...
"Happy New Year Charlie." Tonks spoke directly into his ear so she could be heard over all the celebratory noise surrounding them.
A second later he was pulled into another set of arms, these were the stronger arms of his older brother Bill.
"Happy New Year mate" Bill's deep voice spoke into his other ear "let's go grab a drink."
Bill marched Charlie away from the dance floor with Tonks flanking Charlie's other side. He looked around to see where the girl he loved had gone and spotted her under the glittering mirrorball on the dancefloor.
She was wrapped up in the arms of a Ravenclaw who was kissing her passionately and gripping her hips possessively. Charlie wondered why it wasn't him. Why he wasn't good enough for her to love. Why it wasn't him kissing her on New Years Eve, he would never hold her that harshly. He would give her the world if she'd let him.
Bill pulled him back around as they reached the edge of the marquee and Charlie broke down in his brother's arms. Worried and saddened for his brother, the eldest Weasley son carried him to bed while Tonks grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey and brought it up to Charlie and Bill's room for them to share. Knowing that the boys would need space to talk she bid them goodbye and returned to the party to run interference for the next hour.
By one o'clock most of the guests had started to leave, as many of them either had children waiting at home or already asleep on the sofas littering the edges of the marquee. Tonks trudged upstairs to bed in Ginny's room us usual with a yawn but as she passed the landing window the metamorphmagus saw Ashlynn walking towards the burrow's Orchard with her boyfriend Eric. Tonks tried to wait up for her best friend to come up to bed so they could talk about the evening's events but she was so emotionally exhausted that she fell asleep before Ashlynn even returned to the house. She felt bad for Charlie but neither of her best friends had done anything wrong, it's just hard to watch your friends hurting and she knew that Ashlynn would have much rather kissed Charlie tonight. Even if she didn't think Ashlynn knew it yet.
…
The next morning Charlie woke with a killer hangover and a bucket next to his bed that had been conjured by Bill.
"How are we feeling over there?" Bill asked as quietly as he could.
Despite this kind effort Charlie winced at the noise anyway and rolled over trying not to vomit but ending up doing so into the bucket that had been carefully placed in line with his head. This wasn't the Weasley boys' first night of firewhiskey.
"Thought good, hey?" Bill continued in worry. In other circumstances he would have mocked his younger brother mercilessly, but after the younger brother's confessions of last night Bill didn't have the heart to add to Charlie's misery.
The two of them had stayed up until dawn, Bill listening to Charlie explain in great detail what it was about Ashlynn that he loved so very deeply and why he couldn't seem to let her go. Charlie drowned his sorrows in the bottle of firewhiskey that Tonks had brought up in the hopes that, if he drank enough, he would forget what he saw. Unfortunately this wasn't the case and Charlie's mind was still assaulted that morning with images of Eric with his hands and lips all over the blonde girl.
"Brunch is ready!" Molly's voice spread through the house alongside wafts of bacon, sausage and egg.
"Coming Mum." Bill replied as loudly as he dared, his heart breaking again as he looked into his brother's eyes. "Let's get you some food and see how today goes."
With the support of Bill, Charlie made it downstairs in one piece and sat heavily into the nearest kitchen chair. Unfortunately this placed him opposite Ashlynn. 'Just what I need' he thought sarcastically.
Tonks attempted to help Molly (much to Molly's fret that everything would end up going flying) by bringing the food to the table and then sat in the last empty seat, which luckily ended up being next to Charlie. Chatter built up around the table as they all ate and Charlie's stomach started to settle. By half an hour later his hangover was completely gone even though his sorrow was still going strong. Noticing the sudden lack of hangover Bill looked curiously around the table until he met his Dad's eyes at the far end, Arthur simply winked at his eldest son and subtly raised his glass of pumpkin juice. Bill smiled in thanks as he realised his Dad had poured everyone's drinks that morning and must have slipped a SoberUp potion into Charlie's.
