Chapter 26

It was blurry, his vision as he stumbled forward, his breath caught in his throat, completely ignorant to the boy standing above him, leaning over the sides with wide eyes, choking back a sob as he realised what he had done.

He was terrified of the outcome, terrified that the girl he was falling further and further for was hurt badly, that she hadn't made it. He tried not to think of it as he fell to the ground beside her, his hand on her cheek, his tears spilling onto her skin as his protests rung through the silent forest.

"Nora," he sobbed, running a hand through her hair, pressing his head to hears, "love, please," he croaked out, slapping her face, taking her hand, he was so scared.

But then, it happened, she wasn't dead, she wasn't completely lifeless, her chest was moving, slowly, but surely. James watched, eyes blinking, a specific relief engulfing his body as he watched, tranced by the sight of her chest moving, up and down peacefully, calmly.

She would survive.

"James I-"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, it changed his view, his perspective, his sadness was overruled by anger for more than a moment.

It happened so fast.

He grabbed Caden's arm, twisting it backwords and ignoring the yelp that let out of the boys mouth, his eyes narrowed, a scowl on his lips as he pushed the boy against a tree, his hand over his neck as he held him up, "I will kill you if you even look at her," he spat, ignoring the boys protests as he shoved him once again, rougher, this time, "you better get the fuck out of here before I do it now."

His voice was calm, oddly calm as his eyes darkened at the boy clawing the boys neck with his hand, he only stopped when he let out a sob, choking and coughing when James let him fall to the ground, and with one swift kick to the boy's torso, he growled, "I said leave!"

He watched Caden as he stumbled, crawling his way away from James and soon did he stand upright, taking a risky glance back at James before rushing away.

"J-James," the boy's eyes widened as he turned, seeing Nora's eyes flutter open, pain engulfing her body, a sob escaping her lips as her eyes stared at the stars through the trees, trying her best to ignore every ache that her body offered her, ever burn, ever scar.

"Oh, baby girl," James croaked, falling to his knees beside her, he stroked her cheek, wiping the tears that fell from her eyes, he knew she was in pain, it was inevitable, and because of it, he was in pain too, "I'm going to get you out of here, you won't be in pain, I promise."

"I'm alright," she whispered, wincing when she moved her head to stare at him, blinking away the tears, "I'm fine!"

James frowned as he leaned down, capturing her lips in his softly, this wouldn't have happened if he didn't walk out on her, if he didn't leave his dorm then she wouldn't have gone after him, they would've been celebrating the fact that she was cousins with his best friend.

Not worrying that she would die.

"You're not fine, love," James whispered, wincing when a yelp escaped her lips when he tried to lift her, "it's going to hurt, baby girl, but I won't let it hurt for long, I promise."

"He t-tried to do things, James," Nora whispered, her voice shaky, her stomach bubbling with disgust that she once felt, "h-he was kissing my neck, he was whispering awful things to me."

"Don't think about him, love," James muttered, trying his best to keep the anger from rising in him once again, his eyes had evidently darkened but as he found Nora's, they softened once again, "he'll pay for what he done, Nora, I promise you, I'll kill him."

"No, you won't," Nora croaked out, coughing ever so slightly as her eyes bore into his, "I will."

"That's my girl," James smiled softly, pressing his lips to her forehead, "now don't think of it, please, love, just hold onto me."

He closed his eyes as he slid his arms under her, trying to block out the gasp that left her lips from the pain searing through her body. He felt one of her arms clutch his neck, the other gripping onto his shirt, and soon did he stand up, ignoring the pain in his knees from falling beside her.

"Are you alright, love, how are you? are you hurting?" he asked, finally opening his eyes to guide them out of the forest. He frowned when she didn't answer him, worry bubbling in his chest when he looked down at her, seeing her eyes closed and her head on his chest.

And it terrified him for a moment.

But the sight of her chest rising and falling was enough for him to carry on.

"I need help!" he shrieked as he walked through the castle, gaining the attention of students that scattered the hallway. A few gasped, eyes wide as they turned to the sight of James and Nora unconscious in his arms.

"James!" a wide-eyed Adria exclaimed, rushing forward from where she stood with Alina and Lia, "w-what happened?!"

"S-she was pushed, Addy," James croaked, shifting his arms so that he could hold her much more securely, "Caden pushed her from the tree house."

"You're kidding," she gasped, her hand clasping over her mouth as she looked down at Nora, seeing the cuts littering her body, the bruises already forming, "oh merlin."

"I know," James nodded, meeting Adria's eye.

"Alright, everyone move!" Adria shrieked, pushing through the multiple students and allowing James space to get Nora to the hospital wing, "get out of the way!"

"Adri-" Lily stopped when she saw the sight of Nora lying lifeless in James' arms, her hand clasped over her mouth, "w-what happened?"

