|| Star-Crossed ||

81

Happily Ever After

CAROLINE POTTER

After Hermione finished helping me wash, she helped me out of the bath and helped me get dressed. Fleur left me a dress, a sweater and some flats. "Do you want me to braid your hair like I used to?" Hermione asked. I smiled and nodded. She spent the next 20 minutes carefully brushing through my hair and french braiding it. Then she re-applied my bandages and looked at me. "Do you want to go downstairs for some dinner or should I bring it up to you?" she asked. "I- I guess I can come downstairs," I said. She smiled and held out her hand. I took it and we went downstairs. Everyone was sitting at the table eating stew and bread. It smelled amazing. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since the bread I was given the morning before I was rescued. My mouth watered and Bill walked over to me. "It's good to see you again, Caroline. You can sit right here," he said, pulling out a chair next to Theo. I nodded and sat down. "Thank you," I said quietly. As I sat down, I glanced at Harry. He kept his eyes glued to the table. I felt guilty. I shouldn't have shouted at him. I just couldn't take it. I never wanted him to know. He's never going to look at me the same. "Are you feeling any better?" Theo asked. I gave him a small smile and a nod. "I feel like a person for the first time in a long time," I said. He nodded. Bill passed me a small bowl of stew and a glass of water. "Don't eat too much or too fast, Caroline. Your stomach has shrunk and it needs time to adapt" Bill said. I nodded and began to eat. Once we finished, I went upstairs and sat down on my bed. There was a soft knock on my door and Fluer came in. "I wanted to talk to you about something, but I thought we should wait until we could speak in private. Is now a good time?" she asked. I nodded. "Yes, come in," I said. She came in and sat next to me on the bed. "I need to ask you a few questions about your time at Malfoy Manor," she said. I looked down and my heart started to beat faster. "I don't really want to talk about it," I mumbled. "I understand and I don't want to push, but there are some things I need to know so I can make sure your body is ok," she said. I sighed and nodded. "Ok, I'll try," I said. She nodded. "If it's too hard or we need to stop, just tell me," she said. I nodded back. "First off, did the men that raped you cast the contraception charm at any point during intercourse?" she asked. "Wait- is that- is this what you meant? Questions like this?" I asked. She nodded. "I need to make sure your sexual health is ok," she said. I shook my head rapidly and stood up. I frantically backed away. "No, I can't. You can't ask- I can't-" I stammered. "Caroline, breathe. It's ok. You're safe," she said. "No! Stop! Just stop! I'm not going to-" I started. Then Theo ran in. "She's making me- she wants to make me tell her- no!" I said. He pulled me into his arms and I cried softly into his chest. "Breathe, Caroline. I need you to breathe," he whispered. He sat me down on the bed and I took deep breaths with him. "Fleur just wants to help. If we don't tell her, something could go wrong. What if you're hurt and we don't know about it?" he said. "I don't want to-" I said. He sighed. "What if I told her about it? Just the part I know you don't want to talk about," he said. I nodded hesitantly. He looked at Fleur and she sat down. "Nobody else knows about this. Just Draco and Narcissa. You can't tell anyone. Not Harry, or Ron or Hermione or Bill or anyone. This is just so you can make sure she is healthy," Theo said. Fleur nodded. "I promise," she said. We nodded and Theo held my hand. "Caroline was pregnant," he said. Her face dropped and her eyes widened. "7 weeks in, they found out. The Dark Lord ordered them to terminate it." he said. I stared at the floor as silent tears rolled down my cheeks. "She didn't even know until they were already doing it," he said. "Caroline, I'm so sorry," she said. I nodded. "Was it Draco's? Or-" she started. "No. We didn't know who the father was. It could have been any of the death eaters," Theo said. She nodded. "May I run another diagnostic?" she asked. "You already did one," I said. "This one is more specific to pregnancies. I want to make sure there weren't any complications," she said. I looked at Theo. He sat on the bed and laid my head on his lap. "Just close your eyes," he whispered. Fleur ran the diagnostic and nodded. "There were no complications. Everything is ok," she said. I nodded. "I'll let you get some rest. You've had a long day," she said. I nodded. "Do you want me to go-" Theo started. "No! Sorry- please- just- just don't leave," I said. He nodded. I laid back down on his lap and he pulled the blanket over me. Then he stroked my hair. "Theo?" I said. He hummed a response. "Can you tell me a story? Something happy, so I can fall asleep?" I asked. He smiled. "Of course," he said. I fell asleep to a story about a witch and a wizard who ran away together to the muggle world and lived happily ever after.