This chapter contains mentions of death, along with blood and emotional trauma. Please read with caution.

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''I need to hurt you.''

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''Will you be back soon?'' Theodore muttered, not pleased with the fact that Amelie was going back to the cabin, alone with her mother, ''I don't like this, and if Malfoy comes back before you — he'll kill me.''

Amelie frowned, still with a glint in her eyes, ''What is it with you and your obsession with Draco hurting you, Teddy?'' Chuckling slightly below her breath, she peered around in the room they were standing in, ''Do you like it? Your room, I mean?''

''I do—'' He hushed, looking around as he stood, leaning against the massive windows, ''If I actually will be able to live here after Malfoy rips my head off.''

''Teddy, it's enough,'' Her voice shifting quite seriously. The constant mention of Draco wounded within.

She failed to let go of their argument earlier, and the acts shared between them still soared through her, ''He won't hurt you. He left himself, so he can't be mad about this.''

Theo watched as her shoulders sunk, her persona twisted frustratingly. Taking slow steps up to her, his arms wrapped around her small frame, and Amelie smiled because of it — he always seemed to know when she was in need of comfort.

''Did you have a fight?'' He mumbled as she nodded against his chest, and he held her just a little tighter, ''It will be alright. If he left, he had a good reason for doing so — just like you. You guys really need to trust each other.''

''I do trust him,'' Amelie huffed out, her voice held thinly, ''I'm just scared that he'll get hurt. He's not careful enough, Teddy. He's always out there, putting himself in harm's way, and it scares me.''

Resting his chin on the top of her head, Theodore muttered, ''I know you're scared and that you think that he's putting himself in harm's way, but Malfoy has proven that he can take care of himself, hasn't he?''

Hesitantly, she agreed, bowing her head as her cheek brushed along his shirt, ''He has, but I'm still scared. I'm so scared that he won't make it back to me.''

''He will always make it back to you,'' Theodore spoke with honesty, ''He'll always make his way back to you, Amelie. You just have to believe it.''

She knew him to be right.

Amelie understood that he would never do anything to risk not being with her. He was reckless, thoughtless at times, but when it came to being with her — making sure that she was protected and safe, he'd never do a thing to toy with that.

''I know he will...'' Her arms sheeted his waist, ''I just didn't like the way we left things. Sometimes — I just think we're so consumed in everything that's happening, so we forget that we're young too. I mean, we had a conversation the other day, after you made that joke about him and another girl,''

Theo's eyes pinched shut. He still felt ashamed for that comment.

''And it was the first time in so long we had a normal conversation like normal couples do. Just me asking him if he was with anyone while I was away felt so strange even if it's such a typical thing to ask and when I took him here last night—''

She drew a breath, still resting the side of her face against his chest, ''When I showed him around, and he played the piano for me — it was just so... normal. Like any other couple when they get a house together or just the fact that I bought a house, we don't do those things, Teddy. We have never been the people to do those normal things, and it felt good, being someone that buys a house and has a boyfriend that plays the piano.''

He stayed quiet, enjoying listening to her as she rambled. She didn't do that too often anymore.

''And not just talk about missing mothers and brothers we never knew about, or me being held captive in a room or Draco seeking vengeance or you disappearing in the middle of the night. It was just us, being young and normal, and it felt good, Teddy. Sometimes, I wonder who I'd be if I weren't born into this life... but then I hate myself for thinking that because I am happy. With you, Draco, Narcissa, and Atlas — I am happy between all the misery.''

It caused warmth to flood through him as she spoke, her actually knowing and understanding the world she was living in now — not her existing in pure denial as she'd done for most of her life. Amelie wasn't in denial anymore. She wasn't angry as she'd been months ago either.

''Thank you,'' She tilted her head back, staring up at her best friend, ''Thank you for making me happy, Teddy.''

Pushing his lips into her forehead and cupping her cheeks, he whispered, ''I will always try to make you happy. Thank you for making it all worth it.''

''Amelie!''

Both of them winced as her mother called her name from downstairs, and she drew back from the hold her friend had of her.