"Your boyfriend," James snapped harshly, shaking his head as he pushed past Adria who had stopped slightly to inform Lily, and soon was he alone again, rushing down the hall as quickly as he possibly could to get Nora to the hospital wing.

-

A groan escaped Nora's lips as her eyes fluttered open, engulfing her in the brightness of the hospital wing around her. She could still feel the pain in her body, still feel the aches and cuts, and the disgusting feeling of Caden's lips on her neck.

She wanted James, it was her first thought when she awoken, she wanted the boy but she wasn't sure where he was, and it wasn't as though she could go and get him, but thankfully, as though luck was on her side, when she turned her head, the boy that she wanted, the one that had saved her, was lying with his head on the mattress of the hospital bed whilst he sat in the chair.

She moved her hand, running it softly through his hair, feeling the real feeling of something she needed, of James, she needed to touch him, to know that he was there, and that he wouldn't leave her.

"Nora!" she lifted her head to see Adria, a soft laugh escaping Nora's lips when the girl held a large box with flowers sticking out of the top, and a wide grin on Adria's lips, she had to admit that it was a lovely sight to see her friend, "Aubrey sends her love, she said that if she didn't go to Potions then Slughorn would probably kill her, but she'll be here soon."

"That's good, what about you, aren't you in Aubrey's class?" asked Nora, coughing at how dry her throat was.

"I am, but the difference between Aubrey and I, is that most of the time, I show up," Adria giggled, sitting down the box on the small table beside Nora's bed, "I brought you a few things, I've already talked to Madam Pomfrey and she said that she's keeping you in here for at least a few more days, so I suppose I'm trying to make it bearable."

"A few more days?" Nora repeated, a sigh falling from her lips, "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Uh-huh," Adria scoffed, nodding her head, "well, anyway, the first thing is flowers, of course to brighten the place up!"

Nora smiled when Adria brought the flowers out, contained in a yellow vase, Adria placed them on the bed side table beside where Nora sat, "a jumper of James', because wearing Sirius' clothes is my favourite thing, and I'm almost certain I have seen you steal James clothes on more than one occasion."

"I may be guilty," Nora giggled, reaching for the jumper and allowing James' scent to fill her nostrils, "I was wearing one of his hoodies when I fell, I hope it's not ruined."

"I think that's the least of James' worries right now," Adria chuckled, nudging to the boy whose soft snores filled the air around them, "should we wake him?"

"No," Nora shook her head furiously, still running her hand through James' hair absentmindedly, "by the looks of it, he's been here all night."

"Oh, he has," Adria nodded, "he didn't come back to the boy's dormitory at all," she chucked softly, "okay, next, I brought you some fudge flies, and some chocolate frogs, and also some cauldron cakes, because who doesn't need sweets when you're stuck in a hospital room for a few days, I mean, really!"

"Exactly!" Nora laughed, "see, this is why I need you, Addy, you understand me!"

"Well we have a lot in common," Adria grinned, sitting down the box onto the ground that held more stuff for Nora to look in when she had the chance, "we both like sweets, we both like to read, and we both date Marauders, what else could we possibly have in common?!"

"Absoloutely nothing," Nora giggled, shaking her head, "does Lily know what happened?"

A frown erupted on Adria's lips, heaving her shoulders, she spoke, "she's defending Caden."

"She is?!"

"I think she's scared," Adria frowned, running a hand through her long curls, "of what might happen, I have a feeling that Caden is feeding her lies, and she still loves him, I suppose, even if he is a twat, I think now it's obvious what Caden is capable of, so if he's h-hurting Lily, then she's worried of what he'll do."

"Oh merlin," Nora frowned, a sigh tumbling from her lips, "I'm going to kill him, Adria, h-he was kissing my neck, and saying all this awful stuff, I wanted to throw up, I was so sure I was going to be sick, it was horrible."

Adria reached for her hand, wiping away the tears ready to fall from Nora's eyes, she whispered, "he won't get away with this, Nora, I've went to McGonagall, and Sprout, I told them everything, they're going to Dumbledore to tell him."

"You told them everything?" Nora repeated, "a-about my treehouse, too?"

Adria frowned, squeezing Nora's hand tighter, she nodded, "I'm so sorry, Nora, I had to."

Nora nodded quietly, worry bubbling in her stomach, sadness, anger, her tree house may be taken away from her, she won't have her sanctuary anymore, her place to go, but then again, that place would hold the memory of what Caden did to her, it'll hold the time that he hurt her.

A shaky sigh left Nora's lips, heaving a deep breath and ignoring the aches that her body held, "it's alright," she whispered, gnawing at her bottom lip, "I suppose my tree house isn't mine anymore, is it? it holds this memory of what Caden did to me, it holds the hatred I have for him, he has violated my privacy, he ignored my protests, and it happened at the tree house, it happened at the place I thought I was most safe at."

Adria thought for a moment, a small smile on her lips, she spoke, "maybe it's time for a new sanctuary, one Caden will never find."