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CHAPTER 23.
Sirius looked to the tiny girl, battered and broken in his kitchen, seemingly unable to support herself, her bare feet seemed to make her look smaller, child like, more fragile. "Oh Kitten." He said quietly, Hermione just shook her head, refusing to cry.
"I need to wash, and change." She said, her voice wabbling, as the others took in her state, blood covering her ripped uniform, and mating in her hair. "Tonks, would you..?"
"Sure thing sweetie." Tonks said softly. Sirius and Lupin both came forward to help her, but she cringed away from them, wrapping herself up into a small ball, they froze.
"I'm sorry, it's not you..." She whimpered, one hand outstretched towards them, to keep them away, theother wrapped around her ribbs, as if holding herself together.
They both nodded grimly, understanding. Tonks came up to her slowly, wrapping one arm around her shoulder, only touching fabric, and helping her into the hall, where they were met by some very harrased looking weasleys.
Fleur, upon seeing Hermione screamed, her hand covering her mouth, staggering towards her adoptive sister, Mrs weasly had a similar reaction. Hermione had cringed again at the noise, and flinched backwards away from it, and the sudden movements.
Bill and Arthur both looked murderous, but Hermione didn't notice, she had eyes only for Charlie, the person she needed more than any other in this moment.
"Char." She half sobbed, he was infront of her in an instant, pulling her from Tonks' arms into his own, lifting her easily. She suppressed a shudder, only shaking slightly, before gripping onto him tightly.
"Im sorry Princess, so sorry i wasn't there to stop this." he said, the voice of a broken man.
"You're here now." She mumbled into his neck, breathing deeply, and feeling whole for the first time in months. She felt her tought muscules start to relax a bit, and she no longer felt so affraid.
She then remebered what she looked like, and turned to Fleur and Tonks, who nodded, and precedded her and charlie upstairs.
Charlie waited in he hallway, while Fleur and Tonks got Hermione undressed, and into the shower. Trying to avoid touching her skin.
Fleur gently washed Hermione's hair, a pained look on her face as Hermione frequently flinched and shudered, her eyes screwed tightly shut. The french girl was horrified, as she watched the water run red with her little sister's blood.
Hermione wandessly did a charm to vanish her body hair, instead of shaving. Tonks went to get her some pajamas, a black silk set, consisting of a camisole, and shorts, and then helped her to change. Fleur muttering some spells in french, first drying hermione's hair, the saccuring it back into a french braid, that fell between her soulder blades.
Both women stared in horror at the young girls battered and bruised body, noticing the bruised bite marks, and turning rather pale.
"Ow are you, mon cheri?" Fleur questioned gently, helping a grimacing hermione back to the hallway, where she was swiftly greeted by a worried Charlie scoping her into his arms, She didn't complain.
"You always seem to be carrying me somewhere?" She joked to him half hartedly. He gave her a small smile.
"Im always happy for an excuse to have you in my arms princess, I just wish it were a happier one." He said truthfully.
"You don't need an excuse." hermione mumbled softly, pressing a light kiss to the side of his jaw.
"Do you want to go to bed sweetie?" said a quiet Tonks.
The thought of being alone not exactly appealing at the moment, Hermione said, "I'd rather stay with everyone downstairs, if thats ok?"
"Of course cheri," Fleur said imediatley, "I weel make you some tea, yes?"
Hermione smiled gratefully, as Charlie returned them once again to the kitchen, where he set her down gently in a kitchen chair, falling into the one next to hers, only for Hermione to climb into his lap, smiling sheepishly, "No excuse." She said, making Charlie rumble a deep laugh.
Mrs Weasly was allready making tea, and some food, and the others where sitting about the table, having been discusing the attack. They all turned to Hermione
"How do you feel Kitten?" Sirius asked.
Hermione paused, looking to each of them in turn. "Did they tell you about the injurys?" she questioned, thinking it was better to have this conversation sooner rather than later.
"Mcgonagall said you had been hurt, that Poppy had done all she could." came Remus's soft voice, as if affraid to startle her.
Hermione sighed, then rattled off a list of her injurys as afore mentioned by Madam Pomfrey, turning paler as she did so.
"A broken legg, dislocated shoulder, and fractured wrist and ankle. Several crushed fingers, and a cracked skull, and many ribbs, bite marks..." Her voice ws lost to shouts of anger and disgust. She kept her eyes squeased shut, and continued.
"Poppy healed the broken bones, and dislocated shoulder, and given me a potion to help relax my muscules, and speed the healing of the bruises. She also healed the internal damage, ruptured spleen almost, very nearly punctured a lung. " She was starting to feel very tired, and there were silent tears running from beneath her closed eye lids.
"She said i'll just have to sit out the bruising though." Hermione finished tiredly, opening her watery eyes, and noticing the appauled looks on the faces of those around her.
She saw the way their eyes zeroed in on the bite marks over her shoulders, barley conceled by the thin straps of her camisole.
Bill, Lupin and Sirius all looked merderous, Whilst the others had a mixture of anger and pitty. Charlie's face wasn't visible, from it's spot hidden in Hermione's neck, nuzzling soflty in a comforting way. It was as if he were replacing the violated feeling on her skin, replacing it with his own caresses, she felt tears dripping from her face, onto her bare arms.
"I'll kill the bastard." Sirius' impassioned cry.
"If I get my hands on him, he'll wish he were dead." Came Charlies quiet threat, that everyone whole heartedly belived.
Hermione shivered slightly, snuggling further into charlie, closing her eyes. That was how she fell asleep, lulled by the left over pain potion she had been given in the castle, and the others conversation, which Molly had purposfulling changed to more plesant things.
Hermione awoke several houres later, from a nightmare, whimpering patherically. She felt someone smoothing her hair, murmering reassurances to her in a deep voice. When she had fought her way through the fog, and opened her eyes, she realised she was in an unfamiliar room, still wrapped safley in Charlie's embrace. Must be Charlie's room? She realised, as she leaned back to gaze at her dragon tamer, who was looking at her through agonized eyes.
"Im ok." She reasured softly, shifting slightly to get more comfortable. "Im glad you stayed with me." She whispered, leaning into him, letting him play with her now lose hair.
"Shhhh, Princess. Sleep, I'll stay as long as you want."
After mumbling something about that being a dangerous thing to offer, Hermione drifted back to sleep, feeling Charlie's quiet laughter, revebarate through his chest.