Tucking a curl behind her ear, she forced a fraud smile, attempting to be okay with all of it, ''I'll see you in a bit—'' She began to back away, ''And if Draco comes back before me, just tell him that I left without you knowing. He can be... Draco sometimes, but he means well, you know that.''

''I know he means well, but he has a hell of a way of showing it,'' He fired back with a quirked brow, nearly mocking her from a distance as she lingered in the doorway.

''You're funny,'' Amelie held a dry look, taunting him right back, ''You're a funny guy, Teddy. Too bad I failed to notice it before.''

''Oh yeah?'' Theo scowled, playfully as he reached for a pillow on his bed, and he threw it, ''We'll see how much fun I'll be when Malfoy is ripping me apart for letting you leave with your mother—''

''Goodbye, Theodore,'' Amelie scoffed, throwing the pillow over his head. She shot him a grin, ''If you're not nicer to me, I might just have to get myself in trouble, and then you can worry about Draco.''

Theodore's face fell into a pale cloak, his skin drained of color as he had a difficult time realizing if she was serious or not, but the severe dash in her eyes faded into a soft one as she let a smile coat her lips.

He felt like he could breathe again.

''Be careful,'' Theodore smirked at her, cocking his head as he watched her slip out of the doorway, yet a doubtful waver scored through him, and he couldn't help but feel as if something bad was going to happen.

_____

Amelie and Athena landed outside the cabin. The summer breeze felt heavy around them as they walked inside. Looking around, Amelie smiled to herself, taking in every last memory of this place while she still could.

She'd spent her childhood in this cabin. Her mother and Theodore's father took them here every summer, and sometimes at fall when they needed to get away, seize a slight break from reality.

It carried so many of her happy memories — not that she owned many of them, but this spot, hidden out in the woods, indeed kept her heart.

Every time she and Teddy rushed through the woods in the morning, running their way, competing with each other all the way down to the beach for just a little glimpse of the sunset. They always did that, and after a while, they snuck into the abandoned house and played around for hours until her mother got worried and she came looking for them.

Or the time when she was forced out of the Malfoy Manor — she and Teddy sat down on the sand, and it was the first time she realized that she missed Draco. That he made such an impact on her, even in that fragile state of mind she was a prisoner in — he meant so much to her.

Even when she took Draco down to the beach the first time clocked her mind in a fusion with the night they had a couple of days prior when they went swimming in the moonlight.

Amelie missed it. She missed all of it as she stared out through the kitchen window, watching the tiny path leading into the forest and down to the mountain, where she once stood, on the far edge of it, and as the sun rose across the tips of the treetops — she grasped that she won over Adrian's abuse.

The massive tree standing in the middle of the yard caught her attention, and she couldn't help but smile even broader. She remembered the cold evening as if it was yesterday — when she was outside, reading, and Malfoy came back for her after being apart for a month.

Shaking her head, she strolled into the living room, her eyes trapped the couch, and her heart overwhelmed in warmth. The morning after Draco found them struck her, how he fell asleep on her lap from the exhaustion of looking for her.

All the times she, Teddy, and Draco had been playing cards after dinner or her reading while Teddy taught Draco how to heal wounds.

There were too many memories in this tiny house for her to just let it all go. Too much had happened around that concealed property for her to leave it without coming back — at least, that's what she thought.

''Do you have something you'd like to bring with you back to the house?'' Athena's voice came unexpectedly from behind, and Amelie flinched back, ''Oh no, I'm sorry— I didn't mean to scare you.''

''No, no—'' Amelie let a faint smile smear to her lips, ''I'm just easily spooked, but yes. I have a box underneath one of the beds I'd like to bring.''

Her notes. All the small notes she'd been writing while being away from the diary Narcissa once granted her.

''Of course, I'll just pack this box up,'' Athena smiled widely as she gazed around, letting her eye catch everything she knew she'd miss, ''It's a beautiful house.''

''It is...'' Amelie's voice came out low, ''But we have to hurry. Draco won't be too happy if I'm not home when he gets back.''

''He's very protective over you, isn't he?'' Athena asked, bending down over the box as she placed Atlas's toys inside of it, ''Not in a bad way, of course, but he's very cautious with everything surrounding you.''

