DISCLAIMER: I'm a stressed out medical student and not JK Rowling, so nothing you recognise here is mine.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you, Soraya/xxbabewithbrainsxx for your wonderful, wonderful inputs and your help in making this much better than what it actually was. Love youuuuu! :)
I would also like to thank the rest of the flisters for their wonderful support while I wrote this. This isn't the craziest thing I've done, though. That would be Face Value, which I wrote in two hours flat, ha! I would have claimed a fifth pair if I didn't have to go to college (which is in an hour), but *sigh* RL beckons.
Battered Heart
"Weasley, you have a case."
"What is it?" Hugo Weasley stood up from the couch in the Healers' lounge and walked to his colleague, Dave Harper, who stood at the door with a file in his hands.
"Female, twenty-seven, knocked down by a Muggle car. Her husband brought her in," said Dave, thrusting the file at Hugo. "She's in the A&E. Chief says this is yours."
"Fine," said Hugo, opening it but not looking inside. "Is it bad?"
"Well, she's unconscious, so you should hurry."
Hugo nodded curtly at Dave and tucked the file under his arm, heading towards the A&E. He was mentally calculating the number of patients that he had seen on that day. There had been so many of them that he had actually lost count. However, he was also happy to help so many people. It gave him satisfaction and made him feel useful.
He entered the A&E, pulling out his wand, but he halted in his steps when he saw the patient. She had short, brown hair which was in a dishevelled pixie-cut. Her eyes were shut for the moment, but Hugo knew their colour already - blue. "Annie?" Hugo whispered, rushing to her.
She had scratches and bruises all over her face, as well as the parts of her arms that weren't covered by sleeves. Her legs were mostly exposed due to the fact that she was wearing shorts, and they too were covered in injuries. Apart from this, Annie's lip had a cut on it, and her forehead was bleeding. She looked terrible.
Just as Hugo started to check Annie's reflexes, someone spoke from behind him.. "She was hit by a Muggle car."
The familiar voice made Hugo's hair stand on its end. He hadn't noticed Annie's husband there. Hugo turned around to Matt Grey, the other man, who sat on a stool, looking noticeably anxious.
The young Healer could feel the anger well up in him, but he couldn't do anything about it. He had to cure Annie first. However, he couldn't believe that it had gone this far. He would knock all the teeth out of that bastard once he was done with helping Annie.
***
Ten years ago
"Hugo!"
Hugo looked up from his books as Annie Lawrence waved at him from the portrait hole, sprinting towards him with a huge grin on her face. She leapt onto the armrest of the comfortable armchair that he was sitting on and threw her arms around him.
"You look happy," said Hugo, hugging her back, and he ruffled her short hair as they broke apart. "So, what's going on?"
Her grin grew bigger. "Guess?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Am I going to hate this?"
She frowned. "No! Why would you think that?"
"My sister asked me to guess who her boyfriend was, and it turned out to be the only person I didn't want in proximity of her."
"Will you get over that?" Annie asked him. "It's been years since they got together, and they're probably -"
"- engaged," Hugo finished for her.
"WHAT? No way! Why didn't you tell me?"
He grimaced. "Sorry if I wasn't excited about my sister marrying Scorpius Malfoy."
Annie smacked his arm. "You're an idiot."
"Takes one to know one," said Hugo.
"Sod off," she said. "And you still haven't guessed!"
"What is it?" Hugo asked her, putting his book down and sitting straight. "Seriously. Stop wasting your time and just tell me."
She smiled. "Okay. You know Matt Grey?"
"The Ravenclaw bloke you've been obsessing over for ages?"
"Yeah. Well…" Her smile broadened, and Hugo realised he didn't like what was coming. "… Matt asked me out," Annie finished.
"For real?" Hugo asked her, his voice almost shaking. He couldn't believe it: he had wanted to ask Annie out this time! He'd imagined confessing to her, over a mug of Butterbeer, that he actually wanted to be more than just her friend, and though he knew she'd awkwardly shake him off this time, he was sure that it would lay the foundation for actually getting together with her future. Hugo had just gathered the guts and decided to actually ask Annie out for a date, just to have Grey beat him to it. Unbelievable!
"For real," Annie replied to Hugo, shaking him out of his reverie.
