Innocence

Chapter 61

TIME JUMP: 1 WEEK

CAMILLA'S POV

OWLS starts this week and I've never been so nervous. I'm also worried about the end of the year. Something is coming. Nathan made that clear. I just don't know what it is. I also don't know where I'm going to go after the school year ends. Am I going to Snapes? And I'm going back home? I shudder at the thought of returning to that place of hell. But I might not have a choice.

"Cam-" Harry said. I looked up at him. We were all sitting in the common room and studying for our owls. "Yeah?" I said. "Can we talk for a minute?" he asked. I nodded. He stood up and I followed him to his dorm. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I was going to ask you that," he said. "I'm fine." I lied. "Cam, seriously. Talk to me." he said. "I don't know what you mean." I lied again.

"Ok, what's that spell you keep using?" he asked. "What spell?" I asked. I hoped playing dumb would work. "Everyday, every few hours, you point your wand to your mark and whisper a spell. I want to know what you are doing." he said. I sighed. "Harry, I'm fine." I said. "That's not what I asked," he stated. "Fine. It's a cooling spell." I said. He furrowed his brow. "For what?" he asked. If this mark really is going to kill me, I want Harry to know. He's done so much for me, he deserves to know. "Ok, fine. If I tell you, this stays between us. I don't need the rest of the group freaking out." I said. He nodded nervously. "What is it?" he asked.

"My body is rejecting the mark." I said. His face fell. "What? What does that mean?" he asked. "It means the dark magic is corrupting my magic. It's like an infection and my body is trying to fight it." I said. "So how do we fix it?" he asked. "We don't. There's nothing we can do." I said. "There's got to be something. We could remove it somehow or-" he started. "Harry, we can't. I tried scratching it off, burning it off, cutting it off. I even thought of cutting my arm off. But my father has all the spells on the mark. If you try to remove it, you just bleed out within minutes. It's pointless." I said. "So what are we going to do?" he said. I forced a smile. "Nothing Harry. We can't do anything." I said. "So what happens?" he asked sadly. "The first stage is constant pain and irritation. Then it begins to decay. Then my magic may be affected. Eventually..." I started.

"Eventually what?" Harry said. "I die." I said. He shook his head. "No! I won't let that happen. There has to be another way." he said. "There isn't." I said. "Does Nathan know?" he asked. I nodded. "What did he say?" Harry asked. "You won't like it." I warned. "Just tell me." he said.

"He offered me a deal. He said if I help my father, they will fix the mark. There's a way to force your body to accept the mark." I said. His jaw dropped. "I told you that you wouldn't like it." I said. He sighed. "We are so screwed." he mumbled. We both sat on his bed. "I know." I replied.

"Promise me you won't do anything dumb." I said to him. He looked up at me. "Promise me you won't talk to Nathan or-" I started. "Cam-" he said, cutting me off. I exhaled a shaky breath. "I won't let you die. We'll figure this out together." he said. "And if we can't?" I asked.

"Then you take the deal," he said. My face dropped. "Absolutely not." I said. "Yes. You take the deal and do what your father wants. I won't blame you and I'll be fine." he said. I shook my head. "No. I won't help him. I'd rather die." I said. "Camilla, it won't even come to that. We are going to figure something out. I know we will." he said. I just nodded.

He was wrong. There was nothing I could do. But I didn't want to hurt him. So I said nothing. I'm going to let him believe he can save me. I'm going to let him have hope. I know it might be wrong. But I don't know what else to do.