Embers of the Heart ; George Weasley

Eight

I sat on the stairs when I heard the front door to the house open. I looked up, seeing Mr O'Malley enter, kick off his shoes and hanging his coat before turning around, freezing as his eyes landed on me.

He seemed confused.

"Aurora. Why are you home?"

In that moment, Mrs O'Malley came marching down the hallway, throwing a packed suitcase down the stairs. Her husband watched as the suitcase opened and all his belongings quickly covered the floor.

"Catherine, what are you?"

"Go, Christopher." she snapped, pointing at the front door. "I've already filed for divorce with my lawyer. Get the hell out of my house!"

Mr O'Malley looked at me and everything seemed to click. "Sweetheart, I don't know what she's told you but—"

"Don't you dare." Mrs O'Malley hissed, marching down the stairs. "You are done laying a hand on her, and you are done manipulating situations. Finn is welcome to have a relationship with you if that's what he wants, but you stay away from me and you stay away from Aurora, you disgusting—"

She couldn't even finish that sentence. She shook her head, looking at him in disgust.

"C'mon." he said, looking up at me. "Aurora. Tell her nothing happened. Tell her—"

"Don't speak to her." Mrs O'Malley said before turning to look at me. "Aurora, sweetheart. Go upstairs."

I did what she said, getting to my feet before turning around and jogging the last few steps up the stairs. Then I locked myself in my room, sitting cross-legged on the bed. I chewed on my thumb, wondering if I did the right thing. I couldn't help but feel guilty about ruining a family, but then again, wasn't he the one who ruined his family?

Why should I feel bad about it?

I sat in my room and waited for a while until there was a knock on the door. I reached for my wand and pointed it at the door, unlocking it to give Mrs O'Malley access.

"He's left." she said softly, entering with one hand on the door handle. "How're you holding up?"

"Okay." I said, while I was chewing on my thumb and bouncing my leg. Mrs O'Malley sighed and walked over to take a seat on the edge of my bed.

"I want you to see someone. I know a great therapist in Diagon Alley. I'll pay for it and everything. And I was wondering if you wanted to press charges."

I swallowed harshly, looking out the window. Did I want to press charges? I knew that something like this would be hard on the victim, so did I really want to? Did I want to sit in front of a judge and tell everything that had happened— everything he had done to me? Did I want the whole world, the newspapers to get a look at the case and judge me in every way imaginable? No, I didn't. But did I want justice to happen? Did I want him to pay for what he's done to me? More than ever.

"I don't know." I said. "It's just... it's too much right now."

"I understand. But remember, there's no expiration date so if you ever feel like pressing charges, I'll be right there with you, okay?"

I nodded and she opened her arms, offering a hug. I hugged her, muttering a 'thank you' into her shoulder.

"I'm just not ready for everyone to know." I whispered.

"I know. That's okay." she assured me. "How about you stay home for a few days before going back to school. We'll keep this between us for now. You'll tell Finn when you're ready and that may not be until Christmas when he comes home to find Christopher gone, but that's fine too."