Thanks for my two reviewers! I appreciate it! Especially for not reminding me about my lack of updating, sorry again for that… (I'm juggling four stories right now and it's extremely hard… that's my excuse this time XD)
Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognize from the story! J.K. Rowling does!
Megan's P.O.V.
I gave Mr. Weasley my Christmas present once we got to St. Mungos. Once I had been told thanks by an ecstatic Mr. Weasley, I took my dad over to the poor werewolf lying in the bed next across the room, looking wistfully over at the crowd around the bed. There was no one visiting him except for us.
"Hello again." I said smiling. "This is my father." I introduced them to each other, but backed away once they started their conversation. I noticed that Harry. Ron and Hermione were gone, so I just chatted with Fred, George, Dawn, and Danni.
"How's Christmas going you four?" I asked.
"Good. Though-"Dawn stopped and looked up as I made mistletoe grow above her and Fred's head. A similar one grew above Danni and George's heads.
"Mistletoe, and as Luna says, watch out for Nargles." I said as they leaned in to kiss their partners.
"Go away little one." Fred mumbled, jokingly before turning back to Dawn.
I maturely stuck my tongue at him before exiting into the hallway. I saw my Godfather walking down the hallway.
"Dumblez!" I said happily. "Merry Christmas! Dawn and Danni get out here!"
"Merry? Still, after all these years you never say happy. All because of one Christmas in America." He said, shaking his head.
"Hey! Happy Christmas sounds weirder than Merry Christmas!" I said laughing as I hugged him.
"Uncle Albus! Did you bring dad with you? He said he might come here with you." Danni said, having walked out of the room to see who was with me.
"As a matter of fact… I did. I don't know- ah, there he is." Dumblez said looking around.
"Dad!" Dawn and Danni said in unison, running to Dumblez younger brother.
As they were reacquainting themselves, I looked for, and found Hermione, Ron, and… Harry.
After Hermione explained what had happened on their way upstairs, where they ran into Lockhart and Neville, I told them about Dumbledore arriving. He had already left by the time we got back downstairs, but only Harry and I seemed disappointed.
"Megan, can I talk to you please?" Harry asked.
"S- Sure." I answered, every fiber in my being telling me to say no, but my heart saying yes.
He led me around a corner of the hallway, where there were no pictures to overhear lest one tell a Hogwarts portrait, and waited for two healers to pass before he spoke.
"I know you gave me the photo album." He said.
"How?" I asked.
"The pictures, I remember that Sirius had copies of some of them and I saw that they were still there so I guessed on your dad. Plus there were some pictures of you as a baby sitting next to me as a baby." He said.
I hadn't thought he would put that together. "It could have been my dad."
"He said it wasn't him. Only you would have the slightest reason to deny it. Megan… do you still love me?" He asked. He looked scared, but there was a small spark of hope in is eyes.
"I've got to go Harry. I'll see you later." I said, not being able to bring myself to lie and answer no. Answering truthfully was out of the question.
"No. Answer my question first. I have to know. Please." He said, grabbing my arm before I could go.
"I'll always love you in a way Harry. Just not the way you want me to." I said, not outright saying no, but lying nonetheless.
"How so?"
"I love you like a brother Harry, I've got to go now. Just let go of me." I said, not meaning my arm. He shook his head, as if he did let go of me he might die. Heck, I actually might if he did. I'd always felt happy when I knew that he loved me. If he were to stop, I wouldn't have that glimmer of happiness.
"I'll always love you." He said as I walked away. I turned back, but he was already turned to me, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
An hour later, as we were heading out of the hospital, I was ushering everyone along from the back. No one had been watching when I collapsed. A woman levitated me into a shop next to me, one that hadn't even been open.
"You are mine little one." I heard Voldemort's voice hiss into my ear. A burning sensation was suddenly on my wrist, but I still couldn't move. It was horribly painful.
"We will return for you my dear, but you have been marked mine and forever." He said, I heard two sets of footsteps as Voldemort and most likely Bellatrix left the room. Suddenly I could move again. It must have been a stunning spell.
I quickly exited the room and walked out into the street disoriented. I felt weak. As if I was going to pass out. "Megan! There you are… What's wrong?" My dad asked immediately.
My tongue felt heavy. Suddenly I vomited on the sidewalk. The muggles around me made noises of disgust and sidestepped me and the sick.
"Mad-eye!" I heard him call vaguely.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked gruffly.
"Not sure." My dad answered worriedly. I heard a door slam and Mrs. Weasley ask me what's wrong.
"Voldemort… my arm." Was all I managed to say through the haze that wafted around my head.
"Oh my, Remus! Her arm..." Mrs. Weasley's voice trailed off in horror.
"What's wrong with her?" Hermione asked her voice thick as if she'd been crying.
"Out, all of you... now." My dad said in a strangled voice. I wanted to know what was wrong with my arm, though it was still hard to talk, much less stay conscious.
"Wh…" I tried to say 'what', but I couldn't, a bunch of garbled mumblings coming from my mouth.
"Shh, Megan, try to tell us what happened." Mrs. Weasley said.
