Grace woke up to the sound of laughter. Expecting it to be morning, she gently opened her eyes in preparation for the sun streaming through the window, but her gaze was met with darkness. The moonlight streaked upon the floor, disappearing every so often as a few of the other girls in her dormitory walked across it.
"Grace!" whispered one of them, coming to her bedside. "Come back down to the party with us! We were there earlier but we heard it's still going on."
Grace slowly sat up, tossing her hair in a ponytail. She really should just stay back and sleep, but part of her wanted to go back to the party. After all, it was finally the weekend. She wouldn't have to worry about snoozing from fatigue during her classes.
"Alright, let's go," she said with a grin, quickly throwing on some more-presentable clothing.
As the girls traveled back down to the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was located, Grace couldn't help but feel a little nervous. What if Noah brought up the bruises again? Or worse- what if he confronted Ryan about it? The thought of it made her stomach turn. Ryan would be furious that Grace let someone find out. Hell, he would probably think that she told Noah on purpose.
The familiar sound of music rushed into her ears as the door to the common room opened. Grace carefully walked in, her eyes darting around the room, eventually landing on Ryan.
"Grace!" he shouted. A goofy, drunken smile was plastered on his face. "You decided to come back. Couldn't stay away from me, huh?" He hurried up to her and kissed her passionately.
Damn it. He could be charming when he wanted to be. She let herself sink into the kiss, desiring to keep her mind off her troubles.
"How about you grab me another drink and we'll head to my dorm?" Ryan said, a smirk forming on his lips.
Nevermind. Not charming. Drunk Ryan could never be. How could she forget?
"You've had enough to drink, Ryan," warned Grace, her stomach flipping slightly. It always worried her when he was intoxicated. Nights like this usually didn't end well.
Ryan raised an eyebrow, staring down at Grace longingly.
"What is it with you? You know I'm just having fun," he explained. "And now that you're back, I want to have fun with you." Ryan grabbed her arm and led her to the refreshment table, putting a bottle of firewhiskey to his lips. Grace anxiously watched the Slytherin gulp down the remaining contents.
"Ryan, I don't think it's a good idea to keep drink-" she started, but he cut her off.
"Grace, you owe me this. You abandoned me earlier to go back to your common room. The least you can do is be with me."
She stared down at her feet, slight nausea washing over her. She should have just stayed in her dormitory. She was so stupid.
"Let's go," Ryan demanded, pulling Grace by the wrist as he brought them into his dormitory, closing the door behind him.
Grace sat on his bed, staring at her wrist as she rubbed it gently, when she felt cold hands touch her shoulders and push her back roughly to lay on the bed. Ryan climbed on top of her, connecting his lips with hers as he fiddled with the button of her jeans.
"Ryan-" she mumbled, turning her head away from him. "I don't want to do this."
"Shhh," he replied, tugging on the edges of her jeans. "I promise you'll want to do this once I get started."
Grace squirmed underneath him, desperately trying to get the drunk boy off her, but it was no use. He was stronger than her.
"Ryan, stop it!" she yelled, attempting to shove him off. Although she managed to push him away from her slightly, that only seemed to make him more determined. He gripped her shoulders, painfully digging his fingers into the skin around her collarbones as he pinned her to the bed.
Grace's heart raced, her chest feeling like it was on fire from anger and fear. She couldn't overpower him, but she could try something else.
Grace prepared herself for a violent reaction before spitting directly in Ryan's face. With Ryan appalled and distracted, she was able to slip from underneath him, quiet tears staining her cheeks as she pulled up her jeans and ran out of the dormitory. She re-entered the Slytherin common room, trying to find the door before someone spotted her distraught expression. The whole room was spinning. Her mind was a mess from the overwhelming situation she had just escaped from.
Finally, Grace located the door and ran out. She slammed it shut, bent over, and put her hands on her knees to try to catch her breath. A few soft sobs escaped her lips.
"Grace?"
She nearly had a heart attack, jumping from the unexpected voice coming from behind her. She quickly wiped her cheeks of stray tears and turned around.
"What do you want, Noah?" Grace groaned when she saw the boy, annoyed and exhausted. She just wanted to be alone. She never had a damn second to breathe.
"Are you okay?" asked Noah, surveying her carefully.
"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth.
"You don't look fine."
"Ryan and I just had a little...argument, alright?" Grace lied, throwing whatever she could out in the air so that the Slytherin would leave.
"Did he hurt you?"
"Fucking Merlin, Noah! Would you drop it? Whatever you think he does to me, you're wrong!" she shouted, her eyes glossy.
Noah simply stared, reading her emotions. He took a step closer to her.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'll stop asking." Noah smiled softly, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a small, reassuring squeeze.
That squeeze, however, didn't feel as friendly as Noah had intended, since he had managed to press his fingers in the same place Ryan just had.
Grace winced, dropping her shoulder down in pain as she brought her other hand up to grab it by reflex.
Noah jerked his hand away, his face etched with part concern, part disappointment. This time, when he brought his hand back to touch her, he was gentle, carefully pulling her shirt off her shoulder so he could see what caused the pain.
"Fuck," Noah whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief as he witnessed the fresh purple and blue bruises lining her shoulder and collarbone. "I'm reporting this, Grace. Professor Dumbledore will kick that son of a bitch out of Hogwarts before he can hurt you again-"
"No!" Grace shouted. "No." She shook her head, pulling her shirt back over her shoulder. "You can't tell anyone, Noah. He will kill me. Do you understand? He'll kill you. I can handle this. I have for a long time. You're not reporting this, and if you do, I'll just lie. I'll say you're making the whole thing up."
"What the hell, Grace? Why do you put up with it? Do you really love him that much? He beats the shit out of you!" Noah spat.
Those words hit her hard, putting knots in her stomach.
"Don't do this, Noah! Don't act like you care! We both know you're probably just as bad as he is!" She shouted, the words spilling out of her mouth. Maybe if she made him angry enough, he would back off.
At this point, they were both irritated, and only Merlin knew what kind of things Grace could say when she was in this kind of state.
Grace took a step closer, continuing, "Ryan's father is a deatheater, your father is a deatheater, and I'd bet fifty galleons you end up just like them! And who better to be your wingman than your friend Ryan Carrow? So why the hell should I even be listening to what you say?"
Noah snatched her arm so she wouldn't storm off. If she wanted to fight, he would give her a fight.
"Hey, Grace, you know, you can believe whatever the hell you want. I was trying to be a decent fucking person and help you, but maybe you don't need my help, right?" Noah leaned in, his eyes narrowed. "Hell, you might even deserve all the shit he puts you through," he added, his voice low.
The boy released her, giving her one last look before going back into the Slytherin common room.
Grace ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the roots of it in utter frustration as she sped to her own dormitory. This day had to end.
Tomorrow would be better, right?
Right?