"I mean, this wasn't one of your weird dreams, right?" asked Hugo again, trying not to punch something and hoping that Annie wouldn't spot the bitterness in his voice.
"No! Hugo!" She hopped off the armrest and sat on the armchair beside Hugo's. "I've been waiting for this since ages now!"
"Yeah, I know," said Hugo, smiling stiffly. "And I'm happy."
She noticed this. "Oh, Hugo… I'm sorry I can't go with you…"
He gulped. How did she know? "With me?" he asked her, not quite believing her words. She had actually considered him? Hugo would never forgive him…
"Yeah, well, we always go as friends when we have no dates, right?" said Annie, and Hugo's heart sank. No, she hadn't considered going out with him in that way.
Once again, he resisted the urge to break something.
In the meantime, Annie was looking at Hugo sympathetically. "You'll get someone, Hugo."
"Yeah, well, that's good to know," he said, picking up his book.
"Why are you in a bad mood?" She pouted.
"I'm not," Hugo said. "I'm very happy for you."
"Really?"
"Really."
She got up from her armchair and bent over to kiss him on the cheek. "You're my best friend, Hugo."
He smiled up at her. "You too, Annie."
/
To Hugo's disappointment, Annie and Grey actually enjoyed each other's company at Hogsmeade, and they got together soon after that. Once that had happened, Hugo had to learn how to master the anger and frustration that he felt whenever he saw them together. They seemed to be everywhere: holding hands, snogging, hugging, talking, laughing, and doing everything else that annoyed Hugo beyond limit. Sometimes, Hugo wondered what would happen if he just went and kissed Annie, or if he confessed his feelings to her. However, he didn't want to do that, for fear of hurting Annie, or ruining their friendship.
When he couldn't take it anymore, Hugo tried to distance himself from Annie. Maybe, he thought, if he didn't see her all the time, he wouldn't feel so terrible about what was happening. However, Annie wouldn't let him do that. Hugo could feel the annoyance creep up him whenever he saw Annie, with the short strands of her brown hair bouncing about, as she skipped towards him to hug him, or to talk to him, with a sparkle in her blue eyes and a lovely smile playing on her little lips. Everything about her was tiny and beautiful. Hugo hated and envied Grey. If only Hugo had had the fucking guts to get to Annie first…
How couldn't Annie know, though, that there was someone else who was better fitted for her than that ugly moron? She and Hugo had been best friends since their second year at Hogwarts, and they knew everything about each other. Annie had been there when Hugo had dated Emma Simons and had that awful break-up with her. She had been there when he'd vented out all his anger about his sister dating Malfoy, back in their fifth year.
Hugo had also always been there for Annie. Her parents' divorce had been one of the most horrible phases of her life, and after that, her relationship with her mother had worsened because of her bad OWL results. Through all these times, Hugo and Annie had only grown closer, and last year, Hugo had started to develop feelings for her. But she didn't seem to feel the same. Yet.
/
"Matt, stop that!"
Hugo looked up from brewing his Pepperup Potion to see Annie's eyes sparkle as she looked at Grey and smiled naughtily. Hugo tried not to sigh as he returned to brewing his potion.
"Don't like it?" Grey muttered from the other side.
"Of course I do! But you know… we're in class," Annie replied. She giggled a moment later. "Stop it! Someone might notice that you're squeezing my bum, you know."
Hugo's knuckles grew white as he gripped his ladle tight. Did Grey have to grope Annie publicly?
"Well, then," Grey replied to Annie, "You'll have to make up for it later today."
"Of course I will!"
There was silence, as Annie returned to her potion. Hugo was relieved. There was no way he'd have been able to stand more of that. Just then, Grey said something that made Hugo's heart stop. "I love you, Annie."
"Me too," Annie replied, and the nonchalance in her voice told Hugo that this wasn't the first time she was saying this to Grey. Hugo clenched his jaw. Shit. She was in love with him?
"Look what we've done to poor Hugo," Annie spoke again. "He's all red!"
Hugo suspected he was red with all the anger, but he looked up and smiled at Annie. "Nah, just keep it to a minimum."
"Why, are you jealous?" she asked, her eyes sparkling, as she touched Hugo's cheek naughtily.
