Warning: some blood and violence in this chapter. It's very dark, actually. You've been warned. And it's not a joke.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
1 month later
Stella knocked on the Potter's front door. Ginny answered. "Hello, Stella. Come in, please." She opened the door further and let Stella inside.
"Thanks, Mrs. Potter."
"I keep telling you, dear, call me Ginny."
Stella nodded and smiled politely.
It had been a month since Stella's attack. She still had a soul, no Dementors had been seen since, and Stella seemed to be perfectly healthy. As a matter of fact, she had become very close friends with James, and came to the Potter's often.
"Is James here?" Stella asked Ginny.
"Yes, he's in his room." Ginny replied.
"Thanks." Stella turned to head up the stairs to James's room.
"Oh, Stella!" Ginny called after her. Stella looked at her. "Will you be staying for dinner?"
"Um…" Stella shifted her weight uncomfortably. "If it's not a bother or anything, I would love to. But I understand if you would rather just eat with your family-"
"Nonsense, we would love to have you."
A smile played across Stella's lips. "Thank you." She started up the stairs again.
She knocked on James's door. "James? It's me, can I come in?"
The door opened, and James stood there, grinning at her. "Stella! Just the girl I wanted to see, come in."
She gave him a suspicious look. "What?" she asked as she walked inside.
"No pranks this time, I swear!" James said, putting his hands in the air. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?" Stella said, sitting on the bed. "And what are you talking about, then?"
"Well, I was just looking at a calendar and discovered that tomorrow is August 19. And what happens on August 19?"
Stella blushed and mumbled something completely impossible to understand.
"That's right," James said, acting as though he had understood "It's exactly a month after you recovered from the Dementors Kiss, a supposedly impossible thing to do." He sat down with her. "I say we celebrate."
"Oh, please don't." Stella said.
"No, it's a big deal." James insisted. "We have to do something."
Stella sighed. "Fine. What exactly did you have in mind?"
"Well, I thought maybe my family could go to your place-"
"No." Stella said, standing up. Her eyes were big. "No. You can't ever come to my house, do you hear me, James Potter, I said never!" she was practically shrieking by the end of her sentence.
"Ok." James stood up too. He put his hand on her shoulder, looking worried. "I'm sorry. We can have a nice dinner here, instead. How does that sound?"
She tried to smile, but couldn't quite pull it off. "That sounds nice."
"Maybe your parents could come." James suggested.
Stella shook her head. "No, they'll be busy. They're always busy. But I'll be here." She sighed shakily. "Can we talk about something else?"
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"The food was delicious, Ginny." Stella said. It was after dinner that same evening. "Do you want some help cleaning up?"
"No, that's ok, you go play with James." Ginny said, smiling.
"Come on, Stella." James said impatiently, pulling her out of the room. They sat down in the living room.
"So," James began "About this celebration dinner tomorrow, what do you want to have? I was thinking…" he started talking all about the next day, until Harry came in. "Hi dad." James said. "Stella and I were just talking about tomorrow."
Harry looked at them, and grinned. "Um, James?" he said, trying not to laugh. "Have you looked at Stella?"
James looked. She had fallen asleep, her head resting on a pillow. James looked embarrassed. "Oh."
"Let her sleep." Harry said. "You should get to bed too. I'll contact Stella's parents and tell them she can stay here tonight."
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Midnight
Stella was sitting in darkness. It was pitch black, she couldn't see a thing. She called out, and her voice echoed, but there was no answer.
She was cold. She shivered. Suddenly a light appeared in front of her. She stood up and ran for it. She reached it, but she still couldn't see beyond a few feet. She looked down at her clothes. They were all black.
Something moved. She jumped. "Hello?" she called, her voice echoing again.
"Stella Stillwater…" a voice whispered. The voice made her shiver again. "Stella…" it said again.
Something moved again, and suddenly chains appeared around her wrists and ankles. She couldn't leave. Then she moving thing came into view. It was a dementor.
"No…" Stella whispered "No…"
"Stella…" she voice said again "My friends and I have been waiting for you, child. You have something I want."
Suddenly pain exploded in her stomach. Something wet was on her fingers. She slumped to the ground. There was blood gushing from her stomach, though a second ago she'd been fine. She tasted blood in her mouth, and it trickled down her chin. Then hundreds of dementors appeared, and swooped in on her. She couldn't even scream…blinding pain throughout her body…something clawed at her wound…and then nothing…
Stella jumped awake, screaming. Her hand flew to her stomach, but there was no blood. She screamed anyway.
James came running down the stairs. "Stella? What's wrong?"
"Help me, help me!" Stella shrieked, running her hands through her hair.
"Stella, you're ok." James ran to her side and wrapped his arms around her.
