Value Your Virtues (Book 4)

Chapter 9

Athena

A terrible ache settled in my body as I opened my eyes. I was laying on the couch of my childhood home and everyone sitting around me. Remus, Eli, Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Molly, Arthur, Tonks and Ginny. They all held worry in their eyes, terrified that I wouldn't wake up. I grumbled as I tried to move, finding myself unable to. I was in pain, and I wanted to shut my eyes and go back into the darkness. There, I couldn't feel it. "Oh, thank Merlin you're alright." Fred sighed and kissed me. You could tell by his face that he had been crying.

"Why is everyone so upset?" I asked.

"We thought you weren't going to wake up. We found you after you shot up your sparks, but you looked completely lifeless. It was... the hardest thing I've ever had to watch. We tried to patch you up as well as we could in the field, then we brought you home." Remus said. Molly sat by my head, stroking my hair.

"Well, I'm fine now." I smiled and made another attempt at sitting up. I gasped in pain, settling back into the cushions.

"Don't do that, dear, you have to take it easy. Let yourself heal a little bit." Molly tufted, fixing the pillow under my head. She pulled the blanket covering me closer to my chest, tucking me into it. I gave a nod at her words, obeying. I felt alienated sitting under all of their eyes. It subjected me to vulnerability, and I wanted everyone to get up and leave me alone.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Remus asked, taking a seat by my feet.

"After I ran after her, she tried to disapparate, but I grabbed her arm and I went with her. We landed and we started taunting back and fourth. I went to far, I guess." I sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "I insulted Voldemort, and she went crazy. I kept going, I was so angry I couldn't think straight. She used the Cruciatus curse multiple times. Maybe it was because I spit on her..." I paused. The whole situation still seemed fuzzy. "Wait, no, I spit on her afterwards." I finally got it straight. "Anyway, I ended up using the Cruciatus curse on her, and I must've lost concentration because... Well. She did this." I summed everything up. Molly gave me a look of sympathy.

"I've never seen anything like this. Do you know the curse she used?"

"No, I've never heard it before. I can't remember what it was. It must have been a curse someone created, because I've never even read about it."

"Well, we're glad you're alright." Arthur said. He hesitated before he spoke again, but gave a sigh. "Fred, take her to the bathroom so she can see." Arthur said. He nodded and helped me up. I cowered away from standing, I was still in an immense amount of pain. Despite that, I was happy that Fred was with me. He made walking a little easier. I put most of my weight on him.

"Come on, love." He said quietly and helped me into the bathroom. "You're okay." He reminded me. I wasn't facing the mirror, he was holding me so I couldn't look into it. "It might be a bit of a shock, but I need you to know that you're still beautiful." He said and kissed my head.

"Okay?" I answered and he let me look into the mirror. I felt nauseous at the sight. The person staring back at me was a stranger.

"We wanted to wait to clean you off, just so you could do it yourself." He said. I took in a shaky breath and traced the new marks on my face. One long, angry red scar ran from under my eye to below my lip. There was another one above my eyebrow, but it wasn't very long. I couldn't find any words to say. Instead, I just looked at my boyfriend. "There's more, Athens." He said and lifted up shirt so we could see my stomach. There was a huge healed gash across my stomach. The skin was still red and irritated, the scar was furious looking. "There's some on your arms and legs, but you don't need to see those." He said, softly.