The topic soon reached midnight kisses from the previous night and Molly started to question Ashlynn on her boyfriend, she was a sucker for a romance.
"He's really smart" Ashlynn started with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes "and strategic. He's a seventh year and plays beater for Ravenclaw and is hoping to get signed before the start of summer."
Arthur looked worriedly at his eldest two sons and Tonks, who was like another daughter to him, all three of whom had gone exceedingly quiet at this line of conversation.
"Well I'm glad he's ambitious, we sure know you are." Molly replied with a chuckle. "How does he make you feel, dear?"
Ashlynn was thrown by this question. Make her feel? Well sometimes he made her feel beautiful and like no other girls existed in the world. Sometimes he made her feel like she had been the worst girlfriend to ever exist, just by spending time with her two best friends or completing her prefect duties. Often she felt these conflicting emotions together in a swirl of pride and guilt and her mind flew back to last night when this had confliction had once again plagued her.
"Let's talk a walk beautiful" Eric requested after about an hour of snogging and cuddling on the dance floor.
He had met lots of her friends and many other guests at the party in that time and shown her off like a prized trophy. He told everyone how beautiful she was and how she was the most incredible woman he'd ever dated, but now everyone seemed to be heading home he wanted some alone time.
"We can go to the orchard," Ashlynn suggested, taking his hand and walking him out the back of the marquee "the twins put lights up earlier along the edge of the trees."
Once they were deep in the orchard where no one else could see them she turned and kissed him deeply. Smiling brightly she broke the kiss and gazed into his eyes.
"Am I the only one you kiss like that?" He asked, his grip tightening painfully on her hips.
"Of course you are, you know that Eric" she responded quickly, he'd asked these types of questions many times before.
"Am I the only one you gaze at like this?" He asked, his painful grip now tight enough it would definitely leave bruises.
"Yes, Eric, only you" she replied, wriggling and trying to ease his grip on her.
"Liar!" He shouted, slapping her hard across the face "I saw you looking at that 'friend' of yours when I arrived."
"We were just doing the countdown. All three of us, me, Charlie and Tonks." She explained calmly as she tried to placate him, he'd lashed out like this before as well so his behaviour wasn't too much of a shock. "I didn't know you were coming otherwise I would have been counting down with you. Thank you for apparating over and surprising me Eric."
"I don't want you near him again, do you hear me? You are MY girlfriend. You belong to ME." He growled at her, shoving her hard into a tree. She bounced off the rough trunk and fell down to the floor between the roots of the tree.
"He's my friend Eric. I won't stop being friends with him. I'm sorry it upsets you but I won't leave my friends." She replied in a strong voice that she even surprised herself with.
"You are MINE!" Eric countered as he grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her up just to punch her in the stomach and push her back down. Her exposed hands, arms and legs were getting scratched in the frosty undergrowth as she fell or was pushed onto the rough orchard floor again and again. "Don't forget that, witch."
Ashlynn sat there deathly still and tried not to breathe too loud as she watched him walk away. After about half an hour, and when she was sure he was really gone, she gingerly lifted herself up and shakily healed the scratches and bruises starting to bloom across her arms, hands and face. She didn't have the energy for any more and wouldn't be able to heal the bruising across her own back anyway.
She eventually crept back up to the burrow and into bed. It wasn't until dawn started to break that she managed to cry herself to sleep.
"Ash dear, is everything okay?" Molly nudged as Ashlynn stared off into space.
"Oh yeah of course, sorry what was the question?" She responded softly.
"Why don't we all go have a quick game of quidditch?" Arthur jumped in loudly, taking over every conversation under way around the table.
…
The start of the spring term came and went without much fanfare. The rest of Ashlynn's bruises and scratches from New Year's Eve healed on their own in time. Unfortunately Eric now came to see Ashlynn at the end of her rounds with Charlie every week and his punishments for holding her best friend's hand during rounds were slowly escalating week by week.
