Forever h a u n t e d ((Risa))

[Chase Connors]

Tell her it wasn't her fault, Chase. It wasn't... right?"

For a few long moments the two of them did nothing but stare at each other across the small space between them. Chase new what Risa had been told even without having to ask, and it was clear from the look in her eyes that she was practically begging him to tell her the answer she wanted - that Emily wasn't responsible.

"Some people will say anything to hurt someone, Ris. That was just the best way they knew of to hurt her." He didn't believe that it was true. It was just spiteful assumptions by people who knew nothing about what they were talking about.

[Risa Connors]

Risa desperately wanted to hear Chase say that these cruel rumors weren't true. What happened wasn't Emily's fault - it couldn't be. No, it wouldn't be at all, that didn't make sense. Emily wasn't responsible for having muggle parents, that's just the way that she was - it wasn't her fault that there were so many people in this world who would hate her just for her parent being who they were. What happened wouldn't have been Emily's fault unless she had been the one standing their with her wand in his face and cursing him, which she hadn't done, so it wasn't her fault. But Risa still wanted that reassurance that Emily's name had nothing to do with it at all.

"Some people will say anything to hurt someone, Ris. That was just the best way they knew of to hurt her."

Risa nodded slowly, processing things over in her mind. There was no way that she was going to blame anything on Emily. The only people who needed to be blamed were the cruel people who did this, and the ones who cast the spell.

Pulling the remainder of the pastry out of her bag, she handed it to Chase. She didn't want it anywhere near her. The smell of it was making her stomach feel even worse. "Emily got it, but I'm not hungry." She turned quickly and almost ran off to find the bathroom, leaving Chase to make the next move regarding him and Emily, and really hoping he made the right choice and made things better between them.

[Chase Connors]

Chase was taken a little off guard when Risa suddenly handed him the pumpkin pastry, but he didn't have a chance to question it before she was off, disappearing down the hall to find the bathroom. He looked down at it, only a few small bites taken from one corner of it. His stomach growled, reminding him that he'd skipped breakfast, and had missed the trolley before in his search for Risa. But, he had other things to do right now, and eating wasn't one. He wanted - needed - to see Emily. He sealed the pastry back into its bag and slipped it into his pocket.

"Get out!"

Chase spun on the spot, recognizing that voice anywhere. Emily. Was she in trouble? His eyes caught on a group of Slytherins that were laughing and making their way down the corridor, thankfully in the opposite direction to where he was. He felt his hands clench into fists at his sides, wanting to much to pull out his wand and curse them or something, but refusing. He waited until they were out of his sight before he moved forward, hovering just outside the door where Emily was.

"I'm okay...it's okay..."

It was whispered, but he could hear her clearly, and it was obvious that she wasn't okay. Not even close. He peered around the doorway until he caught her in his line of sight, and he was sure that for one long moment his heart completely stopped beating, and he just stood there, looking at her. The first thing his mind noticed, for some reason, was that she was no longer covered in blood, though he didn't know what else he was supposed to be expecting. The next thing he noticed was how small and frail she looked, and it didn't take much guesswork to realize that she'd lost weight. What had happened that night clearly haunted her even now, and his heart ached, just wanting to pull her into his arms and hug her tight, and tell her that everything was okay.

Her eyes were closed and Chase could see her taking several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself after what had just happened with the Slytherins... whatever it was that they'd just done or said. He slipped silently into the compartment and slid the door shut behind him, it making a thunk loud enough for even her to hear. He didn't know what to say so for a few moments he said nothing, then without warning, he closed the short distance between them and reached for her, pulling her into his arms. He still needed to know that she was okay, and just seeing her wasn't enough.

[Emily Prescott]

"...just breath..." Emily whispered, instructing herself to do what should already be obvious. It had been her Dad who'd told her to do it, whenever she'd gotten upset this summer, scared, he'd tell her to just close her eyes and breath through it. So that's what she was doing, though she wished he was hear now holding her hand like he had been all Summer, maybe then this would be a lot easier to actually do. Taking a slow, deep breath she felt her frayed, tattered nerves steady, and her body relax as much as she could, which wasn't that much.

