The Girl with the Broken Smile (Fourth Book in the Heart Scar series)

Working at the Shop

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters except Aria, Jude, Lucy, Max, Marie, Ben, Paige, Fred II, Sebastian, Jenna, Alice II, Frank II, Alex, Melinda, Toby, Markus, Bella, Jason, Raychel, Charlotte, and Reginald. Everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Working at the Shop

               Raychel threw me to the marble floor and I groaned with pain. We were in a dimly lit bedroom and I assumed it was her house. “Incarcerous.” She said and suddenly my arms were bound by ropes and were tied to two pillars in the room. I stood up because of the pull of the rope and I looked at Raychel. She walked in front of me and had a smile on her face. “Hello, Aria. You know George is the hotter twin. You should've stayed with Fred. If you hadn't killed him of course.”

               “Go to hell." I said angrily and struggled to get loose from the ropes.

               She laughed. “This is my hell!” She touched my face. “And you made it for me.” She slapped me and walked away. “Now, I'm gonna make you pay.” She pointed her wand at me. “Deprimo.” An immense pressure appeared on my right arm and I winced with pain. It got worse the longer she held her wand pointed at it and soon it broke; which caused me to scream.

               I jumped awake and was covered in a cold sweat. The nightmare I recognized as part of the dream I had long ago but it was also different and it scared me nonetheless. I sat up in the unfamiliar bed and looked around the old, dark room. Fred, Paige, Sebastian, and Jason were all asleep in their beds and looked peaceful. The four of them and I had stayed the night with Harry and Ginny the previous night for protection. Well, they just thought it was because our house had rats in it and it was being magically taken care of it it'd take a week. I hated lying to them but it was for the best. Especially while Draco, Jude, Ben, Harry, Ron, and I searched for George. Of course we were waiting for the weekend to search since the guys wanted to make sure the plan was perfect; and Harry wanted to make sure Draco wasn't double crossing us. So today I was going to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes with Lee and Jude to greet the customers while Ginny and Hermione watched the kids.

               I got out of my bed, got dressed, and left the room quietly and went down to the kitchen. Hermione was already there and she and Ginny were sitting at the table drinking coffee. Ginny had made breakfast and some was still on the table waiting to be eaten by Jason, my kids, and hers. The girls smiled at me and Ginny said, “Good morning, Aria. Did you sleep well?”

               I shrugged. “I slept ok. Had a lite nightmare but I'm fine.” I told her. 

               “What was it about?” Hermione asked.

               “Just Raychel being Raychel.” I sat down and poured myself some coffee.

               “You’re just stressed that’s all so it’s making you have nightmares.” Ginny told me.

               I nodded. “I just wish we find George soon. I know that once he’s home I'll be ok.”

               There was a crack then and Jude and Lee stood in the kitchen. Both smiled at me and the girls then Jude asked, “Ready to go?”

               I nodded again. “Yeah.” I took a fast drink of my coffee and stood up.

               “But you haven't had your breakfast yet.” Ginny complained.

               “I’m not hungry.” I grabbed Jude’s arm and looked back at them. “Bye.”

               The boys and I apparated into the shop and we started getting ready. I haven't worked in the shop in years and it was weird to be doing it now; especially under the circumstances. But this was I thing I had to do while I hid that George was missing from the kids and tried to figure out where he was and keep my mind off him and what Raychel was doing to him. Ginny was definitely right. I was stressed but how could I not be? Any normal person would be in this situation. I just wanted all of it to end already.

               “Aria, are you ready to open the shop?” Lee asked; his voice sounded like it wasn't the first time he tried asking me that question.

               I looked into his eyes and nodded. “Yeah.” I walked over to the stairs as Lee turned the closed sign to open and customers started to come in.

               Greeting the customers was definitely harder than I expected. I kept expecting George to stand by me at any minute; helping me greet them or making a joke. I had to force myself to not cry. Jude soon came over to me and looked into my eyes with care. “Aria, why don't you go upstairs and work on the orders. I’ll greet people for a while.” He suggested.

               “Ok.” I choked out and headed up the stairs and to the office.

               The second I closed the office door I started crying. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I grabbed the desk to keep myself from going to the ground and my sobs were the only noise in the room. I couldn't even hear the noise from the shop below it was that loud. It took me about a half hour to get control of myself and I wiped all the tears away.

               “It’s about time. I was wondering how long you were going to cry.” Raychel’s voice said and I turned around to look into her evil eyes.

               “What are you doing here?” I asked her angrily.

               She shrugged and looked at a box of Canary Creams. “I just came to say hello and see how you are. George has been bugging me about you all morning.”

               “Then you should let him go if he’s annoying you.” Plead and hope was in my voice.

               She looked at me and laughed. “I never said he was annoying. He’s actually cuter when he’s all concerned about you and those brats.”

               I groaned. “Just go. I’m not in the mood to hear what you have to say about George unless it’s you letting him go.”

               I headed for the door but Raychel grabbed my hair and pulled me to her. It felt like my hair was ripping out of my skull and tears were in my eyes. “Listen, bitch. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll show up wherever you are just to remind you that I have George locked up and you will never find him again.” She spat in my ear then kicked open the door. She dragged me over to the stairs and said, “Now if you want to go downstairs, go.”

               She let go of my hair and kicked me down the stairs. I swear I hit every part of my body on every single stair as I rolled down them. I tried grabbing the railing to stop myself from falling but it did nothing. I just kept rolling and hurting more and more. I finally landed on a landing between the sets of stairs and I just laid there. I could feel blood leaving different areas of my body but I didn't move. I couldn't move. I just laid there in pain and stared at the floor. Silence was in the room but it didn't last long. I heard someone running up the stairs and I soon felt hands touch me.

               “Aria! Oh my God!” Jude yelled and his voice was shaky. “It’s going to be ok.”

               I couldn’t say anything since I felt weaker. I barely managed to look up the stairs but I did and saw Raychel grinning at me before she apparated. I then closed my eyes and I didn’t feel anything anymore.

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Oh my gosh you guys. I just finished writing all of this on my iPod. Holy moly. What do you guys think? Hope you like it. This chapter is dedicated to airadm because she's been helping me with ideas. And there's a one shot contest going on! All the details are on my page so please check them out and thank you to the ones who have entered! Hoping to get more enteries soon! Please comment and vote!