The Amazing Thing About: Friendship. Chapter twenty-seven.

Author's note:

TRIGGER WARNING: Violence and blood.

...

Eliza couldn't move. Her legs felt like jelly, ready to collapse. Eliza could hear her blood pounding in her ears as Amelia casually stepped in front of her, arms looping around her shoulders. It was as if time had slowed as the girl grew taller and her waist-length hair began to drop off, sliding away to fall into the grass and curling up. The sound of bones cracking and joints locking into position added to Eliza's urge to vomit as her face started to shift. The pretty, dainty features of Amelia gave way to a sharp nose and her jaw twisted and dropped down. Her bright eyes drooped and before long became the heavy-lidded, dark stare of horrifying familiarity.

"I told you I'd see you soon, Little Darling."

The voice, smooth and soft made her knees threaten to give out as it filled her ears. Eliza began to shake as memories flooded forward, the most prevalent being the day it all fell apart and he'd grabbed her around the waist and tried to throw her off the fifth floor just outside of charms class. While he'd begun threatening to take her life long before that, once choking her to the point she passed out, he'd always stopped. That day he'd finally snapped and Eliza could still see the look of pure glee in his eyes just before he'd been stopped. The way he'd smirked as he was dragged away by the teachers.

Eliza felt the scream building up catch in her throat. Terror filled her completely. She could only muster a small strangled sound as those deep, dark eyes peered down at her. A wicked smile curled at Connor's mouth as she stared up into the face she'd never wanted to see again.

"Oop." Connor chuckled as her legs finally couldn't take it anymore. He slipped an arm around her waist and held her up. "I knew I still made you weak, love." He smiled and caressed her cheek. Her eyes were wide as they stared up at him. How had this happened? How did she not see this coming? He'd warned her. He'd told her exactly what he was planning to do and she'd been so sure he couldn't get to her. Yet she'd walked right into his arms when she'd left the castle with who she thought was Amelia. The worst part? She hadn't told a single person. No one knew where she was.

Things started to make sense as her mind fought to keep up. The real Amelia probably had no clue what was going on when Victor asked her about following her because it hadn't been Amelia at all. She was just an innocent bystander in all of this for the most part. When she'd cornered Victor to talk to him it was because she'd met Connor. The poor girl had no doubt been scared out of her mind. She really was looking out for him. But had she known his plans?

"How?" Eliza finally choked out.

Connor brought his face close, thumb gently brushing over her lips as he stared at them. "A few strands of hair. A little threat. A spoonful of passion makes the polyjuice go down much easier." His voice was nearly a whisper and she swallowed thickly, her mouth dry. "I might still make good on snapping that pretty boy's neck for ever thinking about touching you." Eliza's body jerked but he held her tight. She sucked in a breath as he crushed her against him. The idea of him hurting Victor was enough to make a tear slip from her eye and slide down her cheek.

This was it. This was the reason she didn't want anyone to get too close. Something inside of her had known that this was exactly how Connor would react. How this would all play out. He fully believed in that sick, twisted mind of his that she belonged to him. No matter where she went as long as he was out there he would want to hurt those around her until she was all alone. Vulnerable.

Eliza tried not to sob as she spoke. "Why are you doing this to me?" It was such a stupid question that she hated herself for even asking it. But she couldn't understand why he couldn't just go away. Why he insisted on destroying everything she held dear? What had she done to earn this sort of treatment? She'd tried to be good to him. So why?

"Do you honestly believe I would ever leave you alone? I made a promise." Connor gazed at her lovingly making her stomach curl in on itself as she shook violently. Her reaction to him didn't seem to register with him as he briefly brushed their lips together and she turned her face away, squeezing her eyes shut. Undeterred, he slid his cheek along hers and cupped the back of her neck as he inhaled deeply at the space between her shoulder and her neck. "You ask me why I do the things I do but you never stop to think about your own actions." He sighed placing a gentle kiss to her jawline as he drew back. "You drive me crazy, Darling."

Eliza gripped onto his shoulders trying to push him away but he paid her no mind. "You left me." Connor pouted. "You moved all the way here and started acting like I didn't exist."

His expression changed to one of anger in a flash and the hand at the back of her neck was suddenly holding her by the jaw, fingernails biting into the flesh of her cheeks. "You started a whole new life without me in it and you thought I was going to let that slide?!" His grip was brutal and his nostril's flared. There was nothing but pure hatred and rage in his eyes. "Do you have any idea how it felt to watch you with that prissy sack of waste!?"

Eliza tried to turn her face away but he yanked it right back. He lowered his voice again and the way his demeanor kept switching up was giving her whiplash. "No. You don't." He sighed and he fell quiet for a moment as he analyzed her face. Eliza could only assume he was looking for a specific reaction from her and she tried to deny him.

