Chapter Seventeen: Unwarranted Repercussions

Her secret was out.

A secret that Cordelia had kept hidden her entire life, one she had promised herself to never dare to even whisper due to the shame and guilt it would bring to her and her family. A secret so dire and deep she hadn't allowed it to be so much as suspected for her seventeen years of life.

Cordelia had spent her entire life ensuring the secret of her birth would be burrowed within the shadows, yet one single decision to unravel a secret of Tom's was enough to result in the exposure of one of her own.

One so dire Cordelia couldn't have processed the new revelation if it wasn't for the series of events that had led to its conformation.

It had started with her friends making a return.

Unlike Druella, Phyllis had held off on being around Cordelia throughout the life of their fight, up until that morning when she had taken to clinging to the head girl's arm and ushering her to their usual group the second she entered the Great Hall.

Cordelia couldn't help but feel a slight sense of joy at the return of her friends, but that feeling was short-lived and quickly replaced with worry as she witnessed their tense faces and frowns of guilt, ones that made it clear that they were hiding something.

"What is it?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all."

It was Druella who had jumped to reply, with her words far too hurried for a witch known to keep silent and watch situations play out.

Thankfully, unlike her fellow Slytherins whose table had been shrouded in a silence of disbelief, the Ravenclaws were more than happy to gossip quite loudly about the new rumour spread through the halls of Hogwarts.

"She's not Arcturus's daughter? Really?"

Orion couldn't help but flinch as the question reached their group, forcing the eight Slytherins to share nervous glances as they waited for a reaction from Cordelia.

At first, she wanted to throw a fit. To scream and cry and curse Tom Riddle and his stupid ploys as she injured him direly and asked him if he was stupid enough to not understand how pureblood communities thrived off of gossip like that, gossip that could ruin a family in a matter of minutes.

But then, after she got over the initial turmoil of emotions racing through her system, Cordelia couldn't help but feel a sudden urge to dismiss the rumour. To take a stand at that very moment and state how her blood was Black through and through and that disgusting rumours of jealousy questioning her lineage wouldn't be taken too kindly.

The second option was almost worse than the first, for it would simply deepen the suspicions and make the gossiping oh so much worse as the pureblood community would begin to dig for solid evidence to confirm it. They would dig deep and hard, not stopping until they found something that either completely dismissed or confirmed the rumour.

Thus, as impossible as it sounded, Cordelia couldn't help but resort to the third option. To do nothing.

To watch the world erupt in flames of scandal around her and pretend she couldn't see nor hear any of it. To simply dismiss any and everything, no matter how desperate or drastic it was.

And thankfully, as much as she didn't deserve it, Cordelia had a group of trustworthy friends by her side. Friends who would go to any end to ensure one of their own wasn't ruined.

Tom Riddle might have won this battle, but unlike what he presumed, Cordelia wouldn't be ruined by his victory. If anything, she would evolve from it like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, the kind that Dumbledore was oh so fond of caring for.

"I'm fine."

It was a lie, one that her friends could easily see through but chose to encourage as they attempted to bring a sense of normalcy to their table, passing around dishes and speaking to one another so casually that the snakes around them couldn't help but do the same.

The action was enough to affirm their loyalty to the Blacks and Cordelia, making it clear that Slytherin was a house that couldn't be beaten down by a single rumour. But even through their moment of strength, Cordelia couldn't help but sense the oncoming storm in store for her, one that would include traitorous snakes who had been waiting for a moment to ruin her.

Snakes who took pleasure in being seated around Tom Riddle at the end of the table allowing him a cover that could easily hide the malicious smirk of victory that was sent Cordelia's way.

The day had been one shrouded in whispers and murmuring pupils.

By the time the Slytherins got around to Transfiguration, their last lesson of the day, Cordelia was certain the entire faculty had caught up on what was going on. Perhaps that was why Dumbledore chose to send her a pitiful smile as Cordelia made her way to the back of the class, unlike her usual seat at the front.

Unlike Slughorn, who had taken the first ten minutes of his lesson to speak about rumours and the damage they can do especially on this level, Dumbledore simply chose to start his lesson as usual. Cordelia wasn't sure whether she appreciated or disliked his decision but chose to follow her favourite professor's lead and pretend that everything was in fact fine.

