2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}

\𝓉𝓌ℴ\

"Go," Eleanora croaked, and took one final stand. She swung her uninjured arm wildly, trying to make contact with any part of Stephen's body. He abandoned the poker, choosing to use his fists instead. It was just enough time for Eveline to escape out the window. Eleanora tried to protect her face as best as possible from the storm of punches showering down on her. She could feel herself losing consciousness. She knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer and she realized with a sinking feeling that she had no plan.

Stephen was going to kill her.

There was no way he wasn't. He gave her one final punch to the gut, and then reached down, grabbed her, and lifted her off the ground with nearly superhuman strength. She felt an involuntary scream escape her. Then, she was being thrown to the ground on her back, her head whipping against the floor. She couldn't breathe. She lay struggling on the floor, gasping for a breath that wouldn't come. Stephen reached down and grabbed her by the hair, and then seized her neck in both enormous, beefy hands.

The front door banged open, but Stephen didn't seem to notice or care. Eleanora scratched at his hands, kicking and struggling to breathe. She gagged, trying to pry his fingers away, but they wouldn't budge. Her vision blurred, and then dark spots started appearing, obscuring her view. Her mind fogged over. She thought about the Weasleys, how she should've just gone back to the Burrow.

Just as she felt herself slipping out of consciousness, there was a loud BANG and she was thrown out of Stephen's grasp. She crumbled to the floor, propped up on her elbows, retching and gagging, hot tears running down her face. Stephen had been thrown to the other side of the room and was laying in a limp, unconscious heap. Eleanora's head felt like it was going to explode. She finally got a breath in, but choked on the air. Then, there was someone in dark robes kneeling down next to her, wand still drawn.

Severus Snape watched as his star Potions student struggled to get a breath in, gagging and coughing at the ground. A hand hovered over her back to comfort her, but he drew it away. Finally, after multiple long minutes had drawn by, Eleanora managed to pull herself into a sitting position. Her breathing was still labored, but at least she was breathing. She stared at Snape through red, teary eyes. Her face was covered in blood, as were her gray t-shirt and her jeans. One of her arms was at an odd angle too, and she wasn't moving it. Eleanora gave another definitive cough, and then said, "Lovely to see you, Professor, how's your summer?"

"Not the time, Marks, not the time," Snape said, although he was infinitely relieved the girl was feeling alright enough to joke. "I need to take you somewhere safe, wherever you think..." Eleanora wiped at her face with her uninjured arm, but winced and retracted it immediately. Her vision kept blurring and re-focusing like a camera. She couldn't think straight.

"Umm... the- the Weasleys. Yeah, the Weasleys." Her voice was hoarse and barely audible. She looked up at Snape, who nodded and flicked his wand to her luggage, which disappeared with a small pop.

"You're not seventeen yet, are you?" Snape asked. Eleanora shook her head. "Take my arm then," he said, holding an arm out to her rather awkwardly. Eleanora hesitated, staring around the room. There was blood soaked into the white carpeting in a few different places. She looked at the spot where her mother had been laying. She knew there was something she should do, but she didn't know what.

She should find her mother.

But Eveline abandoned them, she thought. Eveline had allowed all of this to happen in the first place. Eleanora placed her good hand on Snape's arm, and they disappeared.

They apparated at the edge of the Weasley property, facing the house. When they landed, Eleanora immediately collapsed onto the grass, gagging again. She was sure she was going to throw up, but then she realized she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast at Hogwarts. Hogwarts and the train ride home felt like months ago.

There was a figure standing outside the Weasley's house, illuminated by the porch light. "Who's there?" they called, starting towards them. "Eleanora?" said Bill, getting close enough to see her on the ground, covered in blood. "What's happened?" Then, his eyes travelled to Snape. Without thinking, Bill stepped forward and grabbed Snape by the front of the robes. "Did you do this to her?" he demanded. "You dirty, lying piece of scum-"

"Bill!" Eleanora cried from the ground. "It wasn't him, let him go!"

Bill did, but still seemed suspicious. "What's happening?" he said again.

Snape dusted off his robes with a sour expression. "I see you haven't changed, Weasley. Alway making false assumptions." His voice was cold. "I was just transporting Miss Marks here upon her request after a certain- experience- she had at her... home."

Bill was only half listening. He'd bent down to help Eleanora, quietly asking if she was alright and if she could walk. When Snape stopped talking, he looked up at him. "Thanks then, Severus, and sorry for shouting at you." Snape scowled.

Eleanora looked up at him too. "Thank you, Professor, really."

"Very well then, I'll be seeing you at the start of term," and he turned and apparated before she could respond.

"Here, let's do it like this," Bill said, wrapping an arm around her waist, careful not to touch her injured arm. "One- two- three-" he hoisted her up and she leaned onto him for support.

Together, they hobbled slowly towards the Burrow.