One of the worst marriage law fics, continues! I don't know why that stuck out to me, but I still can't stop laughing. I am aware that not everyone will like what I write, just like I'm aware that you are allowed to have an opinion. I'm sorry that some people won't like this story. But that won't deter me from finishing it. Some people want to know how it ends! *runs hands down face in exasperation* This story is taking over my precious reading time. Just a couple more chapters, maybe two and we will be done. So for all the lovely readers out there who are enjoying this twist on the marriage law fics, you are super cute. Worst marriage law fic *cackles and rubs hands together with wicked glee*
Blaise wished with everything in him that he could get his hands on a time tuner and go back to when Padma hated him. Instead of being back in his kitchen dodging the frying pans and jars of beans she loved to fling at him, he was watching her bite her lip to keep from screaming as a Healer went over her body with his wand at St.Mongo's. Blaise clung to her hand when she squeezed his fingers tight enough to hear them crack.
Healing her was a tremendous task, according to Dean Thomas. He said that it may take up to 6 months for her body to return to normal, or as normal as someone can get after such a horrific event such as this. But Blaise new that he would stick by her side. He might not love her yet, but she was spunky and made him laugh. She could be mean and spiteful but he enjoyed watching her facial expressions when he pissed her off or when she came around his fingers and cock. He was enjoying his wife. And he was really shocked by the realization. She was his and he wouldn't go anywhere.
She squeezed his fingers again when a particularly long flick of Dean's wand was drug over her tiny waist and he heard the bones crack under her ministrations.
"Oh Blaise, I'm sorry," she whimpered over her own sobs.
"I'm fine. Nothing a little magic can't fix," he tried to smile over the pain that shot through his hand, knowing that she was going through worse. He wouldn't blame her for breaking every bone in his body if she wanted, if it would ease her pain by a fraction.
Dean covered her exposed body by up with a sheet and deemed her fit to rest after what seemed like hours of healing spells, none of which healed her completely. Nonetheless, she did look a bit better. Her carmel skin, that had been a deathly pale, seemed to be gaining back some color and the chattering of her teeth from fear and adrenaline had ceased. He brushed his fingers across her face to move the hair that had fallen into her eyes.
"Do you want me to braid it back?" he asked her gesturing to the hair that lay matted and tangled.
"Please."
Scooping her up gently to sit in his lap, he ran his fingers through her hair untangling the dark tresses that ran down the middle of her back. He didn't really know how to braid that well, but she had explained it once after a particularly sinful shagging a couple nights prior. She hadn't been gone for very long but it felt like weeks when it was only 2 or 3 days.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She swallowed hard before answering him.
"I remember going into work and barely making it to my desk before Pansy and Cho showed up. I was confused on why they were inviting me out when we had been at Potter's the night before and Pansy said she was having brunch with her at Grimmrald. But Cho said she wanted to get to know me better because of my marriage to you. She married Goyle did you know?" She looked over her shoulder to catch his eye when he nodded. He secured her hair with an elastic Granger had passed him on their way to St Mongo's from the Ministry.
"She disarmed me in the alley next to the Profit and Side-Along Aperated me and Pansy to the hallway where you all found us. Everything went black after that but when I came to I was naked and strapped to a table next to Isobel and Mandy."
She curled into a ball in his lap, the hospital gown she was wearing riding up her thighs in an effort to make herself smaller. Blaise wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.
"Cho cut into us. On the inside. She never spoke, she didn't respond to questions or just me yelling at her. She would come in, cut into us, and leave. If we acted out to horribly, she would curcio us into submission. Once, I called her a bitch and flung myself around trying to make it impossible for her to get to me. She held me under the curse for so long, I thought I would bite my tongue off. I just kept praying that I would die. That she would just hold me under long enough that I would die or that she would cut to deep and I would bleed to death. Does that make me weak?" She whispered the last sentence like she was scared of his answer.