Amelie nodded, leisurely, ''He is,'' She said, ''I know it can come off as a lot when it comes to him, but he's been through more than any of us, and he has a past with losing me, so I don't blame him for keeping an extra eye on me.''

''I'm very thankful that he does that. That he's keeping you safe,'' Her mother bowed her head towards the bedroom, ''But off you go, before he indeed gets back to the house before us.''

Amelie rolled her eyes, amusingly away from her mother as she slipped into the bedroom, seating herself on the floor, and she reached below the bed, grasping at the little red box underneath the mattress.

Opening it right away, she began to flip through her notes, and it felt peaceful around her. Just understanding how her life had eased and how much more she knew now, in comparison to then.

''Are you ready, Amelie? I think we need to get back—''

A loud crash scored through the cabin as the ground shook underneath her. Amelie flew up on two feet. Her eyes grew wide at the soil as it quaked.

''Mother, what was—''

Another collision struck as the glass coating the windows began to shatter. Her veins iced at the way magic was being thrown outside.

It was the exact thing that had happened in both Dublin and Edinburgh — Death Eater's found them, and it hit her as she squinted at the fog, rising darkly around the house, what all of this must have been about.

How Narcissa was attacked — there wasn't a way that the Death Eaters would raid one of their own, especially not Lucius's wife, unless they needed Draco to lash out.

They wanted him away from Amelie. They craved Draco to leave her so they could capture her mother and Atlas, and there wasn't an easier way for that to happen — than for them to assault Narcissa, in the believes that they were looking for Amelie.

It didn't make sense to her until now. How well planned it was of the Dark Lord to play it this way. To fool Draco into leaving her so Voldemort could have full access to finding them. She felt her throat as it caved in on her at the thought, how the boy she loved might be in danger because of it.

Amelie had no idea if the Dark Lord was aware of Draco knowing about their castle, but she didn't believe that he did. If he for one second thought that Malfoy had entry to his shelter, he'd make sure that Draco never stepped a foot inside it again.

Thunder began to strike outside as the Death Eaters hauled spells at the facade of the cabin, shots of it ripping through the walls and porcelain in the cabinets, along with portraits hanging on the walls.

''Mom!'' Amelie yelled, diving down to the floor every two seconds to avoid the thrown magic, ''Mother!''

''Here,'' Athena pulled her wand out, reaching down as she snatched Amelie's wrist in a sudden move, ''We need to apparate away from here, right now—''

''We can't!'' Amelie knew it wasn't possible to apparate until the Death Eaters had fled the scene. It was like all the times before this one, they barricaded the magic of leaving, ''We can't. They are blocking the magic—''

''How—'' Her mother frowned as she watched her daughter level her wand out on the air, and she whispered tiny spells in the midst of the chaos.

Amelie stood solid on her shaking legs as she performed magic that would harbor them, giving them a chance to find a way out of there.

''Amelie, that's not going to stop them,'' Athena sounded defeated, her eyes flickering as she ever so arched her upper body to shun the shots of magic, ''They're too many, look—''

Spinning around, looking out the diminished glass of the living room window, strands of Amelie's hair dwelled on her face. Fear rose through her body, sensing her veins as they iced in panic.

At least a dozen men stood across the yard. Masks firmly glued to their heads as another dozen swirled in the wind around the cabin, attacking them with the cruelest of magic.

Her heartbeat swelled in her ears, and her head tipped forward to watch the ground. Sealing her lashes for a second, Amelie sought to think. She felt the scenarios as they splayed her mind.

There wasn't a way out.

Not with the men standing on the ground. They had nowhere to run — certainly, she thought. They could make a run try to escape through the forest, but then it would've been in vain because they couldn't apparate.

''Amelie—'' Her mother shouted, a heartbreaking scream as a gigantic explosion hit the cabin and the girl, standing next to a wall, flew across the room, ''No, no, no—''

Athena dropped to the floor, crawling her way over the messy pieces of timber, ''Amelie—''

She was hit badly.