He snorted, wondering how she'd read his mind. "You wish!"
"Oh, really?" she said, biting her lips. "Are you saying that you don't want any of this?" She stepped back slightly and gestured to herself.
"Nah."
"Will you two shut up, I'm trying to get my Potion right here," Grey muttered from beside Annie.
"Sorry, Matt," she giggled, looking at him, as he added some ingredients into his cauldron. "But you're not like Hugo, are you?"
"No," replied Grey, still staring into his cauldron.
"I mean," she said, "Of course you have nothing to be jealous about-"
"Hmm."
"Matt! Look here!"
"I'm trying to concentrate, Annie."
"But look up just-"
"Will you shut the fuck up, or should I hit you?" he snarled, suddenly looking up.
Annie fell quiet, while Hugo frowned. "Hey, you can't-"
"Oh, fuck off, Weasley," Grey muttered, turning to his book. "I didn't mean that. Let me work."
Hugo turned to Annie, who looked equally shocked at Grey's surge of temper. "O-Okay," she said, sounding scared. "Sorry."
Grey didn't reply to her, and just continued to work, sending a shudder down Hugo's spine. He sincerely hoped that Grey didn't mean what he had just said, and that Annie wouldn't tolerate it if he did.
/
Months passed, and Annie kept entrenching Hugo in her friendship, leaving no room for him to distance himself from her. Hugo only got more and more frustrated as time passed, and he found himself burying his nose deeper into the books, which provided a readymade excuse to prevent most conversations between him and Annie. The latter, however, didn't seem ready to give up on their friendship yet (in all fairness, she had no idea that Hugo was trying to stay away from her, because his efforts were pitifully futile).
One evening, Hugo was enjoying a walk by himself around the grounds, along the edges of the Forbidden Forest. Fresh air was always good, and he always went for walks when the pain became too much to take. Besides, he had come to visit Hagrid in a break that he had allowed himself from the gruelling NEWT preparation.
He was just circling a few trees, mentally recollecting Potion ingredients, when he heard voices, coming from a patch a few metres into the forest. He was aware that Grey and Annie met up there regularly, and he wondered why they were so loud. It wasn't very far away from where Hugo was walking, and it seemed as though Annie and Grey were rowing about something.
"Why are you doing this, Matt?" said Annie, choked up voice, making Hugo stop on his tracks. What had Grey done to her? Why was she upset?
"I don't like Weasley," said Grey shortly, and Hugo clenched his fists, as Grey continued to speak. "He looks at you weird."
"He's my best friend. He's important to me."
"More important than I am?"
"Don't compare, Matt-"
"No, you have to choose. It's either me or him."
"But he's my friend, you're my boyfriend! I can't choose! Both of you are equally important-"
"Oh, don't act like a cute little fairy princess now, Annie. Just tell me straight. Me or Hugo?"
"I - I can't! He's my best friend!"
"Then choose, you little bitch," growled Grey, evidently losing his temper. Hugo didn't let the gasp escape him. How dare he!
"Don't do this to me, Matt," said Annie in a small voice.
"Don't annoy me. Just answer my question."
"I told you, I can't-"
There was a loud slapping sound.
"JUST ANSWER MY QUESTION, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
The sound of the slap and Grey's loud voice reverberated through the air, and Hugo's eyes widened as he stayed frozen to his spot, in a state of shock. No. The bastard has not just hit Annie. No. There was deadly silence for a while. Annie broke into sobs, and Hugo felt his temper rise. Grey had abused Annie. This was not acceptable.
Rolling up his sleeves, Hugo made his way to the spot where they were standing. As they came into view, Hugo could see Annie looking at the forest floor, shaking, as Grey stood a few feet away from her, looking unsure and guilty.
"OI!" called out Hugo, once he was within view of them. "Get your hands off her, Grey!"
Grey turned to Hugo, shocked at first, and then furious. "Mind your own business, Weasley."
"This is my business," said Hugo, pulling out his wand. "Impedimenta."
"No!"
Hugo felt his feet rise off the ground, and he landed a few feet away with a thud. Grey had cast a non-verbal Shield Charm. Hugo struggled to his feet, but before he could do so, a strong arm grasped him by his collar.
