Time Heals Everything: Chapter 14
Hey. I know I said I wouldn't update unless I got however many reviews, but screw that. I honestly don't think that's fair to you guys. If my chapters suck, then I don't deserve to get reviews for it. You guys shouldn't have to suffer my consequences. All I can do, is hope that this chapter is good enough to deserve more reviews than my previous. Well, enjoy. This is for you.
Disclaimer: Same as always. You know what's mine and what's not.
Chapter dedicated to: My friends. It's cause of you guys that I keep on going. Thanks for always being there.
What happened last:
He closed his eyes, forcing them shut. Before Sirius drifted off to sleep that night, he heard crying, from where Meg was sleeping. Once again, the question of what had happened "since" was brought back into his head. Only briefly, as soon enough Sirius was fast asleep, and Meg was the only one up, silently crying, and cursing her fate.
Meg watched, as one by one, her 5 friends fell asleep. She closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. Nothing. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was 2 am. This wasn't good. She had classes tomorrow, and then a Hogsmeade trip later on. How was she supposed to function, if she got no sleep? Meg sighed. She knew Nicky was the reason why she'd gotten barely any sleep in fifth year. And now he was doing it again. Robbing her of her life. She didn't know whether to tell The Marauders about what had happened when she was 15. If they knew, they might not think of her the same way again. She didn't even think of herself the same way anymore.
Meg sighed. She hated to have to resort to this on those "endless" nights, but…
Meg got up out of bed, with a pounding headache due to lack of sleep. She quickly grabbed her wand, and whispered, Quiescos!
In an instant, Megan Ryerson was asleep. This simple sleeping spell wouldn't always be effective, but now she needed it, and it was here.
.x.x.x.
Lily, always up bright and early, opened the curtains with a cheery smile on her face.
"Ugh. What time is it?", grunted James.
"6:00!"
"Ah. It's too early!", mumbled Sirius from under his pillow.
"Lily. Go to sleep. We have an hour till classes start!", Sara cried.
"An hour! Exactly. You need to eat breakfast and shower and get your things together." Remus was up now too.
"We can skip breakfast and eat a big lunch. Take a shower at night. All of our things are already together. Let me sleep!" Sirius had apparently given this much thought.
James pulled his covers up higher. "Lilianna Evans. We don't have school today."
"Don't call me that, and we don't have school, but we do have to attend the HSIP."
"Well give me 10 more minutes.", he wailed, and then adding as an afterthought, "Mother."
She responded as he'd known she would.
"I'm not your mother, and get up! We need to be at the Leaky Cauldron by 8, so get a move on!"
The clouds in the sky had chosen that moment to move out of the way from the bright sun, and the dazzling light poured in through the window.
Meg screamed.
"It's too bright! Ahhh! I'm gonna die! So sleepy!"
To Lily and Sara, this was rather expected, so their expressions were nothing but amused. The boys however, were quite startled. They watched as Sara walked over to Meg and sat on her. Seconds later, Lily strolled over to her 2 best friends, and sat on both.
All Remus, James, and Sirius heard before heading downstairs was Meg's muffled shrieking and Lily and Sara's gleeful cackling.
.x.x.x.
The 3 girls arrived soon after, and sat across the Marauders. Everybody was eating happily, concentrating on their own breakfasts. However, it was only Sirius who noticed Meg's near-empty plate. He opened his mouth to comment, but Meg chose that moment to meet Sirius' eyes. She quickly took a forkful of eggs, and gave him a "look", which silenced him.
Lily laughed. "So, Remus, did you enjoy the dance?"
"Well…it was quite pleasurable to attend…especially some of the company that was also there." With this response, his soft, brown gaze fell on Sara.
"Lily…did you have fun?", James asked curiously.
Lily gave James a smug smile, but didn't say anything. James gawked, and Sirius had to flick his forehead to make him snap out of it. Even if this was a major thing for James.
"Calm down, Prongs. She didn't say anything. It doesn't have to mean yes. Especially, the fact that you were asking her to dance the entire time? Okay…maybe…well. Just breathe. We'll talk about it later. Don't choke on me now, Prongsie." Sirius whispered.
"So Meg…what exactly was it that you were going to tell us about Nicky?"
Meg froze.
Sara and Lily glanced at each other, worriedly.
James, Sirius, and Remus were all looking at Meg.