"I don't think so, no. I think you went through something absolutely terrible and kept fighting even if you wished for death. I don't think you are weak, Princess. I think you are the strongest person I've ever met," he han his hands up and down her arms hoping to give comfort to her. "Do you realize that what you went through would make anyone pray for the same? I'm sure the other girls thought the same thoughts. I'm sure they prayed the same prayers. You are all strong, brave woman."
She turned to look at him, tears streaking down her face. "I want to go home."
"I know, Princess. Let Draco and Robins come in to take your statement and I'll find out how long until I can take you home ok?" He turned her so he could cradle her body toward him. Brushing his lips over her forehead, he held her close and swore he would never let her go. She probably wouldn't fall apart if he were to leave her to find the Healer now, but he wasn't taking any chances.
George squeezed his arms gently around Daphne's midsection, wrapping himself around her body. His chin settled on her shoulder with his chest to her back, cocooning her to him while she gasped for air. Panic attacks were going to be normal for her now, according to her Healer. They suggested a Mind Healer in Diagon Alley and George swore they would both go. For her and for him. He had issues too that needed to be brought to light, and whatever that needed to be done to make her whole again plus make this relationship work, he would do.
The door to the hospital room creaked open slowly and Draco Malfoy stuck his head in.
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, we came to check on you and get your statement," he strode into the room with Seamus Finnegan hot on his heels.
George extracted himself from around Daphne's curvy frame to settle into the seat beside her bed but she flinched so hard, he changed tactics. Making eye contact with Malfoy, he settled her between his knees and stretched out. It seemed she didn't want to be without him.
"Hey Daph," Malfoy whispered as he settled into the chair George was going to take. "How are you feeling?"
Daphne shook her head, "Tired, scared. overwhelmed. I'm not sure what the right answer would be, but that's what I feel."
George pulled the hair elastic from around his wrist from Mione and handed it to her. Her fingers shook when she took the black rubberband from him but scooped her hair on top of her head in her usual messy bun.
"That would be normal, I would suspect," Malfoy told her, reaching for her hand. "I checked in on Pansy and Padma already and they are healing as best as they can as well," he took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm going to need you to tell me what happened. I know it's hard but can you start with what they did to you? Who you saw?"
"Cho was the only person who came in the room, she was who brought me there." she shifted in George's lap and seemed to make herself smaller. "I was in a room strapped to a table for what felt like days before Pansy showed up and Millie after her. Cho would spread my legs everytime she came in the room. She would do things between my thighs that made me feel like she was ripping my insides out," she was sobbing now, shaking in his arms but he just clung to her all the tighter. "She would take something from inside me and put it in a jar, before she would start on the other girls. I can hear Millie's cries in my head and Pansy's screams. I can't close my eyes without hearing it. She would Curcio us if we fought or tried to stop her. I don't think she is in there anymore. I think she went mad."
Seamus looked deathly pale, but wrote everything down as quick as it fell from her lips. Malfoy just held her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles looking pained. "Can you tell me how you got out?"
Daphne shuddered under George's hands, "Pansy and Millie started pulling on the leather that tied us to the table. I was so tired but I started to do the same. Pansy had found a notch in her table to rub her wrist against in the hope it would break it. I used my teeth on mine. The leather around my wrist was thick but wore from where I had pulled on it. It took me awhile to get it broken but I eventually got one wrist free by the time that Pansy's started coming loose. I was able to get completely off my table by the time both of her wrist were free. We undid Millie and made to leave the room to get out. But Pansy said Padma was suppose to be with her so we searched for them. By the time we got them out and headed down the hall, we could hear Kingsley Shacklebolt. At first we thought he was in on it, till Millie listened at the door and heard what he said. I guess we got lucky."
"No, little one, you were very brave and we were lucky," George whispered in her ear.
"Well, I'm very glad that you made it out Daphne. I don't think anyone would have been more saddened by your departure from this earth, than your friends and husband," Malfoy took a very deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, "Which brings me to my announcement. Kingsley has pushed the Wizengamot to end the Marriage Law. You will be free to divorce if you so wish it by Monday morning."