Eric knew that she could heal the bruises on her face so didn't worry about where he put them unless he wanted the pain to last in which case he used her back. His punishments continued to get more severe as the weeks passed so he made sure that she felt they were her own fault and he was justified in his actions. He took her out and doted on her during Hogsmeade weekends and showed her off around school to everyone who would look or listen so that she felt even more guilty and like no-one would ever believe her if she told them the truth.
In contrast, Charlie continued to spend time with various girls around the castle, giving them immense pleasure and further cementing his unofficial title as Hogwarts' resident 'sex god' but not dating any officially.
As they passed the Easter break and neared the end of the year, she tried to spread out the length of their rounds, as though she were reluctant for them to reach the end. Charlie was more than keen for her to do this as he adored spending time with her, no matter what they were doing even if it was an otherwise dull prefect round he always enjoyed his time with her.
…
The morning after their longest set of rounds so far Tonks ran face first into him in the corridor near the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Watch out Tonks, you nearly bowled me over then" Charlie chuckled for a moment before his face fell when he saw the worry etched across hers "what's wrong?"
She glanced up and down the corridor before dragging him to a nearby empty classroom and finally speaking.
"It's Ashlynn. I'm worried about her" she started, giving Charlie a stern look that clearly said 'wait 'till I'm done before you start asking questions' when he began to open his mouth to respond. "She's been getting these strange bruises up her back. She keeps brushing it off saying it's from quidditch practise. But the last game was weeks ago and this morning there were more bruises. And… and there were welts and open cuts across her back. Like...like she'd been beaten..." Tonks choked out the last few words.
Charlie's knuckles were white from gripping the desk he was leaning against so hard. After a few deep breaths and calming thoughts of his happy place, a dark green and muddy brown forest with rays of golden sunshine trickling through the branches, he managed a very strained reply.
"Let's find her and ask her together, she's rubbish at lying when it's to the both of us at once." Charlie pushed himself away from the desk and he and Tonks began their search of the castle.
It was the Friday before exams started so there were no lessons for the sixth year students meaning she could be anywhere around the castle, so their search took quite some time despite them knowing their best friend's favourite places so well. The pair found her a few hours later, sat at the edge of the lake on a rock with the bottom of her jeans rolled up (Eric didn't like her wearing shorts in front of anyone else despite the current heat wave) and her bare feet dangling into the water.
"Hi love" Charlie called out as they approached.
"Hello Tonks. Hey you." She replied with a smile on her lips but her eyes were defeated and full of sorrow.
"How are you doing love?" Charlie asked her gently as he sat with her on the rock, Tonks on her other side. "How's your back doing? Tonks said you'd got some bruises from quidditch practice."
"Oh, no they're fine, all gone now." She shuffled awkwardly between them.
"Can I see?" He asked her as his fingers played softly with the back of her baggy t-shirt.
He slowly lifted the hem at her shaky nod and saw bruises layered upon bruises across her back. He saw a series of large welts that looked like they were from a belt buckle and three deep, gaping cuts too. His eyes welled up in horror at what he saw before he wrapped her up in the most gentle hug he could manage.
"What happened to you, love?" He begged quietly "Please, please tell us. Tonks and I love you and will always be here for you. No matter what happened, we'll always be here."
"We will Ash, Charlie's right for once. We're your best friends and you're safe with us." Tonks added, her eyes flooded with tears for her best friend.
Ashlynn just shook her head, her eyes wide in fear. When she heard a voice call out to her from up the slope, her muscles visibly tensed and her face drained of all colour. Ashlynn's usual sun kissed glow was now a ghostly grey.
"My Ash. There you are." Eric's voice reached Charlie's ears just as he noticed these changes in Ashlynn's body.
His and Tonks eyes connected in fear, revulsion and realisation.
"Love, look at me" Charlie murmured gently to her and turned her chin softly to face him "was it...love, did he…?"
