Innocence

Chapter 43

CAMILLA'S POV

"Cam" I felt two small hands on my body shaking gently. I looked up sharply. "Hey, it's ok. It's just me." Ginny said. I took a breath and she smiled. "Get up and ready, It's time for breakfast." she said. "I'm not-" i started. "Nope" said Hermione as she walked out of the bathroom. I looked at her. "You are coming to breakfast with us. We'll stay with you." she said. "If anyone says anything, I'll hex them." Ginny said. I laughed. "Don't Gin. That'll only make them hate me more. I just ignore it." I said. They nodded. I put on my uniform and grabbed my bag. We walked into the common room and there stood Harry, Ron, Fred and George. I smiled. "We're here for you darling." Fred said. I laughed. "You guys are the best." I said. We all walked down the halls and Hermione held my hand. People stared at us as if they'd seen Voldemort himself. We walked into The Great Hall and sat down between Hermione and Harry. Fred and George started to talk about a prank they were planning. I tried to eat. "You've gotta eat something Cam," Harry whispered. "I know." I said. I bit into a piece of toast when I heard a voice behind me. "Potter? Are you joking?" I turned around and saw Evan standing behind us. "Go away Evan," he said. "After everything she did, you just forgive her? She killed Cedric." he yelled. "I'm gonna go," I said standing up. Harry held my hand and pulled me back down. "I said piss off Evan. I'm not joking. You don't know what you're talking about." he said. "Fine, but just think about what Cedric would think if he saw this. Oh wait he's dead." he said and he walked off. I sighed. "I told you, it's better when I don't come." I said. "Too bad for them. You're with us now." Harry said. I smiled.

Our classes were over and we were heading to dinner when Harry stopped. "I'll catch up with you guys, I gotta handle something." he said, walking in the opposite direction. We went into the Great Hall and started eating. "Umbridge is an absolute tosser," Ron said. "We aren't learning anything. I've never been more bored in my life." Hermione said.

"I know about all of it. I know what you did to her. So just stay away. I won't ask nicely again." a voice yelled. "Did she really tell you everything?" another voice yelled. I stood up. "Nathan." I said. I ran out of the Great hall and Hermione, Ginny and Ron followed. Harry stood there facing Nathan, Blaise and Draco. "Harry, stop. Let's just go." I said. "I'm a serious Potter? Do you really know about all of it?" he asked. "Yes. Leave her alone. If I find out you laid a hand on her, I'll-" he started. "What? What will you do?" he asked, stepping closer to Harry. "Did you tell you how many there were?" he asked. Harry glared at him. My stomach churned and my veins iced. 'Nathan please don't. I'm begging you." I said. Draco looked at me with concern. "Did she tell you how they held her down and it left bruises on her wrists?" he asked with an evil grin on his face. "Wait What?" Draco asked. "Did she tell you how she screamed and cried for hours?" he said. "Shut up," Harry said. Ginny's fists were clenched and Hermiones lips were pressed into a thin line. Draco was in shock. I couldn't look at him. "Nathan, stop. Please, I'll do anything. Please stop talking about this." I pleaded standing next to him. "Did she tell you how they burned her with cigarettes every time she went unconscious?" he asked. "Did she tell you how before she knew who I really was, she would cry for me? She would beg for me to help her. I would be in the other room laughing." he said. Tears fell down my face. "You sick bastard." Draco yelled. He punched Nathan across the face and blood poured from his nose. Then he grabbed Nathan's collar and slammed him against the wall. Nathan laughed as blood covered his face. "Are you sure you want to do this? Didn't end well for your pathetic mother last time did it?" he taunted. I pulled Draco away. "Don't. It's not worth it." I said. "Are you happy?" I asked looking at Nathan. "They know, does that make you happy?" I asked. "They aren't the only ones." he said smugly. I turned around and almost everyone from the Great Hall was standing at the door watching us. I froze as Nathan laughed. "Enough!" A voice boomed through the corridors. Snape and Dumbledore walked through. "I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut." Snape said, glaring at Nathan. "And I said you shouldn't talk to the dark lord's son like that." he said. He wiped the blood from his face and chuckled. He lifted his arm and showed his dark mark to me. "This is forever Camilla. They may forgive you but you can never escape this." he said. Then he strolled off. "Get back to your meal. You all, come with me." Dumbledore said. Me, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco went to Dumbledore's office. "I'm not sure I want to know but what happened?" he asked. "Nathan," Harry said. Dumbledore sighed. "I'm sorry Sir, it was my fault." I said. "What did you do?" he asked. I thought for a moment, technically I didn't do anything. "She didn't do anything." Ginny said. "Ya, usually it is my fault so I guess I'm used to saying that." I said. He chuckled. I was serious but I guess he missed that. "Draco, I've told you about our policy on violence." he said. Draco just nodded. "Sorry Sir" he mumbled. "Very well, I'll speak to Nathan. Off to your dorms, all of you." he said. We left his office and started to leave. Someone grabbed my wrist and I was spun to face Draco. "Can we talk?" he asked. "Draco I-" I started. "Please," he said. I nodded. We walked up to the Astronomy Tower and sat down. "I'm sorry." he said. "What?" I asked. "Cam, I had no idea. Nathan never told me it was like that. You never told me either." he said. I nodded. "I didn't want you to know." I said. "Why?" he asked. "Because." I said. "Because why?" he asked again. I sighed. "Because I hate myself for it ok? I've been passed around death eaters for the past 4 years like some kind of toy. They use me and pass me on to the next one." I said. "But Camilla, that's not your fault. You couldn't-" he started. "Don't. Don't say it." I said. "What?" he asked. "Don't say I couldn't stop it. Because there were times that I fought like hell, yes. But there were other times that I was just so exhausted that I didn't fight. I just let them do it. I closed my eyes and I waited for it to end. So don't tell me I couldn't stop it. Because sometimes I didn't even try." I said. He looked at me with sadness. "It's still not your fault." he said. "That's what everyone says." I said. "Because it's true," he replied. I just nodded. I reached into my bag and pulled out his book. "Here" I said, handing it to him. "I didn't mean it when I said I wanted it back." he said smiling. I started to put it away when he grabbed it. "What happened to it?" he asked. "I'm so sorry Draco. I tried to stop them-" I started. "What happened?" he asked again. "On the train, I was in my cabin and the Hufflpuffs came in. They were mad I came back to school. Evan ripped it up. I tried to fix it but even magic couldn't fix it all the way." I said sadly. "It's alright Camilla. At least you still have it." he said. I nodded. We sat there in silence for a while. "Do you ever wish all this was a dream?" he asked. I laughed. "I wish it was all a lie." I said.