Innocence

Chapter 73

CAMILLA'S POV

I watched him walk away as my eyes watered. I watched and watched until he turned the corner and I couldn't see him anymore. "Cam!" I snapped back to reality and turned around. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George all stood there. They looked nervous. "Cam..." Harry said softly. I wiped my eyes and pulled my jacket tighter to my body. "Are you ok?" he asked. No, I will never, ever be ok.

I just nodded. Then I started to walk away. "Where is she going?" Ginny said. They all started to follow me. "Cam! Wait up!" Ron said. "Camilla!" Ginny yelled. Harry ran up over and walked alongside me. "You need to get back to the hospital wing," he said. I just kept walking. "Camilla!" he yelled. He grabbed my arm to stop me and I flinched as I pulled away. He put his hands up and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I won't touch you, ok?" he said. I nodded. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I-I don't know." I said. "You need to go back to the hospital. Madame Pomfrey didn't say you could leave yet." Hermione said. I shook my head. "No. I can't go there." I said. "Why not?" Ginny asked. "He's there." I said. "Who?" Ron asked. Harry sighed. "Nathan," he said. I nodded. "Ok, you don't have to go back there. But at least let us talk to Madame Pomfrey about what to do." he asked. "Fine, but I don't want to go in there by myself... Please." I said quietly. "We won't leave you," he replied. "None of us will." Fred said. "Of course." George added. I smiled. Then we walked to the hospital wing and I stood outside the doors and I took a breath...

We went inside and I immediately saw him. Nathan was sitting up on his cot and Blaise was standing there talking to him. He started laughing. "There she is..." Blaise said. Fred, George and Hermione drew their wands and pointed it at them. "Ooo, we're so scared." Nathan said. Ginny scoffed and stormed over to Blaise. "Ginny, don't-" Ron started. Suddenly, she kneed him in the stomach and he doubled over with a groan. "Holy shit!" Ron exclaimed. "Wicked!" Fred said. "Brilliant!" George yelled. "Don't ever touch my friend again, you perverted bastard." she spat. Then she walked back over to us. Madame Pomfrey rushed over when she saw me. "Did you see that? She assaulted me!" Blaise yelled. Madame Pomfrey narrowed her eyes at him and shrugged. "I didn't see anything." she said calmly. He scoffed. "Bitch" he spat at Ginny as he left. She just rolled her eyes. I stood there in shock as I watched. Madame Pomfrey sat me down and began to look at my wounds. "Why did you leave dear? You still have much healing to do." she said. "I had something- someone to take care of." I said. She just nodded. "Well, you need to rest for-" she started. "She can't stay here." Harry said. Madame Pomfrey looked at him. "I'm sorry?" she said. "I said, she can't stay here. Not with him" he said, gesturing to Nathan. "I understand but she needs to be somewhere where I can help her. What if something happens? What if she has another panic attack or one of her wounds worsens?" she said. "We'll bring her back." Ron said. "It's too risky." she said. "More risky than keeping her here, with him?" Hermione asked. Madame Pomfrey sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I cannot-" she began...

"I believe I can offer a solution."
We all turned around and Professor Snape stood there. "Professor, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I have to pick something up from Madame Pomfrey and happened to overhear your conversation as I came in." he said. "What were you saying, Severus?" Madame Pomfrey asked. "I can offer the guest room in my quarters for Camilla until she recovers. It's safe from her brother or Mr. Zabini-" he said. "Or Malfoy," Harry spat. "I'm sorry?" he said. "Harry, don't." I said. "I'm sorry Cam, but everytime I keep your secrets, you get hurt," he said. Then he turned and faced Snape. "It was Malfoy too," he said. "It wasn't his fault!" I exclaimed. "He claims he was under the imperius curse. But we don't know." Harry said. "He was." I said. Snape looked at us strangely. "By Nathan?" he asked. I nodded. "He could be lying." Harry said. "He's not." I said. "What if he is?" Harry said. "What if he's not!" I yelled. "Thats enough!" Snape said. We both looked at him. "I'll find out," he said. He turned on his heel and walked over to Nathan. "Professor, wait!" I started. I got up and walked over. Harry followed and pulled me behind him. "Just wait-" he said softly. "How can I help you, Severus?" Nathan said smugly. Snape drew his wand and pointed it at him. "Careful now, remember who you answer to." he said. "I answer to God and Dumbledore, neither of which is going to help you right now," he said. Nathan scoffed. "Professor, don't. My father-" I start. "Isn't here. It'll be alright. Do you trust me?" Snape asked. I looked at him, then Nathan, then Harry. He nodded at me, and I turned back. "Yes." I said. He nodded. "Legilimens," he said. Nathan's eyes closed and he gripped the bars of his cot as Snape looked through his memory. A minute or two later, the spell broke. Nathan was panting for breath and Snape turned around to face me. "Camilla, listen to me. Mr. Malfoy was under the influence of the imperius curse by your brother. He could not stop himself. Do you understand?" he asked. I just nodded. "Thank you." I said. He nodded. "Do you feel comfortable staying in my guest room? It's probably one of the safest places at Hogwarts." he said. "Yes, thank you Sir." I said. He nodded. Then he turned and left. "Wow," Ron said as Harry and I sat back down with our friends. "What?" I asked. "That's the nicest I've ever seen him be," Ginny said. "He actually cares about you," Hermione said. "No, it's just his job. Besides I'll only be staying there for a week, then school is over." I said. "That's true but He's never nice to students." George said. "Ever" Fred said. "That's because all you two do is prank him." Ron said. They shrugged. "True" they said. "He's not the type to check on a student. Let alone off up his quarters." Harry said. "He didn't check on me. He was here to pick something up from Madame Pomfrey." I said. Harry chuckled...

"He left empty handed." Hermione pointed out.