"What happened?" Harry and Ginny ran into the room.
"I think she was dreaming." James said, still hugging Stella, who sobbed into his shoulder.
"Help me, James." She whispered. "Don't let them kill me."
"I won't. You're ok, Stella. You're safe here. I won't let anything get you, I promise." James whispered soothingly.
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The next morning
Stella ran inside her house. She tip-toed to the stairs. If she could just get to her room without being heard-
"Stella!" she winced as she heard her name.
"Coming Mum." She called, and went to the kitchen.
"Where have you been?" her mother yelled when she walked in.
"I'm sorry, mum, I was at the Potters." Stella said.
"Yes. All night. I received a message from Harry Potter. You stupid little brat, I warned you about them having contact with us-"
"I'm sorry, mum, but I fell asleep and-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses." He mother smacked her across the face, hard. Stella cried out. "Your fathers downstairs, working. I believe you're perfect for our newest experiment, as your punishment. Come with me." She grabbed Stella by the arm and pulled her violently down to the basement. Her father was down there. The room was full of magical items, all either created or stolen, and all for dark magic.
"Your father and I have created a new potion." Her mother said. "It causes pain, worse than any spell can create." She handed a glass to Stella. "Drink it."
"What?" Stella screamed. "No, please, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again, I swear, just don't make me drink it!"
"Drink it!" her mother screamed. "Drink it, you piece of worthless garbage, or I'll use the one that kills."
Stella was shaking like crazy, but she took the glass and drank. Within seconds, she dropped the glass. It shattered on the floor. Stella screamed and fell to her knees. "Make it stop, make it stop, I'm begging you!"
"Why Stella, we have to see how long the effect lasts." Her father said, smiling.
"Please!" Stella screamed at the top of her lungs. "Help me! Help me!" she crouched over in the fetal position, screaming. Her vision went fuzzy. "I can't see!" she shouted. "Please, make it go away!"
She tried to stand but couldn't. The pain intensified, and she fell to the ground in faint.
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Stella opened her eyes. She was lying on the basement floor. Her parents were gone. Her head was throbbing, but the pain was mostly gone. She slowly stood up, her head only spinning a little, and went upstairs.
Her parents were nowhere to be found, but there was a note on the kitchen table.
We went out. You're on your own for food.
Stella crumpled up the note and threw it at the wall. She went outside. The sun was beginning to set. She'd been unconscious all day.
She was supposed to have dinner at the Potters, but she didn't feel like going. She walked down the street. She went right past the Potters house, and went to the graveyard at the church. She walked past the graves of Lily and James Potter, and stopped at one that Evan Stillwater.
Her little brother. He'd been three when he had died. They said it was an accident, but Stella knew the truth. Her parents had murdered him. And they hadn't cared. She fell to her knees and cried.
"Stella?" someone came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" It was James.
"Do I look ok?" Stella replied fiercely. She turned to him, wiping her eyes. "How could I possibly be ok?"
"Sorry." James said, looking startled. "We were waiting for you, and then I saw you pass by my house, so I followed you. I thought you were coming over-"
"Well maybe I don't feel like spending time with you." Stella spat. "Maybe something more important came up."
"Did something happen?" James asked, concerned.
"DOES SOMETHING ALWAYS HAVE TO HAPPEN?" Stella shouted. "I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE BEING WITH YOU, OK? I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO BE AROUND ALL YOU HAPPY PEOPLE!"
James gave her a long look. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it made you upset. You're not happy?"
Stella glared at him, and then punched him. He stumbled back; she was stronger than she looked. "How could I be happy?" she said. "How could you expect me to be happy? I have the most vivid, horrible nightmares you can possibly imagine, and I'm considered a freak, even by you. Don't deny it; it's what you're thinking. I'm the freak girl, who was kissed by a dementor and still has a soul. I'm not happy. I'm a mess. Sometimes," tears streamed down her cheeks as she said "I feel like killing myself."
James looked at her. "Stella, I could never think you're a freak. You're my best friend. I'm sorry about what happened, Stella. But you can't die. Don't kill yourself, Stella, I'll go crazy if you do. I need you. It's going to get better. I promise." He was close to tears too. "Just take another chance. Please? For me? I realize I could never understand what you're going through, but I can try. You can talk to me. Stella, I can't let you die."
Stella looked at him, and then ran into his arms. "I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."James whispered. "Do you want dinner now?"
"Can we maybe skip the big dinner downstairs and just eat up in your room, just you and me?" Stella asked, pulling away and wiping her eyes.
James smiled at her. "Sure." He held out his hand. She took it, and they walked out of the graveyard.
Wow, that was depressing. I think that's the darkest thing I've ever written. Please review.