HEAL ME | JAMES POTTER

TWENTY-TWO

- CHAPTER 22 -

❝Don't fight back.❞

Summer break.

LIFE WAS AN ENDLESS CYCLE of nothing, to James and Grace at least. Being away from each other for so long, the two hadn't experienced something like this ever before.

The boy had been enraged, the anger coming out of him in waves. But what could a seventeen year old boy like him do, in a situation such as this?

Every single night, James would think about the various things he could do to save the girl. And every single morning, he would realise that his plans were going to fail, that they were of no benefit to either of them.

"There must be something we can do, right?" he asked in frustration.

"James, you need to stop worrying dear. I'm sure Grace is doing perfectly fine," Euphemia replied with a sigh.

Even at Hogwarts, James would worry about the tiniest of things when it came to the girl. Was she eating enough? Had she slept enough? Are her classes going okay?

Now, being this far away from her and not being able to see her for so long, James could feel as though the worry was eating him alive. His head was filled with horrible thoughts, things he would only ever see in his nightmares.

"Mother is calling for you downstairs."

"I'm not going."

"Avery, be down in five minutes."

At the Nott manor, Grace had been trying her absolute best to keep herself together. Not for herself, but at least for the sake of the boy, for James Potter.

"We are to have dinner with the Thompsons. Their son is coming as well, so you need to be on your best behaviour. You hear me?"

The way her father had worded what he said, it could only mean one thing. The day that Grace had been fearing for almost all her life until she had ran away, it arrived sooner than she had thought of it.

There was no way she could let it all happen like this. But where was the courage in her, the one that would so easily come out of her at Hogwarts?

"Theo, you can't let them do this! What has happened to you, why are you being this way?"

Theodore Nott was not the same person as before, visibly so. After Grace had ran away, everything had changed. His parents had been more hostile, more demanding, more horrible than they had been before.

Theodore went through the horrors worse than the girl could imagine. Things the girl would only see in her nightmares, unimaginable.

"You need to listen to them Avery, they only want what's best for you."

"Best for me? I'm sixteen Theo, sixteen!"

Theodore had to swallow his tears away, something he had learned to do quite often. He hated seeing his sister like this, but he had no choice. Their parents were horrible people, one wrong step and they could murder you with their own hands, even if you were related to them by blood.

"Don't fight back."

"You can't be saying that Theo, you taught me to stand up for myself!"

"Avery, things are different now."

Grace had started to give up, this was destined for her after all, how could she escape it? However, even if it was for just a moment, she had wished to talk the brown haired boy once more.

Even if it was just for a moment, for a second, she had wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay. No matter how horrible life was to her, as long as James had been okay, she was too.

"I have got to go to Transfiguration James, Mcgonagall will kill me if i'm late," she said with a smile.

"No, i'm gonna pass out if you leave, don't betray me like this G," he replied dramatically.

It was the little memories of him that were keeping the girl sane, she wasn't sure of how long she would last before actually starting to go crazy. The cold and empty bed in her room, the white walls surrounding her, Grace was sick and tired of seeing the same thing everyday.

The girl had felt like she was in an asylum, one she could not escape no matter how hard she would try to. It was so bad that Grace didn't even know what day it was, or how long she had been away for.

"Please, what day is it?"

"You don't need to know Avery, eat your food."

"Theo, please."

"August the 4th."

It was almost her birthday, but it hadn't felt like it. In the past, Theodore would do his absolute best to make his sister happy during her special day. But now, she didn't even know that her birthday was coming until the boy had made her realise it.

The ring on her finger, it was a constant reminder to her, telling her that there was indeed someone out there, someone waiting for her. Grace had to survive, only a few more days, just a few more.

"It's almost her birthday," said James with a detached sigh.

Sirius looked at him and frowned, he hated seeing his brother like this. James had been absolutely miserable without Grace, like a bird without its wings.

It was like the boy was a completely different person, he was nothing like the best friend Sirius had once known.

"You will see her again soon Prongs, i know of it."