Chapter Eight

The crack of her father's whip rang through the air. Noemie braced herself for the incoming pain, shoulders tensed. When the sharp sting of the whip did come, Noemie let out a soft cry, unable to stop herself. Because her father had instructed her to come before dinner, she'd had to remove her robes, blouse, and even her bra, which meant she was desperately holding her chest and trying not to fall forward each time he struck.

She'd been seen walking alone with Remus. Noemie didn't know who had seen them, or why they'd told her father, but he knew. And the fury she'd estimated wasn't even half of what he actually felt.

The cracking of the whip finally stalled, but Noemie didn't dare look up. It had only been twenty minutes. That wasn't nearly long enough for her father's torture session.

Just as she was starting to wonder if he'd walked away, her father grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked back, making Noemie flounder and fall into him.

His scowl was as cruel as ever, if not worse. "Do you have any idea the embarrassment you cause our family?" He whispered, his face close enough she could feel his breath. For the briefest of moments she thought about when Remus had been standing so close, and tears sprang to her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered back, well aware of his hand still in her hair, pulling tighter and tighter until finally, the strands of hair broke and he was holding only a fistful of her brown hair. The sudden lack of tension caused Noemie's head to drop to the ground and smack hard against the stone.

It was all she could do to keep breathing.

"Move your arms," he instructed. Noemie let her arms fall slack against her sides, too dazed to realize that she was now bare chested in front of her father. "Well see if that scum will want anything to do with you now."

He brought the whip down once again, this time letting its viprous strands scar her chest and stomach.

Around the second or third time, Noemie lost consciousness, but was rudely awakened by her father kicking her bleeding stomach.

"Go to dinner," he said angrily. "It will look bad if you don't."

He stormed out of his own chambers then, leaving Noemie on the floor. She waited a minute to see if he was going to come back, but he didn't. Slowly, knowing she wouldn't be allowed to heal any of the cuts or bruises her father had made, Noemie pulled her clothes back on.

In a daze, she left the room and went to the great hall. The candlelit room was full of laughter and chatter. Students just coming down pushed past Noemie as she stood, trying to get her bearings. Maybe this was it. Maybe her father had finally started the process of killing her.

With a pang, she realized she would welcome death in favor of continuing on as she was.

Finally, she took a seat in an empty section of the Gryffindor table. A plate appeared in front of her, and Noemie slowly reached out to put a few things on it. She felt like she would be sick, so she tried to pick things that wouldn't upset her stomach.

Her name sounded like it was floating on water as it was repeated behind her. She assumed it was just in her head, but then someone touched her shoulder and she flinched violently.

"Noemie," Frank repeated, his eyes wide with surprise. "What's wrong?"

Noemie looked up at him. "Nothing," she said softly.

"You're crying," Frank observed.

"No I'm not," Noemie said, reaching up to touch her cheeks. They were, in fact, wet with tears. "Oh."

Frank started pulling her arm gently. "Come on," he said gently. "Let's go to the hospital wing. Did you fall?"

Noemie pulled away from him again. "Stop. Stop. I'm fine. Don't."

She realized Alice was at her side as well. "Noemie, we're worried," Alice said.

People from the Gryffindor table were starting to look, which meant that soon others would look at her as well. Her father would be furious if she caused a commotion.

"Okay," she said, standing up gingerly and pulling her robes tightly around her body. "But I'm not going to the hospital wing."

"That's okay," Alice said. "We'll go to the common room."

Noemie nodded slowly. She let Frank and Alice lead her up the winding stairs back to the Gryffindor tower, where Frank whispered the password and they quickly went inside.

To Noemie's horror, James's group of friends were sitting inside. As soon as they entered, the group of four looked up, prompting James and Remus to stand up quickly and rush over. "What happened?" James asked furiously.

"Nothing," Noemie replied, but her voice was weak compared to Frank's.

"She walked into the great hall and started crying," Frank said. "I don't know if she fell or what, but her's head's not right."

"My head's fine," Noemie protested softly, but they weren't listening to her.

Remus's calloused fingers gently touched her chin, tilting her head so he could look it over. Her face turned red, and her eyes watered. "What happened?" He whispered as James and Frank debated whether or not to take her to the hospital wing.

She closed her eyes. If she looked at Remus, she would cry. If she lied to Remus, she would cry. So Noemie stayed silent, letting Remus hold her chin gently and trying to take comfort in that alone.

"Why won't you go to the hospital wing?" Remus asked gently. "I can go with you, if you—"

"No!" Noemie said quickly.

He released her chin in surprise, embarrassment clear on his face. "Frank and Alice can take you then. But you need to go."

Noemie wanted to explain that she had nothing against Remus, and that in fact, she liked spending time with him. But unfortunately, being seen with him meant she was in for a heavy punishment. If she were braver, a true Gryffindor, she would have been brave enough to endure her father's punishment so she could spend time with him. But Noemie knew her placement was a mistake. She wasn't brave. She was constantly afraid.

