had created a huge gash in her thigh, making it bleed out heavily.
Draco didn't look like he was going to let her leave easily...no matter how much he had to hurt her.
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Hey guys,
This chapter will be dropped in two parts as I wrote too much to fit it into one. Part Two will drop tomorrow night.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
K x