That she hadn't spent the entire day avoiding snide comments, sneers, and glares from every pureblood around her. The worst part was the half-bloods and mudbloods who had the audacity to pity her as if Cordelia was suddenly one of them due to the eruption of one rumour.

It didn't matter that the rumour was true, what mattered was that even with her mother's affair the head was still a pureblood through-and-through. And anyone who thought otherwise would be subjected to serious repercussions from her in the near future.

For now, she would simply have to keep her head down as fighting the entirety of Hogwarts was as good as impossible.

Cordelia hated to admit it, but at the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn't her secret being unravelled that really affected her but the possibility of being backed into a corner and forced to handle things a certain way.

She hadn't spoken to Melania yet, but the brunette was certain her mother would no doubt owl her the next morning with a letter saying not to do anything. To not make matters worse than they already were.

Only three people had been aware of the secret of Cordelia's birth, and with two of them being two of the most tight-lipped purebloods in their community it was clear that she was the weak link, the one who had possibly cost Melania her reputation.

That was, of course, if Cordelia chose to listen and do nothing.

But doing nothing was impossible when she was the only one capable of fixing matters and cutting the rumour's big ugly head off before the day's end. However, before that, she had some other matters to handle.

Cordelia couldn't help but squirm awkwardly in her seat as she watched the rest of their class leave the classroom with Dumbledore following behind. Usually, professors wouldn't entrust their classrooms to a group of seventh-years looking to have a conversation. But usually, said seventh years weren't in a position that would warrant at least a sense of understanding on the professor's part.

"Things can't go back to normal."

She didn't bother looking up from her desk as she spoke, but Cordelia could already tell Druella was going to contradict her by the way the gold-eyed witch whipped her head to the side to face her cousin. However, she wasn't given a chance to speak as Cordelia continued with little more than a shake of her head entailing she wasn't done.

"I suppose they can, but they shouldn't. Because if they do then nothing will change and we will once again fall into the pattern of my problems being prioritised all because I choose to rely on others when facing them."

It was then that she finally tore her blue gaze away from the desk before her to glance at the group of Slytherins who stood before her. Cordelia couldn't help but nervously gulp as her gaze moved away from Phyllis, Theodore and Rodolphus, the ones who weren't that affected in the first place, and towards the couple who she was really talking to.

"I appreciate your support, but I don't think I have grown enough to rebuild our friendships quite yet."

Ignatius seemed quite shocked at her maturity, having been the only person Cordelia was constantly immature and carefree with. Aurora, however, was the one who really understood what she meant and chose to wrap her arms around the brunette with a small smile as she spoke her mind.

"The fact that you realise that shows just how much you've changed, Lia."

It wasn't Cordelia's turn to be silenced as Aurora continued, this time with her voice holding a sense of encouragement.

"You aren't quite the Cordelia we used to know, but you're getting very close and that's good enough. Personally, I think now is a better time than any to put the past behind us and move on."

Cordelia couldn't help but turn in her seat and reciprocate Aurora's embrace at the words, finally feeling the sense of anxiety clutching her chest leave her as she muttered an apology into the blonde's hair.

She wished their hug could have lasted longer. She wished that their friendship hadn't been reconstructed on a bridge of malevolence and that they could have come to a real understanding. Cordelia wished a lot of things as she began to pull away from Aurora, but the most prominent one was to have an excuse to stop herself from doing what came next.

"I have to go."

"What? No Lia, you're staying here."

The brunette couldn't help but shake her head at Phyllis's words, putting on a front of bravery even as she gnawed at the inside of her cheek in worry.

"I have something to take care of. I need to do this Phyllis, for me and mum."

The latter was a half-truth, for at that moment, even if Cordelia didn't like it, she didn't quite care about the repercussions Melania was facing. Perhaps it was because she knew that unlike her, Melania Black could fight her own battles without giving in to the sweet lull of cowardness.

Even if she hated it, Cordelia wished she could have stayed there longer and simply forgotten about her problems. But a queen didn't run from her problems, she confronted them. Hence even if she felt the familiar rush of nervous butterflies return and run rampage in her belly, Cordelia couldn't help but put on a brave front and retreat to the now vacant halls of Hogwarts.

She had a Dark Lord to confront, and this time, Cordelia wouldn't leave without putting up a fight.