ANNIKA
When Annika woke up she felt pain shooting through her vaginal area. She was still sore from the night before. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, not wanting to see Malfoy staring down and laughing at her pain. Something about her surroundings seemed very off though. The dungeon cell wasn't as cold as usual. In fact, it felt like she was in a bed and not the hard floor of her cell. She felt thick warm blankets over top of her. And someone had changed her into a pair of silky pyjamma's. She felt weight on the left side of the bed and her curiousity finally got the better of her. She opened her eyes.
She really was laying in a bed in an unfamiliar house. There were two more beds across from hers but they were both empty. She looked to her left and had to do a double take. George was asleep with his head resting on her left. She let out a small squeak. This had to be another one of Malfoy's sick and twisted dreams. She pinched herself, digging her nails into her flesh. She felt the pain but it didn't phase her in the slightest. She has worse than fingers dug into her skin.
The pinching proved two things, she wasn't dreaming and she was still alive. She just couldn't figure out how. There was no one but the Death Eaters in Riddle Manor that night. Voldemort had put a spell on it to make it invisible to muggle eyes. So no muggle would've even noticed it burning and even if they did, there wouldn't have been time to pull George or any of them out. And the Prophet had said the three bodies had been identified as theirs.
She was so confused and relieved at the same time. She didn't have any idea what the hell had happened but she was pretty sure George was alive. But did Ron and Harry make it too? And how did they break herself, Hermione, and Ginny out? Why did they want people to think they were dead? So many questions were swimming through her head.
Needing to be sure it was real, Annika reached her hand out to George's head and ran her fingers through his hair. She pulled back when he started to stir. She didn't mean to wake him and tense slightly at how he would react. His eyes opened and he lifted his his head. He stared at her for a moment as if in shock. Suddenly his whole face lit up and she relaxed.
"Annika!" George practically yelled. "Thank God, you're awake!"
He threw his arms around her and the force almost knocked her off the bed. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and found herself crying.
"It's okay, baby." George whispered as he stroked her hair. "I'm here. I won't let them hurt you anymore."
He climbed up on the bed to hold her better as he rocked her back and forth. She continued to cry for what seemed like hours. George just sat there holding her as she cried out all the pain and anguish of the past to months. He whispered comforting things turn her as she clung to his shirt with her head buried in his chest. When she was sure that nothing else would come out, she lifted her head,
"But how are you still alive?" she asked. "There was no way, you could've survived. And the Prophet reported that three bodies were found not just two?"
"Shh." George said. "The truth is no bodies were found. All three of us made it."
Annika opened her mouth to ask how again but George placed his index finger gently against her lips.
"That's a long story and best told with all of us present." George said. "We've all been waiting for you to wake up. Hermione and Ginny are just as anxious to find out what happened. But first, let's go downstairs, mom says you were all extremely malnourished and hasn't stopped shoving food down the other two's throats. I expect you won't be much different." He chuckled slightly.
She was so excited to be seeing her friends and family again, she began untangling herself from the blankets a little too quickly. She hissed as the pain shot through her vaginal area.
"Slowly," George stated in a comforting whisper. "Pomphrey says, he tore you up pretty badly. She did everything she could but the rest is going to have to clear up on its own."
She could tell by the tone of his voice that there was something he was leaving out. She let it go though. She didn't want this reunion to be tainted by unwanted news. George heped her remove the blankets and slide off the bed.
"Would you like to get dressed first?" he asked. "Mom, went to a muggle store and bought some sweats for you."
Annika nodded.
"Would you like me to send one of the girls up to help you?"
"No, I can handle it. It'll take a few minutes, though."
"Okay, I'll wait outside. Let me know when you're ready."
She nodded. He turned to leave but she grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug.
"I missed you so much." she said into his neck near tears again.
"I know. I missed you too" he replied kissing the top of her head.
He left then. She pulled on the sweats that were on the table next to her bed. It took her a good ten minutes to change her pants. She had to keep starting and stopping again. It didn't hurt all that much, she'd have to function with injuries that were much worse, she just didn't want to rip anything open. Once the pants were on, it was pretty easy to pull on the t-shirt and hoodie. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was braided but sticking falling out all over the place. She didn't care because she was going to see everyone again. She smiled to herself then headed out the door.
HARRY
Harry was in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place trying to eat his lunch. His thoughts, however, were upstairs with Annika, who was still unconcious, so he didn't have much of an appetite.
"Harry, eat, please." Ginny implored. She grabbed his hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "She'll be fine. She's lived through worse."
Harry smiled at her and squeezed back. He was so glad to have his angel back. She always knew what he needed to hear, no matter what. He never had to tell her what was bothering him. She always just seemed to know. The two month sepereation did nothing to hinder this.
"Have I told you that I love you?" he said with a smile.
