Trying to find a heart that's not walking away
I collapsed on the Slytherin common room couch. I had the password to it, but I refused to give Flint the password to the Hufflepuff common room for fear that one of them would tattle. Flint had the Slytherin house shaking in their finely polished shoes, so we didn't have to worry that anyone would tell on us. Though if Snape were to ever to find me in here, I'd surely get detention for the rest of the year.
I couldn't believe how huge Hogwarts truly was. After devoting my day to showing Viktor all over the school, I was beat. My legs were screaming at me and my feet likewise. I massaged my forehead. "Are you ready to go get a bath and hit the bed?" I asked Flint.
After a moment of no response, I sat up and looked at Flint. He had his back to me and was looking out the window. I stood up. "Is something wrong, babe?" I asked wearily. I knew a fight was coming; a fight was always coming these days.
"Do you like him?" Flint growled. "I saw you holding his hand."
"That was entirely his doing, Marcus." I almost spat at him. "What do you suggest I should have done? Pushed him away and told him not to touch me?"
"That's exactly what you should have done." Flint snapped turning around to face me, and there was madness in his eyes that frightened me. "You belong to me, Leona."
"That seems slightly barbaric to say." I said. "You don't own me, Marcus. I'm not your property."
The next thing that happened I would have never seen coming, not even looking back on it now. Even though all the signs that this is really what it would be coming down to were there, I wouldn't have believed that this would truly happen to me. Flint backhanded me, across the face. He did so with so much force that I was knocked to the ground. I laid there in shock for a moment, my hand shakily rising to my cheek.
Flint picked me up from the ground and placed me on the couch. "I'm so sorry." He said hugging me. "This is the beast you've turned me into, Leona."
I pushed him off of me. "Get away from me." I squeaked out, all the courage and spunk I'd had a few minutes ago gone. I got up and took out my wand. "Stay back."
"Leona, seriously, I didn't mean to baby." He said comfortingly. "I just got mad, I'm sorry."
"I need to think." I said, my voice was wavering. I ran out of the common room and up the stairs as quickly as my feet would take me.
…..
I woke up that next morning, wondering if it had all just been a nightmare. The immediate pain that resulted in my cheek hitting my pillow answered that question for me. I rolled over to my nightstand and picked up my mirror. The majority of my cheek was a dark purple bruise. I sucked in a sharp breath and attempted to quietly dig through my drawers to find my cover up. I didn't want any of the other girls to wake up and ask me what happened. I didn't have a clear enough mind to think up a story. I quickly hid the bruise behind my makeup. Thank goodness for muggle inventions.
….
"The lake." Viktor said as he took a seat next to me at breakfast.
I'd almost forgotten that I was his guide. I bit my lip and hazarded a glance over at the Slytherin table. Flint was looking at me apologetically. "The lake? What about it?" I asked, looking away from Flint in what I hoped was a harsh manner.
"That's where I want to go." Viktor said seriously. "You told me pick where I want to go today."
"To pick, I told you to pick where you wanted to go today." I corrected kindly like I was supposed to.
Viktor looked away embarrassedly. "The lake," He repeated. "Before lunch?"
I patted his hand beneath the table. "Certainly."
….
After I left my grueling Potions class, Viktor was waiting for me outside of my classroom. "We go to Lake now." He said offering his hand to me.
I looked around to see if any Slytherins were around, seeing that no one was paying us any attention; I slid my hand into his.
Once we were out at the lake, he placed his cloak down on the ground. He gestured for me to sit on it. Not wanting to be rude, I sat down and he sat beside me. "Why did you want to go here?" I asked him.
Viktor glared out at the lake as if it could give him the words he was looking for. "I want to come here because the lake…" He paused as he tried to find the words. "The lake, it brings out your eyes. It makes you… more angelic than before."
I gaped at him. I had no idea how I was supposed to react to that. No one, not even Flint, had ever said something so sweet to me before. I placed my hand on my cheek, momentarily forgetting that Flint had hit me there and squeaked in pain.
Viktor looked over at me then, concern all over his face. "What is wrong?" He asked and then his eyes stopped at the side of my face.
I panicked and looked down at the sleeve of my robe and saw I'd rubbed the makeup off. "Bloody hell," I whispered. "Listen, it…it's not what you think it is."
"I thought he wasn't your boyfriend?" Viktor said. His tone had darkened.
"I never said he wasn't my boyfriend." I mumbled. "He didn't mean to."
"So he did do this?" Viktor's words had a connection to my tear ducts, my eyes started fill up with tears and I looked away from him attempting to will them away. "Look at me, Leona."
I looked over at him. That did the trick, I burst into tears. "I don't know why he did it. Please don't tell anyone." I sobbed into my hands.
I felt myself being pulled into his arms. He ran his fingers through my hair comfortingly. It didn't feel awkward or forced. For once, I felt safe. Despite myself, I snuggled closer to him. I'd only truly met this man yesterday and here I was feeling at home is arms. "Is this the first time?" He asked me gently.
I nodded into his chest. "He told me that I was turning him into a beast." I stammered. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Even if you did, you did not deserve to be hit." He said rubbing my back gently. "You need to leave him."
I sat up. "I've been with him for four years, Viktor. That's a little easier said than done." I said harshly.
"No man should hit you, ever, Leona." Viktor scolded me. "If he does, he not deserve you."
"Does not. Does not deserve me." I couldn't believe I was still correcting him at a time like this. There was a truth to the words, though I didn't realize it then. I'd spent the past year being told that I would not find anyone else to love me if I left. It would take much more than just a few pretty words to make me believe otherwise.
"Promise me. Promise that if he hits you again, you will leave." Viktor said, taking my chin, forcing me to look into his surprisingly gentle brown eyes.
I sighed and bit my lip before answering. "Yes. Yes. I promise."
At that time, I didn't think it would ever happen again. At that time, I was under the impression that it was all an accident, a loss of control, a fit of rage. Little did I know that there was a lot more lurking under the surface of Marcus Flint.
