Love and Understanding

She felt something on her chest, but she didn't want to wake up just yet. It felt like she had just fallen asleep, which she had. Only twenty minutes had passed, but her slumber was light and she was easily stirred. She couldn't fight the need to see what was on her any longer. Her eyes opened, glassy and wet, only mere millimeters to see who was there. She heard a familiar word spoken. Someone had used it before she fell asleep. The same woman who tried to comfort her, but was prevented from doing so.

Think. Think. A name. Anything. Who is that? she thought to herself hurriedly. Anything. She looked down at the face. She was so familiar. She knew her – really well, she could remember that much.

Alex's eyes opened, seeing light reflection off Aurora's eyes. A sign that she was awake. “Squirt?” she asked again, lifting her head away from the steady beat. She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a stray hair out of her face. “Aura?”

Aura's eyes followed Alex until she rested at her side, holding her hand as Harrison had done previously. A word was forming, but she thought she was going insane by even entertaining the idea that a person would be known as 'Quack'. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and she cracked a light smile to acknowledge this person.

“Do you know who I am?” Alex asked with hope.

Aura looked like she recognized her, which was a good sign. She held her breath, as Aurora looked to be trying to formulate words to explain to Alex what needed to be said. Alex was hoping Aurora knew who she was.

Two different colored eyes rolled away for a second and Alex felt helplessness shoot through her heart. That was it then? Aurora didn't know who she was? There was no possible way it could end like this, not after everything else that they had survived. “I know you're important to me,” came a raspy voice.

Alex looked at her cousin, biting her lower lip. She couldn't accept that. She didn't want to. Harrison promised. He promised... “Yeah. I'm important to you,” she said softly, confirming Aurora's words. The tears she tried holding back finally began to slide down her face and Aurora instantly looked concerned.

Aurora squeezed Alex's hand as best she could and gave half of a smile. Alex nodded her head, defeated at last. Their luck had run out and now they both suffered the consequences of Aurora's rash actions yet again. “I can trust you then?” Aurora asked slowly, looking directly into the tear filled eyes before her.

Alex wiped away her tears and nodded her head. “Yeah, you can trust me.”Aurora licked her lips and found the forced breathing to become easier and easier with the passing of time.

“There is a word. I'm not sure what it means. I know it's very important to me for some reason, but I don't know why.”

“What's the word?” Alex asked, already tired with just sitting here with someone who was almost a stranger to her somehow. Nothing was the same and she felt guilty for feeling this way. She needed distance now as one of her worst fears had been confirmed.

“You won't think me crazy?”

“No. I won't think you're...crazy,” she choked on the last word. I think you're already going crazy...

“Well, the word is 'Quack'. I know it has meaning. I don't know what for or why it's important to me,” Aurora said, fatigue starting to overcome her. She let out a strangled yawn and her drooping eyes began to fall from Alex.

Alex had remained silent as Aurora fell asleep and then let out a sigh of relief. There was hope after all. Giving Aurora's hand a gentle squeeze, she stood up and exited the room.

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Harrison walked into Aurora's room the next day, holding the same clipboard in his hands. Aurora's treatment had progressed rapidly, which made him happy. Most of her cuts had been reduced to simple bruises now, while one or two had little more to heal. Her legs had also healed perfectly after a dose of skelegro. All that was left now was the issue of whether or not Aurora was held under the Cruciatus Curse long enough for her to lose her mind.

From what was reported to him from Alex, there was a glimmer of hope in Aurora's future. He placed the clipboard down and crossed his arms. Aurora stirred from her sleep and glanced up at Harrison. “Hey,” he said. “I understand you had a visitor last night?” he said softly.

Nodding her head, Aurora glanced up at him. He was towering over her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, slowly. “Well, good news is, you're breathing perfectly on your own now. We'll run some more tests on you and see about getting you an early release. Sound good?”

Once more, Aurora nodded her head. “She is Alex,” Aurora said out of the blue. “I couldn't remember that last night,” she winced. It was as if she had disowned her own family. Suddenly, she realized Alex was family.

“She'll be thrilled you're remembering,” Harrison said with a smile and gathered his clipboard. He hugged it to his chest and gave a sad smile. “I know she'd like to see you again today.” Aurora nodded her head and closed her eyes, drifting back into sleep.

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A week had passed and Aurora had begun to recall all her memories. Alex was known as Quack to her and she was known as Squirt to Alex. She couldn't believe that bond had been forgotten, even if it was for a short period of time. Although, according to Alex, there was still something there deep inside that knew Alex was more than just a cousin.

