Who I Really Am (A Remus Lupin Love Story)

Chapter Thirtyfive

"Expelliarmus!" She yells, and my wand flies out of my hand.
        The second my wand leaves my hand, the light extinguishes. It's pitch dark, and I can't see at all. I don't know where Elizabeth is, but luckily I can hear the sound of the wind going through the Willow's leaves. I definitely don't want to get too close to it.
        I take a couple steps back, hoping that Elizabeth doesn't know where I am. Hoping that she won't do what I think she will. I listen intently for the sound of her footsteps, the crack of a twig, or anything like that. But I don't hear anything.
I'm just starting to think that I'm safe when I hear her voice hiss, "Petrificus Totalus."
        I take a step to the left to dodge the spell, but it somehow still hits me. I fall backward to the ground, forced into stillness. I hear the sound of Elizabeth's footsteps, and sense that she's standing next to me.
She laughs quietly. "You thought I would give up that easily?"
The spell prevents me from responding, so I glare in the direction of her voice.
"I've never given up. Not once. Even with Remus, though I've been trying for years. And I will keep trying. But the only way he can love me is if you're gone. I'll get rid of you, and there will be no evidence that it was me. I'll comfort him. And he'll be mine."
        She's insane. 
"The only question is... How do I get rid of you? Slowly and painfully? Or all at once?"
        Definitely off her rocker.
"I guess I'll have to do it slowly. I've never been a fan of the Killing Curse, not even now. But how to do it? I could use the Cruciatus Curse, but that would take far too long. I could do it the Muggle way. Or... Both. Yes, both."
        I use all my will to fight against the charm on me, but it doesn't work. She cast it too well.
"Don't even bother trying to fight it. That's one of my best spells." She says with a laugh.
        I keep trying to fight it anyway, while Elizabeth prepares for whatever she's going to do to me. I haveto get out of here.
"Aha!" She whispers, "I found it."
        I then hear the sound of a knife being pulled out of a sheath. I cringe.
"I don't think I'm going to start with this, though." She decides, and I hear the sound of the knife being put back into the sheath. "Crucio." She whispers.
        For a second, I don't feel anything. I wonder if she missed. But then, I feel like I'm on fire. My blood is boiling. My bones are melting. My nerves are screaming. If I could scream, I would be screaming my head off. If I could move, I would be squirming. But I can't, and that makes the pain worse. I can't release it in those ways. After what seems like a hundred years, the pain eases away.
"I couldn't go on for too much longer." Elizabeth explains, "The charm would've broken. And I was bored."
        Oh no, I think, No. Not the knife. No. But I hear the sound of it being pulled out of its sheath again.
"This should be fun." She whispers, and I guess that she's crouching down next to me. 
        I feel her arm pushing my sleeves up, and the tip of the cold blade touching my skin. If I could shiver, I would have.
"You know what?" She whispers, and I no longer feel the knife against my skin. "I need to see. Lumos."
        She's kneeling over me, her scarf covering half my face like mine was. Her face is unusually pale, not slightly pink like it should be when it's this cold. Her lips are pressed in a fine line, like she's thinking about something. But what captures my attention the most is her eyes. Not only are they narrowed instead of wide, but they're slightly unfocused. And when she turns her attention back to me, they're still the same way.
"Alright." She whispers, the sly smile appearing on her face again, "Let's do this."
        I find that I can close my eyes. Maybe the charm is wearing off? But I can't do anything else. I'm grateful that I can, though. I don't want to see her. I don't want to see anything.

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    Pain. Pain on almost all of my body. But most of it is focused on my left palm. I don't know what she did with the knife, and I don't want to know. All I know is that it hurt, badly. And that she hasn't done anything to me for a while.
        I open my eyes to see what's going on. But I can't see anything. It's dark, which means she must be gone. I try to move my fingers, and I can. The charm must've worn off. And while I'm moving my fingers, I feel my wand lying next to me. I consider picking it up, but what will I do with it? I don't know healing magic. I don't know any spells that could call for help. All I can do is cast Lumos. And that won't do much. Besides, I don't want to see what she's done to me. Not now. Not ever, if that were an option.
        And, I'm really tired. All of that pain, plus the cold has made me so tired. I just want to sleep. And, without thinking about it, I close my eyes and float away.