Last Summer // George Weasley

23. Suffer

Trigger warning: mention of rape
Song: Salt And The Sea by The Lumineers

You sat in the closet in George's arms while you cried for what seemed like forever, Fred standing over the two of you.
"Can you tell us what happened" George asked and you shook your head
"No no no" you continued to shake your head and George gently grabbed your face stopping you
"It's okay you're safe now, we're here"
"Let's get her back up to the common room" Fred suggested
"Do you want me to carry you" George asked and you shook your head no. He helped you to your feet and you clung to his arm holding it in front of you shielding you from the world. You walked slowly looking straight ahead, you couldn't bring yourself to look at Fred or George again fearing you'd break down for good. When you made it to the common room all of your friends were waiting but George continued walking bringing you up to your room and Fred walked over to them. You climbed the stairs and went into your room followed by George
"Do you want me to run you a shower" he asked and you didn't say anything "or do you just want to go to bed" you shook your head.
"Okay I'll go start the shower" George said walking into your bathroom. You sat on the edge of your bed and heard the water start running, a minute later George came out and gave you a small smile. You stood up and headed to the bathroom but stopped in the doorway
"Lock the door after me" you said and George nodded waiting for you to close the door
"Colloportus" you heard George from the other side. The steam from the shower filled the room and George had laid out a pair of pajamas and a robe. You slowly peeled your clothes off avoiding the mirror and stepped under the water. The hot water felt amazing as it ran down your body, but it couldn't scrub away what had happened earlier. You finished washing yourself and turned the water off quickly drying off before slipping into your pajamas. You knocked on the door and George unlocked it
"How was the shower, are you okay?" George asked when you came out. You looked at him trying to find the right words but failing
"It's okay" George wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close
"It's not" you said tears starting to spill out of your eyes again "it's.....Adrian" you finally said
George stepped back and looked down at you
"He hit you?!"
You shook your head and looked down at your feet
"Did he...." George trailed off and you looked up and met his eyes, you didn't need to confirm what George was thinking. Your eyes said it all.
He looked at a loss for word but just held you tightly
"I'm so sorry.... I shouldn't have left the castle I shouldn't have left you alone after this morning"
You just shook your head again. It wasn't George's fault. Nothing could have stopped what happened today, not even George. You walked over to your bed and climbed under the covers and George just stood watching you
"Can I...." He looked nervous and motioned towards the bed. You nodded and moved the covers back for him
"I need you"
With that George climbed into bed and protected you from everything in the world.

•George's POV•

You left McGonagalls office and headed to find Samantha but instead ran into Fred
"Hey are you busy"
"We'll I was going to find Sam"
"She's in class" Fred said "let's go down and get some practice in before this weekend"
"Alright" you headed back to your room with Fred changing into your quidditch outfit and heading out the the pitch.
"Let's run some drills" Fred suggested
"Alright just not too long"

