3 | ﴾ For Old Time's Sake ﴿

                                    

                                          
It was midday before anyone stirred within the cottage. Twelve wizards and witches were crammed into the tiny ground floor room, draped awkwardly across broken down furniture. I was the only unlucky one to have had to sleep directly on the floor, although at a minimum I'd been the closest to the fire all night. Ron had stepped on me repeatedly while refilling it, hardly muttering any apologies.
                          
Ginny was kicking my shoulder to pull me away from my dreams, "Get up. You're going into the field with Neville to evaluate your skills away from the safehouse. It's going to be a long walk, so put these on." She dropped a pair of boots by my head, causing me to jump. She also dropped an extremely outdated army uniform from the second muggle world war which had obviously come from the sea fort. The stiff clothes were an awful shade between military green and sludge brown. The clothing would be very large and unsightly on my tiny frame, but I was grateful to have anything to change into besides the white gown, which was arguably not even white at all anymore. 
                          
After I'd changed, Neville sent me a nod to follow him outside and passed me an apple for the walk. The day was damp and foggy with the promise of spring coming. The sounds of birds chirping flittered around the landscape and smells of sweet rot and awakening plants hung heavy in the air. Neville walked briskly on the dirt lane and I struggled to maintain my pace beside him in the boots which were too big on my feet. 
                          
"So you really don't remember anything about your life at Hogwarts?" He asked suspiciously, and I met his brown eyes with contempt.
                          
"Obviously not," I said in a clipped tone, "You idiots obliviated me, remember?"
                          
"Harry said it was for your own good," he argued with me, looking defensive. The sound of our shoes sliding against pebbles and dust scraped between us.
                          
I studied Neville's figure as he marched, his arms swinging with intent. He was still in the lousy Christmas sweater from the day before and his face was covered in dirt. 
                          
"Harry Potter?" I asked in awe, suddenly stopping on the lane. Neville turned abruptly to watch me falter, "Harry Potter? Is dat who's leading dis group?"
                          
Neville nodded looking sad and contemplative, "He's somewhere in London right now, trying to track Lucius Malfoy down. That's Malfoy's father, probably quite a bit worse than Draco. I haven't seen much of him, but I've heard he's nothing short of pure evil." 
                          
I swallowed, shocked that I knew Harry Potter in person. He'd even saved me from my kidnapping. Slowly we began walking again as I planned my next question. The sun was no where to be seen, shrouded by a thick haze above our heads. The clouds looked angry and heavy, and any moment it was sure to rain. 
                          
"So...Malfoy and I are married?" I prodded in a faint voice. Neville looked instantly ill at the topic.
                          
"I suppose so..." he said wearily, "All I know is what Harry told me. Something about you being forced into it all because of a bequeathment mark on your neck. Apparently he-he..." I watched Neville choke on his words with searing embarrassment. 
                          
"He what? What's a bequeathment mark?" I begged.
                          
Neville looked pale, "Well as far I know, you got it from taking his, uh, virginity. You were bound by an unbreakable vow to marry him or you would die. Harry said he must've raped you for it and that you were too afraid to ask for help."
                          
My heart was pounding with every word that he said. I was shocked. Had my parents known? Were they at my wedding? How could this all be allowed to occur so casually at a school like Hogwarts?
                          
For the first time since I'd met him Neville shot me a sympathetic look, "He almost got away with it all too, but a few of us chased his car down before he could take you out of the country. He thought he could avoid being traced by not using magic to move you. He didn't know you'd survived the accident until yesterday."