|| Star-Crossed ||

38

Safe House

THEODORE NOTT
Eventually, the punches stopped. I was beaten to the ground and I could barely breathe through the pain. Then I heard her screams. Caroline. I tried to stand up but Dudley stepped on me and slammed me back to the ground. "Let them have their fun," he said. "Caroline-" I tried to yell. My voice was weak. Once Dudley left, I tried to stand again. I leaned on the walls and the table. Eventually, I stumbled over to the stairs. I started to pull myself up when I heard a thud. Then footsteps. The other boys came walking down the stairs, laughing. "Well, aren't you dedicated." one said. I kept trying to get to her. "I'm going to kill you-" I started. I tried to swing but I stumbled again and I felt a punch to my face. I fell on the stairs and they laughed. "Nice try," they said. Then they just left. I pulled myself up the stairs and I looked for Caroline. "Caroline!" I yelled. I checked her room and she wasn't there. When I went down the other hallway, I froze. I saw her.

I saw her body. She was laying on the floor outside a bedroom. All she had on was her knickers. I grabbed a shirt from Harry's drawer and blanket from her room and ran over. I pulled the shirt on and wrapped the blanket around her. Then I dropped to my knees next to her. "Caroline," I whispered. Her eyes were closed. "Caroline, please-" I said. Her eyes opened and she looked at me. There were tears on her cheeks and blood on her thighs. "Fucking hell, what did they do?" I said. "You were right," she said. Her voice was raspy and strained. "C! Where are you?" a voice yelled from downstairs. I ran to the top of the stairs and it was Harry. "Potter!" I yelled. He looked up in confusion. "Nott?" he said. "Get up here, now!" I said. He ran up the stairs and then he saw her. "What did you do?" he yelled. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. "It was the same ones as before. The same boys." I said. He let go and stepped back. "What?" he said as he knelt down next to her. "The boys that attacked her when she was a kid," I said. His face fell. "Dudley and his friends did this?" he asked. "Dudley did this-" I started pointing to my black eye and lifting up my shirt to show him the bruises. His eyes widened. "His friends- I think- they- they raped her," I said quietly. Harry's face was broken. He looked at Caroline and forced a smile. "C, I'm here. I'm here now." he said. "I didn't want to. I- I said no-" she said weakly. "I know you did. We believe you." he said. Her eyes started to close again. "We have to get her out of here," I said. He nodded. "We'll take her to the Weasleys," he said. "No-" she said. We both looked at her. "C, we can't stay here," Harry started. "Not the Weasleys. I don't want everyone to- to know what happened." she said. He sighed. "I have somewhere we can take her," I said. He looked at me strangely. "You have to trust me, Potter." I said. He nodded. "Ok," he said.

I picked up Caroline, keeping her wrapped in the blanket and held her bridal style. Harry kept his wand drawn as we left. We went into the field and I apparated us away. When we landed, Harry looked around. "Where are we?" he asked. "A safe house of sorts," I said. He nodded. I had taken us to what is called the clubhouse. It's a cabin Draco, Blaise, Lorenzo and I bought together to host parties and such. We also crash here whenever home gets too crazy or we need an escape. I prayed someone would be there. We went to the door and knocked. It opened and Blaise stood there holding a bowl of cereal. "What the fuck?" he said. "Move," I said. I pushed past him and we went inside. He shut the door and I laid Caroline down on bed in the living room. "You better have a damn good reason for bringing Potter to the secret clubhouse because this-" Enzo said as he walked in. Then he saw her. "Shit-" he said. "What the fuck happened?" Blaise asked. "Who else is here?" Harry asked. "Nobody, it's just us." Enzo said. He nodded. "Theo, what's going on? What happened to you? And her?" Blaise asked. I looked at Harry and he nodded. "It's fine, just tell them," he said. I nodded. "Draco asked me to take care of Caroline. We got attacked by the muggles she lives with. Her cousin beat the shit out of me and his friends took her upstairs and raped her." I said. Their faces dropped. "Fucks sake- is she- is she ok?" Enzo asked. "No, Enzo. What kind of stupid fucking question is that?" Blaise asked. He rolled his eyes. "Can you get the healer's kit?" I asked. Enzo nodded and left. He returned with a bag and handed it to me. We all went over to Harry who was sitting and holding Caroline's hand. He looked at me. "I don't know what to do," he said. "We need to heal her, dumbass!" Blaise said. "Blaise! Not helping!" Enzo snapped. "Sorry," he mumbled. I put the bag down and sat in front of her. Harry pulled the blanket away and his face paled. He saw the bruises and the blood and he looked sick. "I can heal her, you shouldn't see your sister like this," I said. He nodded and stood up. "Blaise, get him a drink. Enzo, help me with this," I said. I saw the look of hesitation on Harry's face. He didn't want people to see her like this. "Don't worry, I won't look." I said. He nodded. "I'm gay, so I have no interest." Enzo said. Harry just nodded. "Thank you," he said. Then I healed her.