When you finally finished it was dark out and you were freezing
"Lost track of time I guess" you laughed at your brother
"Yeah I'm hungry" Fred said putting his broom away "let's get Samantha and go to the kitchen for a snack"
"Yeah come on" you said hurrying your brother and walking back up to the castle. When you got to the common room Harry Ron and Hermione were sitting in front of the fire
"Have you guys seen Samantha" you asked
"Not since dinner" Harry said looking up from his book. You hurried up the stairs to her room and knocked on the door, but no one answered.  You pushed the door open and her room was empty. The bed was still made from when she left for class this morning. You hurried back down
"She's not in her room" you told everyone
"You don't think Katie would try something again" Ron questioned
"No.... Well" you weren't sure if she would, I mean she tried to kill her and you wouldn't have expected that. You turned and ran to Katie's room throwing the door open
"Miss me already George" Katie said looking up from her homework
"Where's Samantha" you asked
"Did she get bored of you already" Katie smirked
"Where. Is. She"
"Calm down George I haven't seen her all day" you ran out of Katie's room
"Nothing" Fred asked
"Nothing" you shook your head
"Harry, where's the map"
"Upstairs"
You and Fred ran up to the boys dorms and went into Harry's room spotting the map on his desk
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" you tapped the map with your wand. As soon as it appeared on the parchment you searched for Samantha's name
"Here" Fred said pointing to a broom closet on the first floor
"She's alone..." you said and hurried out of Harry's room. You and Fred ran down the halls as fast as your legs would carry you until you were outside the closet. You opened the door and Samantha was sitting holding her knees tight against her chest. You dropped to your knees the look on her face making you feel sick
"Samantha" you said but she just stared blankly at you.
"What happened" Fred asked from behind you and she looked up at him but didn't say anything. You reached out to touch the cuts and bruises on her face but she pulled away.  You looked up at your brother, the worried look on your face mirrored on his.
"Samantha" you said again but this time quieter. Her face changed and she started to sob as she flung her arms around you. You grabbed her back and held her tightly against you as she screamed out, tears streaming down her face your heart breaking into a million pieces. You held her until she couldnt cry any longer and Fred suggested you go back to the common room. Samantha walked a step behind you clinging to your arm as it protected her from the world. When you got back to the common room everyone was still sitting in front of the fire talking quietly. They all looked up at you but you kept walking Samantha to her room while Fred headed over to them. When you closed the bedroom door behind you Samantha just stared up at you
"Do you want me to run you a shower" you asked her and she didn't say anything "or do you just want to go to bed" Samantha shook her head and you understood.
"Okay I'll go start the shower" you walked into her bathroom pulling out pajamas and a robe leaving them laid out on the counter before turning the hot water on in the shower. You made sure she had all her soaps and everything before heading out, you smiled at her and she walked into the bathroom
"Lock the door after me" she said and you nodded. Once the door was latched shut you pulled out your wand
"Colloportus" the door locked and you ran downstairs
"Is she okay, what's going on" Hermione jumped up from her seat when she saw you
"She's in the shower now, I have no idea what happened..... I mean I have an idea but" you shook your head thinking of her messy hair and partially unbuttoned shirt when you found her in the closet "I don't know" you finally said. All of your friends looked back at you, somber faces.
"Well go on back" Fred said and you hurried back up the stairs. When you got back inside her room you heard the shower turn off and a few minutes later she knocked on the other side of the door which you unlocked
"How was the shower, are you okay?" She looked up at you searching her brain for an answer "it's okay" you told her
"It's not" she said shaking her head about to cry again "it's..... Adrian" tears started to stream down her face and you stepped back slightly
"He hit you?!" Your anger boiled up inside of you. She shook her head and looked down at her feet
"Did he....." your greatest fear was being confirmed and Samantha started to cry harder.
"I'm so sorry.... I shouldn't have left the castle I shouldn't have left you alone after this morning" you could even begin to wrap your mind around everything happening right now. Samantha just shook her head and went to climb into her bed
"Can I....." you had no idea what to do, if she wanted you around or not but she shook her head yes and you climbed in after her. She clung onto you and you ran your fingers through her wet hair as she slowly fell asleep. You laid awake all night, it took everything in you not to go hunt Adrian down right then and kill him.

When Samantha woke up in the morning you helped her get dressed trying not to stare at the bruises that littered her body. The finger print sized bruises on her hip made you want to scream and hurt something but you kept yourself composed for her sake. She attempted to smile up and you and it made your heart hurt
"You ready" you asked her
"I guess" she said quietly. Fred was waiting outside her room and the two of you walked Samantha to the hospital wing, once inside with madam pomfrey you gently kissed the top of her head
"Well be just outside when you're done" you told her and she nodded. You and Fred left and he sat down outside of the door
"Nope get up" you said to Fred and walked down the hall. He ran to catch up
"You told her we'd be outside"
"She'll be fine and we'll be back before she's done" you told your brother. You walked towards the dungeons and saw who you were looking for. Adrian was standing with his back to you talking to his two friends. You quickened your pace and shouted
"Oi Pucey" when he turned around you punched him like your life depended on it. He fell backwards and his friends lunged for you but Fred threw them to the side. You crouched down over Adrian and punched him again and again while Fred fought off Flint and Higgs. You watched his face get bloody and it only encouraged you to hurt him more, eventually he stopped fighting back and Fred glanced over
"Hey that's enough" he grabbed you and pulled you off of Adrian "you're going to kill him"
"Maybe that's what I'm trying to do" you said standing up looking down at the pathetic creature at your feet, you spit in his face and left him on the ground.