Chapter Twenty: The Abbotts

Cordelia had faced a lot of peculiar things since she began to work with Tom Riddle.

Whether it be sitting with him during breakfast just to hear Tracy babble with no end in sight or helping Riddle uncover secrets that were powerful yet peculiar: things like the whereabouts of the giants or how to control certain creatures. But through it all, she had never quite witnessed a moment like the one before her.

Hufflepuffs were known to be the kinder house at Hogwarts, the one filled with the likes of the Abbotts who were more focused on positivity than power. Yet today their sense of kindness seemed to fail them once faced with the herd of Slytherins.

One would think the yellow badgers would be more careful of their words when stuck in the dungeons waiting for Slughorn, but the heard of seventh-year Hufflepuffs seemed awfully keen on throwing as much caution to the wind as possible.

Cordelia couldn't quite blame them, after all, it was one of their own who was being subjected to the venomous bite of the Slytherins.

"-can't believe you would think you could ever trick a snake."

Druella's voice echoed around them as she circled Olivia Abbott, with the witch in question cowering away each time the Slytherin's wand drew closer to her. As she watched the scene unfold Cordelia couldn't help but once again be thankful for her cousin's faithfulness, which, paired with Druella's tendency to be on the crazier side, could easily be used to her advantage.

It wasn't like anyone would dare stop them or snitch, and the rare moments that subjected them to the wrath of a professor were easily taken care of with a little sweet talking and empty promises. The Gryffindors might have been the feisty face of Hogwarts who seemingly led the student body, but it was the Slytherins who really controlled the pupils with an iron fist that left no room for defiance, one that could be used for punishment just as much as pleasure.

And as luck would have it Cordelia and Tom just happened to be the face of the Slytherins since their arrival at Hogwarts, ensuring that the Blacks had nothing to lose when it came to their reputation or rivalries.

However, the same couldn't be said for the Abbotts.

Perhaps that was why Olivia cowered so, for she knew that one wrong move could ruin her family's reputation and expel them from the pureblood community. If only she had thought of such repercussions at the start of the year, perhaps the Abbott heir wouldn't have been condemned to broken pleas that went with her discarded glasses.

"I have already apologised for my actions-"

"Yet you have the audacity to try and speak to us, to pretend that we are equals."

A sharp squeak escaped her lips as Olivia felt Druella's wand jab into her side, a sound that had the crowd of Slytherins chuckle as they stood on stand-by, ensuring the Hufflepuffs on the other side of the corridor wouldn't try anything.

Cordelia couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt as she watched Druella mutter jinxes strong enough to humiliate and hurt her victim but not nearly severe enough to leave a mark, yet she couldn't act upon her emotions even if she wanted to. For Cordelia might have still looked like the Slytherin Queen to everyone else, but the hand resting against the small of her back ensured she couldn't forget who was the real master pulling the strings.

"Haven't you already done enough damage with your filthy rumours?"

The crowd around them exploded into mutters at Druella's words, causing Olivia to turn to her Hufflepuffs with sharp shakes of her head even as they speculated whether or not she was the root of the rumours concerning the head girl's heritage.

Their speculation, however, was short-lived as Rodolphus returned from his post at the start of the dungeons, his appearance warning them that Slughorn was on his way.

"Wrap it up, Ella."

Cordelia sounded quite monotonous as she called out to her cousin, making her seem almost as bored as Tom, who had taken to drumming his fingers to an unknown tune as he watched the scene from over her shoulder.

However, their boredom was short-lived as the crowd of seventh years returned to their positions, with Druella going as far as to threaten to curse Olivia if she so much as let a squeak escape her during the lesson.

The sight of Slughorn's wide smile after the previous predicaments would have almost made Cordelia snicker like her peers if she didn't feel the consuming hand of guilt clutch at her heart. Perhaps if she hadn't spent her morning writing letters to Melania claiming that Olivia was responsible for the rumours and the Abbotts should have been dealt with accordingly, Cordelia wouldn't have felt so bad about her actions.

However, she was but a marionette following her puppeteer's commands as he tugged on strings and unwhirled his plans with promises of making her rumours vanish, thus Cordelia couldn't help but mindlessly follow through with Tom's commands for the day, just like she had every other day throughout the past week.

"Ruin the Abbotts."

His words rung clear in her head, making Cordelia contemplate whether Tom had cast an Imperio on her so she could only think, do, and breathe his commands.

Cordelia wanted to fight it, she wanted to return his games with one of her own, but the time wasn't right and as much as she hated to admit it, the Slytherin Queen would only have one shot to make her plan work.

Thus, she would follow his commands and do as asked, acting like a marionette mindlessly doing what she was made for.

If only Tom saw the scissors hidden within her painted facade, ready to cut away her strings, maybe he would refrain from tugging on her strings so harshly.