Daphne's tears escalated and her body racked with quiet sobs.
"Is that something you want, little one?" George's breath caught in his lungs but he had to know. Maybe she would want to be with someone who she knew better, someone who could take care of her better.
"Can we talk about it later?"
"Absolutely."
Seamus stood and shook George's hand and patted Daphne's arm gently. Malfoy kissed her cheek and stuck his hand out for George, whom took it without a second thought. They left the room to check on the other girls and the couple was left alone.
A couple minutes went by without anyone saying a word, before Daphne turned in George's arms and shoved her face into his shirt.
"Do you want a divorce?" she asked his chest.
George thought for a long time before he spoke. He didn't want to upset her if hid answer wasn't what she wanted to hear but he knew he had to tell her the truth.
"Little one, I don't think that this marriage is real. We don't know one another and we didn't choose this," When she made to interrupt he raised a hand to calm her, "I know you were raised to not pick your husband, Pureblood marriages are rarely love based. But I always pictured myself madly in love with my wife. This marriage is unconventional and sadly, not what I would have chosen for myself. That doesn't mean I don't want it. It just means we are gonna need to work on it alot to make it work. I'll have to take you on dates, learn your favorite color, your favorite candy. I'll have to learn how to love you the way you deserve to be loved. So my answer is no. I don't want a divorce. Unless you do."
Daphne's smile was small but she kissed his cheek before leaning into his long frame. "I like licorice wands and my favorite color is cauliflower blue. I'm really tired George. Can you stay here while i sleep, Mr. Weasley?"
"Whatever you want, Mrs. Weasley." He kissed her forehead and leaned back against the headboard, while she tangled her legs with his.
"We could start over," he pleaded, "Date first like normal couples do."
"Do you want me with someone else Neville? Do you want to be with someone else?"
"Well no, of course not."
"Then shut up. You want to date? Fine. Get me out of this hospital and take me to dinner. Do you want to live separately again? I can ask Pansy if Harry would mind terribly if I stayed with them for awhile. Then you can pretend that we haven't had sex or slept next to each other. Is that what you want?" She was yelling but that's not how she intended for this conversation to go about. She wanted to go about this calmly but with as horrible as the last couple of days had gone, she was at her wits end with the whole world, not just Neville.
"No, no of course not. I just thought that maybe..."
"You thought wrong Neville Longbottom. Do you want to stay married to me or not? It's simple. Do you want to be with me or do you want to find someone else?" The thought of losing Neville was painful. But her body hurt worse. She wanted this conversation over with so she could nap safely without fear of being torn apart.
"I don't want anyone else Millie, I just thought maybe we could do this the right way and get to know one another before we decide we wanted to get married." Neville perched himself at the foot of her bed and wrapped his fingers around her ankle.
"How about this," Millie yawned, "we can date and live separately. If you decide you don't love me and don't want to stay married, I won't hold you back. We can get divorced and go about our lives."
"How about this, we live together and see how it goes? I don't want you to go, I just want to go about this the right way, sugarplum." Neville stood up from the bed and started toward the door. "I'm going to go find you some tea so you can sleep ok? I'll be right back."
When the door closed behind him, Milloe broke down in tears. She blamed the fear and the uncertainty of her life but really her whole body hurt. She couldn't keep her legs closed without the pain radiating to her toes. Her heart constricted in her chest, at the thought of never being comfortable again. Her healers had said she should be good as new in six to eight months but that was a long time. She knew that Granger was looking for something to help the process speed up but she wasn't holding her breath.
And what if Neville decided he didn't want her anymore? She would yet again be alone. Maybe she would get a cat or two. Or maybe a Kneazel. She could become a lonely old cat lady, with too many pink jumpers that she knit herself, with no children and no husband. Deciding she had better learn how to knit soon, she drifted off to a fitful sleep.