Stolen (Andrei/Bella/Artemis)

[Bella Walsh]

Bella was scouring over some of the texts found in the library when a noise outside the window made her jerk slowly from the ground and look cautiously around. She hadn't seen Artemis for what felt like hours and the thought made her shudder. Her hands lifted to her arms and she rubbed them as if to inflict some warmth upon herself. The moon was full and casting an eerie glow upon the grounds of the castle that belonged to Artemis' birth family. So much information was found, and it was a wonderful excuse to spend some time with the person that she loved the most.

The wind blew swiftly and Bella shuddered, moving closer to the window. Suddenly, Artemas appeared in the picture frame. He was crying hysterically and gesturing frantically for her to move away from the window. She looked confused for a fleeting moment until she saw it.

The Dark Mark in the sky.

Her lungs filled to call to Artemis just as the window shattered loudly and she shrieked instead. The creature in front of her was the largest half wolf she had ever seen in her life. A familiar wolf.

Andrei.

There was something wrong with him though, his eyes were fogged over and he moved not on his own will. The toddlers in the painting were screaming bloody murder and Bella pulled out her wand, "Andrei?! Snap out of it! You know me!!" Rodrich appeared in the painting and could be heard shouting at her to run, but Andrei lashed out violently when she turned to move and raked the tips of barely turned claws over the fair skin of her back and the pain seared through her as the blood sprayed on the carpet of the room.

That time she screamed again, and it was of sheer and utter agony. Suddenly, the wolf finished turning and grabbed her, lunging up into the window sill and sending her wand scattering, along with the choker that Auror Finnegan had given her to track her movements.

"Shut. It." Andrei was speaking in a voice not his own. It wasn't Andrei...and she knew it. She could hear footsteps sprinting up the stairs, and for just one moment, she found her eyes locked on Artemis and she tried to reach out to him, her blood was dripping from her fingertips from her shoulders. The wolf lunged out of the castle window and tore off into the desecrated forest, following the dark mark as fast as his inhuman speed would take him, howling in a warping sound through the dark.

[Deleted]

Artemis had heard the breaking of the glass, and the screams from both the portraits, and Bella and that was all it had taken to cause him to run in the direction that he had heard the noise from. What sight had greeted his eyes had been enough to cause him to freeze where he stood. Lying on the floor bleeding from a wound that had been inflicted on her back, was none other than Bella. Standing above her was a half wolf that appeared to be very familiar to the young man, though he could not exactly tell who it was. He watched as the wolf snatched up Bella, making it's way to the window, and immediately Artemis had drawn his wand.

"IMPEDIMENTA!!!!!!!" The charm had been screamed out, and a bright gold light shot out of his wand before hitting Andrei. While it wouldn't stop him, it would slow him down enough to where he wouldn't get too far too fast. Artemis would still be able to find him. Soon both he and Bella were gone, and Artemis could do nothing but fall onto his knees. He had seen the mark in the sky, it was the mark of the Death Eaters, one that hadn't been seen since Voldemort had been in power and that had been enough to scare him silly.

He was a sixth year at Hogwarts. He was a weak cowardly little boy that had no real talents in anything. His sister was the brave, talented, and smart one. She was the strong one, so why was it that fate decided that it was him that it wanted to test? He couldn't save Bella. He would never be able to do it, so why?

Tears sprung into his eyes, and he had been about to let them fall when he felt a piercing gaze on his back. Wiping his eyes, he turned to look behind him wincing slightly when he saw his father staring at him with a stern glare.

"Pick yourself up and dry your eyes. Héderváry men do not lay there on the ground when their women have just been stolen. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, lying there like that. You are a man. You are the son of a champion duelist, and one of the most important witches in Hungarian history.Pick yourself up, and dust yourself off. You can handle some crazed wizards who hide behind cheap tricks, and the dark arts." He flinched slightly at his father's harsh words before slowly picking himself up.

