Him - A Harry Potter Love Story

Chapter Nineteen

A/N First chapter of the fifth book😝

The weeks passed slower than I thought possible.

She didn't stop.

She locked my owl down in the basement, thankfully letting me go down to feed him once a day. I, however, rarely ate.

The beatings, though never including a knife again, were much worse. Every once in a while when I was doing chores she'd slap me, or maybe jab her elbow into my stomach. But at the end of the day, there was one worse than any others, where she'd spend a few minutes punching and kicking with no rest, based on how I 'behaved' that day.

I'd limp back to my room every night, wanting to cry but not having any tears left to shed. I would unlock my trunk and pull out the broken phoenix charm and run my fingers along the cracks, wishing desperately to at least be able to write a letter to Harry. I had tried asking to send one, making up a girl's name so she wouldn't accuse me of dating (which, now, I was) again. She just laughed, walking past me while 'accidentally' stepping down on my bare foot with her shoe. Hard.

It was one night, after one of the worst beatings yet, having spent a whole week without food, when the nightmare finally ended.

It was dark outside, just past eight at night. She had gone out drinking at some bar, leaving me home alone. The door to my room suddenly opened, causing me to back up to my bed from where I stood.

"Cassandra. Is that you?"

A wand lit up, breaking through the darkness. Multiple people were in the doorway, the owner of the voice none other than Remus Lupin.

"Professor Lupin?" I stood up again, alarmed. "What are you doing here?"

He walked up to me, inhaling sharply when he saw my face. I winced, knowing it was almost completely covered in bruises.

"Harry warned us you might be in bad shape," he muttered. "Come with us. We're getting you out of here."

Without question, I followed the people out the door. Mad-Eye Moody stayed behind, swishing his wand so that any clothing or books that I needed moved into the trunk, which then was levitated off the ground, right alongside my broomstick.

"Sir. My owl is locked in the basement," I said quietly. He gave a sharp nod, moving past us to get him.

We all walked outside, where I saw Harry waiting with a few more people.

Seeing him standing there in the moonlight was the best thing that happened to me that whole summer. I quickly limped towards him (trying to hide the fact that I was aching all over) and fell into his arms.

"Harry-"

"Are you alright Cassie?" He pushed me away, causing me to wince at his grip on my arms (which I knew was gentle).

"I'm okay now."

"Cassandra, are you alright to fly on your broom?" A woman with bright, bubblegum pink hair had it in her hands, holding it towards me. I nodded, taking it.

Moody explained what we were going to do, while Harry kept glancing at me. I was sure he could partially see my face, but he wouldn't be able to really see how bad it was until we got into proper lighting. He would probably freak out if I told him that what was on my face was on the rest of my body too...

We flew for a while, before making our way inside a home that Moody made appear in a building. The second we stepped inside, Harry going first, he turned around, letting out a gasp.

"Cassie!"

"Keep it moving, Potter!" Moody grumbled, pushing ahead of us. I flinched as Harry took my hand, running his fingers lightly over a particularly bad bruise from when she threw a glass bottle at me. I knew each mark's story...what had happened to make it appear.