At this reassurance, all Aurora could do was smile. Alex had also kindly gone back to the forest in an attempt to find Aurora's wand. When she found it, it had been broken in half. Sighing, Aurora made a note to go to Diagon Alley.

What was worse was, Alex wouldn't leave her side for anything. Her own personal shield, Aurora later joked. Alex wouldn't hear any of it. “I can take care of myself, Alex,” Aurora muttered, walking around in Diagon alley with her self appointed bodyguard.

“Not to point out the obvious,” Alex paused at the Quidditch shop, “but you've been in the hospital for a week with injuries so serious, you have topped all your previous records. I'm not letting you out of my sight.”

“Fine,” Aurora muttered darkly. Yes, things were slowly getting back to normal.

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Later that night, Aurora had decided that she had enough of Alex following her and protecting her or whatever the hell she wanted to call it. Whatever it was, it was completely unnecessary and was cluttering Aurora, making her just want to shout at the top of her lungs for everyone to leave her alone.

She got dressed and opened the door from the guest bedroom [she had been staying at Alex's ever since the incident]. She crept through the living area and and was out the door in a flash. Little did she know that it was 2am in the morning. She didn't very much care. She was finally experiencing a little thing known as freedom.

She didn't know where she was walking to, but her feet were just moving, taking her down random roads that she knew, but didn't care to read at the time. That was until she found herself outside Harrison's house. “Oh,” she said softly. Still no clue what time it was [though she could guess it was late], she walked up the stone steps and knocked on the door.

She only had to wait for less than a minute as Harrison, wrapped in a house robe, answered the door. His hair was rumpled, but upon seeing Aurora, he had a smile on his face. “Hey,” he said to break the moment's silence.

“Hi. Um. Your light was on...I figured I'd give it a shot...” Aurora gave a small apologetic smile, but Harrison dismissed it.

“I wasn't sleeping,” he said. “Want to come in?” He stepped aside as Aurora moved past him. She removed her shoes at the door and turned around, taking her coat off and placing it on a vacant chair. “What brings you here?” he asked the obvious question.

She smiled and sat down across from him. “To be honest, I don't know. I just needed to get away from Alex's place. She...ah...won't leave me alone,” she said with an air of laughter. “A tad annoying, but I guess i understand it. Next thing I knew, I was here.”

“I see. Butterbeer?”

“Sure.”

Harrison got up, left, then returned with two butterbeers. Aurora accepted hers and took a sip of it immediately. “I also wanted to thank you.” Harrison raised an eyebrow in response and she chuckled. “You saved my life – again.”

“Naw. Your Auror buddies did. I just did my job.”

Aurora smiled and shook her head. “You saved my life. That's final. Thank you again.”

“Your welcome. My pleasure.”

“There's another reason I am here, I guess. I kinda need to talk to someone.” Aurora looked across the table into Harrison's eyes. “It's extremely personal, but I couldn't talk to Alex about it. Not about this. She's already hurting enough.”

“Whatever it is, I am here for you 100%. You know that.”

“Yeah. I guess that is why I am here. I was having trouble sleeping, which isn't unusual for me, even on a normal day. I was remembering something. Something horrible.....”

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, Aurora charged into the forest of uneven ground. There was one main path that hikers took on a daily basis for their morning exercise. There was even a course through out the path. Aurora's favorite had been the hanging rope. She climbed up it every time she was here, but not this time. She flew right by it, coming closer and closer to the other end of the forest.

“Oof!” she grunted as she fell face first to the ground. The fuckers tripped her. They obviously had found a hiding spot and used it to their advantage as Aurora was going to run right past them. Inwardly, she had thought that it would have been better if they had let her just keep running.

Someone came up behind her, grabbing her arms and turning her over on her back. She was effectively pinned down as the other placed the leg locker curse on her. She growled in frustration as she resisted his hold on her. “Let go!” she warned.

Other ideas is what they had in mind. “Crucio!” she heard a split second before she began to squirm in a great amount of pain. Shrill screams burst from her mouth, as if that would release her from the pain. Her face contorted in agony as she struggled against the masked man's hold.

She hadn't even realized it, but her pants had been removed instantaneously, and if she had been in a right state of mind, she would see the sick pleasure both men were getting, watching her squirm, in the form of a rising tent in their pants.

Aurora looked away from Harrison for a moment and then back at him. She tried to form to words what she wanted to say. There was no easy way to say it. “They raped me,” she whispered.