THUNK

Emily's eyes snapped open and her grip on her new wand tightened considerably as she readied herself again. Though it wasn't the Slytherin's, or even young Risa like she'd hoped, no it was someone she'd hoped she'd have a little more time to get ready for seeing. Chase. Her Chase. Stood in front of her looking as handsome as ever. Swallowing the lump in her throat as it tightened Emily felt her heart begin to beat erratically and her stomach to clench. The boy in front of her looked so unlike the one she'd met last year, on the surface he was the same but his eyes, they were older, somewhat haunted.

Emily willed herself to say something, anything but her mouth refused to comply and her brain refused to form anything coherent enough. Though Chase seemed more able than her, as he crossed the distance between them and wrapped her into his strong arms. Emily went willingly, though too shocked to react at first. Her eyes watered and for a moment she stopped breathing, scared that if she did anything, she'd realize this was just another dream. All summer, this is what had been missing. Chase. After that night she'd wanted to see him, if only to make sure he was alright, and here he was, same old Chase...at least physically. God knows what emotional damage that b***h Georgina had done.

Though she knew she shouldn't, she unconsciously leaned into the embrace, inhaling his scent softly, allowing it to calm her tired and broken body. "Chase..." his name came out softly, and with a start she remembered where they where, what had happened and her arms loosened around him and she pulled back, dropping her wand onto her bag as she quickly struggled to get her sleeve back down. Tugging it back into place she looked up at Chase nervously, a little self-conscious but feeling guilt more than anything else, "Are you okay?" she asked, feeling stupid for asking it, of course he wasn't, his Dad was dead, Georgina had hurt him, but it was all she could think to say, despite his letters and knowing he was alright, she'd struggled to believe it and needed him to tell her it was true, that he was alright.

[Chase Connors]

Chase didn't know how she was going to react to him being there, but in that moment he didn't half much control over his actions. It was an automatic response to move in close to her and wrap her in his arms, and he needed to know that she really was okay, and she really was here and whole and breathing.

Thankfully, Emily didn't push him away from her like he'd half been worried she would. She hadn't returned any of his letters over the summer and he didn't know what that meant for them. He knew that what Georgina had haunter her; her words, her accusations, her condemnings. But no matter what Georgina had said, or what anyone else had said that he may have heard before then, what had happened was not, in any way, Emily's fault, and none of them blamed her one bit.

"Chase..."

No sooner had she said his name that she was pulling back from him, and struggling with her sleeve of her cardigan, covering the words that marked her arm, though not before he'd had a chance to see them. Memories flashed before his eyes, remembering quite clearly how they had come to be there, the words said, and his own part in the action. He'd hated himself so much that night for not being stronger; for not being able to break that B*tch's control over him.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you?" He reached out slowly with one hand to cup her chin and get her to look up at him. "You've lost weight, babe." What had happened still haunted and affected her, that much was obvious.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily felt the knot in her stomach loosen somewhat, though not as much as she would have liked. Did he not hate her? After everything, what Georgina had done to him because of her, how could he still stomach being around her? Still, all she could worry about, even after refusing to answer his letters was if he was okay. Though how stupid was that, of course he wasn't okay, how could one be okay after everything they'd been through. "Are you?" he asked her, his hand reaching out to cup her chin, giving her no option but to look at him directly.

"You've lost weight babe."

Emily frowned slightly, looking down at her uniform and lightly tugging at the material, as if trying to adjust it somewhat to look better. "Yeah, stress and lack of sleep will do that..." she said, forcing a small smile before she sat down on the bench again, taking a small breath. Playing with the cuff of her sleeve after tucking away her wand she shifted slightly in her seat, taking a moment before she looked up at Chase, every inch of her body aching for her to just reach out to him and get lost in his embrace, erase the last few months but she couldn't.