Amelie felt her head as it spun and her ears as they pounded. Her chest heaved out of control at the pieces of glass, tearing through her skin, ''Mom—''

Athena sensed tears rolling down her cheeks at the sight of her daughter, wounded and hurt on the floor. She couldn't let this go on any longer. She couldn't allow her daughter to be put at risk for her.

''Amelie...'' Her mother whispered, her hands wavering above the girl's frail body and with a curl of her fingers — the glass faded into Amelie's skin, and it poured off her like liquid. She tried to ease the pain.

It didn't hurt as much anymore.

She laid, with blood stained all over her skin as she carefully began to pull herself up — but Athena was rapid to push her hands into her daughter's chest, making her lay down safely on the ground.

Feeling how weak she was, Amelie whispered, so lowly through the explosions outside, ''Go—'' She choked. Her bones crushing inside her from being thrown into the fireplace, ''Please, mom—just go, make sure—''

''I'm not going anywhere,'' Athena stated, harshly and she couldn't believe that Amelie was speaking in the way she was, ''I would never leave you behind.''

''Go back to—'' Amelie heaved violently as the devilish magic drowned her from within. She was being ripped apart, inside out, but even if she was — all she could muster was for her loved ones to be safe, ''You need to go back to them, to Draco and Teddy—''

Athena shook her head, tears spilling from her eyelids, ''I could never leave you like this.''

''I'll go outside, cause a distraction, and you can run—'' Amelie's tone held so faintly. She could hardly talk, ''Hide them, mother — please—"

"I think I'm dying, mom — It feels like I'm dying, and you need to save them. I'm dying, and I can't—''

She was stuttering, blood slipping the corner of her mouth as she was coughing the words out, her lower lip quivered, and it got Athena thinking.

She needed to end this.

''Wait here,'' Her mother mumbled bluntly as Amelie's wide, frightened eyes followed her mother's doings, watching as she crawled into the kitchen, hearing how she looked for something before she came back, whispering spells as she went.

''I need to get you into the bedroom so that I can seal the entire room,'' Athena gripped her daughter by the shoulder, and she helped her shove herself into the room, ''There you go...''

Giving her mother a pained stare, she felt hot, burning tears fleeing her eyes. Amelie was crying.

''I will do something to you now, Amelie. I will do something that will hurt you a lot, but it's the only way. They need to think—'' She gasped at the roof as it caved in, flames alighted around them, ''I need to hurt you.''

Tears rushed down Amelie's cheeks, with no mercy as her entire body shook uncontrollably, ''Please—'' She couldn't hurt anymore. Everything hurt her so much all the time. She didn't want to hurt anymore, ''Please, just go—''

''I'm so sorry for this, Amelie. I'm so so sorry...'' Her mother pulled out a knife from behind her back, and she watched how her daughter's face fell into an aching grimace.

Amelie understood what this meant.

''But they need you more than I do—'' Athena nearly sobbed, feeling as her hand shook around the handle, ''You'll be okay, dear. You'll be okay because Theodore will heal you. The second they take me away from here, you'll apparate—''

Panic laced her voice, '' You need to be strong for this, Amelie. You need to be strong, and then you'll make it. You need to be with Draco and Atlas—'' She slowly traced the knife up to her daughter's stomach, ''They need you, so so much, Amelie. I can die, and it won't make a difference, but you — you need to live.''

''Please—'' Amelie whimpered, her hands lengthening to grip Athena's hand, to grant her mother some comfort in what they both accepted to be done, ''Please, don't—''

''I'm so sorry,'' Athena felt how Amelie's body vibrated underneath her, ''It will only hurt for a little while, Amelie. A little, little while, and then you'll feel better, I promise.''

The girl arched her neck slightly, using all the strength she still carried inside, ''I'm not—'' Taking a deep breath, she trembled, ''I'm not scared of the pain. I don't want you to go—''

Her mother shut it out. She couldn't listen to those words because it would cause her to change her mind, and she couldn't do that. She couldn't let Amelie suffer anymore.

''I'm sorry—''

Amelie cried out the second her mother pushed the knife into her stomach. Her insides were stinging in torment, and her body jerked and writhed.

