Ch.1

She continued to cry in the corner of their small apartment. She didn't want to take it anymore... none of the hitting, none of the screaming... she didn't want it anymore. She especially didn't want the hitting. She winced in pain at her most recent bruise, this time on her face.

"Christine! Christine, get you're lazy ass in here!" David yelled from the kitchen. Christine looked horrified when she heard his voice. She slowly rose to her tallest, which was about 5'6". She slowly walked to the kitchen, only stopping to get her wand and hiding it in he sleeve.

"What happened David?" she asked quietly. He looked at her with his bright blue eyes, which showed so much anger towards her. He ran a hand though his black hair as he walked closer to her.

"The dishes are still dirty," he said.

"I was in the middle of washing them when you came," Christine said as she looked down.

"Are you sure?" he said, his 6-foot even body almost on top of hers. "You're not lying to me like you always are?"

"I'm not lying. I really was in the middle of washing them," Christine said as she moved closer to the wall. She remembered that she was in the middle of washing them when he came screaming about his stupid job. She remembered that she was in the middle of washing them when he came into the kitchen and grabbed her by her long, strawberry blonde hair, saying that it was her fault that he had the worst job in the world. She remembered that she was in the middle of washing them when he slapped her so hard in the face that she now had the bruise to show it.

"Then clean them and don't be such a lazy ass about it!" he yelled. He then grabbed her shoulders and shoved her towards the sink. Christine caught her self before she fell on the floor. She looked at the sink and muttered to her self, "I'm not a lazy ass."

"What did you say?" David cried out. Christine held her breath for a few second and finally said, "Nothing. Just talking to my self like I always do."

"That's what I thought," David said simply as he headed towards the living room. Christine let out a sigh of relief. She finished up the dishes and put them away. She slowly walked out of the kitchen and walked into their bedroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. The bruise was on her right cheek and was coming out horribly that she knew that this time she wouldn't be able to cover it up with make up.

"If only Charlie can see me now," she said to herself, thinking of her closest friend from Hogwarts. Well... her closest guy friend. She slowly touched the bruise and winced back in pain. "Damn it," she said. Christine took a good look at her brown eyes and knew that if Charlie saw her now, he would know that something was going on. He always knew something was wrong with her when he looked at her eyes.

"Who's Charlie?" she heard a voice say behind her. Christine quickly turned around and saw David standing in the doorway. Christine wished that she had closed the door behind her. "He... he was an old friend of mine."

"Was? Are you sure about that or are you just telling me another one of your lies?" he said walking into the room and closing the door behind him.

See, he's smart. Now the only people who can hear you scream are the people in this very room, Christine thought as she moved towards her vanity.

"I'm not lying to you. Charlie hasn't talked to me since our last year of Hogwarts. You know that."

"Like you haven't talked to Ayana?"

"I've told you before that I still talk to her. I haven't lied about that," Christine said in her defense. Before she knew it, David caught her by her wrist and began to squeeze it with much force.

"Don't you ever talk back to me, you bitch. You know better than that. I've treated you like a queen when anybody else would have made you live in filth."

"I rather live in filth then be your version of a queen," Christine said as she slowly took out her wand from her sleeve. David hit her again in the face and she fell to the floor. Christine got a better grip on her wand. She knew she had to do it now before he could react. David never would have expected it from her.

"STUPIFY!" Christine yelled as she pointed her wand at David. She saw him freeze in his position and saw him fall to the floor. She quickly rushed towards the closet and took out the duffle bag that she had packed earlier that day. Christine took out her cloak and put it on top of her large sweater. She got the bag and said to David quickly, "Don't look for me. I won't be in the places that you think I'll be at."

Christine saw his eyes showing so much anger towards her that she thought for a second that he was about to curse her. She quickly apperated to a park that she knew David didn't know of and sat on the ground in shock of what she did. Now she didn't know what to do, where to go.

I could always go to Ayanas house, she thought as a mental image of her best female friend popped into her mind. A red headed girl popped into her mind. She had clear green eyes and her wavy red hair reached her shoulder blades. A pattern of freckles were across her nose and she was shorter then Christine was. By about three inches.

"Of course you can stay here Christy! And if that dumb ass of a boy friend comes here, I will so set my dog on him," Christine thought of what her friend might say. She knew that Ayana had gotten a pit bull for Christmas from her father.

"I can't stay there," Christine said out loud. "If I stay there, he will find me in less then a week." Christine put her hands towards her face and winced when she remembered that she now had two bruises on each cheek. Then, another thought came into her mind.

"I can go to Charles," she said out loud, a look of relief passing through her face. She had actually lied to her boyfriend for the first time in her life. She had seen Charlie at least once a month since she left Hogwarts. He made her promise that on the day of graduation.

Christine stood up and looked around the playground, making sure that no one was there. She closed her eyes and disapperated from that area and reappeared in front of Charles house in Romania. She hoped that he was still awake and would open his door to her. She put the hood of her cloak over her face so he wouldn't see the bruises. And her eyes. She slowly walked up towards the door and knocked, praying that Charlie would answer the door and no one else.