Ashlynn's head nodded almost imperceptibly and Charlie leaped at Eric knocking him down and pummelling him into the ground. His strong fists found cheekbones, shoulder muscles, stomach tissue, anything he could reach indiscriminately until Tonks pulled Charlie off Eric's battered body and pushed him over to a shaking, crying Ashlynn before taking a couple of swift kicks at Eric herself.
Dizzy and outnumbered Eric cowardly ran back up to the castle.
…
Charlie and Tonks had been sworn to secrecy when Ashlynn explained the whole story to them that night. They begged her to tell a teacher, her family, someone in Magical Law Enforcement, anyone... but she didn't want to and they had promised that they weren't going to push her into anything she didn't want to do or punish her for anything either. Having refused point blank to go see Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing in fear of being asked about the cause of the injuries, Ashlynn talked Tonks through the spells she needed to use on her back and after several attempts and the application of a few salves that Ashlynn had brewed in secret, her back had finally begun to heal.
The three of them were even more close than usual over the last couple of weeks of term and Charlie and Tonks never left Ashlynn on her own, accompanying her to and from the Great Hall, lakeside, library, quidditch pitch and anywhere else she felt like going. She spent more time with Charlie's dorm mates, especially Jake as they listened for hours on end to the Walkman music player she'd rigged the previous summer to work in high magic environments, as he took her there whenever they came across a time that neither he nor Tonks could be by her side.
Jake had taken up Charlie's spot on the train and was huddled together with her on the Hogwarts express on their way home at the end of the year, sharing her earphones as they listened to their favourite muggle bands together when Charlie came back from finishing their last prefects rounds of the year on his own. His fist bloody and bruised.
"Charlie what happened" Ashlynn exclaimed as she reached out and held his hand in both of hers. Brushing her fingers lightly across his knuckles she checked for breaks (something she'd learnt to do for her brothers when they got in fist fights back home) before cleaning away the blood and healing the bruises and scratches with her wand.
"He was in the corridor" Charlie looked directly at her, his eyes swimming with apology "I'm so sorry love, I tried to walk past but I just thought about…I couldn't help myself. I'm so sorry Ash." His voice trailed off as she held him in a tight hug.
"I forgive you Charlie. Just no more now, okay?" Ashlynn said firmly as she pulled back and looked into his eyes "I'm moving forward and you should too."
…
Ashlynn didn't visit the Burrow that year. Her magical Grandmother passed away at the start of the summer holidays so she stayed at home with her family as they attempted to hold each other together.
Charlie and Tonks apparated over to the farm her family lived on during the days that they were free, all three best friends having passed their apparition tests during the last year at school. Having been to stay during most of their summer breaks since starting Hogwarts Charlie and Tonks knew where to apparate to without scaring the farm animals or being seen by outsiders on the roads, and they fortunately knew the family well enough to be able to help out without adding any pressure. Ashlynn's two best friends had always been a part of her family in the eyes of her brothers and parents, but that summer they became even more so.
Tonks helped Ashlynn's Dad with the main farming jobs. Her clumsiness didn't make her very good at it but he appreciated her effort and willingness to support their family all the same.
Charlie helped Ashlynn's Mum around the house, since she was the daughter of a witch he was allowed to use magic around her so he would often cook the family's meals and clean the house, allowing her the time and space to grieve.
Ashlynn and her brothers tried to keep themselves busy with their usual tasks around the farm and house. It was a hard summer for the family but they made it through.
That was the first year Ashlynn cried as she said goodbye to her family and boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September.
...
Author's Note
Hey everyone! So some pretty hefty themes in this chapter I hope you're all doing alright. I would love to hear from you in a review but please take it easy on me over the content of this chapter, it's hard to relive some stuff.
Remember if you are ever stuck in a controlling situation you do not have to be there if you do not want to be and it is not your fault. There will always be someone there to listen to you even though it probably doesn't feel that way right now...google is perfect for finding local anonymous support if you need it.
Love,
Wishin' girl x x x