''I'm sorry—'' Athena could barely see what she was doing, and the muffled sounds of her daughter screaming in pain caused her to turn absolutely numb, ''But they need to think that you're dead. If they come in here, they need to believe that you're dead, Amelie or they will kill you.''

It was the only way. If the Death Eaters managed to pass through the spell she'd sealed the room with, they needed to see Amelie lying almost lifeless on the ground. They needed to think that they'd killed her.

Otherwise — they would never let her go. They would capture Amelie, just like they were about to do with Athena, and it all would've been in vain.

Atlas needed his sister, and Draco would most likely slaughter the whole existence of the wizarding world if Amelie were taken from him again.

Athena did what she believed was right to do — to save all of them from misery.

Thunder echoed around them, spells being thrown as the cabin stood in flames, fire spreading quickly, and Athena knew she was running out of time.

Pulling the knife out of her daughter earned a gasp of relief from Amelie, her lungs burning and blood welled out of the wound, ''Please—'' She begged, quietly through the tears streaming down her cheeks, ''Mother—''

Athena nodded, placing Amelie's wand in her fist, knowing that her daughter would be able to apparate back to the house once the Death Eaters had taken her away.

''It's going to be alright, Amelie. I promise,'' Her mother stroke the spine of her hand along Amelie's cheek, ''Do you remember what I told you about time? That you'll know when it's time to stop fighting and give in? Before I left you all those years ago?''

A weak nod tipped off Amelie's head as she laid, bleeding on the wooden floor, and her mother smiled faintly, ''This is my time. It's time for me to give it all up for you and Atlas. He'll be safe with you, and you'll be safe with him.''

Amelie whimpered, her hand grasping at the tear in her skin, ''Don't do this, please...'' Her voice crackled, ''We can make it out of this, both of us—''

Coughing up blood, Amelie tilted her head back, closing her eyes and breathing through the pain.

''He will never stop, Amelie. The Dark Lord will never stop searching for me, and if I let him catch me — I can keep you safe. I need both you and Atlas to be safe. If he gets his hands on your brother, it's all over. He wins, but if I can stall that — if we can put this off, just for a little while to figure out a way to beat him, I will do everything for that to happen.''

It felt like Amelie couldn't breathe. The ringing sound in her ears tore through her forcefully, her throat tightened.

Athena could see just how much pain her daughter was in, tears fleeing her waterline. She knew it was time — time indeed for her to sacrifice herself for her children's well-being.

The house was on the tipping point of falling into ruins. The Death Eaters, flying around the cabin, never ceased with cursing the property. The glass shattered, walls were blown apart.

''I'm sorry—'' Athena said quietly as she pushed her lips into Amelie's forehead, kissing her daughter goodbye, ''We will see each other again. I promise, love. I promise that I will make this right, all of it. Take care of Atlas for me...''

Amelie wanted to shout. She craved to scream and stop her mother. To ask her to stay, to stop her from what she was about to do.

Standing tall on her feet again, Athena reached for the tiny vial on the floor, and she traced her wand up to her head, whispering inaudible spells underneath her breath.

Strings of silver light flooded in the air, stretching from her skull all the way to her wand as it lingered across the tip of it, and she dropped the light into the small flask, closing it with the stopper. Keeping her memories secured inside.

Athena kneeled, placing the vial in Amelie's hand as she huffed out, ''Be safe, Amelie. All of you, be safe, and we'll see each other when it's safe,'' She didn't want to let them go, but there wasn't another way this could end, ''You'll apparate back to the house, and Theodore will heal you and then — then you have to hide, Amelie. You have to hide.''

Amelie tried to speak, but the taste of blood in her mouth caused her to falter. Her eyes pleaded her mother's, and she was begging her in silence not to do this. Not to leave them again, not to abandon her as she'd done seven years ago.

But Athena knew that this wasn't the same girl she'd left behind nearly a decade ago. This was someone else. This was Amelie. The girl who'd overcome everything in her life. The girl who was beaten, tortured, and torn to pieces, only to live to be the strongest one of them all.

If anyone could do this, it was her.

