Surprisingly, nothing hurt when Annie woke up that next morning. If it weren't for her sporadic memories, she wouldn't have known that something happened.

To be honest, she'd blacked out most of the night before. It was all such a haze and what she did remember was terrible. There was the fight between James and Elio before a big, green light and then... nothing.

Pain. She remembered pain. A lot of it. A curly, blonde woman with kind eyes. She remembered Elio holding her closely, remembered the sting of something being poured all over her torso.

With widened eyes, Annie yanked back the unfamiliar sheets covering her body. She was wearing a large t-shirt that she didn't recognize and underwear that she thankfully did. Annie pulled up the shirt and gasped.

There was nothing.

No blood, no scabs, not even scars. It was as if it never happened.

She traced the lines of where the injuries were. Part of her seemed to know each and every cut by memory. Like even though they were gone from her physically, the emotional scars were far from gone.

"You're awake," a hoarse voice said from the corner of the room. She turned to see her brother sitting in a chair at the furthest point of the room looking like he'd been awake for days. There were deep purple bags underneath his eyes and his skin looked pallid and gaunt.

"Why don't I have any scars?" Annie was shocked to discover her voice was much quieter and weaker—though it wasn't like that said much.

"Cass applied some dittany. It doesn't work well enough on deep wounds to heal you but it can help numb some of the pain and heal the physical look of them." Annie nodded. To be honest, she hadn't paid enough attention in potions to refute or agree with him. School was never her top interest.

"Where's Elio?"

"Asleep in the room next door. He... wouldn't leave you. His uncle finally made him go get some sleep with the promise he could see you as soon as you woke up. He'll probably barrel in here at any moment."

"They didn't make you go sleep somewhere else?"

A ghost of a smile passed over James's face. "I'm your brother. They can't tell me to do anything. And even if they could, I'm also the Dark Heir. I don't think anyone wanted to question me."

James walked over to the bed in the center of the room before sitting down on the soft, cream-colored duvet. He grabbed Annie's hand and squeezed it gently. "Annie, I'm so, so sorry. If Elio wouldn't have been there, you would have died."

"That's not true—"

"Yes, it is. I completely froze up as soon as I saw the blood on your little body." James ran a harsh finger through his dark curls. "Dad would have known exactly what to do. He wouldn't have even come close to harming you, no matter how angry he was. I took a risk that I never should have taken; sending such a dangerous spell while you were close. I don't know how you'll ever forgive me."

She could feel herself soften at the tremendous amount of guilt hidden behind James's voice. If she knew her brother at all, he probably stayed up all night watching over her, tormenting himself the entire time. So Annie grabbed onto both of James's hands and squeezed them tight.

"Jamesy, it was an accident. I'm okay. I don't even have a scar. It's not fair of you to compare yourself to Daddy because you're not him. Yes, you might be his heir but you're completely different people. It's okay to freeze up during traumatic events because our brains don't know what to do sometimes. And you don't even have to ask for my forgiveness because there's nothing to forgive. It was nothing more than a little pain—which was good for me. I've been sheltered for far too long and now I've had a taste of the dangers that are out there. I don't blame you in the slightest. Not for anything."

He wrapped his arms around her small frame before she was even done speaking, careful not to squeeze too hard. Annie smiled as she sunk into her brother's embrace. "How did I get such a wise little sister?"

She rolled her eyes before pulling back. "Wait, where are Mummy and Daddy? I would have thought they'd be here."

"About that..." James scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Last night was so horrible that I kind of didn't want to tell them until you were alright because I knew they'd come here and interrupt your rest." And probably kill Elio. Maybe James, too, if Daddy got angry enough. That part was left unsaid but Annie knew enough. "I told them we were staying at a friend's house together so if they ask, you can tell them you were at Andie and Astrid Berkshire's place. It isn't exactly a lie."

It just wasn't the full truth either. When it came to their father, half-truths and artfully worded semantics were key. Annie made a mental note to tell Elio that later. Lying successfully took skill. To be a great lie, it had to be a truth. Being a teenager who needed to skirt her father's many questions taught her that.

Perhaps Annie should have wanted to see her parents after such a traumatic night. But to be honest, all she wanted was to be wrapped up in Elio's arms again. "Thanks."

All of a sudden, the door to the bedroom burst open and Elio walked in... not wearing a shirt. Or pants.

"Annie! You're awake!" He darted over to the bed, seemingly unaware that his shaggy brown hair was sticking up in at least a dozen directions and there was a deep red mark on his cheek.

Before he reached her, James stepped in between them with a scowl. "Put on some fucking clothes."

When Elio looked down and noticed that he was in a pair of dark blue boxer briefs, his face turned as red as the mark on his cheek. He sheepishly waved his wand and a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt appeared. Annie smiled as soon as he was dressed and held out her arms for him. He breathed a sigh of relief before jumping onto the bed and hugging her tightly.

"You had me so worried," he breathed while stroking her hair. "Don't ever do that again."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll try not to. How are you? Are you okay?"

"You were bleeding out on a table and you ask how I'm doing?"

"Somehow, I feel like last night was a lot worse for you than it was for me."

Elio leaned back and cupped her cheek with a smile. "You're incredible, topolina. You really are."

James grunted. "'Topolina?' Can you not just call her by her real name?"

Elio grinned smugly. "Everyone calls her Annie. Only I can call her topolina. Or cara mia, or amore, or baby—"

"Okay, okay, I got it. Don't push your luck."