"No, Matt! No!"
Grey did not listen to her. Hugo only caught a glimpse of Annie's horrified face before Grey's fist made contact with his cheek. It happened again. And for a third time. Another blow landed on Hugo's nose, and he fell back on the grassy forest floor, tiny lights popping before his eyes and blood spurting out of his nose, as Annie launched herself over Grey, trying to keep him off Hugo. Then, before Hugo could regain his composure, Grey pushed Annie away and kicked Hugo hard on his stomach.
Gasping, Hugo immediately withdrew himself into a foetal position, coughing, sputtering, and clutching at his abdomen. He tried to breathe, but it was too painful. A wave of nausea rose in him, and he cowered as Grey raised his foot to kick him again. However, Annie came forward and caught her boyfriend by his shoulders. "Stop it!"
"This bastard-"
"No! You won't touch him, understand?"
"Why, what will you do?"
"I'll call Hagrid."
"Really? Let me see-" Grey raised his foot to kick Hugo again, but he was interrupted by Annie's screams.
"PROFESSOR HAGRID!" she yelled, starting to make her way towards Hagrid's hut. "PROFESSOR! PLEASE-"
"Shut up, you bitch!" Grey growled, but in a lower voice, and Hugo heard the sound of another slap. However, Grey was too late.
"Who is it?" asked Hagrid's voice. "Who's in there?"
"Listen," said Grey in a low voice, so only Annie and Hugo could hear him. "Weasley tripped over a branch. Do you understand?"
"N-No-" sobbed Annie, but Grey interrupted her.
"If you open your mouth, I'll slap your fucking skin off, get it? Shut up."
"O-okay," said Annie, and Hugo saw her wipe her tears - just in time - as Hagrid approached them.
"Wha's goin' on in here?" he asked. Hugo saw Hagrid's eyes travel to him. "Wha' happened ter yeh, Hugo?"
"H-Hugo tripped over a branch," Annie said in a small voice. "H-he's injured, and I got scared…"
Hagrid gave her a suspicious glance, but knelt down beside Hugo. "Where does it hurt?"
"Stomach," said Hugo, clenching his teeth against the agony.
"C'mon. Yeh've gotta sit up firs'," said Hagrid, holding Hugo by his shoulders and helping him sit up.
Hugo caught sight of Annie's terrified face as he sat up, and the nausea hit him again. Groaning, he leaned over and threw up all over the grass as his stomach protested against the pain.
"That's not good," muttered Hagrid, as Hugo threw up again. "We gotta get yeh to the hospital wing, Hugo."
Hugo nodded and buried his face in his hands. Hagrid waited a while, and when Hugo didn't vomit again, he helped Hugo to his feet. "Can yeh walk?"
Hugo nodded, and Hagrid supported him to the hospital wing. Annie and Grey just followed them in silence. They accompanied Hagrid and Hugo to the hospital, waiting as Madam Bones gave Hugo a potion and told him to rest.
Hagrid left once Madam Bones told him that Hugo would be all right, but Annie and Grey waited even after that. Hugo could feel Grey's terrified eyes on him as he tried to coax himself to sleep. There was silence for a while, and Hugo found that he could breathe painlessly again. That was when Grey spoke up.
"I'm sorry, babe."
"Fuck off."
"Come here."
"No, you h-hit me!"
"I'm sorry," Grey sighed. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."
"Damn right, you shouldn't have."
"I won't do it again. Come here."
"I don't believe you." There was silence. Annie sighed. "You should go back to your dormitory, Matt. I'll stay here with him."
"I won't leave until you forgive me."
"Fine. You can stay."
There was more silence, and Grey spoke up softly. "I love you. You know that, right?"
"You've got a fantastic way of convincing me about it, then," replied Annie.
"It was a mistake!"
"These things aren't mistakes."
"Just forgive me this once, babe, I swear it won't happen again."
"How do I believe you?"
Grey was silent for a while. He sighed. "I want a future with you, Annie. I wouldn't ruin it by repeating this, would I?"
"You… you are thinking of a future with me?"
"I am."
"You're lying."
"No," said Grey. "Can you imagine? Us getting married, and getting a small house… and then we'll have kids, of course…"
"Stop it, Matt, just go," said Annie, her voice shaking.