"Chase I'm sorry...I wanted to write back to you but I didn't know how to talk to you, or even begin saying I'm sorry. Not just for your Dad but for what...what she did to you, what she made you do...it's my fault...I need you to know I'm so sorry. I love you and I never meant to have you hurt..." she said hurriedly, afraid that if she didn't say it she would never be able to. Chances are sorry wasn't enough, but sh had to try, she had to let him know. Wiping away the tears on her cheeks she shook her head and looked towards the window, "I don't expect your forgiveness but I need you to know...that this..." she indicated to her arm as she looked at him, "...it wasn't your fault, none of it...you weren't supposed to be there but hurting you was the best way to hurt me and she knew that...and I'm so sorry."

[Chase Connors]

"Yeah, stress and lack of sleep will do that..."

This was more than just stress and lack of sleep, he was sure. There was a whole lot more going on in her life right now that was causing this, not just what she was trying to make out it was. Why was she trying to pretend like everything was okay? She could talk to him, she had to know that.

Emily moved away from him again and sat down. Chase remained standing, not sure how to react to her and the was that she was acting. This wasn't how they were - this wasn't how they were supposed to be.

"Chase I'm sorry...I wanted to write back to you but I didn't know how to talk to you, or even begin saying I'm sorry. Not just for your Dad but for what...what she did to you, what she made you do...it's my fault...I need you to know I'm so sorry. I love you and I never meant to have you hurt..."

As soon as she started talking Chase blinked, unsure what she was on about. The letters, of course. He'd managed to worry himself into believing that she must still be hurt in the hospital, and that was why she hadn't replied, but the closer to term it got the more he had to wonder. Then she went on, mentioning his dad, and Chase's confusion grew. "Wha- that wasn't your-" Emily had already moved on, talking fast. "Baby..." Even when he spoke she just continued, speaking hurriedly as if she needed to get the words out. Eventually she stopped, tears on her cheeks and she looked to the window. "I'm not the one who got hurt, babe. I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about-"

"I don't expect your forgiveness but I need you to know...that this...it wasn't your fault, none of it...you weren't supposed to be there but hurting you was the best way to hurt me and she knew that...and I'm so sorry."

He glanced down at her arm, where he knew the word was engraved, his on hand having carved the last initial in it. The memory made his stomach churn uneasily but he pushed the feeling away, crouching down in front of Emily and reaching for her hands. "I have nothing to forgive you for, Emily. None of this was your fault. If anyone should be faulted it should be me - I feel for her illusion, I let her control me, I wasn't able to break her hold... You have done nothing."

He reached up a hand to softly wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I love you. Now and always, I told you that. Remember?" It had been the last thing that he'd said to her before she'd blacked out and the professors had arrived.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily shook her head when Chase went onto say he hadn't been hurt, he had, she'd seen it, seen what that b***h had done to him. As he crouched down in front of her she took a calming breath, not wanting to end up like a blubbering idiot in front of him. For once she wanted to talk to someone and not break down in tears, but it was easier said than done. Crying was all she seemed to do lately and she hated every second of it, it wasn't who she was, not by a long shot and she missed the girl she'd been before this attack, before the other attack before she'd realized and seen it for herself, just how much evil there was in this world.

"I have nothing to forgive you for, Emily. None of this was your fault. If anyone should be faulted it should be me - I feel for her illusion, I let her control me, I wasn't able to break her hold... You have done nothing."

Emily allowed Chase to take her hands and as he began to speak she frowned deeply. Shaking her head she waited for him to finish, "I fell for the illusion too Chase, I thought it was you I was following. Should have realized something was off, I mean the Forest...I should've known you wouldn't take me there, not after..." she cut off and sighed, "You were under the imperious curse Chase, not even some of the strongest Wizards out there can fight it off....I know how strong it is I've felt it and there wasn't a single second that night where I blamed you. If anything it broke my heart...seeing you like that...I wanted to kill her and if I'm honest that scares me..."

"I love you. Now and always, I told you that. Remember?"