Amelie sought so desperately to move, but the tear in her stomach stopped her from doing so. She couldn't lift a finger if she so tried, and that drained her — being stuck on the floor, in a pool of her own blood as the world around her crumbled.

She drew a breath, as deeply as she could, ''Mom—'' Was all she said. Her tone was barely audible, and her body shook uncontrollably.

Her mother saw Amelie's skin as it shifted ashenly. Her lips were parched and blue as her pupils looked like they'd blown. She was dying, the shade of her blood darkened, nearly a fatal color.

Not wasting another second, Athena straightened her spine, and she sealed her eyes, ''I love you, Amelie.'' She whispered, and then — then her mother walked out. Handing herself over to the Death Eaters.

Amelie heard as she laid crying, in her own blood on the floor — how they captured her mother, how they screamed and yelled and cursed her with unforgivable spells, how her mother shouted in pure torture of what they did to her until it turned absolutely quiet.

Only the sparks of fire around her blared, the cracking of the walls of the cabin as it was seconds away from caving in on top of her.

The tips of her fingers shaking and just for a moment — a mere second, Amelie thought of her dying. What would've happened if she simply stopped breathing? What would happen if Amelie gave up? If she refused to fight anymore?

She was so tired, so exhausted of all of it, and this — her resting with her stomach ripped apart, could've been an out for her.

The scent of honey trapped her.

To think her lying on the doorstep of death — she'd be feeling the scent of her Teddy.

This could be it, she believed. She could finally rest now, but as she thought of that. As she dreamt of reaching the light as it so alluringly trickled in front of her hooded, heavy eyes — the aftermath of it struck her.

How Theodore would never smile again, how no one would ever make sure that he was okay.

How Narcissa wouldn't find any joy out in the garden anymore, how she'd be alone and empty out in the shallow world they were living in.

How Atlas would be at risk and alone — she promised him a slide to his room and how he'd never get it.

But what made her fight wasn't the thought of them.

She knew that Theodore would learn how to live without her. That he'd turn all of his sorrow into strength and that he would become even more remarkable because of it.

She knew that Narcissa would find happiness in the shattered sphere. That she would live with the loss of Amelie and make the world an even brighter place.

She knew that Atlas would have them, that he'd be guarded and shielded with the unconditional love they all carried for him. That Theodore would build him a slide and play with him in the sun.

Amelie knew that they would be okay in the mourning of her.

The thing that made her fight — the thought that caused her lungs to crowd with the thick, smoke-filled air and her eyes to battle the weight of death as it so urgently craved to welcome her, was Draco.

Her Draco.

The way he'd never forgive himself, and the truth of him, most likely fading from this world as she did. The reality of him, never living to see another day all because she wouldn't be able to — caused her to fight.

He'd die without her. He would leave too, and she couldn't have it. Amelie couldn't let him go with her.

Draco had been fighting for so long, and he had earned that happy ending he never believed he deserved.

Amelie refused to give up even if every cell in her body told her to do so. Even if her drawn mind starved for peace and her figure thirsted for the calm afterlife — she couldn't leave them.

She understood that the magic she was about to cast would tear her apart even more, but she couldn't wait any longer. She'd bleed to death if she did.

Amelie had to take that. She had to swallow the aching pain as it blasted through her, and with her wand hugged in her blood-stained fist, she whispered the words to take her back to safety.

Landing on her feet as the wind scored so heavily around her, she stumbled forward across the gravel-covered ground.

Amelie tried to scream, she tried to plead for help and mercy, but not a word fled her dry throat. Her head was dizzy, her mind clouded by the pain of the wounds she carried as she felt how she was tripping. Her steps were so slow.

Her eyes flickered across the yard, up to the house, and it felt like a dream to her. Seeing the blond boy standing in the illumination of faint sunlight.

He was back.

He wasn't hurt.

It made her feel as if she could let go — as if she was allowed to close her eyes and rest just for a little while.

Watching as she saw his lips move, shouting her name at the tops of her lungs, but she didn't hear it.

Amelie couldn't hear a thing.

The world around her faded, slowly, peacefully as she felt his arms wrapping around her, and it all turned utterly dark.

_____