LXI. you were mine but you were awful every time

warning: mentions of abuse

Devore held her breath the entire way to Umbridge's office. She resisted the urge to take out her wand and hex Filtch without him looking. She glared at the back of his head, trying not to show him how nervous she was. She didn't want to give any of them that satisfaction. She'd rather drop dead. Or preferably them drop dead.

"You're quiet back there, Taylor. Guilty conscience, I suppose," Filtch mocked her, laughing nasally.

"No, I'm just thinking about other things," Devore told him and imagined what he'd look like with his held disappearing from his body.

When they reached Umbridge's office, Filtch knocked on the door and poked his head in. "The Taylor girl is here to see you, ma'am."

He moved out of the way and Devore saw Umbridge sitting at her desk, smiling at her. She got an eery feeling. Then, in the corner, stood Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Montague. She became more confused. Filtch left the room and closed the door behind him. "Sit, please, Miss Taylor," Umbridge ordered.

"The hell are they doing here?" She said, casting her housemates a dirty look.

On her desk was a spotless white tea set. Devore sat down across from her, eyeing her suspiciously.

"To make sure you don't pull anything, Taylor," Pansy said smartly, her pug nose scrunched up and in the air.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," Umbridge said, still smiling at Devore, causing the girl to pull a disturbed face. The woman in pink grabbed the white tea pot and began to pour hot tea into a cup. "Would you like some tea, Miss Taylor?"

Devore looked between her and the tea cup. "I'm fine, thanks," she answered flatly.

Umbridge quickly lifted her eyes. "Oh, but I insist."

"I don't want any."

"Got something to hide, Taylor?" Monatgue sneered.

Devore sent him a glare. "None of your corner, Mongoose—"

"It's quite alright, Mr. Montague," Umbridge interrupted, the two of them going quiet. "I really wish you'd have a drink with me, Miss Taylor."

All of the eyes on her pierced her skin. Devore sat there narrowed her, not trusting anybody in the room, and especially not Umbridge. But she'd play her game if it meant she could leave quickly, so Devore sighed and nodded.

The sickly sweet smile reappeared. "Wonderful."

As Umbridge poured her a cup of tea, Devore turned her head slightly, her eyes landing on Draco. He wouldn't look at her but he stood tall with his shoulders back. What a coward. "Here you go, dear," the headmistress said and held out the tea cup.

Devore took it gingerly. "I know you didn't ask me here to drink tea," she stated and eyed the liquid in the cup.

Umbridge quirked a smirk. "No, of course not. Drink up, dear."

Still suspicious, she raised the tea cup to her lips.

"Now, Miss Taylor, where is Albus Dumbledore?"

Pause. Devore froze, the edge of the tea cup pressed to her lips. Her eyes cut to the woman again and she pulled the cup away from her mouth. "What?"

"Drink up! Drink up!" She urged again, leaning forward in the chair.

Devore's heart rate spiked. She looked at her group of goons in the corner, all of them glaring at her. Umbridge stared her hard in the face. She knew exactly what she wanted. She knew exactly what she did to Morgan. Be smart about this, Devore. Inhaling air through her nose, Devore raised the cup to her lips again. She kept her lips pressed lightly to the edge, not allowing the liquid to enter her mouth.

Seeing her drink, Umbridge smiled again. "Good. Now, I'll ask again. Where is Albus Dumbledore?"

She pretended to gulp and Devore lowered the cup. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said casually.

"Now, now, Miss Taylor, surely you have some idea of where he is. Your closest friend is Harry Potter, no? Surely he's given you some idea?"

Devore pretended to drink again. She smacked her lips together. "Nope."

She watched Umbridge's face change. "I get the sense you're not telling me the truth, Miss Taylor," she observed and her eyes cut to the tea cup. "You must drink your tea."

"What happens if I don't?" She challenged and sat the full tea cup on the table. "You're going to force the truth out of me like you did with Morgan?"

Umbridge's entire demeanor fell. Her head snapped to the other Slytherins, the five looking at each other. She looked back at Devore. "That is quite the accusation, Miss Taylor," she tried keeping her voice from wavering.

Devore wasn't fazed. "Despite what you think of me, Professor, I'm not stupid. Morgan's my best friend, she would never betray me on purpose," she spat.

"Gosh, just tell the truth, Taylor," Draco's outburst startled them.

She casted him a glare. "Screw off, Malfoy."

"Don't make us force you, Taylor," Pansy threatened.

"You come anywhere near me and I'll make sure your teeth grow so long, they drill through the floor."

"Now, now, children, settle down," Umbridge stepped in and she stood from her desk. Her and Devore met eyes again. The woman slowly stepped around the desk, her heels clicking. They didn't break eye contact. "Miss Taylor, you are making this very difficult, more than it needs to be. I know that you know the information I'm asking for and I can assure you, child, that I intend to get it."

The tension in the room was hot and thick. Devore's gaze darkened. She rose from the desk and stood in front of the woman.

"Don't do anything stupid, Devore." Pansy spat at her as they watched.

