ATLAS -James Potter-

• Chapter XXXV

She didn't dare to. The boy thought it was because of the disguises she was obviously feeling - she feared that she would drown under the waves of guilt hitting her. She should have noticed?

The sickness around full-moon. Sudden disappear. Scars that "were from his aunts' cat". How self-focused can a human be to not notice their friend suffer such incredible amount?When dressed in more warming cloth, Peter, Sirius, and James returned to the two. Peter now carried a small bag in his hand, which probably contained the things they needed to heal the wounds. In all honesty, Remus barely got one, a smaller one on his forehead due his fall on a stone when Sirius sprung onto him. The other three had smaller ones. It wasn't for their pain - it was for the girl, who's white top had turned into a horrible shade of red, drenched in blood.

Paler than usual, the girl leaned onto Sirius as he sat down next to her, whispering into her ear so she wouldn't fall asleep. James carefully took care of her wounds, while Peter assisted him. The girl barely acknowledged their doing; she held onto Sirius' voice, as it slowly got better."You know, it isn't as bad as it may look. ," he said, the girl barely answering with a squeeze of her hand in his. "It's a scratch. Like the one, I had when I feel down the stairs after trying to catch a butterfly in our house. , "Sirius barely laughed, as the girl again only squeezed his hands. They were as cold as ice, and he hoped that they had always been that cold. He placed both of his larger ones around hers, squeezing them so she would squeeze back. He could make sure she was awake through that too.

The girl would always remember that James had only finished taking care of the rather big wound on her leg when the sound of sobs was suddenly heard. And truly, when looking up, Victoria saw Remus crying, tear after tear escaping his eyes.

"I'm sorry Victoria. ," he uttered between hard breaths and heart-breaking sobs.

"Mate it's not that.-" Sirius tried, but the tears started to only stream more furious.

"I-I hurt you, and now you - you have wounds. Scars you will probably carry your whole life, and when your children ask you where you g - got them from, you will have to tell them that this horrible creature attacked you when you were only a child-" Victoria forced herself to let go of Sirius, taking his hands in hers. His rambling stopped, and tenderly, she whished away the tears that had started falling down his face.

It wasn't him who hurt her; not truly him. If he could have been able to control it, then it would have been him, but it hadn't been him. He shouldn't feel bad. She offered him a smile, a squeeze of her hands; it didn't make it better, but it didn't make it words. But she knew what would help, even if it meant for her to let go a little. So she breathed in deeply, looking into those green eyes a final time before she let go of his hand.

A look of confusion passed not only his face but also the ones of the other boys when she pulled her arm out of one sleeve of the button up. Then the other, before lifting it up and revealing the top she was wearing under it. For a moment they caught sight of the wound they think she was showing. A moment they thought she would show the bleeding gashes on her shoulder torn down to her waist, as if in an act of showing that it isn't that serious. They hoped she didn't because it looked horribly painful. But not as painful as what they saw when she turned around, pulling the top off, mumbling some words under her breath and giving a perfect view to her back. And like a curtain vanished from her skin, so did the girl they known only seconds ago.

A bleeding gash on her shoulder tore down to her waist and crossed over another one that was also dripping blood, which crossed over another one that had been healed for a while, which crossed over yet another one that was puckered from age. The only fresh ones were the from the night, as the others seemed a little older, and to many to count. Most of them hurried together on her back, while other scars would have found their home on parts of her arm, her hands, neck and a somewhat bigger one on the side of her face. There were too many for a girl barely an adult- for anyone; there was almost no skin not covered in scars. Most of them were smaller, some better healed than others. But those, which caused all blood to drain of their body were six large ones, one bigger than the other. Those were the biggest ones and those who seemed to have healed the worst.