"I'm not going to the hospital wing," she said, finding her voice firmer than she'd expected it to be. "I just need some rest. I'll be fine in the morning."

None of them looked like they believed her. Oddly enough, it was Sirius who spoke up next. "Let her go," he said. Noemie couldn't hide her surprise. "If she's not better in the morning, you can drag her down there. Hell, I'll even help."

Remus and James both sent him dirty looks, but Sirius didn't back down. He walked over to her, putting a hand on the small of her back. Noemie was shocked, and started to move away from him, but he didn't ease his grip or let her get too far away. Instead, he guided her toward the staircase. When they made it, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Tomorrow, we're going to talk about why there's blood on your collar. You're lucky none of them noticed."

Before Noemie could even process his words, he turned back to his friends and rejoined them. Noemie hurried to her dormitory, snagging a pair of pajamas in her way to the lavatory.

When she looked in the mirror, she was surprised to see that Sirius was right. Just barely creeping into view on the collar of her blouse, there was a small bloodstain. She quickly pulled back her clothes to see one of the small wounds from her father's whip.

Her fingers hovered over it, until she let her fingertips carefully touch the mark. It stung. Noemie sucked in a harsh breath. And yet, the aftermath didn't seem to strike her the same way it usually did. Usually, she felt some sort of disgust or sadness. Now, staring at the bloody wound on her pale skin, she just felt… tired.

Any other day, she would have cleaned the wounds and applied a salve to stop pain and prevent infection. This time, it was all she could do to ease the blood off her skin and put on pajamas. She climbed into bed, trying to figure out what lie to tell Sirius Black so he didn't uncover her secret.

Morning came and Noemie was woken by Alice's concerned voice. "How are you?"

Her bed creaked as Alice sat on the edge. "I'm just fine," Noemie said, yawning and sitting up in bed. "We should go to breakfast. I didn't eat much at dinner."

"Are you sure?" Alice asked.

Noemie fixed a fake smile to her face. "Would I lie to you?"

"Truthfully, I'm not sure," Alice admitted. Noemie's smile faltered. "But what I am sure of is that you'll tell me in your own time."

She looked down at her hands. "I love you, Alice. You know that, right?"

"I'm sure of that too," Alice said, reaching over to hug her. "So, when were you going to tell me about you and Remus?"

"What about me and Remus?"

Alice scoffed. "Please. I'm not blind. I saw him holding your face last night, and that look you had. You two fancy each other."

"Oh please," Noemie said, shaking her head. "Don't be silly. I've no interest in Remus."

"Some day, I'll say I told you so. But I'm feeling nice this morning," Alice said, standing up. "Hurry and get ready, I'm hungry."

Noemie stood up too, getting fresh clothes for the day. She got ready in the lavatory, trying not to make eye contact with the angry new scars. The good thing about her father only scarring her back was that she'd never had to confront them head on. Now, she didn't have that choice.

When she was finally ready, she went down to the common room to meet Alice and Frank and— she realized, to her horror— Sirius. There'd been a part of her that assumed he'd forget about the blood.

"Noemie will meet you downstairs," Sirius informed everyone. "Go on, go on, I won't do anything to her. I just have a… private question."

Her friends didn't move until Noemie nodded. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Slowly, they grabbed their bags and left. Sirius waited until they were gone before turning to her. "So?"

"I fell," Noemie lied easily.

"I didn't realize you were an actress," he replied, unamused. "Because that was one hell of a performance last night for a simple fall."

Noemie rubbed her arm, uncomfortable. "It was a big fall."

"I can tell Remus and James what I saw then?" Sirius asked.

"I would really rather you didn't," Noemie replied.

"Then tell me what actually happened."

"Why are you doing this?" Noemie asked.

Sirius rolled her eyes. "Because most of my friends care about you. And I want Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup this year."

Noemie studied his face, trying to determine if she could actually trust him. She couldn't tell him the truth. But if she could come up with a convincing enough lie…

"I came across some Slytherins in a corridor," she said softly, not meeting his eye to try and really sell the story. "It…didn't go well."

Sirius's face hardened. "What happened?"

"It was just quidditch idiots," Noemie said. "They wanted me to throw our match, I refused, they got physical. But I'm fine now, I swear."

Sirius looked her over carefully. But finally, mercifully, he nodded. "If they do that again, come find me. I'll take care of them."

"I can take care of myself," Noemie replied.

"Because that clearly went so well for you," Sirius retorted, rolling his eyes. "Seriously. If they try and pull that again, they'll regret it."

"Okay," Noemie relented, wanting out of the conversation. "Thank you, Sirius."

"Sure," he said. "Go find Alice and Frank before they think I killed you or something."

Noemie nodded and left the room. As soon as she was by herself outside the entrance, she let out a soft breath of relief.