Persephone POV

It has been three weeks since school let out, and two since Moony moved in. The boys are out on a food run, when there is a loud pounding on the door. Running downstairs, I open the door, wand at the ready. "Malfoy?"

"Ms Gaunt, is my cousin home?" Narcissa Malfoy asks. I tell her he will be back shortly, welcoming her in to wait. "Unfortunately, this is an urgent matter. The Prophet announced the opening of a safe haven, I need you to house someone."

"Lady Malfoy, any child in need is welcome. How can I help?"

"Draco's friend Theodore was beaten by his father this evening, badly enough his house elf went against orders to get the boy help," she explains. Narcissa Malfoy looks truly disturbed by the news.

"Theodore Nott, right? When Siri gets here, he and Remus can rescue him. Come, Draco. I'll need help setting up a room for him." I lead Mini Malfoy up to the fourth floor. If what Lady Malfoy said is true, he'll need to have people close for a while. If, later on, he wants a room with the other rescuees, then we can move him.

I open the door to one of the unoccupied rooms, warning him of the lack of use. "He can stay in here for now. Sirius and Remus are in the room at the end of the hall, Harry is the door to his left and I'll be just across the hall. It'll be okay, Little Dragon. I promise to heal and protect him, to the best of my ability." He gives me a sad smile, while I remove my wand, casting dusting spells.

"Why did you call me Little Dragon?" he asks, quietly. "Only Mother ever calls me that."

"I'm sorry if I overstepped. It's just, Sirius tends to call me Petal as a reference to my name. I thought if I did the same it might comfort you." He tells me I can call him that as long as it's outside of school, an acceptable request. "Come on. I just heard the front door."

Draco and I race down the stairs to find Remus quietly stewing in anger, while Sirius is pacing the sitting room. "Petal, I assume you have the room ready?"

"Yeah, Pads. We'll put him in the one beside Harry until he's healed up. I'll get medical supplies ready for your return, now, go get the kid," I order him out the door. Remus and Narcissa follow him out.

"I need you two to help me, please. Harry, get rags, hot water and some of your old clothes. If he bleeds through the bandages, I don't want to ruin anything important. Dragon, with me. The potion's area is in the back office." Harry speeds off to get the supplies I asked for. "Hold on a moment. Kreacher!"

He pops in front of me. "How can Kreacher help Mistress Korre?" Damnit, Regulus rubbed off on him.

"We have a hurt child coming soon." I pause, looking at Draco. "Please, don't tell anyone what I'm about to say. Kreacher, tell Master Regulus I won't be in tonight. Please, explain the circumstances." He pops away.

Grabbing Blood Replenishers, Bruise Paste and Wiggenweld, I pass some to Draco, heading to the storage cabinet. Inside, I grab a potions blade and a few empty vials. Draco and I reach the top floor, as a loud pop sounds in the freshly cleaned room.

Opening the door, the adults have placed Theo on the bed, where Harry has towels laid out. Immediately jumping into action, I cut his shirt open with the knife. His chest is covered in slashes and bruises. "Harry, stablize his head. Draco, get the bruise paste and work on his arms and legs. Remus, Sirius, you'll need to hold him still." I start casting any healing spell I know, but nothing is closing the slashes. "Fuck! Harry, is he awake?"

"Yes, why?"

"Theo, if you can hear me, I need you to squeeze Siri's hand." When I look over, Sirius nods. "I'm sorry, that this will hurts, but the cuts aren't healing. It's the quickest option." Stepping back, I think of the Potion textbook Professor Snape gave me before Christmas break.

Taking a deep breath, I cast, "Sectumsempra!" Aiming the spell on his already existing cuts doesn't physically change anything, but the magic around the wounds is finally something I'm familiar with. "Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur," I sing, drawing my wand against each cut. As the last line heals, Remus asks where I learned that spell. "Professor Snape. He said it's the strongest cutting spell to exist. I used that curse to overpower the original magic, then cast the counter curse."

Draco is the only one to remain, while I administer potions. "I've seen Uncle Sev use that spell before. Why did you use dark magic to save his life?"

"If it helps, is it really that bad?"

Throughout the night, Draco and I watch the injured boy, making sure he's healing well.

The next morning rolls around and Harry kicks me out. "You took the night shift, it's someone else's turn. Go to bed."

"Sir, yes, sir," I say with a mock salute, walking across the hall to my room.

After such a long night, I forget about Regulus for a moment. A voice clears its throat, as I remove my bloodsoaked jumper. Whipping around in my tank top, I quickly realize my mistake. "Oh Shit. Sorry, I was so tired I didn't think about my audience." Regulus looks at me in concern. "I'm fine, and so is our newest resident. I'm just tired from staying up all night, monitoring him."

"Korre," he says, voice hard. "What happened to you?" Looking down, I don't notice anything different. I look at him in confusion. "When we met, I noticed the scars on your neck, but I never realized how extensive they were. Who hurt you?" He's angry, an emotion I haven't seen since that first encounter.

"It was years ago, when my father died. I was mere feet away when he was hit with four Avadas simultaneously. The magical backlash caused Lichtenburg type scars. Don't know how or why they found us." He looks uncomfortable. I try to reassure him, "They don't hurt or anything, and I was left alone."

"Get dressed," he says, turning his back to me. Quickly slipping on a nightgown, I crawl in bed, telling him it's safe to look. "Get some sleep, I'll wait for you to wake up." For once, I don't bother drawing the curtain closed.