"I killed him! I can't believe I killed him!" Neville began to panic as he paced the small room. "What am I going to do?"
Clementine knelt down to get a closer look at the dead body splayed across the floor. There were no signs of trauma, Neville must have used a spell-- the killing curse, presumably-- to kill the man. Her eyes flickered upwards to meet Pansy's, and the witch raised one her her perfect brows in response. The two didn't need to exchange words to know how bad this situation was.
"I killed him! I killed him!" Neville continued to whimper.
"Oh, would you keep it down over there before I silence you myself, Longbottom!" Pansy hissed. "He attacked you. It was self defense."
"What happened?" Clementine asked. She used the tip of her wand to inspect the man's face. She prodded his cheek, turning his face slightly to get a better look. She didn't recognize him, but his face was looking more and more distorted as seconds ticked by. He was quickly turning grey, much faster than a normal human would have. "Who is this?"
"That's not any of your concern." Pansy nudged Clementine away from the body with her heel. "We've got this covered, Beaumont."
"We might as well tell her, Parks." Neville groaned, "She's already seen enough."
"We'll obliviate her then." Pansy whipped out her wand and pointed it between Clementine's eyes. "She won't know the difference."
"How familiar are you with that charm, Parkinson?" Clementine shot back at her as she got to her feet to meet Pansy's eye-line. She wasn't afraid as she stood her ground in front of her former friend.
"You're not accusing me of obliviating that child are you?" Pansy snarled.
"Should I be?" Clementine lifted her wand to point it back at Pansy. Her eyes darted between Pansy and Neville, "I thought you two were having an affair, but clearly I was wrong. Whatever is going on here is so much worse."
"Us?" Pansy threw her head back and laughed. She pointed her wand at Neville, "Me and Longbottom? An affair? Darling, please. Was it not obvious that Cho and I are together?"
Even Neville began to chuckle nervously, "You really think I would cheat on Luna?"
"What's this about then?" Clementine's hand shook as she kept her wand pointed forward. "It would be best if you explained to me what's going on here before I come to my own conclusions and call in the aurors."
"As if that will do any good." Pansy rolled her eyes and put her wand in her holster beneath her dress. "Put the wand down, Clem. You're going to take someone's eye out."
Clementine lowered her wand and stared at them both expectantly. "Well?"
"We're being blackmailed." The words spilled out of Neville's mouth. "It started out small. We were just doing deliveries on things— usually the occasional black market plant— but it's escalated considerably."
"By this guy?" Clementine pointed to the body still lying on the floor.
"No." Pansy scowled, "Whoever he works for."
"You don't even know?" Clementine gaped at them in disbelief. "What kind of blackmail could they even possibly have on you two?"
"That's none of your business."
"Drug dealing."
The two spoke over each other, both surprised by their answer.
"Why would you tell her that?" Pansy hissed as she glared at Neville. She looked like she was trying to murder him with her cold, dark eyes. "We don't need anyone else knowing our business!"
"How is growing muggle weed and distributing it worse than murdering a man?" Neville shot back at her. He looked back down at the body and grimaced.
"He's not a man. He's a vampire." Pansy huffed. "And he was over a thousand years old, so you did him a favor. No one needs to live that long."
"A vampire?" Clementine looked closer out of curiosity. The quickly greying skin was beginning to make much more sense. She looked back at Neville, "Did he try to bite you?"
"Enough with the interrogation already." Pansy snapped, "We need to get rid of the evidence before anyone sees." She turned to look at Clementine, eyeing her skeptically, "If you don't want to be obliviated, then you can start by helping us move the body— without magic— so we don't set off any alarms."
Neville grabbed the feet and motioned for Clementine to grab his arms, and she scrambled to hoist him up. She glared at Pansy as she grunted under the weight in her arms, "You're not going to help us?"
"Someone has to be the lookout, darling." Pansy opened the door, ushering them forward. "Now move."
"Is he getting stiffer?" Clementine grunted as his body kept slipping out of her grasp. "He's so heavy."
"It happens to vampires when they die." Neville grunted. "They turn to stone. Some dark witches and wizards like to turn them into garden decorations."
Clementine thought back to summer at Nott Manor where creepy statues sat in the center of the flower beds in the garden. She knew exactly what Neville was referring to.
"Will you keep it down?" Pansy snarled at them as she hurried to the end of the corridor. She made sure it was clear before motioning for them to advance. "This way."
"Have you gone mad?" Neville stopped short and the cadaver's head pummeled into Clementine's stomach. "Someone will see us if we go that direction. The dance is still going on in case you've forgotten."
"Do you have a better idea?" Pansy shot back at him before peering back into the still-empty corridor. "If we go quickly I think we can make it out of the castle."
