Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the Characters.
ANNIKA'S P.O.V.
Annika was in a dark room, she couldn't even see two feet in front of her. She thought she heard moving behind her so she whirled on the spot and stuck her hand out but felt no one. She didn't know where she was or how she got there. It was so cold she felt the goosebumps errupt on her body. Then she heard whispers,
"Do you really think they care?"
"They only feel sorry for you. Especially Harry. He's only trying so hard to be nice because he feels guilty."
"Besides, you don't deserve them anyway."
"You're nothing but a filthy digusting whore."
The voices were coming from all around she couldn't tell if it was one or many.
"Show yourself!" she yelled heart pounding. Nobody moved but the voices continued.
"They'll never understand what's happened to you. No matter how bad you want them to."
"No! They care about me!" she yelled covering her ears.
"That won't help." They voices cut through her hands. "We're inside your head. Nothing you do can get rid of us."
"The potions only keep us at bay."
"We'll find a way through them soon."
"Leave me alone! I don't belong to you anymore."
She sensed someone standing in front of her but couldn't see them. She felt the person trail a finger along her jawline and heard the cold unmistaken voice of Draco Malfoy,
"My dear, you will always belong to us."
"No!" She cried and flung her arms out to push him back but her arms connected with nothing. Then there was laughing echoing throughout the whole room. She dropped to her knees and covered her ears.
"Shut up! Leave me alone, please!" she kept crying then another voice, Harry's,
"Annika, wake up! It's Harry. Wake up. No one's gonna hurt you!"
Her eyes snapped opened and she was back in her bedroom, covered in sweat, panting, and looking into her brother's green eyes.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"Yes." she said. "Just forgot my potion last night but I'm fine."
"Really, 'cuz it didn't sound like it." Harry replied. "And you look dead, right now."
"I said I'm fine." she snapped. She didn't know why but she was just so angry with him. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you for lunch at that Burrow. Remus said you were still sleeping so I came up to see if you were alright." Harry said. "So do you want to come to lunch at the Burrow?"
Annika could hear the hurt in his voice as he explained why he had come. She didn't want to be so cold towards him but the truth was the voices were right. Harry could never understand anything that she had gone through in those twelve years. She really couldn't expect him to either.
"That would be nice." she said not meeting his eyes.
She didn't want him to see the doubt in her eyes.
"Okay. Mrs. Weasley is having the whole family come around one. Remus is invited too." Harry said then left the room.
Annika brought her knees to her chest and just broke down completely. She didn't know who to turn to. No one would understand what her life has been like and she knew she could never escape the past no matter what she did or how far she ran. She didn't know how long she cried when she heard a knock on her door.
"Come in!" she called not trying to cover up her emotions. Remus opened the door and walked in.
"Hi." he said. "I came to see if you were alright. Harry was worried. He said he woke you up from a dream."
"He did and I'm fine, really." Annika replied to him. "I was in such a good mood when George broght me home that I forgot my potions."
"Are you sure?" Remus pressed.
"I appreciate that you are all worried but I am just fine." Annika replied. "I've handled twelve years in the hands of some of the world's evilest men but you think I can't handled one dream."
She didn't know why she was being this way. She knew they would do everything they could to help if she just talked to them but the dream just kept nagging at her. Not only would they not understand but she didn't deserve their help and she knew it.
"Okay." Remus replied. "You might want to start getting ready. It's twelve thirty." Remus said kissed her on top the head and walked out.
Annika crawled out of bed and put on blue t-shirt and black hoodie with a pair of jeans. She didn't deserve to look beautiful or be comfortable. Hell, she didn't even deserve to have friends to have a meal with. She let a few tears fall and then she heard inside her head from nowhere, the one voice that was gonna haunt her for the rest of her life.
"Don't cry or I'll give it to you three times as bad."
She stopped herself from crying immediately and went downstairs. Remus was waiting for her and looked shocked by what she was wearing.
"I thought the twins gave you stuff so you could be covered up but still be comforatble?" he asked.
"I didn't feel like putting it on today." she said with a shrug.
"Are you sure you wanna wear that though?" he said. "It's gonna get pretty hot."
"I'll deal." she said.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
She thought about it and opened her mouth to say no and tell him about the dream but then the voices came back and she said,
"Nothing I can't handle."
"You know, you have friends and family now and don't have to deal with everything by yourself."
"I know, Uncle Remus. Can we just go?"
"Fine."
She could hear the hurt in his voice even as he threw his powder into the fireplace and yelled, "The Burrow." but she she didn't know what to do. She stood there for a moment to collect herself then she flooed to the Burrow as well.
She had a feeling Remus told them about her odd behavior in the minute or two before she got there because no one said anything about her outfit. She sat on the couch as far away from everyone as possible and kept her eyes to the floor. She only spoke when someone spoke to her and when lunch came she just pushed it around on her plate to make it look like she ate a little.
"Are you alright, Annika?" George asked after awhile.
"I'm just not feeling well, is all." she responded. George nodded.
Annika looked back to her plate.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Anni?" Harry asked a few minutes later. "In private?"
"Okay." Annika said. "Oh great!" she thought. "This isn't gonna end well."
"I know something's wrong?" Harry said. "And I want to know what?"
"I won't tell you." she responded. She wanted to share her pain so bad but he wouldn't understand any of it.
"Why not?" Harry pressed.
"Because I can't." she replied. Which was true.
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"And why wouldn't I!"
"Because you have no idea what the last twelve years of my life has been like. You have no idea what I went through by myself with no one to come save me!"
"I have no idea because you won't ever tell me. You never talk about! And don't throw not being there in my face because I've told you if I would've known I wouldn't have stopped until I found you."
"That's all good and well, Harry but the fact is you weren't there. Whether you knew about me or not I had no one to help me! I don't know how to accept help from someone because I had to go through that alone! Besides, even if you could possibly understand what I've been through, I don't deserve anybody's help!"
With that she stormed up the stairs and locked herself in the bathroom. She cried on the floor until someone knocked on the door.
"Anni, it's George, let me in, please?" George's voice carried through the door.
"No, I don't deserve you." she cried.
A second later she heard a small pop and looked up to see George standing in front of her.
"Whether or not you think you deserve me, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." he said and knelt down deside her. "None of us are." he added and held until she cried it all out.
A/N: I have to credit Charmed for that last scene. With George and Annika. The second season episode Astral Monkey was on this morning. At the end of the episode, Piper was crying because they had to kill an innocent man for the greater good and Leo orbed into her bedroom and just held her while she cried. I loved the scene and really felt this would be a good place to incorporate it. Let me know if you agree. Please review.