"B-But I can't. I've always been the weak one. I'm not brave or strong. That's Luna. She-"

"She's not here. Even if she was, it is not her responsibility to save your girlfriend. You were the one who brought her here now you must be the one to save her. Your sister will not always be there to solve your problems for you. If you are not strong, then avoid conflict. You are a Metamorph. You were gifted with abilities. Use them."

Artemis nodded slowly, his brow creasing. His father was right. He had always relied on his sister in the past, running and crying to her whenever something happened to him in the past. She had always been there to solve his problems, protecting him from the more serious aspects of life when she could. She had spoiled and sheltered him and it had gotten him next to nowhere as a result.

He had almost given up on Bella before he had even tried to save her, and that made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Do not be so hard on him Roderich. This is something that no person either adult or child should have to go through. Artemis dear, I know that this is frightening but you must do what is right. You will need to go after that werewolf, and you will need to go and find Bella." Her words were not scolding, but they were firm. It was obvious that she meant what she said.

Artemis nodded, and quickly ran out of the castle, running out in the direction that he had seen the werewolf run off in. Hopefully he wasn't too late!

[Bella Walsh]

Somewhere in the air, there was the sound a struggle. "Andrei! Come on! You're the only seventh year that's ever cast a curse! Surely you can fight this!" He appeared to be trying to resurface, but a cold and familiar voice filled the air, teasing...mocking...

"Now, Bella. Surely you don't think this beast has any control over himself. He would rather die than betray a friend. But, he's brave...don't you think?" The conjurer of the mark still had his wand pointed upright, sleek blonde hair combed back and the most unfeeling eyes she had ever seen.

"Wolf, did you ensure her wand was gone?" "Yes." "Will anyone follow?" Andrei smirked, still not in control of himself, "Unlikely, her mate is weak."

"He's not weak!" She hissed, struggling against Andrei's hold. "You know he isn't weak!" "Then where is he, child? Leaving you to rot in the forest. Perhaps he never did love you, foolish child. Love makes you weak, Bella, and none moreso where there is no courage." Her father was so near her that her spine was crawling.

"What do you want, dad?" She asked, quietly. "Couldn't you bloody knock and do this yourself instead of hurting my friend? Where did you find him anyway?"

"Logical as ever, my girl. We found the wolf in the forest of Romania. He is a picture of courage, of strength...and he knew you. He killed over half of my brothers by manipulating the forest magic against us. Clever boy. He fought. Why didn't you choose this one for yours?"

"Artemis is more clever than you give him credit for, dad. I don't care if he's weak or strong." Bella had so much faith in Artemis' abilities...even if he didn't. "And you never said what you wanted."

"I come offering you the opportunity to join me when you leave school. You would be a great dark witch, you could command respect from all those who ever hurt you."

"You're off your rocker." A thin witch with black hair and perilous silver eyes in dark robes joined her father and Bella looked at her warily, "And who the hell are you?"

"She...is the one controlling your friend here." Her father answered swiftly. His hand rested on the woman's shoulder, "Has he fought?" "Tooth and nail, he is draining."

What would give him reason to fight? What would he fight hardest for?

Two words Genevieve Burke.

"Andrei...where is Gene? Don't you think she'll be worried sick?" She asked softly.

In that instant, a small hell broke loose. Andrei dropped her onto the ground and the witch shrieked in pain as the young man turned savage. What in the hell had Bella said to him?

Bella jumped up quickly and urged him on, "Maybe they have her, Andrei, maybe they're hurting her...Gene is strong, are they breaking her?"

The wolf was bellowing in enraged snarls. "You!! How did you find me??" The witch panicked, "I can't hold him!" Her wand dropped and Andrei crumpled, the wolf form ebbing away to keep him human.

The witch bled with the force of Andrei' mental rebellion. "He's strong...too strong...he needs put down!"