Connor smirked at her defiance. "Or how about when I was finally able to see you in your lovely new school? To see you PRANCING through the halls with those infuriating twins putting their arms around you. Touching you. Watching you smile and laugh at their STUPID jokes!" He was nearly spitting as he seethed through gritted teeth. "Calling you Izzy...Izzzyyy. IIIZZZYYY!" He repeated the nickname and she flinched at the way it sounded so wrong and morphed into something grotesque coming from him. "If you think I want to kill Victor.." He whispered with a quiet chuckle. His eyes were glittering with delight and madness. "What do you think I want to do to them?"

The mention of Fred and George sent her into a panic. It didn't matter what Connor did to her. He could rip her limb from limb, hack her into little pieces. But Fred and George? Her heart stuttered and bashed against her ribcage. They didn't deserve anything that Connor might have on his mind. None of her friends did. The very thought of it made her go wild and she suddenly shoved him before swinging her fist toward his face, adrenaline guiding her. The blow caught him by surprise and he released her and stumbled back a few steps. "Don't you dare!" She spat. "I won't let you anywhere near them. You might as well kill me." Eliza wanted to feel confident as she whipped out her wand but her hand shook so violently she didn't know if she could actually put up a fight.

"Kill you?" Connor had regained his footing and wiped at the blood dripping from his nose. She must have gotten him good because it was dripping down his chin. It made her shake even harder when he finally turned his head to look at her and there was a smile on his face, teeth glinting at her in the dark. The only light source remaining was coming from the castle in the distance. It made her wonder momentarily if she could make a break for it and run to the safety of its walls in time.

"What makes you think I want to kill you?" Connor laughed and she took a step back, pointing her wand at him as a warning. His question almost made her laugh. He'd already tried to kill her before. Why not again?

He was faster than she could keep up with in her state and he easily disarmed her with a flick of his own wand. She'd blinked and he'd sent her wand flying through the air. She stumbled and he rushed forward and grabbed her by the arm before backhanding her across the face. It sent her head spinning and she saw stars as she hit the ground.

He let his head fall back and took a deep breath of the night air. Connor sounded exhilarated as he stretched his arms before turning his attention back to her. The blow had the world spinning around her and she fought to her senses while he just stood there and watched.

Connor chuckled as she tried to crawl away from him and she could hear his footsteps coming closer slowly before he kicked her in the ribs and turned her onto her back. The air rushed out of her lungs as the pain shot through her. Connor didn't pay her struggle any mind as he sat on her legs. Eliza lashed out with her fists again but he caught them easily.

"Kill you.." He sounded highly amused as she struggled against him. "I don't want to kill you. Not yet." Her vision began to clear as he smiled brightly down at her, his blood dripping onto her face. She tried to turn away from it but Connor took her wrists in one hand. With the other he collected some of the blood and added a bit of spit before smearing it all over her mouth and neck as he wrapped a hand around it and squeezed. "I'm not going to kill you until I've taken everything from you. I want you to beg for death." He was almost jubilant as he spoke. As if the mental picture of her pleading for him to kill her was one of the most exciting things he'd ever experienced.

Eliza glared up at him. "Fuck you." She mustered up as much saliva as she could and spit in his face. Connor burst out laughing as it connected and he pulled his hand away from her neck before punching her in the face. Her head snapped backward with the force of it and she could feel her nose give way. "You already did, sweetheart!" Connor was wheezing with laughter as he brought his fist down again.

"I'm going to rip everything you love to shreds." He was leaning over her now, his breath ghosting over her face. "By the time I'm done with you..You aren't going to have anyone but me." He whispered before crushing his lips to hers brutally. Eliza's head was throbbing and the pain was familiar. It brought back so many memories of times he'd hurt her. Often it was in places no one could see but it seemed he'd finally moved beyond that. Hiding his true nature was something he no longer concerned himself with.

Defiance and anger coursing through her veins, Eliza bit down on his bottom lip as hard as she could. With a grunt he pulled away and once again his fist collided with her face. "You should have told me you like it rough, darling." Connor snickered as blood dripped from his mouth onto her shirt. "Tell me. How do you think Victor would like it?" He asked. Eliza refused to give him any sort of response. That didn't stop him from grabbing her nose and twisting it. She bit down on her scream not wanting to give him the satisfaction but she could only hold out for so long.

Eliza expected him to hit her again but instead, he got up with a sigh. He took his time lifting his weight from her once again gazing down at her lovingly. "Looks like the party's over." He sounded so disappointed and Eliza couldn't tell if she was hallucinating but she could swear she heard shouting. She managed to muster up a grumbled "Go fuck yourself." just before he delivered one last kick to her ribcage and then he took a few steps back. "We'll do this again soon, Little Darling." It was a promise. She could feel it in her bones as the darkness seemed to swallow him up and he took off.