"I can't. I want this, Annie. I want us to have this."
There was a pause. "I really, really love you, Annie," said Matt. "Don't you love me?"
There was more silence. And a deadly one at that. But then Annie spoke up, she said the last thing that Hugo expected her to say. "I l-love you. I want that future with you."
"I love you more," Replied Grey simply.
Hugo opened his eyes slightly to see Annie and Grey entangled in a deep kiss. This was fucking unbelievable. After everything that had happened, Annie was still choosing Grey.
"Annie!"
Hugo just caught a glimpse of her face when she turned around to the source of his voice, but continued to walk without acknowledging him. He was just out of the hospital wing, and Annie hadn't come to visit him after the day they he'd been admitted.
"Annie, wait!" He jogged towards her and tapped her shoulder, but she shrugged him off.
"I'm really glad you're out of the hospital wing now, Hugo, but I'm busy."
Hugo felt the sadness flood him. "Busy with what?"
"I have to study."
Unable to let go so easy, Hugo kept following Annie, though she tried to walk away as quickly as possible. He looked around him for any sign of Grey, but spotting none, he clutched Annie's forearm from behind her. "Annie, listen to me."
"Let me go," she said, trying to shake Hugo off. "Please, Hugo."
"No, we have to talk," Hugo replied to her persistently.
"No, please."
"Listen, Annie," Hugo forced her to turn around, still clutching her arm. "Listen to me," he said quietly. "You've got to break up with Grey," said Hugo quietly. "What he did is wrong."
"He did nothing."
"He hit you."
There was silence, as Annie looked away from Hugo's persistent brown eyes. "It was just one mistake," she said, her lips quivering slightly. "Matt loves me."
"He doesn't respect you!" Hugo told her. "He thinks you're his property. And how dare he -"
"He's a very good person, Hugo. Please don't talk about him like that," Annie replied, trying to free herself from him again. "And really," she said giving up, "I'd appreciate it if you let me go, because it doesn't look as though you respect me any better. You're hurting me."
Hugo let go immediately, and she started to walk away, then paused, and turned around, her eyes filling up. "I'm sorry, Hugo, but we can't be friends anymore."
He stared at her for a whole minute. "Are you serious?" he croaked finally, pain tearing at him.
The tears fell out of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hugo," she whispered, and she turned around, walking away without a backward glance.
Shocked, Hugo watched the one girl he loved walk away from him, sadness engulfing every part of him. Maybe Annie falling in love with him hadn't been plausible; maybe it was an unrealistic dream. Maybe she was too good for him. But to lose the one connection he had with her… Hugo couldn't believe he had just lost Annie's friendship forever..
/
The Easter holidays arrived, and Hugo noticed that Annie had signed up to stay back at Hogwarts. He had heard her tell her friend that Grey would be staying too, which was why she was staying back. However, Hugo also noticed that there were very few people who weren't going home this time. Unable to bear the thought of Annie alone with that monster, Hugo signed up to stay back too. He didn't want to take chances with this.
However, staying back at Hogwarts was dull. Hugo's roommates had all gone home, and he was the only Weasley left at Hogwarts, which meant that he didn't have any of his cousins to talk to either. He just roamed about alone every day, visiting Hagrid in the evenings sometimes, going for a walk, or just going to the library and studying for his exams.
He was always in the common room when Annie came back from her meetings with Grey. She looked happy, and Grey seemed much better behaved with her. However, Hugo didn't understand how Annie could have forgiven Grey so easily. She must really love him. The thought only made Hugo's heart sink lower.
After two or three days of this, Hugo stopped waiting at the common room to watch Annie arrive from her regular meetings. He began to retire to bed early, occasionally writing to Rose or Albus or just studying in the dormitory. He rarely saw her again for a few days after that. And then, on the fifth day, something happened - an incident that changed everything.
It was close to midnight. Hugo finished studying and waved his wand to extinguish the lights in the dormitory. He had just tucked himself into bed and was almost drifting off to sleep when there was a knock at the door. Bewildered, Hugo turned over. "Who's it?"
"It's me," said an almost inaudible voice.