"Don't you dare!" Bella hissed and moved toward the other witch, she laughed at the small girl in sheer cold blood. "What are you going to do to me? You have no wand! Perhaps I'll make a polyjuice potion and become you...and spend the next few nights wooing your lover into my bed." She smiled coldly at her only to be met with a strongly thrown punch to her glass jaw.

Her father spoke a spell in that moment, and she felt a sudden surge of pain course through her veins. As if all hell exploded within them and she screamed in agony before falling over on the spot. Now, upon the forest floor was a nearly comatose werewolf and a screaming and writhing witch. The man thought quickly, "Simmons. We are going to get what she knows of the family out of her. She will crack, or she'll die, do you understand? The wolf will be a danger if he comes to, we need to get it out of her now."

Simmons was a thin man with a hooked nose and grey eyes that seemed to simply enjoy the sight of the strong girl in as much pain as she was in. He lifted her up and pointed his wand at her heart, staring at her eyes. "Where...is the will?"

"I don't know."

The wand lit and she gasped in sheer pain, feeling the life drain from her for a moment before he barked, "The will? I have no problem killing you, and even your own father would rather you die, you little blight. No one would save you, you're trouble. You know too much and feel too little."

"I'm not...betraying him."

More pain and her head hung, where was Artemis? Maybe they were right... "Tell us where the blasted will is. We've been destroying that family's presence for years!"

Now, she looked up at her father, pleadingly, but he didn't react. He didn't care at all.

Did no one?

She felt sobs wrack her body and she looked over toward Andrei, but he'd awoken, and was gone. Even he...didn't care.

Her head hung, and she waited for the next hit in total silence.

[Deleted]

Artemis had managed to follow the sounds of the struggle managing to find them sometime during everything that had happened. When Bella spoke, he recognized just where it was he had seen that wolf from. It was none other than his class, and housmate Andrei Winter. He frowned slightly, brow furrowing. So the Death Eaters had stooped as low as to use the Imperus curse on Hogwarts students if they believed that it would help them achieve their twisted goals. They truly didn't care who they hurt, whose life they destroyed as long as they got their way. They truly were every bit as evil as his adopted mother had said they were.

Words of ridicule and mockery filled the air. He heard himself being referenced often and he felt his jaw clench slightly. If he really was so weak, if he really was such a coward then why had they gone through such lengths to attack Bella while she was alone, and with one of their classmates nonetheless, someone that they knew both he and Bella would hesitate causing harm too. He was not weak nor was he the coward that they said that he was. They were the ones that were weak. They were the ones that had to hide behind the Dark Arts in order to protect themselves.

They were the cowards.

He heard Bella say something to Andrei that caused him to break the effects of the curse, and made him drop Bella. He heard them say something about putting Andrei down, and his wand was immediately drawn out, ready to strike down whoever even tried. He would not stoop to their levels, but he would protect them no matter what the cost was. He felt a wave of nausea wash over his form when the witch spoke of taking a Polyjuice potion and trying to seduce him. As if he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Bella and her. Disgusting. She was old enough to be his mother's age.

He heard someone named Simmons being called and his eyes moved to see a man with a very crooked nose and grey eyes as he lifted Bella up, his wand pointing at her heart. He demanded to know where the will of Daphne and Roderich Héderváry had been hidden, along with any other infomation that she had on his family. His heart had swollen when she said that she would not betray him, and his eyes narrowed with determination. He had to act now, and he had to do so fast. If he could pull off his plan at the exact right time, he could make it appear as though they were being attacked by multiple wizards at the same time, and get them one by one when the cowards decided to scatter. He could use the forms of the other Death Eaters in order to trick them.

His wand pointed at the tree that was directly next to the female Death Eater. He muttered very quietly underneath his breath:

"Nature, please forgive me for what I am about to. Expulso!" His wand immediately moved from that tree to the next one, this one right next to Bella's father. "Expulso!" The sounds of the explosions were enough to cover his last spell, his wand pointed at the back of Simmons' back. This was for hurting his Bella. "Incendio!" The robes on his back began to burn with the magically produced fires.

