|| Star-Crossed ||

79

Didn't Mean To

CAROLINE POTTER

I could hear voices. They came in flashes. "You're not coming with us, are you?" Theo said. I felt his lips on my forehead, I could smell the spearmint on his breath. "I love you," he whispered.

"Draco," I said as I opened my eyes. I looked around and I didn't recognize where I was. It was a room, shells decorated the walls and the air smelled of saltwater. "C," a soft voice said. I looked over and Harry was next to me. My eyes filled with tears and I sat up. "Harry," I said. It didn't feel real. I'd dreamed of seeing my brother again so many times. I even woke up and imagined I saw him a couple times. Then I looked closer and realized my mind had tricked me. I reached my hand out and touched the scar on his head and tears fell down his cheeks. "Is this real? Are you real?" I asked. His face faltered and he nodded. "I'm here," he said. He held my hand and gave it a squeeze. I exhaled a shaky breath and nodded. He pulled me into his arms and I froze. Memories of the death eaters holding me down flashed through my head. I quickly pulled away and his face fell. "Please- I can't- please, don't touch me," I said, my voice shaky and uneven. He looked at Hermione and Ron with confusion. Hermione gave him a nod and he looked back at me. "I'm sorry, I- I won't. I won't touch you," he said. I nodded. Then Fleur walked over. "Hi Caroline, I'm not sure if you remember me. I'm Fleur, Bill's wife." she said. I nodded. "I healed most of your injuries. Do you feel ok? Does anything hurt?" she asked. I stared at the ground. Everything hurts. Mostly my head. But I just want to stop seeing memories of the Manor in my head. "Caroline?" Fleur said. I looked at her. "It's ok- I'm fine," I mumbled. She smiled and nodded. I looked around and Harry watched me. "Caroline, say something," he said. "Where's Draco?" I asked. He looked down and Hermione and Ron exchanged looks. "He couldn't leave. He had to stay for his mother," Harry said. My heart rate increased. "But he helped you. He helped you escape. Voldemort will-" I started. "He knew." Harry said. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Hermione walked over and gave a small smile. "He said that all he ever wanted was to make sure you were safe. And now you are. He told us to tell you he'll miss you," she said. I shook my head. "You just left him there?" I asked. "Caroline, he chose to stay." Ron said. "And Theo? Is he there too?" I asked. They were quiet. "He's here," Harry mumbled. "Where? Is he ok?" I asked. They didn't say anything. Not one word. I stood to my feet and leaned against the wall to support myself. "Caroline, sit back down. You aren't-" Harry started. I headed for the door and pushed him away. I walked out and there was a door across the hallway. "Caroline, please. Just go back to your bed." Hermione said. I went inside the room and I froze. Theo was sitting on the floor in the corner, hugging his knees. His face was bruised and bloody and he was crying. He looked up and his eyes widened. "Theo!" I said. I limped over to him and he stood up, rushing to me. "Why are you out of bed? You shouldn't-" he started. I hugged him and he went stiff. Then he hugged me back and I rested my chin on his shoulder. Harry, Ron and Hermione came in and just stared at us. "We lost Draco," I said. He nodded. "I know," he said. I let go and stepped back. I held his chin gently and moved his face to the side. "What happened to you?" I asked. He didn't say anything either. "Theo, who did this?" I repeated. "He raped you, Caroline. He deserved it," Harry spat. Theo's face fell and he looked down. I clenched my fists and turned around. "What did you say?" I asked. "I know what he did. The death eaters-" Harry started. "The death eaters locked Theo in the dungeons. They starved him and beat him and tortured him for weeks because he tried to help me." I said. "But he told us he did it," Ron said. I looked at Theo. "I told you it was ok. I told you it wasn't your fault," I said. "Caroline, can you please tell us what happened?" Hermione asked. "No! Theo did nothing wrong. They were going to kill him if he didn't do it. And even then, he refused. I told him to do it. He didn't hurt me. He protected me, like he always does!" I said. "Caroline, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Harry started. "You never mean to! You never mean to do anything! But you do it anyway. You didn't mean to say those horrible things to Theo during summer. You didn't mean to almost kill Draco. And now you didn't mean to beat Theo up?" I asked as I jabbed my finger into his chest. "The only re- reason I'm alive-" I started. My vision began to blur and I felt dizzy. "I'm alive because of- Theo- because- of him-" I stammered. Then I stumbled over and hit the floor with a thud.
Then it all went black.