I took a deep breathe as best I could and tried to clear my head. "Voldemort… and… and Bellatrix… my arm… was stinging." I said, still wishing I knew what the stinging was.
My father cursed very loudly. I was shocked, never since I've known him had he ever cursed. Sirius even said that my dad never cursed.
"What's wrong with her?" Sirius asked gravely, walking in whichever room I was laying in.
"Voldemort got her. Look at her arm!" My dad yelled angrily.
Sirius gasped in horror and cursed as well. This must be bad to cause this kind of reaction.
"I'm going to kill him." Mad-eye growled. "That was too far. How dare he."
"What?" I asked, my surroundings coming back to me a little. No one answered and I opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the light.
"Poor dear looks terribly pale, I'm going to fix some tea." Mrs. Weasley said.
I took a deep breath and peeked at my arm. I blanched. Etched on my arm was the dark mark, burned black into my pale skin. I let out a rough sob and flinched when my dad tried to hug me, to comfort me.
"Why me? Why has it always been me?" I sobbed, curled into a ball. I pushed aside the tea without a word of thanks and ran from the room. I locked myself into the bathroom, and curled into a ball on the floor.
I placed a silencing charm on the door before allowing myself to sob loudly into my hands.
I heard a timid knock on the door, so I removed the silencing charms.
"Yes?" I asked, feigning that I was okay. I had almost perfected my calm façade by now.
"Can I come in?" Hermione asked softly.
I unlocked the door quickly with magic, and she walked in.
"What's wrong?" She asked. "You've been crying."
"First I was scarred all over by Harry, and now… Voldemort's branded me." I said, my lip trembling.
"You can't mean….the dark mark?" She asked, horrified.
I nodded and held up my arm. "Hermione, can you possibly fetch me a bandage and not tell anyone about this. Not one person?" I asked.
"Of course, and here, there should be a big enough one in here…" She rummaged in the medicine cabinet for a minute before pulling out a large, but not large enough, bandage. "This is all there is. You could always enlarge it."
I nodded before performing the charm. Once the bandage was placed snugly over the mark, I wrapped it in gauze. I could now easily pass it for an injury. I then used my metamorphagus powers to hide my blotchy face. I had tried to get rid of the mark on my arm, but it didn't cover it as the mark was cursed. Now I had two things I couldn't hide with my powers.
I summoned my purse from my room, and pulled out the muggle foundation I had bought. I dabbed it over my scars until they were hidden better that before. If you looked closely you could still see the scar, but it wasn't red like before.
"Let's go see Ron and everyone downstairs Megan." Hermione said. I nodded, grateful that she hadn't mentioned Harry, as he had told her about our conversation at the hospital. I groaned, remembering my lie, before following Hermione down the stairs to the kitchen.
Ron hugged me as soon as I got downstairs. "What happened?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and Hermione's waist.
"Hurt my arm, nothing life threatening." I assured him, ignoring the adults in the room.
"Was it Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"And Bellatrix." I added finally. He looked livid now.
"Why do you always end up hurting yourself or getting capture by them? Do you like being the little girl who needs saving? Do you like that? You could try to take better care of yourself. We don't need you getting captured every other day by Voldemort and his minions." He burst angrily, yelling at me.
I felt hot tears well up in my eyes as I looked at him blankly. "Think about your questions before you ask them, Potter." I snarled, before turning and stomping up the stairs. I stayed hidden in the attic most of the time for the next few days.
I found Kreacher in the attic when I first hid there, and he turned out to be very consoling. I didn't tell him about the mark on my arm, I didn't want him to say anything about it when he mutters to himself, as Harry might hear him. I knew that everyone probably knew where I was, as Hermione had found me the first day I hid there, but she kept them at bay. That is, until today.
"Megan Elizabeth Lupin, get out and talk to someone." Mrs. Weasley said, fiercely, yet still sounding kind.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley… everything's just so difficult." I said, blinking back tears. Stupid hormones of a teenage girl making me cry for literally no reason. I must have some imbalance considering the random crying recently.
"I know dear, we're all here for you. You've gone through so much, and you're only fourteen!"
"I'll be fifteen in April." I mumbled quietly, cracking a slight smile.
Mrs. Weasley pulled me into a hug. "What Harry said was inexcusable, but he didn't mean it. Please come downstairs and get something to eat. Maybe talk to Ron and Hermione. Mad-Eye and Kingsley are here." She coaxed.
I gave my consent and followed her from the room.
"Hey Ron." I waved on my way downstairs. Harry was at the bottom of the stairs, frozen with a bit of toast next to his mouth. He must have been surprised to see me. I ignored him as he struggled for words. I pushed past him and walked into the kitchen where Sirius, Mad-eye, Kingsley, Professor Snape, Dawn, and Danni were sitting.
They looked up when I walked in.
"Miss. Lupin, do you mind fetching Potter for me?" Snape asked.
Before I could make up an excuse, Danni stood up and left to go get him. When Harry and Danni got back, everyone but Sirius, Snape, and Harry were kicked out of the kitchen. I went upstairs, and talked idly with Dawn, Danni, and Hermione until I fell asleep.
I'm sorry for the long period between updates! Review please! Thanks!