Now all he had to do was get ready to run, and attack them.

[Bella Walsh]

The sounds were enough to cause enough confusion for Simmons to drop Bella, especially as the flames began. She winced and looked up. Those spells, where were they coming from? She needed her wand desperately!

It was then that that witch, the one she had slugged earlier for such deplorable comments about her boyfriend caught her eye. This witch was one of the few not fleeing, save for her father, who was attempting to maintain order, several people were running away, appirating away, only a couple were coing into the forest. The witch looked down on her and drew back a foot.

Something split her skin right open.

From forehead across the bridge of her nose and ending in the middle of her cheek, she could feel the slice. "Not much more than a pretty face are you, now you don't even have that. Your father said you were something of a marvel. Impressive with magic. You're nothing without it."

There was a sudden choke from the witch as her feet left the ground, a massive wolf hand around her neck it tightened just enough for the soft crack of bone, and then the witch was cast to the side in a heap. What stood behind her was not the wolf, but the man with another wolf. "Andrei...what did you do..." "Established dominance. There are lycans everywhere, you just have to know where to look." A small local tribe of lycans were attacking the camp where the Death Eaters were working to fight them off and failing.

Bella whimpered softly, lord she hurt badly. Andrei lowered to the ground and spoke. "He's here, you'll be okay...he's here. I can smell him." Instant worry covered her face as she tried to wipe the blood from her eyes. "He's managing fine. You said it yourself, he's clever. That's why we're Ravenclaws. I think he's realizing just how clever he can be. I'd heal you, but they took my wand." He looked back at her father who was advancing on them swiftly and snarled, picking Bella up and sprinting away from the castle, away from the camp and away from the commotion.

She held on tightly, but it was difficult to at this rate. He wound up making a giant loop through the forest until he made it around to the back of the camp. There were no Death Eaters surviving, and the lycans had already removed all traces that there had ever been a massacre there. He brought her into the house and carefully set her down in a chair. "Stay here. I need to keep your father away. I will check on Artemis."

"Don't chase him off. I want him here." Carefully, she ripped the bottom hem of her shirt off and dabbed the blood from her face. "Just...check on Artemis."

[Deleted]

It was if all hell had broken loose after what he had done, Death Eaters had come running out from left and right, Artemis stayed hidden, occasinally knocking out a Death Eater with every chance that he got before stealing their form, wand, and their clothes and leaving the unconcious Death Eater wandless and tied up in the woods for someone else to deal with. That made it easier to gain the trust of the other Death Eaters, before he did the same with them that he had done with all the others. Eventually the Death Eaters stopped showing up, something that had both excited, and worried him. He reverted back to his original form and began running through the woods looking for any sign of either Bella or Andrei so that he could be sure that they were both okay.

Merlin he swore that after this was all said and done that he was going to make sure that the castle was better protected, something like this would never happen again, that was something that he swore to himself. As he walked through the woods he had his wand out, and his weary brown eyes were constantly scanning the area around him, making sure that there would be no surprise attacks on him. He would not allow himself to be captured, or to be used as bait.

He had no time for that. He had to find Bella as soon as he possibly could, and keep her safe from her father, and from whatever Death Eaters remained. He had to keep his family's secret safe, he had to protect them both.

After all, he was the only one that was here to do so.

[Bella Walsh]

Andrei moved through the woods like a shadow itself, silent and looming as the lycans from the local tribe took the outskirts of the forest to ensure that those that would hurt anyone else that posed no harm. Wild eyes fixated on the wandless Death Eaters with a mild look of confusion, what the hell? There were numerous, and he'd yet to see another person within the trees in the passing moments.

