Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter seventy-three

Before I can say anything further, Harry, Ron and Hermione all sit beside me - Hermione walking around to the other side - and swallow me in a large, warm embrace. I feel all their arms hold me tight and close, their individual and comforting smells making me relax even further.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asks as they all lean out of the hug but they continue to look at me, a slight worry in all their eyes, especially in Harry's. "I'm kind of tired, my arm is quite sore as well," I reply, looking down at my arm which has been wrapped up in bandages, "but other than that, I'm feeling a lot better. Are you guys doing okay? What happened in the cellar?"

They all look at each other briefly, but Hermione decides to tell me about everything. "When we were locked in the cellar, we found Luna, Mr Ollivanders and Griphook locked in there too. We were in there, helpless, for about ten minutes before Dobby appeared and told us that he was able to Apparate in and out of the cellar. He was able to get both Luna and Mr Ollivanders out, as Griphook was brought upstairs. We were then able to get out of the cellar as Dobby knocked out Wormtail, which was when we came upstairs and we saw you get thrown to the floor by Scabior."

Just hearing that name sends a shiver down my spine, as scenes flash back through my mind of the torture I received from both him and Bellatrix. I close my eyes and squeeze them tight, trying to forget it all, but to no avail. When I open them again after a handful of seconds, I see that the group are looking at me with concern and worry. I try to reassure them that I'm fine, but I can see in their face that they don't truly believe me.

"How about we leave you two to talk? We can catch up a little later," Ron suggests, looking over at Hermione and then back to me, "besides, Fleur and Bill made you some food you should probably eat as well." Hermione nods and starts to walk out of the room, but Ron presses a small kiss to my forehead and whispers 'I love you', which I whisper back to him. 

As Ron leaves and closes the door behind him, Harry grabs the tray on the side table and places it beside him on the bed. I look at the tray to see a bowl filled with soup, a plate with various chopped up fruits and some small pastries. I feel the corners of my mouth turn up slightly, but my smile quickly fades when I see the sadness in Harry's eyes. 

"Aurora, I am so sorry," he starts, taking both my hands in his as his eyes start to fill with tears, "I knew this mission was going to be risky and dangerous, but I never imagined that you'd face this much pain." He goes to continue but I place my right hand on top of his mouth, silencing his rambling.

"Harry, it's okay," I whisper, "I knew the danger, I knew the risks and I knew that things were not going to go down without any suffering." I remove my hand from Harry's mouth and place it on Harry's cheek, supportively rubbing it softly. He nestles into my cheek slightly, closes his eyes and lets the tears fall. 

I gently pull his head forward and press his forehead against mine, keeping him close. After a minute or so, he pulls away and his eyes immediately fall to my bandaged arm, which he carefully lifts up and holds in his hands. He looks up and when we make eye contact, he asks if he can unwrap them to see what Bellatrix did.

I nod my head and watch as he slowly unwraps the bandages to see my scarred arm. The words 'liar', 'traitor' and 'worthless' are clearly etched in my skin, dark red and sore, several other scars surrounding them. My breath hitches at the sight of my arm, which looks much worse than they did when I last saw them.

Then again, my eyes were clouded with tears and my body was completely depleted of energy, so I must have not seen everything clearer.

I move my hair out of my face as Harry looks up at me, but I feel his body freeze and when I look up at him, his eyes are focussed on my neck. "Aurora... what happened?" He asks, his voice cracking ever so slightly. I look at him with confusion, so Harry reaches for a nearby mirror on a side table and holds it up to me, which reveals a litter of hickeys spread all over my neck.

As soon as my eyes see the hickeys, scenes start to flash back in my head, making my skin start to crawl and I shudder violently. Tears start to leave my eyes and my hands start to shake, but when Harry takes them and squeezes them tightly, I try to calm myself down, taking a series of deep breaths. 

"After Bellatrix was done with me, she pulled me up by my hair and called Scabior over, who took me from her and dragged me into a nearby hallway. He kept acting really... flirty and kept calling me beautiful, he was acting in a really disgusting way. I was awake the entire time, but I didn't have the energy to fight back or defend myself. He began kissing my neck and when he started biting, I felt..."

I stop as I draw a shaky breath, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. As sobs start to leave my lips, I look at Harry to see him waiting patiently, a pitiful smile on his face and I can tell he's trying to hold back his emotions too.

"I felt his hands start to move up my legs... and my thighs... he didn't do anything drastic, but I remember that he... he unbuttoned my shirt and... it was like that night with Cormac all over again, just worse," I manage to get out, another shaky breath leaving my lips as it's now all out in the open.

I go to look up at Harry but by the time I have, he's pulled me into his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around my back and his hands clutching at my shirt. I start to sob into his shoulder and my hands grab at his denim jacket, loud cries leaving my lips, cries that never ever seem to end. As I continue to sob, I feel Harry start to cry slightly too, although his cries are a lot more held back and contained. 

I continue to sob into his shoulder until he pulls away and takes my face in both his hands, which are gentle, soft and kind. He starts to lean in and I do the same in response, pressing my lips against his. When we part, he carefully wipes away my tears and gives me a loving smile, letting me know that I'm safe now.

"I love you," he whispers before he kisses me again, his lips warm and full of love. When he pulls away, I smile and taking his hands in mine, I whisper "I love you too," back to him.

The war is far from over, but I am more than ready for it because I'm not alone. 

I have my family fighting along with me.