Meg sighed. She knew it'd come to this someday.
Lily hugged Meg from one side, and Sara hugged her from the other.
The boys were confused.
Why was this such a big deal?
Was it a big deal?
They waited for her to continue.
Meg whispered a silent spell, so that the people sitting nearby wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
The Marauders looked at her expectantly.
"Okay. You have to swear not to tell anyone. Ever."
Sirius nodded.
"Only Lily and Sara know about this."
Nobody spoke.
"Well…in fifth year…two years ago…Nicky and I were dating. Remember? It didn't last long. Because of something."
"He tried to…"
Her voice was an inaudible whisper, and James, Remus and Sirius had to lean in to listen.
"He…raped me."
There was a pause, as the guys registered this.
Then there was anger.
"WHAT!" James shouted.
"He didn't…" Remus was saying. "He couldn't. He was 15. Just a child."
Sirius' reaction was, however, different.
"HE DID THAT? WHAT DID YOU DO! AND WHY DID YOU AGREE TO DATE HIM AGAIN!"
Meg hung her head.
"I didn't want to say anything before…you and Nicky have been enemies forever."
"And for a good reason, too.", Sirius snapped.
"Well…he tried it…one night…after a session."
"Snogging session?", Remus asked.
Meg nodded.
"I didn't know what he was doing till he almost had my shirt unbuttoned. And I was confused, because I went through it yesterday, how I wasn't ready for that yet. I'd thought that he was a gentleman, and would respect my decision. But he didn't."
Her face was blank, with an unreadable expression.
Remus, Sirius, and James, on the other hand, were enraged.
"I cried for so long, after it happened. To just think that I was another victim of one of the worst kinds of assault. Of course, I slapped him and ran away. But that didn't erase my memory."
Sara and Lily had been silent through this entire conversation, but now they spoke up.
"And that's why she had to leave class so many times in fifth year.", said Lily.
"Therapy."
Remus spoke again.
"Why did you agree to date him again?", he asked, with clenched teeth.
"I…I don't…know. Something just came over me. I think it was what a great kisser he used to be."
"And you didn't care about what he did to you!", James cried.
"And what he put you through?"
"I thought it was all behind me. Behind us. I guess I just got caught up in the moment."
This made Sirius angry.
"I hate to say this, Megan, but you are an idiot."
She didn't say anything.
Okay. Now something is wrong. No witty comeback? No self-defence?
"What's wrong?", asked Sara, with a worried expression.
"I'm scared. I agreed to go with him to Hogsmeade today."
Lily sighed. "I'm really sorry Meggie. But James and I can't make it to Hogsmeade today. HSIP. We had to do some major convincing for him to let us stay here for the dance. Professor Holbrook won't consent to us staying here longer."
Meg tried to smile. "It's fine, really. I'll be okay." But she knew better. The emotional trauma would never heal.
Sara put an arm around her best friend. "Don't worry guys. She'll have us."
Remus grinned. "Yeah. We'll take care of your little Meggie-kins."
Lily waved her wand, and the sound barrier vanished. The Great Hall was quite loud at this time.
Meg urgently stuffed her things into her backpack.
Nobody knew what was going on, till Sara spotted the tall, handsome Nicky Richardson strutting over to where they were sitting. He had a weird look on his face.
"Megan! You up to some serious sessions today? Gotta make up for lost years, babe. Perhaps, relive that old passion."
Meg was shocked. This wasn't how he'd behaved when she told him that she was accepting his offer. Or how he was at the dance. This was that old Nicky…the one who…
She hid behind Lily, trying not to cry.
Nicky smirked, and looked around the table.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the 'little' Marauders. How cute. Sirius…how you been doing? Is your mother okay, after her 'affair' with Abraxas Malfoy?"
Sirius' fists tightened. He stood up.
Remus quickly pulled him back down, whispering that this was not the time and place.
"Well, I just came over to see how Megan was doing. See you later, babe."
He bent over to try and kiss her, but Meg quickly threw her fork under the table. She ducked under it to pick it up, and mumbled a farewell to Nicky. By the time her black-haired head came back up, he was gone.
She didn't dare look at Sirius.
.x.x.x.
Well. This was it. I'm not gonna tell you to review. If my writing sucks, then maybe I don't deserve any. I hope you liked it.