"Only like a million times since you carried me out of Malfoy Manor." Ginny stated. "And for the millionth time since then, I love you too."
She laid her head on his shoulder and, releaseing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
On the other side of the table, Ron was trying to make sure that Hermione had got enough to eat. Hermione, however, was looking rather aggravated at his overattentiveness. She didn't say anything about it though. She was just happy to be back with him. The other Weasleys were scattered around both sides of the table with Mrs. Weasley on Ginny's other side.
Mrs. Weasley's mood had lightened considerably but Harry still say the sadness in her eyes. His hatred of Fred increased every time he had to look into Mrs. Weasley's eyes. He still couldn't understand how someone could do that to their mother. This was the woman who had given birth to him and he just turned his back on them. It made Harry want to kill Fred even more every time he thought about it.
Harry could tell that Ginny was still looking at him anxiously, so he put a spoonful of soup into his mouth just to humor her. He didn't join in the conversation much just continued to eat his soup so Ginny would be appeased. He was so glad that his family was back together but he needed Annika to wake up for it to be complete. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't wake up.
George was upstairs with her at the moment. He hadn't moved from her side since he brought her back the night of the attack. That was two nights ago. Harry wanted to be there with her like George was but he couldn't bear to look at her beaten lifeless body. Every time he did, he wanted to curse Malfoy to the deepest pits of hell. It definitely wasn;t a good thought to have, especially since he had the ability to do just that. Instead, he contented himself with checking on her and George every half hour.
Ginny was a good distraction, though. He needed to be there for her too because she had gone through the same tortures as Annika had. Neither Ginny or Hermione had opened up about anything yet but they had done a lot of crying the past two days. Harry and Ron switched on and off between the two of them depending on who they asked for. Ginny mostly wanted Harry but sometimes, after a particuliarly hysterical moment, she'd ask him to get Ron. Hermione would be the same way. The others in the house did the best they could to help but the two girls only wanted certain people touching them. Everyone wanted to respect that.
Once lunch was finished, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks cleaned up and Mrs. Weasley made a tray of food for George and handed it to Harry.
"We'll you take this up to George, dear?" she asked. "I told him he should take a break but he won't hear of it."
"Sure, Mrs. Weasley." Harry answered. "I'll try to get him to get some rest."
She nodded and went to the sink to finish the dishes. Harry was barely halfway across the kitchen when the door opened. George entered with Annika alongside him, Harry dropped the tray and ran to her.
"Oh thank god!" he yelled as she wrapped her arms around him. "I was worried you'd never wake up. How do you feel? Are you hungry?"
"I'm not sure how I feel just yet. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell you guys are alive." Annika stated. "However, I am very hungry." Her stomach let out a loud growl.
Harry released her and lead her into the kitchen. She took a seat next to Remus who looked at her and threw his arms around her too. She flinched just slightly and he quickly released her.
"Sorry." he said.
"It's not you, Uncle Remus." Annika replied half pleadingly.
"I know." Remus placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.
George took a seat next to her as Mrs. Weasley put a bowl of vegtable soup in front of them. Annika picked up the spoon and began shoveling it in her mouth. Everyone in the room politely ignored her bad table manners. Harry was grateful. She ended up eating four bowls of soup and a whole bag of crackers. Once again, nobody said anything.
Once she had finished eating, everyone began to crowd her. The girls in the room hugged her and welcomed her back. Not sure of her comfort levels, the males simply shook her hand or placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Even Snape was pleasant towrds her, even though, he barely seemed to care that Hermione and Ginny were okay. Harry figured it had something to do with him helping her escape the first time.
She tried to put up good front. She smiled at all of them and thanked them for everything but Harry could see that it was just a show. He had a feeling George could too. In fact, he noticed that his hand had never once left her. He was either holding her hand or placing his arm around her shoulders or waist. He was the only man's touch that she didn't flinch away from.
Dumbledore stood a few minutes later and addressed the whole room.
"As happy as we all are to have Hermione, Ginny, and Annika back, there are some things we must discuss for their benefit. As you know, they were under the impression that Ron, Harry, and George were dead..."
Harry tuned out Dumbledore's words after that. He knew the whole story already. Instead, he watched Hermione, Ginny, and Annika. They looked a great deal better than when they first got back. Pomfrey was able to heal most of there physical scars and injuries. Harry, however, knew though that no amount of magic could heal the mental and emotional ones. Those were the ones that took time to heal. Harry was sure none of them would every fully recover. Still, he smiled as he watched them react to Dumbledore's story, at least they were alive to try.
A/N: What did you guys think? Somebody please review and let me know that I'm not doing this for nothing. I begging! I'd take flames with a smile at this point. Just to know that someone is reading. ::Drops to hands and knees:: Please, Please, Please, review.
