Day Twenty-Two
Prompt: Marked
A group of solemn students left the Great Hall, clustered tightly together. They had been silently working for what seemed like hours. They felt strange; normally, they would have been laughing and joking with each other. They weren't normally a quiet bunch, but it was if their voices had been stolen from them.
"Everyone alright?" Harry asked quietly. He flexed his hand and winced. A few people nodded but everyone was still silent. George put his arm around Capella, who was sadly staring at the back of her hand. "I'm sorry this happened to you all." Harry looked down at his feet.
"You know it's not your fault, Harry," Hermione said as she placed her uninjured hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, we knew what could happen when we decided to be part of the D.A." Fred examined the skin on the back of his hand. "Ladies like scars, right?" He looked up at Luna, Vega and Ginny.
"Eew, don't look at me," Ginny said, a disgusted scowl on her face. "Nothing will make me think you're attractive."
"Oh, good," Luna said. "That would be very strange." She was gently blowing on the back of her hand.
George smiled a little and glanced down at Capella. She was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were closed. He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "Are you okay?"
Capella shook her head, her eyes still closed. Gently, George pulled her away from the group. She wrapped her arm around George's waist and held the other hand gingerly against her chest. "It's horrible," she cried out suddenly.
"I promise the pain will go away," he said softly. "If I could take it away, I would." His voice shook as he spoke.
"Oh George," Capella buried her face in his chest. "You're so sweet. But, it's not the pain." She pulled back a little and held out her hand. The angry red marks stood out against her usually smooth, unmarred skin. "It's going to be there forever. I'm going to be reminded of that horrible woman for the rest of my life." She looked down at her hand. "I'm marked."
"Pell, that's a good thing," George said, wiping a tear off Capella's cheek.
"A good thing? Have you gone mad?" Capella looked up at George and he could see through the pain in her eyes to the strong, fearless girl inside.
George chuckled. "You are marked, Pell. You are going to have these scars for the rest of your life. And that's a good thing." He took her injured hand and held it next to his. "This will always remind you of what you've overcome." He looked down at their marked hands, side-by-side. "Plus, now we match," he said with a shrug.
Capella smiled and then laughed. "You're right, we do match."