"NO ONE DOES IT LIKE MAGGIE," was something that one of Margaret's old best friends, Leta Lestrange, used to say.

And she really was right.

Because, you see, no one knew how Margaret had managed to easily shut down all those horrid people every time they had been so cruel to Leta all those years ago.

And no one knew how she had managed to shut down the ball on that Easter night in 1977 and make everyone go home.

All they knew was that that was exactly what she had done.

And even the Dark Lord agreed to this - something that made no sense to everyone. Not even Margaret herself understood it, but Merlin was she grateful for it.

Because, after one of the worst nights of her life, Claudia at least didn't have to get the Dark Mark, and nor did Regulus.

The manor was now empty. Well, the Dark Lord was still in a room somewhere having a good old chat with Charles, and the rest of the family were around, Regulus as well.

Evan, however, had left, no punishments served.

Yet.

The clicking of the cane alerted the poor girl who had been staring at a relieved message from Remus, who was still unaware of what had happened and what Evan had done to her, this because Claudia had lied and written to him that everything was fine.

"How are you feeling?" Margaret asked quietly, gazing nervously at the girl who had her knees curled up to her chest with her hair wet and her eyes tired.

"Perfect," Claudia answered sarcastically, something that Margaret chose to ignore as she neared her and sat down on the armchair nearby Claudia's bed.

"You listen to me very carefully, now, young girl," said Margaret, attempting to keep a firm yet soft voice. "Throughout your life, men will try to get to you."

The girl gazed up at her grandmother, feeling no sense of interest whatsoever in listening to whatever the woman had to say, considering that she just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

Because what could she possibly say to make her feel better?

Claudia felt the urge to take a million showers or set herself on fire or even rip off her own skin just so that she could get his touch off of her.

But nothing could help. Not even the words of a concerned lady who had done nothing to make things better for the girl during all the years of agony she had been forced to live through.

"Men will try to get to you, and they will do things that will make you feel tainted every now and then," Margaret continued. "They will make you feel ignorant. They will make you feel dull, and unworthy. They will make you feel weak. But you are not any of those things."

Looking up at her grandmother's face, Claudia felt that she saw a small fire lit in her eyes. Was it fury or passion? She didn't know.

But there was a fire.

"You'll notice it every day for the rest of your life, the way they think that they can decide over you and do as they please. You will see it and you will feel it. And your friends will do the same. And you will all know it. There'll be moments when you'll feel completely inadequate and mistreated. Do you want to know why that is?"

"Why?"

"You're a woman," she replied simply. "And men are threatened by the thought of something so "embarrassing" as a woman succeeding more than them or showing more strength or taking the upper hand. That's why these boys will treat you nothing like you deserve to be treated. And, to get through it, you have to shut them out and walk with your head high. The world is an unfair place, but there's a strength in knowing that. That's why boys like him will never have that strength."

Claudia nodded slowly as Margaret took a fairly shaky breath.

"When that boy touched you today he tried to overpower you. He tried to take your dignity and your strength. He tried to call you weak and fragile. But I know that inside of you, Claudia, there's a strength to be reckoned with. And you are going to show him that."

"I-I can't do that," Claudia said quietly.

"You can, and you will," Margaret said sternly. "You must."

"Why?" The girl questioned. "He's the one who did this to me. Why do I have to step above? Why can't I just...be fragile and h-hurt?"

"You will be fragile, and you will be hurt," Margaret said with a look of understanding. "You are those things. It's good that you are. There's absolutely no weakness in fragility and emotionality. None whatsoever. You were treated with no respect, and being treated with no respect will make you feel poor. But you cannot show him that you feel that way."

"Why not?"

"Because boys like him are stupid," Margaret said plainly. "They want power. And they'll grow up to be power-mad men who'll continue to disrespect women. And this power that they want...they think they can have it as soon as any sign of fragility is shown. They think that they're superior as soon as they've got the upper hand for just a minute. But they aren't superior. You, my dear, is more of a fighter than he will ever be."

"I-I don't think so."

"You are. You will survive this. You're going to get through it. For now, I believe you should be hurt and fragile for a little while. But you have to remember that what he tried to take from you tonight, he failed to bring with him. Your strength is none to be compared to."

Despite the unsure look on the girl's face, Margaret knew that she would carry on. She knew that she would get through it. And that little smile she sent the girl spoke more than a thousand words.

"You're a Maple, after all," Margaret chuckled. "And you're a woman. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience. A Maple woman does not let a man bring power over her. If anything, dear, women like us bring power over them instead."

The girl stayed quiet for a moment, and then, in a small voice, she asked the one thing she wondered.

"How do I get through it?"

"Time," Margaret responded. "And patience. And love and friendship. Those are the things that will help you. But time is the only thing that'll truly help you get past it."

"But what if I can't get past it?"

"You can. I know you can. I have done it, just as most women have. You have to let yourself feel. Putting a bandaid on it and pretending like everything's fine won't help. You have to let time heal you."

Claudia nodded, "And what do I do now?"

"You sleep," Margaret said, standing up with the help of her cane. "For as long as you need."

Margaret walked away with those words, but before she was out of the room Claudia had to say the second thing that had been on her mind ever since the complete consciousness had been removed.

"I don't want to marry him," she said, her voice small and shaky.

Margaret stopped, but she didn't turn around.

"Please don't make me marry him," Claudia urged, feeling her throat close up on her. "Please."

But Margaret didn't say anything. All she did was leave, because making a decision like that was something she knew that she couldn't do.

Someone had to marry that girl and Evan Rosier was the only one who wanted to.

At least, that's what Margaret thought.

Due to receiving no answer to her begging, Claudia found herself letting go again as she curled up in a ball on her bed, squeezed herself tight and felt the tears pour like a waterfall.

It was the shaky and desperate type of crying, that she tried to muffle by covering her mouth.

But the sounds couldn't be drained out, for it was far too loud by now.

Everything was far too loud by now.

After a while, Claudia fell asleep. Her face dry and red from crying, and her body still curled up in a little ball as if she was a little child.

And, as she slept on and her body shook from being so cold, two boys entered the room.

Looking down at the girl, there was nothing by sorrow and remorse on Nicolas and Regulus' faces.

"I shouldn't have left her alone," Regulus whispered. "This is my fault, I should've-"

"Evan shouldn't have done what he did," Nicolas interrupted. "It's not your fault."

Regulus ignored that.

"I can't believe that he did this to her," Nicolas said out of disbelief.

"I can't believe they laughed when they found out," Regulus said. "You two have a very fucked up family, and that's coming from me."

"We do, don't we?" Nicolas said, holding back a chuckle as he looked down at her again, and noticed how she was shaking in her sleep as she quietly asked for Remus in her sleep. "She looks cold."

"Yeah," Regulus whispered back, having to tear his eyes from her as he spotted the trace of a lovebite on her neck, one that definitely wasn't made out of love.

"I'm gonna kill him."

And then, Regulus walked out without another word.

Nicolas looked after him with a surprised look, before picking up a blanket and draping it over his stepsister.

"I'll help."

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a/n: chapters will be FAAAR longer from now on cause this angel told me that i might not be able to make more than 200 parts of this story! <3