Remember? Of course she remembered, sure she'd lost a lot of blood and her body in the process of shutting down but those words had come through clear. Nodding her head she blew out a small breath, "Of course I remember and I love you too...always...I love you so much it scares the hell out of me because..." she paused and shook her head, lifting a hand gently brush his hair from his forehead, letting her fingers then graze over his cheek, "...with me being a mud...I mean a muggle born, there's every chance another Georgina could come along, and I don't want you hurt because they want to hurt me...I'd rather die than let that happen...but then it's killing me to be away from you..." she admitted softly and it was true, she was conflicted. On the one hand before coming back she'd been determined to end it, to stay away from him for his own safety but now he was here, in front of her, she was finding it impossible to want to be apart from him any longer.

[Chase Connors]

"I fell for the illusion too Chase, I thought it was you I was following. Should have realized something was off, I mean the Forest...I should've known you wouldn't take me there, not after..."

Chase shook his head with a small laugh. "Exactly. I should have realized you would never want to go in there again." Yet, as soon as he's seen 'Emily' standing there at the edge of the forest, beckoning him over, he hadn't though twice about going over there to her. Looking back, it was probably the stupidest mistake he could have made.

"You were under the imperious curse Chase, not even some of the strongest Wizards out there can fight it off....I know how strong it is I've felt it and there wasn't a single second that night where I blamed you. If anything it broke my heart...seeing you like that...I wanted to kill her and if I'm honest that scares me..."

Chase snorted and looked away, finding that a little hard to believe. "You could sit there and watch me do that to you," His hand squeezed hers - the arm that held the marks. "And say that?" He shook his head. He'd wanted to kill Georgina too, that night, and considering she ended up with a dagger in her side and under the cruciatus curse, that 'want' had almost become a reality. He wished he had done it now, then they'd never have to worry about her again.

"Of course I remember and I love you too...always...I love you so much it scares the hell out of me because...with me being a mud...I mean a muggle born, there's every chance another Georgina could come along, and I don't want you hurt because they want to hurt me...I'd rather die than let that happen...but then it's killing me to be away from you..."

He leaned into her touch when she touched his hair and cheek, listening to the words that she spoke, yet feeling a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach at the same time. Sighing, Chase pushed to his feet, running both hands through his own hair for a moment before moving and sitting down on the seat beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder to tug her in close.

There was no denying that there were people in this world who were just as crazy and fucked up as Georgina, who would probably try and pull something very similar to what she had if they got a chance. They just had to hope that there were no more of them in Hogwarts right now, but that's what Death Eaters were for, wasn't it? There would never to a way to completely remove evil such as them from the world, but that didn't mean life had to completely stop for everyone else.

As stupid as it probably sounded, there was only one way that Chase could think about this whole thing: the attack was just one night, they'd had hundreds of nights where things had been perfect for them, and it was those nights that he wanted to remember. "You're not he only one who gets to decide where we stand right in this relationship. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm not letting you run out of my because of her, or anyone else. I won't let anyone destroy us."

[Emily Prescott]

Emily smiled softly though there was a hint of sadness to it as Chase leaned into her gentle touch. Letting her fingers graze his cheek again she shook her head as he squeezed her other hand, "It wasn't you, so don't you dare feel guilty...you saved my life, if you hadn't of done what you did, chances are I would have died...you saved me." she said softly her eyes watering as her thumb smoothed over his cheek, unable to stop touching him, it had been far too long apart and despite how much she knew she should, staying away would be impossible.

He was leaning into his touch, but all too soon he sighed and pulled away from her, pushing to his feet. Emily immediately missed him and could only watch as he ran his fingers through his hair. Was this then, was he finally listening to her? Did he accept that being with her could be dangerous? Chase though didn't appear to be leaving, instead he sat down right beside her and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer into his side. Instinctively she leaned into him, though she was still tense waiting for the inevitable blow, but it wasn't coming, in fact it was quite the opposite.

"You're not he only one who gets to decide where we stand right in this relationship. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm not letting you run out of my because of her, or anyone else. I won't let anyone destroy us."