Annie looked at the two of them with amazement. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "Are you two friends now?"

"Yes," Elio said as soon as James barked out a harsh, "No."

"Well which is it?"

Again, Elio said "We're friends," as soon as James said, "We're not."

Annie fixed them both with a glare. Elio chimed in, "I think we have an understanding for how to proceed in the future. A lot of rules but no death plans yet."

"Yet," James emphasized. "I still hate you and I still think that Annie deserves better."

"I agree that she deserves better but I'm too selfish to give her away."

James rubbed his forehead. "Why is it that out of every bloke, it has to be you?"

"Hey!" Annie exclaimed. "Elio not only treats me great but he saved me last night and has been nothing but a gentleman."

"I'm aware of those things." A permanent frown line seemed to have etched on James's face from the scowl he continued to present. "That's the only reason I'm allowing this to proceed." James turned to Elio. "When do you plan on seeing her again?"

Elio squeezed her hand gently before saying, "My parents want to have dinner with her, probably on Thursday. She's welcome to stay the night in one of the guest rooms—or in my room with your permission." That last part was grumbled sullenly. "After that, Annie is welcome to come over any time she's allowed to either of our homes. There are balls almost every weekend. We can go to Diagon Alley—"

"No crowds," James interrupted with a firm shake of his head. "We don't need to risk anyone seeing her and learning her face. She's gone most of her life unnoticed by enemies and that's not going to stop now. Pureblood balls are one thing since they contain only allies but a place like Diagon Alley has far too many shady individuals who aren't properly vetted."

"And if we went on a not crowded day?" Annie asked with wide eyes. She wanted to go to Diagon Alley badly and try the ice cream Elio had gushed over. Plus, there was a pet store, which would be perfect for Perkins.

James sighed. "Let's just try this for now and we can reevaluate going when hardly anyone will be there."

Annie smiled. "Maybe you can bring Lottie! We can double date!"

James tucked his head and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like, "I'm not going on a date with fucking Elio Nott."

Elio squeezed her hand again gently. "Don't worry, darling. I can bring you some of the ice cream until you can go and get it yourself."

She couldn't help but melt—pun intended—with a soft smile at Elio's kindness. Annie leaned into his chest and wrapped her arms around his sculpted torso. "You're so sweet."

He kissed her head. "Only for you."

Suddenly, the three were joined in the room by a blonde woman with curly hair sticking out everywhere from her ponytail. She was wearing a Hufflepuff sweatshirt and the biggest smile Annie had ever seen. "There's our little niece-in-law," the woman teased. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you, ma'am."

The woman waved her hand. "Don't call me 'ma'am.' It makes me feel so old. Call me Cass. Aunt Cass. Cassie. Any will do, really."

"Thank you, Cass, then."

She beamed before walking over and running her hand along Annie's stomach. "No lingering pain? No muscle spasms?"

Annie shook her head. "No. But it feels... odd. Like my brain hasn't fully figured out I've been healed."

Cass nodded without an ounce of concern in her eyes. "That's normal. Don't you worry about it. The more you move and go about your daily life, the quicker your brain will catch up. Which reminds me." She clapped her hands and turned to all three of them. "Breakfast time. Come downstairs and try some of Enz's famous waffles."

"Yes!" Elio hissed before turning to her. "You're going to love these, Annie. He puts sugar in the batter so they're the best."

Cass turned to Annie with a knowing grin. "Let's just say that Theo and Aria didn't appreciate it when we sent little Elio home from sleepovers all hyped up on sugar."

Annie giggled. "Sounds like they're good waffles. Are you coming, Jamesy?"

The boy stiffened, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. "I thought that was just for you guys."

"Nonsense!" Cass exclaimed. "You both are practically family now. Come on and eat before they get cold. Oh, and Annie, dear, you can keep the shirt. Trust me: I have more than I know what to do with."

Annie looked down and noticed the faded "Holyhead Harpies" on the shirt. Cass pointed at it. "One of my good friends used to play for them so I got a lot of merchandise over her career."

"Sounds like you're a good friend," Annie said with a soft smile that Cass returned.

Enzo popped his head in the door. "Speaking of good things, there are a lot of waffles downstairs so come eat." He noticed Annie sitting up and flashed her a quick smile. "It's good to see you up and at 'em, kiddo."

"Thanks..."

"Enzo," he filled in. "Sorry, the introductions last night were limited. Welcome to my home. You can come back anytime." He pointed at Elio with a spatula. "Now come on.

Elio laughed loudly before pulling her up and helping her walk down the stairs. "You don't have to tell me twice."

James wrapped an arm around her waist silently to help him, even though she could walk perfectly fine without any help at all. Annie looked at the two boys surrounding her before gazing at the family members she had gained in just one morning. And despite the fact that she wasn't wearing pants, she had on a shirt that wasn't hers, and she was healing from an injury that almost killed her, she felt nothing but blissful happiness.

Yay, I finally got an update out here haha. Sorry for the wait and idk when the next one will be because I start a new job on Thursday (eek).

Please do note, I am an adult (23) with a husband and dog (who is my whole world). I take care of our apartment and work full-time on top of the cooking while trying to fit in time for friends and family and get my reading done and have time to just breathe. Some days, I'm lucky if I have thirty minutes to sit in silence and when my depression hits on times like these past few days, it can be really hard for me to update. So I guess I'm just saying this as a way of letting you guys know that I really appreciate your patience because I really don't want to let you down 3

I hope this was worth the little wait :))