"Annie?" Hugo called out.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, yeah -" Hugo sat up and had just picked up his wand to turn on the lights, when the door opened, and a small figure launched itself onto him. Hugo's heart started to beat fast as Annie hugged him tight and started to shake with sobs.
"What's the matter?" Hugo asked her, hugging her back, terrified at the way she was crying.
She did not reply to him. She continued to hold on to him, sniffing and sobbing, as his nightshirt dampened with her tears.
"Hey," said Hugo, patting her back. "Talk to me, Annie."
She only sobbed more, and Hugo held her until the sobs had subsided. Finally, she broke away and hiccupped slightly, wiping her eyes. "Can I - can I sleep in your dorm tonight?" she asked him in a shaky voice.
"Of course," said Hugo. From the dim moonlight that reflected off her face, he could see another sparkle of a tear making its way down her face. "Annie…" Hugo began, wiping away the tear gently, but she flinched at his touch. Hugo's stomach somersaulted. "What did he do to you?"
"N - Nothing," she said in a choked-up voice. "It was my fault."
"What did he do to you, Annie?" asked Hugo, starting to get angry. "Please tell me."
"He was having a bad day, Hugo; it will be fine," said Annie, getting off Hugo's bed. "Derek wouldn't mind if I slept on his bed, right?"
"Grey is a bloody bastard."
"I don't think Derek should have a problem," decided Annie, ignoring Hugo and making herself comfortable on Derek's bed. "Goodnight, Hugo," she said.
"Why did you come here, then, if what Grey did is okay? Why did you come here, if you're not scared or upset about it?"
There was silence. Hugo lay down on his bed, and turned towards Annie, waiting for an answer. None came, though, and just as he was drifting off again, Annie broke the silence.
"When you love someone, some things don't matter."
Hugo sat up, waiting for her to explain further, but she didn't. Sighing, he got to his feet and approached her bed. "So you're saying that whatever we do in love in forgivable?"
"Yes," she said, turning over to look up at him. "All's fair in love."
"Then what I'm about to do shouldn't be a problem," said Hugo, sitting on her bed. Before she could react to this, he bent over and kissed her.
She resisted at first, her lips firm and limp against his, but then they started to move too, and Hugo put a gentle hand on her cheek, kissing her more, as she kissed him back. They parted, and Hugo stood up, stumbling backwards to his bed. He didn't notice her expression. He didn't want to know her reaction to this.
He lay down on his bed, trying not to think of the friendship that he had just jeopardised, when he felt his mattress compress under the weight of Annie. He turned around to see that she was sitting beside him. He sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
She took his hand in hers. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"It's not worth it," he said sadly. "Go back to sleep. I'm really, really sorry."
"Hugo-"
"I love you." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself from saying them. He couldn't make out her expression in the darkness, and he didn't want to see it. Sickened, he sat up on his bed. "I think you should go back to your dorm."
She was silent. Hugo stayed frozen, watching her tiny form illuminated slightly by the scanty moonlight, as she spoke again, in a thick voice. "Why didn't you tell me, Hugo?"
He shrugged. "Would it make a difference?"
"You're supposed to be my best friend. You lied to me."
Hugo felt a lump in his throat. "You should go to sleep," he repeated, looking away from her. Before she could reply, he slid back into his blankets, still turned away from her. He could feel his eyes fill up, but he grit his teeth. "Go, Annie."
Her small hand squeezed his shoulder. "Look here."
He shook his head, unable to talk, silent tears still falling out of his eyes. All the pain, heartbreak and misery seemed to be coming out all at once, and he didn't want her to see it. Her hand rubbed softly against his shaking shoulders, and Hugo bit his lip to quell the sudden outburst on his part.
They stayed that way for a while. Annie didn't ask Hugo to talk, and Hugo remained turned away from her, still determined not to let her see his pain. He was on the brink of falling asleep, when he felt the blanket being pulled away, and Annie's tiny body pressed against him, pulling the blanket over them. Her arm wound around him. "Will you talk to me now?" she asked him. "We can't just let this go, Hugo."
"We can. Just the way you let go of what Grey did to you."
"Please."
He sighed and turned around, matching lips with her again. "This is what I feel for you," he said, pulling away before he could react. "And this isn't how you feel for me. It's as simple as that."