She was ignored. "I would love to see you try." She challenged again.

A loud slap echoed in the small office. Draco flinched hard and his eyes widened. He quickly looked at the others he stood in line with, seeing them unfazed.

Devore closed her eyes, thinking maybe she was just in a dream. But the painful sting in her face brought her back to reality. Her jaw clicked and Devore leisurely brought her hand to her cheek, flinching at the heat. She turned her head towards Umbridge again, in a state of shock. "Just when I think you can't get any worse," she uttered. Her gaze went dark again. "You're not getting anything out of me." She stood her ground.

Umbridge inhaled air through her nose and she released a disappointed sigh. "Then I'm afraid you have left me no choice. . .Montague, Parkinson."

Devore was filled with dread as Pansy and Graham made their way towards her. "What are you doing?" She said and started to back away. Montague came up behind her and grabbed one of her arms. She instantly tried pushing in away. "Get off of me!"

"W-What's happening?" Draco spoke, not understanding the situation.

Pansy grabbed a hold of her other arm and held it tightly.

"Get off of me!" Devore yelled and thrashed in their tightly hold. She felt a rush of fear when they didn't let her go and she looked at Umbridge again. "What the hell?" Her voice raised again.

"I didn't want to do this, Miss Taylor," the woman spoke eerily and she picked up the tea cup from the table. She handed it to Crabbe and the taller boy took it from her. "But you refuse to cooperate."

She stared petrified at Crabbe as he stood tall in front of her.

Draco's head snapped towards the woman. "You said you were just interrogating her!" He shouted.

Devore continued to struggle and her fear spiked even more when Crabbe grabbed her face. She screamed, hoping somebody would be able to hear her.

"Stop!" Draco shouted but it was drowned out by her terrified screams.

Crabbe forcefully poured the tea into her mouth. In that moment they all saw Devore Taylor not as a stubborn, strong headed girl but a scared fifteen year old. She was alone in a group that hated her. Devore spat the liquid in Crabbe's face, the boy shrieking and he stumbled backward into Umbridge's desk. Then, she stumped hard on Graham's foot. He howled in pain and when his grip loosened on her arm, Devore shoved Pansy off of her. She took her wand out of her pocket. "Fumos!" She conjured and the room suddenly filled with a thick cloud of smoke.

Devore flung the door open and sprinted out of the office, their coughs echoing in her ears. She couldn't see clearly in front of her but all she knew was that she had to get away.

"Devore! Stop!"

She hadn't realized she was crying but she felt her throat burn. Streaks of tears fell down her face and she didn't slow down. In fact, she ran faster. Draco's voice terrified her. Being around him scared her. Being around any of them scared her. She never thought this would happen to her.

"Devore, please!" Draco shouted again, desperation echoing off the walls of the empty hallway.

Devore stopped running but she still didn't turn around. She kept her quick steps. "Get away from me!" She cried out.

They'd been in this situation time and time again, an exhausting amount. Him hurting her, her hating him, her being worried for his wellbeing, him betraying her trust again. She wasn't sure how much more she couldn't handle it. She didn't know who he was anymore.

"I didn't know that was going to happen."

His words made her finally stop. Devore turned around and revealed her crying eyes and Draco came to a stop as well. "What do you want from me, Malfoy? Please tell me," she pleaded vulnerably.

"I-I-I—" he was at a loss for words.

"I've known you my whole life, since I was a child! You were there for me when my father died," she continued to cry and she walked towards him. "I defended you, I loved you, and you stood in there and let them attack me!" She shouted, her eyes blurring with tears. "You were never mine, were you? You were always theirs. You always belonged to everyone else except me!"

Draco stared at her tormented.

"I would've never stood there and let them hurt you like that! Never!" She screamed and inhaled a sharp breath. Devore shapely backed away. "Stay away from me." She turned around and sprinted away again.

Arriving back to the common room, Devore ran in and spotted Morgan sitting around the fireplace while Theo and Blaise were on the couch, talking. "Morgan!" She called out, all of them turning around and facing her.

"Dev, why are you crying?" Theo was the first to ask once noticing her upset state.

She didn't bother answering. She sped towards Morgan and took her by the arm, the girl looking concerned. "I need to talk to you," she spoke and wasted no time dragging her with her towards the stairs.

"Devore, what's wrong?" Morgan asked but she got no immediate response. She was confused seeing as how it was the first act of communication they'd had for days.

When they reached their dorm room, Devore bursted in and was thankful there was nobody else in there.

"Devore, you're scaring me—" Morgan flinched when she spun around and grasped her shoulders. "Dev, tell me what's wrong!"

"What did she do to you?" Devore bursted out, making Morgan go silent. She blinked in shock. Devore shook her. "Morgan, tell me what's wrong Umbridge did you."

"Wha–H-How do you—"

"I overhead you and Harry earlier. I know Umbridge didn't something to you to make you spill about the meetings. Tell me what happened, Morgan," Devore interrupted, looking for validation. "I believe you, okay? I'm so sorry that I didn't hear you out but I need you to tell me."