Neville looked around, his brows furrowed in thought until he landed on a large picture on the wall. He let go of his half of the body and went to investigate.
"Are you serious, Nev?" Clementine dropped her half, letting the body land on the floor with a thud. It sounded like a slab of marble hitting concrete. She almost wondered if the body was beginning to crack into pieces. "You could have warned me first."
"There's a passage here. I haven't restored it yet, so it may be dangerous." Neville pulled out his wand to inspect where the wall and the picture met before looking back at the two women. "We can get out of the castle this way if we're careful."
"Where does it lead?" Clementine asked.
"The forest." Neville said curtly. With the careful work of his nimble fingers, and a few whispered words-- likely a password for the passageway-- before the painting creaked, swinging off the wall on it's hinges. Neville grabbed the legs again and motioned towards the vampire's head. "You ready?"
Clementine swallowed hard, noting how tight her throat felt as she picked him up again. They waited for Pansy to walk into the tunnel first, lighting the way with her wand to reveal a pitch black tunnel.
"I almost wish you were having an affair instead of all this." Clementine groaned as she followed them into the abyss.
"Me too." The others spoke in unison as the painting slammed closed behind them, swallowing them in darkness.
"Alright, Longbottom. This way then?" Pansy waved her wand into the darkness.
"It's the only way we can go." Neville deadpanned. "Go on now and lead us. Unless you want to carry him."
Pansy looked at the body in disgust. "I'll take my chances walking ahead."
"Who is this?" Clementine asked. She nearly slipped on the mossy floor. "Err— who was this?"
"His name is Rowen Dimos." Pansy's voice echoed through the cavern. "We've been delivering to him all year."
"What made him attack you, Neville?" Clementine peered at him through the darkness.
Neville hoisted the body higher, adjusting the weight in his arms. "His boss is angry that we haven't been able to make a delivery in time. I think they're desperate."
"What's the delivery of?" Clementine asked.
"You sure do ask a lot of questions." Pansy snarled.
"Pansy... Please." Neville said her name calmly, and she became more subdued. He looked back at Clementine and frowned. "Dimos has been asking us for months for thorned ichor. I'm sure that being a herbologist yourself, you know how difficult of a request that is to fulfill."
Clementine nodded, "Funny— that's not the first time thorned ichor has come up recently."
"What have you heard?" Pansy pointed the lit wand in Clementine's face.
"Look who is asking too many questions now." Clementine smirked as Pansy glared back at her.
The trio reached the end of the tunnel, practically running into the stone wall in the darkness. Neville and Clementine put the body down as they inspected the stones, looking for the way to trigger the door's release.
"Someone has been here recently." Neville noted as he ran his hand across the moss covered stone. "This should be overgrown, but it's been tampered with." He looked up at Clementine curiously, "You haven't used this passageway yet, have you?"
"Definitely not." Clementine shook her head.
"Strange." Neville muttered to himself as he straightened back up. He pulled out his wand and tapped a few bricks in quick succession. "That should do it."
"Can we get this over with? Quickly." Pansy whined.
The bricks began to twist and turn until an archway to the outdoors emerged. Moonlight filtered through the trees, scattering across the ground creating intricate patterns like the inside of a kaleidoscope.
Neville dragged the body out of the tunnel and let it roll down the hill. The two girls followed as he led them to the clearing.
"You think this is far enough?" Neville asked Pansy.
"Yeah, they can't hear anything at the castle from this distance." Pansy let out a blood-curdling scream before Clementine leapt to cover her mouth.
When she stopped screaming Clementine let go. "What is wrong with you?"
"I was proving my point." Pansy chuckled, "Nobody could hear that from out here."
"Everyone at the castle is the least of our concerns." Clementine hissed. "You don't know who or what could be in these woods."
"Do you want to do it, Parks?" Neville asked.
Pansy snorted, "You already killed him. You don't want to finish the job?"
"Not particularly, no." Neville snapped. His face looked like he was still going to be sick.
She shivered as the wind whistled through the trees. "What are we even doing?"
"Getting rid of the evidence." Pansy got into position and pointed her wand at the vampire. He had completely solidified into a statue by this point. "Bombarda."
Clementine covered her face as rock shattered around her. Small animals jumped out of their trees, startled by the noise as the statue crumbled into a giant heap of rock.
"It's done. Was that so hard, Longbottom?" Pansy leered at Neville as she crushed a rock into dust underneath her heel.
"So..." Clementine looked at the two of them after the dust settled. She focused on Pansy first, "You and Cho?"
"You're the only person who didn't bloody know, Clem." Neville rolled his eyes as he stepped over the pile of rubble. "They stick their tongues down each other's throats at every given opportunity."