She lay there for a long couple of minutes trying to get herself together, his parting words echoing inside her head. She told herself she couldn't just stay there. Eliza groaned and rolled onto her side, vision blurring and body trembling. Every little movement caused her ribs to scream. She shook her head a few times waiting for the world to come into focus but one of her eyes just wasn't cooperating. After a few moments, she could definitely hear shouting and she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Her heart was pounding as she focused on just finding her wand. Her mind felt numb and it was all she could think about. In her head she repeated. 'Find your wand. Get to your feet.' Using it as a mantra to keep her moving. She groped through the grass until she finally found it and gripped it for dear life. It had been useless but having it made her feel better as she finally looked around.

The pitiful voice in the back of her mind told her that Connor had taken it easy on her as she attempted to stand. One more blow and she would have been stuck laying there until someone found her. If he'd chosen to kick her in the head instead of her ribs? She'd be out. 'So lucky.' She thought. Her head was spinning and she sat back down sighing through her mouth as she rested her arms on her raised knees. Eliza could definitely feel her nose was broken and she looked up at the sky trying to put all the pieces of the night together in a way that made sense. And then the oddest thing happened. She laughed. It was a quiet little thing of disbelief. At the circumstances. At everything Connor said. At the fact he'd gone through so much trouble to find her, slip in unseen, and leave her alive at the end of it.

"Eliza!" There was someone shouting her name and as they came closer she lifted her wand into the air and sent up a few sparks. At least she could manage that. In the face of danger she'd been utterly incapable of defending herself but she could make sparks. So much for her ability to harness wandless magic. Of all the times she could have used it and there was nothing. Not so much as a flicker.

"Eliza!" The shout was accompanied by running footsteps and the person slid on the grass as they tried to come to a stop. It was almost comical how they slipped and landed on their back next to her before they scrambled to their hands and knees. "Eliza! Izzy!" George sounded absolutely panicked as he dropped his wand and rushed forward. "Iz!" He grabbed her face in both of his hands and she cringed as his thumb brushed her left eye which was almost swollen shut. The light from his wand was blinding even in the grass and it made her head throb in protest. The way he grabbed her was jarring and she lifted a hand to bat at his weakly while turning her face away. "Quit it." She muttered.

George wasn't very good at listening and turned her face back towards him, his breath coming in short gasps. When she managed to look at him his face was screwed up in an expression that was a mix of fury and sadness. 'Poor thing.' She thought. She hated the way he looked at the moment. It made her feel sick. "Izzy." He looked like he was about to cry so she cleared her throat. "Can you help me up? My brain is having a problem talking to my legs." Maybe if she gave him something to do he could stop looking at her like that. She was shocked at how flippant her request came out. As if she'd simply slipped and bumped her head instead of being beaten by her psychotic ex-boyfriend. It made her laugh quietly to herself.

He quickly moved around to her side and pulled her arm around his shoulders. "We're going to have a serious talk about what you consider 'funny' after we get your face fixed." He said as he helped her up. His voice was hoarse from yelling and his tone did little to cover up his distress. It made Eliza want to make it go away. "I don't know. Do we have to fix it? I kinda like this look." She muttered before spitting out a bit of blood and trying to stretch her jaw. She wanted to make him laugh. To make him know she was alright. Nothing a little visit to madam Pomfrey couldn't fix.

George steadied her and waited until she nodded that she was okay to walk. It was a slow process but as they went she saw wands lit up all over the place. "I've got her!" George shouted and she tried to pull away from him to stand on her own but he refused to let go. "C'mon. I can make it the rest of the way." She said but he shook his head and kept her moving forward. "Not happening, princess."

Eliza attempted a scowl but her face hurt and she tried to come up with something clever. "If I'm a princess you're the village idiot." She muttered. He scoffed at her attempt. "Working my way up to court jester." The banter made it a little easier to cope but she wasn't prepared when Fred raced their way. His jaw dropped at the sight of them and Mcgonagall was right behind him. "Mr. Weasley! I told you to stay ins- oh, my word!" The woman's hand went to her chest. It seemed to take her a second to process what she was seeing.

"Get her inside." The woman snapped and George nodded. McGonagall led the way and ordered students back to their common rooms as they entered the castle. By the time she was led through the halls they were mostly clear and she was glad that not too many people could get a look at her. She'd already be dealing with enough without people seeing her busted-up face.

Fred was uncharacteristically silent as he walked with them. Though he was out of her line of sight due to the swelling of her eye she could feel when he was staring at her. She waited for a little while before turning her face so she could catch him doing it and she watched him turn completely white. "You've seen a bludger do worse. Don't look at me like that." She tried to smile but even that hurt.

He stumbled over his own feet and he opened his mouth, closed it, and then shook his head. It was like he was experiencing the full spectrum of emotions at once as he tried to process that she was trying to joke at a time like this. She didn't like it. "I know I'm stunning but please contain yourself." She said hoping he would pick up on the fact that she needed him to try to crack a joke. Anything.

Fred looked from her to his brother before forcing a laugh. "You look like a hippogriff stomped on your face. It's a massive improvement."

"Thanks, Freddy."