Morgan's eyes glossed over. She gripped the girl's forearms, the two of them holding each other tightly. Her lips began to quiver. "S-S-She had Filtch take me to her office. Then she. . .she had me drink t-t-tea. I-I didn't know there was truth serum—I'm so sorry, Dev." She cried, hiccuping as she explained.

Devore felt her heart split in two. She tightened her grip on Morgan's shoulders. "She hurt me, M," she slipped out, Morgan lifting her head and meeting her eyes. "She tried getting me to drink the tea and when I refused, she made them attack me." She told her and started to cry again.

"Oh, Dev, I'm so sorry."

The two girls embraced each other firmly. Devore wrapped her arms around her neck, both of them crying into each other's shoulders. "We can't keep letting her do this to us. We have to do something."

"I don't think there's anything we can do, Dev."

"There's always a way, M."

Chanel had spent nearly all day cleaning her home when she heard a loud pop in her living room. She ran out of the kitchen with cleaning spray and paper towels in her hand, ready to attack, and she slipped out a scream when she saw Sirius in her living room. "Sirius, what the hell?" She yelled and stormed into the room.

Sirius smiled at her. "Hello, Nelly."

"Are you insane? You can't be here!" Chanel exclaimed, her eyes large. "What if you got caught? What if somebody finds out you're here?"

"Chanel, quit with the worrying," he raised his hands and walked closer to her. "Nobody's around to see me. How would they know where to find me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "This is dangerous."

Sirius only smirked. "Dangerous is my middle name."

"It's Orion, actually, but whatever floats your boat," Chanel grumbled and spun around, going back to the kitchen.

She heard him laugh from behind her. "What does the wonderful Chanel Young do on a beautiful day like this?"

She hadn't been called Chanel Young since in such a long time that it felt weird to hear. Chanel put the cleaning spray and paper towels on the kitchen table. "I miss my children," she admitted with a heavy breath. She leaned on her hip and placed her hand on the back of one of the chairs. Chanel smiled. "But I like to open up all the windows and let the air in, maybe listen to music, and, well, clean."

Sirius smiled at her again. Her dark hair was pulled out of her face but strands fell in front of her eyes. She was dressed in simple blue jeans and an old t shirt but he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "I like seeing you this way," he told her, eyes shimmering.

Chanel blushed shyly and looked away, pushing the strands of hair from out of her eyes. "Exactly what are you doing here, Sirius?" She asked the man.

"I've spent what seems like a lifetime being trapped in my home, despite doing everything to stay away. But I was okay suffering in silence," he began. "Until you showed up. Now I can't stand being there if you're not there with me."

Her dark eyes softened as they stared into his from across the table. They were no longer two young kids but Chanel's heart started to beat a certain way, feeling her with a familiar feeling of being a kid again. She loved that feeling. She missed that feeling.

Sirius broke eye contact and he peered out the open back door, the breeze blowing the curtains. He grew another smile. "Fancy a walk with me?"

"I'm not exactly dressed for a walk."

"I think you look wonderful," he insisted and held out his hand.

Chanel slowly smiled again and she walked around the table. She grabbed his hand, their palms overlapping perfectly. The pair walked outside. The warm air hit her in the face, she sunshine shining on his, and the smile remained on her face.

Sirius observed the abundance of wildflowers and other flowers growing in the backyard of the mansion. Hand-in-hand, they walked through the garden, the high grass at their knees. "Wow, I've never seen anything like this," he exhaled.

She grinned. "When Dev and Bennet were young, Isaac and I would sit back and hear and watch them run around in the grass. We never liked to be inside," she reminisced.

He took his attention away from the beautiful scenery. "Nelly, if this is too much for you, I understand," he said and stopped walking.

Chanel pinched her eyebrows together.

"I know you miss Isaac, and I would never want to rush you into something that you're not ready for," Sirius clarified.

"It's been three years since he died," she spoke gently, gulping down a heavy lump in her throat. "I think about Isaac every single day. He was my first love, the father of my children, my husband. . .I used to think I would never be as happy as I was when he was here again. But I got my life back on track for my children and for myself," Chanel continued and she inched closer to him. "I tried to avoid how I feel for you for the sake of my family, but, I can't anymore, Sirius."

The man inhaled a deep breath and he released a big smile. "You sound like you're in love with me, Chanel Young." He teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Your personality hadn't changed at all."

Sirius laughed. He looked around them again. "You know what I've always dreamed of," he brought up.

Chanel raised her eyebrows.

"Kissing a beautiful woman in a field of flowers on a nice spring day."

She slipped out a loud laugh. "Oh, goodness, what a flirt you are, Sirius Black."

"Forever and always." Sirius declared and released her hands, pressing his to her face and he brought her forward, kissing her quickly but gently.

Chanel smiled brightly and touched his face as well.

He parted from her slightly. "Wanna know what else is in that dream?"

"Enlighten me."

"Running through said flower field with said beautiful woman."

Chanel laughed loudly when he grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him, the two of them running through the field of flowers.