Despite her best intentions Emily felt the tears she'd been holding back spill from her eyes and down her cheeks at his words. There was no denying there was a certain weight lifted from hearing him say that, though part of her still hated the thought of putting him in danger, the rest of her was just relieved he was still wanting to be here, with her. She doubted he was aware of just how deeply his words touched her, "I love you always..." what he said to her in the forest, in this carriage resounded over and over inside her head, and she found herself smiling.

Lifting her hand she placed it against his cheek, guiding his head to the side as she leaned up and pressed her lips to his ever so softly. Curling into his side, she lifted her legs up to tuck beneath her. "I love you Chase, always." she whispered as she pulled back, brushing away the tears on her cheeks. "I thought I was protecting you...but I don't want to lose you, I never did..." she told him, her thumb lightly grazing over his cheek, his bottom lip as she spoke.

[Chase Connors]

At his words, tears began to spill down Emily's cheeks, but she also started to smile. Reaching over with his free hand he ran a thumb lightly over her cheek, brushing away some of the tears that had fallen there.

He felt Emily's hand against his cheek, a gentle pressure that he allowed himself to move into it and he met her lips. It was just a brief kiss but it was a start. He'd missed her so much over the summer that it had been unreal, and he hadn't known how he was supposed to deal with seeing her and staying away. He hadn't wanted to.

Emily curled up on the seat next to him and he his one arm tightly around her shoulders.

"I love you Chase, always. I thought I was protecting you...but I don't want to lose you, I never did..."

Her hands were on his face again as she spoke. As her thumb moved lightly over his lip he leaned into her touch and pressed a kiss into her thumb, never taking his eyes off hers. Even after wiping her tears there were still some on her face, and he reached out to brush them off, too. "I don't need protecting, babe. I need you with me, that's all i need."

His hand cupped her cheek and pulled her face up to his again, kissing her, but not letting her go quite as easily as she'd got away before, instead holding her in place and deepening the kill. He pulled back only a fraction, hardly putting any space between their lips. "I love you." Then his lips were back on hers again, savoring her after so long appart.

[Risa Connors]

Risa had ran as fast as she could for the nearest bathroom, and luckily for her, it had been empty. She slipped in and locked the door quickly, hardly managing to do that much before she could feel herself retching and the need to be sick became almost all comsuming. He bag hit the floor and she lunged for the toilet.

After a few minutes she could feel pains pulling in her stomach and she finally felt satisfied, sitting back and running a had though her hair. This... again... As much as she hated it, there was a little voice in her head telling her that it wasa very, very good thing, and it was sometimes impossibly hard to argue.

After a while she pulled her bag towards her and pulled out her uniform. It had been a nightmare trying to get it. Her mum hadn't thought to take her to Diagon Alley after she'd recieved her letter, and Chase was no where to be seen at the time, so Risa had ended up calling on an old friend of the family and practically begging for help to get to Diagon Alley to get her stuff. She'd thought about flooing there herself but without money, what would be the point?

Madam Malkin's had been the worst. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing her and raising concern over her weight. She'd stubbornly refused to try robes on to be fitted properly and in the end had forced herself to cry, using the only way she could think of to guilt the woman into just letting her buy some premades.

The robes were a little too big for her, but Risa left her sweater on underneath to that at least filled it out a little. For a while she stood in the small bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Who was that girl? She could hardly even recognize herself any more.

She had no idea how long she stood there for, but a knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. "Anyone in there?" It was a girls voice that startled Risa, and she quickly looked around her. "Erm, just a minute!" She grabbed her back quickly, ran her fingers through her hair, and took one final glance in the mirror before flinging open the door. "Sorry." She kept her head down and slipped quickly past the older girl who stood there.

Slowing her steps, Risa tried to work out which carriage it was that she'd been in with Emily before. From the outside they all looked the same. She didn't want to start walking into the wrong one, did she, especially not if it ended up being full of Slytherins.

Eventually though, she was sure she'd found the right one, though it was remarkably quiet inside. Had Chase already left? That probably meant that things hadn't gone well for them...