"I'm with Matt," she said.
"Yeah, I know." Daringly he leaned over again, placing his lips on hers. "I know," he said, as they broke apart.
"Oh, Hugo," she whispered, but before she could say anything else, Hugo had kissed her again. This time, she didn't resist him. She just let him kiss her for as long as he liked, and to his surprise, she kissed him back once again, letting his tongue in, and pulling him into an embrace before starting to undo the buttons of his nightshirt.
/
Hugo emerged from Hagrid's hut and started to make his way to the castle with a spring in his step, as the memories from last night played in his mind. He was so happy. He finally had what he wanted. He had Annie. Though she hadn't told Hugo she would do this, Hugo was sure that she'd go dump Grey now. The repeated whispers of 'I love you' echoed through his mind, making his heart flutter with happiness. And then, there was everything else that had happened last night - the feel of Annie's soft, delicate skin… her hand entwining with his hair as she kissed him, and later on, those soft fingers creeping into his boxers… her lovely lips against his…
"Well, well, well, look who it is! Weasley!"
Hugo broke out of his reverie to find himself face-to-face with Grey, who wore a menacing smile. Behind the latter stood a terrified Annie, and she was trying not to make eye contact with Hugo.
Before Hugo could react to any of this, a fist made contact with his mouth. He stumbled backwards, and looked up at Grey, who came forward and caught Hugo by his collar. "You talk to my girlfriend another time, or even get close to her, Weasley, and I'll make sure that both of you wish you were never born."
Grey let go of Hugo, just as there was a whimper behind him. He rounded on Annie. "What are you crying for? Fucked him good, didn't you? Come here, I'll teach you a lesson," he grabbed Annie by the wrist and started to pull her towards the castle. Hugo made to follow them, but Annie turned around and shook her head pleadingly, making Hugo feel sick to his stomach. He didn't have Annie. He would never have Annie. No matter what, Annie would always go back to Grey, and there was nothing he, Hugo, could do about it.
***
Present day
Hugo dabbed the last of the ointment on Annie's face to cover up the bruises and help them heal. Grey had gone off to get coffee a while ago, and Hugo wondered whether he ought to inform the other man of Annie's progress. He decided that he should. Sighing, he stood back and beckoned to a Trainee Healer. "Go to the tea room and get Matt Grey for me, will you? He's the husband."
"Of course," said the young boy and left to follow his senior's orders. Meanwhile, Hugo pointed his wand at Annie.
"Enervate."
Annie opened her eyes and groaned. "Matt?"
Hugo didn't reply to her, and waited for her to open her eyes completely. She recognised him and gasped. "H-Hugo? What - what are you-?"
"I'm your Healer," he said, interrupting her. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
"I fixed all the injuries that were visible. Any soreness anywhere else?"
"No."
"Nausea? Headache?"
"No."
"Good. We'll transfer you to the ward, and you should be out in a day or two."
Hugo started to walk out, when she called out to him. "Hugo-"
He stopped and hesitated, turning around briefly, but then he decided against it and walked on.
"Hugo!" Annie called out again, but he ignored her completely this time. He collected his things from the Healers' lounge, and was outside the hospital, about to Apparate home, when he saw Grey walk towards him. Grey waved his hand at Hugo.
"Is she all right?" he asked, approaching the latter.
"Yeah," Hugo replied. "Weren't you headed to the tea room? The Trainees are looking for you there."
"I needed a smoke," replied Grey. "She's awake, is she?"
"Yes, she is," replied Hugo. He began to walk on from there, but hesitated again. "Grey?"
"Yes?" asked Grey, turning around. Hugo stood there for a second, and Grey opened his mouth to ask him something else. Before he could do that, however, Hugo punched him hard on the face.
Grey fell to the ground, blood dripping out of his nose, but Hugo continued home without a backward glance, massaging his knuckles and realising that the terrible pain in his heart would never go away. He would always love Annie, and she would always love Grey. It was like a lopsided rule of nature, and there was absolutely nothing Hugo could do about it. He was destined to live with a broken, battered heart. And, well, he would live. There was no other choice, was there?
The End
Chapter End Notes:
I never seem to let Hugo have his peace. *sigh*
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