"Not since I've arrived." Clementine glared at the back of his head as she followed him out of the woods.
"If you must know we're in a bit of a rough patch." Pansy said from behind Clementine as she trailed behind the group. It was obviously because she didn't want them to see the sadness on her face. "Cho wants more commitment from me, and given the nature of what Neville and I have found ourselves involved in, I don't want her to get hurt."
"I think Cho can handle herself quite nicely." Clementine chimed in. "She's not the timid girl she used to be."
"I know that about her." Pansy glowered. "It's a Slytherin thing. Self-preservation and all that. You wouldn't understand."
They had reached Hagrid's hut before Clementine could respond back to her.
"We should split up." Neville suggested. "It would look suspicious if we all waltzed back up to the castle together."
Pansy had already managed to disappear down the path back to Hogsmeade leaving Neville and Clementine alone. Feeling a bit defeated by the evening, she agreed.
"Sorry for assuming the worst about you." Clementine blushed. "You know how protective I used to be about Luna. It still comes out sometimes."
Neville laughed, "It's nice of you to think that me cheating on Luna is worse than watching me commit murder."
Clementine's eyes narrowed, "If someone is really blackmailing you both I can help."
"There's no need." Neville waved his hand dismissively. "We've got it under control."
"You call tonight under control?" Clementine's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You've got enough going on with you." Neville shook his head, "We can handle it."
"I don't believe you." Clementine protested.
"You don't have to believe me, but you have to stay out of it." Neville said harshly. "Can you do that for me?"
"I can't promise you that." Clementine shook her head. "Neville if you need help—"
"We're fine." Neville's voice clipped. "We don't need anyone else getting hurt on our account. We'll deal with this on our own. Let it go... for tonight, at least."
"Tonight." Clementine agreed. "But come tomorrow—"
"I'll talk to you in the greenhouse." Neville pulled out his wand and pointed it at Clementine. She gaped in disbelief as he whispered a spell.
"Reparo."
The tears in Clementine's dress from walking through briars instantly sewed themselves back together.
"Go enjoy what's left of your night, Clem." Neville pocketed his wand. "I'll take the long way around."
"I'm still worried about you, Neville!" Clementine called back to him.
"I should be saying the same about you!" Neville shouted back as he walked up the trail, "Get back to the castle! It's almost past curfew."
Clementine lifted up her dress to keep it from dragging across the ground as she climbed the hill towards the castle. She made it back to the courtyard right before the dance officially ended, and no one was the wiser. Walking back into the school she watched from the doorway as the music cut off, and everyone began to come down from their post-event high.
"What's that muggle story where the princess runs away from the handsome prince in the middle of the dance?" Draco's voice came from behind her. "Ember... Cinder... Ella?"
Clementine smoothed out her dress, hoping that it had been completely mended before turning to face him, "You can't seriously be comparing yourself to Prince Charming right now."
"I find the comparison quite apt." Draco lifted his chin. "You can't deny that I am charming."
Clementine wanted to be annoyed with him, but all of that faded away when she saw the way he was looking at her. The gods themselves would be envious of how perfect they made him.
"Only when you want to be." She said softly. Students were beginning to trail out of the Great Hall around them. The dance had ended, but somehow it felt like the night was only just beginning.
Draco's soft stare hardened as he examined her. He walked forward, pulling a stray leaf from her hair. "Where did you run off?"
"Nowhere." Clementine snatched the leaf out from between his long fingers and crushed it in the palm of her hand. "Nothing— What?"
"Were you with Theo?" Draco asked as calmly as he could muster.
"Despite what you may believe, not everything is about him— or you— for that matter." Clementine huffed.
"He disappeared right after you did." Draco's head turned to look at two students who were busy snogging. He waved his wand and they went flying apart, "Curfew is now."
"Did you know about Pansy and Neville?" Clementine asked as she watched the two students scamper off. The girl giggled uncontrollably, while the boy she was with pulled her up the staircase with the occasional fearful glance back at Draco. "Yet you let me believe I was crazy?"
"Do you want to talk about this somewhere more private?" Draco's eyes wandered as he looked around. "Maybe with less people around to witness?"
"I need to go find Blaise." Clementine shook her head as she scanned the crowd. She hadn't seen him in hours now. Not since she danced with Theo at the beginning of the evening.
"Zabini left a long time ago." Draco brought her focus back to him, "Now tell me, do you want to waste time coming up with another excuse, or do you want to get out of here?"
"Fine." Clementine gnashed her teeth together in frustration, "I'll lead the way."
_______
This chapter worked better in my head. It was a struggle to write down, so bare with me!! The next chapter should have smut, so you know to vote/comment if you want me to publish it quickly!