She pulled open the door quietly and peeked in, expecting to see Emily sitting there. She was, but she wasn't alone. "Eww..." The two of the were attatched at the lip. Even though she'd said eww,inwardly she was smiling. Kissing was a good sign that things were better wasn't it? They wouldn't kiss if things were still bad between them. "Get a room." She flopped into the seat she'd been in earlier, and looked between them. Hopefully they weren't going to try and kick her out.

[Emily Prescott]

Chase gently brushed away the stray tears on her face and she sighed softly, leaning into his touch, her eyes never leaving his face, scared to in case this turned out to be some kind of dream. He didn't need protecting she knew that much, he'd proved it that night but still with how much she loved him, along with it came an intense all consuming desire to keep what was hers safe and that included Chase. No doubt the feeling was mutual, proven with how he'd protected her, saved her that nightmarish night. How could she ever begin to repay him.

His hand was again, on her cheek once more and he guided her closer to him again and Emily went willingly. All she wanted was to repair the distance between them, the distance she'd put between them under some insane delusion that she was doing him a kindness. All she'd really done is made herself ill, gave herself more reasons to feel lost, alone. Part of her, hated herself for allowing Georgina to have gotten so deep within her head, her torture hadn't just merely been physical, it had been emotional and the scars were deep. They were scars only time would heal, and there was always that possibility that they never would. It was night, sure, but it still haunted her, it made her feel the moments she was alone, asleep, made her dread nightfall and she feared how it would be once she was back at the school she'd once considered home.

"I love you too..." she whispered, her lips back on Chase's as he kissed her deeply, igniting within her the desire and warmth only he'd ever been able to inspire. Her hand rested against his chest as she inclined her body a little more towards him, doing what she could as well to just lose herself completely in the kiss instead of fearing everything. The more vain side of her feared what he would think seeing her body, she'd lost weight, not an extreme amount but it was there, it was visible and the scar, he'd seen it but the effect it had had on her self-confidence was extreme. Chase loved her she knew this, she felt it in the way he touched her, looked at her, kissed her, but could he still find her attractive, or would that scar constantly be there, between them, reminding them of that night. In time it would heal, but it would always be visible.

"Eww..."

Emily smiled softly and broke the kiss, though lingered for a second longer close to Chase, her body protesting at their parting. Sighing softly she glanced past him to see Risa had returned and smiled, finally putting the necessary distance between her and Chase, though remaining sat snugly into his side, not quite ready for too much distance. "Sorry sweetie..." she said, a faint blush on her cheeks as she glanced up at Chase. Biting down on her lip she turned back to Risa, "Everything okay?" she asked, a little curious as to why the young girl had bolted away from the cabin so quickly.

[Chase Connors]

"I love you too..."

Their lips had barely parted for a second before they were together again, and Chase didn't want to move away from her. It felt like it had been far too long since he'd seen her, held her, kissed her, that right now he didn't want the moment to end or to let her go. He'd been worried all summer about her especially feeling so on the outside, no information about what was going on at all. Over the last couple of months it felt like his word had been completely picked up, shaken about, and tipped upside down. He couldn't lose her too.

"Eww... Get a room."

Chase jumped, not expecting to hear that familiar voice. Both him and Emily turned to look as Risa came into the carriage, sitting across from them. Emily moved away from him, but he kept an arm around her, not letting her escape far from him.

"Well technically..." He hadn't spoken to his sister much all summer and he was starting to regret that fact, and hoped he could make up for it once they got to school.

"Sorry sweetie... Everything okay?"

Chase raised an eyebrow, looking between the two. Okay? What had gone on?

[Risa Connors]

"Sorry sweetie... Everything okay?"

Risa saw the look that Chase gave her and she forced a smile on her face. The last thing she needed was Chase to start getting suspicious and asking questions. She loved her brother, but she wasn't ready for him to find out about what was going on. Sure he'd try and help her, but she just wasn't ready to admit that she'd failed.

"Fine. Everything is fine." Risa busied herself with storing her bag away somewhere out of the way, anything so that she didn't have to look at Emily. If Emily worked out something was going on then Chase would never let it go.

"How long does it take to get to Hogwarts?" Ages, she knew, but she wanted to change the subject.