Innocence

Chapter 82

HARRY'S POV

When I saw her for the first time, I felt ill. She looked barely human. She obviously hasn't eaten in days, the bruises and cuts are everywhere and I can't tell if she is even lucid enough to realize what's going on. I sat next to her and she just looked at me. "Camilla, do you know who we are?" Hermione asked. She just looked at us with a blank expression. Empty, numb.

"When is Cedric getting here?" she asked. Our faces dropped. I looked at Hermione and she looked just as confused. "What did you say?" Ron asked. "I want to talk to Cedric. He helps me know what to say." I replied. We all exchanged glances. I looked into Camilla's eyes. She was still scared, but we couldn't lie. "Camilla, Cedric died. A long time ago." I said. A wave of confusion flashed through her face before she gave a small smile. "No, he isn't." she said with a laugh. "Camilla, during the triwizard tournament-" I started. "I just talked to him yesterday." she said. My veins iced. What the hell does that mean? "Camilla, you saw Cedric?" Ginny asked. "We were in the cell together." she said. Then she just stared out the window. Hermione looked at us with concern. "Her mental state has clearly been seriously altered." she whispered. "What does that mean?" I asked. "It means her brain is wrecked." Ron said. I looked at Hermione. "Mione, is that true?" I asked. "I'm not a healer so I'm not sure. But the way she is behaving, how she doesn't remember us, how she thinks Cedric is alive, those are signs." she said. "So what do we do?" Ginny asked. "The second we get to Howgarts, we take her to Madame Pomfrey. Not only do we need to find out what's wrong with her head, these physical injuries need to be tended to as well." she said. We all nodded. I looked at Camilla and tried not to imagine what happened to her. I should never have let her go. But I did, I let her go...

And now I might never get her back.

If she doesn't remember me, I might never get to tell her how I feel. How I really feel.

Camilla didn't say a word the rest of the train ride. Every now and then, she would squeeze her eyes shut and hold her breath. I just wanted to hug her. I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go. I wanted to apologize for letting her go and promise to never do it again. But I can't.

I need to know what they did to her. I need to know how we can help her. "I'll be back..." I said. I grabbed my invisibility cloak and snuck into the Slytherins section of the train. Then I sat there and waited. I waited and prayed that Nathan would reveal what he did to Camilla. But he didn't.

CAMILLA'S POV

I feel guilty. Everyone is so sad because I don't remember them. But I'm trying. It's even harder without Cedric here to help me. They said he died but I think they are mistaking him for someone else. I know he isn't dead. I saw him. I talked to him every day when I was locked in my cell. I just feel so trapped. I feel trapped in my head and it's driving me mad. Everyone told me their names and it still didn't help. I think putting a name to a face actually made things worse. Now when I look at Harry or Ginny, and I still don't remember, I feel so frustrated. I remember pain, I remember some locations, I remember some times and days but everything is all scrambled. None of it is in order and none of it makes sense. I just feel lost.

"Camilla, we're here" Hermione said. I looked up and the train had stopped. I just followed them to the carriages and looked around. "Do you remember any of this?" the red head boy asked. My eyes watered as I looked at him. "I forgot your name," I said quietly. "Camilla, it's-" Hermione started. She reached out and I flinched. I backed away so she couldn't hit me. When I looked up again, I saw the hurt in her eyes. "Camilla, I'm not going to hurt you." she said as her voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I didn't- I didn't mean to. My memories are all mixed up, I thought you were- I'm sorry." I stammered. Ginny placed a hand on mine. "It's alright. We understand." she said. Hermione nodded. "We are going to take you to Madame Pomfrey and she is going to help you. She might be able to help. So you can remember things better and reverse the tampering of your old memories." she said. I nodded. "And my name is Ron," he said. "You can ask any of us any questions. We won't get upset." Ginny said. "Ok." I said. They nodded. "Do you have any questions?" Ron asked. I thought for a moment. "When can I see Cedric?" I asked. They all exchanged sad looks. "Why won't you answer me?" I asked. Hermione gave me a small smile. "I'll talk to Harry. Maybe he can help us find Cedric for you." she said. I smiled. "Thank you." I said happily. Then the carriage pulled up to Hogwarts. "Let's go to the Infirmary" they said. I nodded and followed them.