magnolia ~ h. potter

thirty-nine

[CHAPTER 39]

 FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM

[ I'm gonna carry you home ] 

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GINNY WAS GOING TO KILL HER for missing Christmas.

The thoughts swirled through Emily's head as she was sitting in one of the armchairs in the room of requirement, staring at the sleeping form of Theodore Nott. The room was filled with the soft snores of the other students and the quiet crackling of the dying fireplace, whose final strokes of light danced across the walls.

Her hands were clutched tightly around a mug of now cold chocolate, her eyes staring ahead of her vacantly. She could've left hours ago, but she wanted to make sure her patient didn't pull on his wound and bleed out during the night.

Treating Theo had been one of the most difficult things she had ever done. After she had realized who he was and what he had done, trying to banish memories of his hands running over her body and his ring cutting into her lip and his breath on her neck had been nearly impossible. The images swam around in her brain, and part of the reason she didn't want to sleep was because she was afraid she would re-live the whole ordeal in one big, technicolor dream.

"Emily? What are you still doing here?" rasped a voice, interrupting Emily's thoughts.

She didn't meet his eyes, instead stared at her cup of chocolate.

"Making sure you don't die," she said, before standing up and stepping towards the bed. She refused to look at him, her eyes instead falling on the bandaged wound. There was no blood, which meant he hadn't pulled anything.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, and she sighed as she inspected the bruised area around the wound.

"Try not to make too many sudden movements," she said, turning around and going to look on the shelf for a blood replenishing potion. "I don't want to have to sew you back up, that would be a serious waste of hard work,"

She poured some of the potion into a small paper cup, before walking back towards him and handing it to him.

Theo took a few tentative sips, and almost immediately the color returned to his cheeks. "Woah, what is that?"

"You lost lots a lot of blood, this helps with that,"

Emily still hadn't looked or addressed him directly, and she was half scared that if she did she would start yelling.

There was a silence as he drank, before he cleared his throat and let out a half-chuckle. "I guess we're even then, huh?"

Emily stopped dead in her tracks, before turning slowly on her heel. This time she did look him in the eyes, and her gaze was hardened with anger. "Even?"

"Yeah. . . you know, I saved one of your army kids didn't I?" he said, and despite his half-smile, he was starting to feel a little uneasy under her look.

"No we are not even," Emily said sharply, and Theo's look fell, "You assaulted me, as far as I'm concerned we will never be even."

Emily's eyes were bright with anger, and they bored into Theo's soul.

"Let's get one thing perfectly clear," she said, her voice carefully controlled but filled with the threat of explosion as she took several steps towards the edge of his bed, standing over him, "I saved your life last night because I am a better person than you, not because I forgive you for what you did,"