It was then that he'd collided with someone moving the trees as silently as he and he jumped back, drawing back a fist before dropping it suddenly. "Artemis! Bloody hell, I almost clobbered you. You didn't...happen to see those Death Eaters did you? No wand and tied up?" When he heard the answer, he clapped him on the shoulder, "Brilliantly done. You don't have to be stronger than your enemy, just smarter." Honestly, that is what he did ore often than not. Sure the beast was powerful, but he took more pride in using his wit than his fists.

"Your stubborn girlfriend is back the way I came. There's a few houses within the woods still standing, she's in one of them. That...tart witch that held me sliced her face pretty bad, but I took care of that little..." He uttered an obscinity in Romanian, his jaw clenching, before he finished his statement, "I...I'm sorry. I should have been able to break that curse faster than I did. I didn't mean to hurt her. I need to get to Knockturn Alley and make sure they didn't get to Gene by getting me. If they did, you better bet I'll be back, and out for blood."

His wand had been found withing the forest and he quickly appirated away.

In the cottage, Bella was fighting off the pain that clung to her veins and her back, not to mention her face. It was all a small price to pay to keep Artemis' family safe and their belongings in tact since they were still searching. She heard footsteps approaching and looked to the door as it opened. Her father stood there, looking at her with a throughly amused look. "You clever, clever little witch." He growled softly, moving toward her. "You really are your mother's child. You can take a hell of a beating and dish some out." He was proud, and it made her sick.

"Don't...underestimate me..." She growled softly, "You would have killed me in a heartbeat, what makes you think I wouldn't do that to you?" The look of her bloodied face spoke much louder than those words. "You killed mom, you would have killed me, you were going to kill Andrei, and you could have killed Artemis." For a fleeting moment, she felt herself slipping into the darkness in her blood as she stood up. Her fingers flexed dangerously, "I have spent my whole life hiding from you, and it's you that destroyed evidence of Artemis' family."

Color drained from her father's face. "That boy...he is a Héderváry? Then I failed..." Bella sneered softly, "Alive and well, and there is something else you failed...father dearest." Venom was dripping in her words, years of anger finally building up. All the billies she ever faced, all the questions, all the pain was building up as her eyes started to turn into that feline-esque shape.

He moved swiftly, exiting the house with less grace than he'd entered in, followed by the large black panther whose claws had a mark. The creature roared loudly and jumped at the man, sinking claws deep into his chest. The beast was out for blood and she was getting what she desired. Revenge.

A few bittersweet seconds of slow pushing into the traitor's flesh later, his heart gave out beneath her paws. For good measure, she would ensure a deepened wound to that chest cavity. The panther skulked back into the house and fell quite promptly as the human form dominated once more. She whimpered. Her father's blood soaked her hands.

Dear Merlin...what had gotten into her? That darkness was unfamiliar and it was scary. She'd manipulated Andrei into breaking a curse, and delivered the killing blow to her own father. But, wasn't that good? She was scared out of her mind and the change had re-ripped open the long scratches on her back and they bled through the tattered shirt. She shivered, mostly out of total shock, staring up at the ceiling.

Did Andrei unintentionally posion her? What the hell was that?

Suddenly, the feeling of malaise left and she started to cry, curling up in the smallest ball possible. Couldn't something go well for once? Just once she wanted to be happy and carefree.

[Deleted]

The second he felt someone smack into he had jerked back ready to hex the person when he saw just who the person was. "Oh bloody Hell! Andrei I almost hexed you. I'm sorry." He apologized sincerely, glad to see that he appeared to be both back to normal, along with also appearing to unharmed. When he mentioned seeing the wandless, and tied up death eaters, he couldn't help but blush slightly. "That was me. I waited until I was able to get them separated, then I would tie each one up, and take their wand and form until I ran into another one and I repeated the process."

He now had a nice little collection of Death Eater wands in his bag that he would be handing over to the authorities whenever he got the chance.

When he spoke of where Bella was he listened carefully, glancing back in the direction that he had come from before nodding. It shouldn't be that difficult to find her then. " There is no need to apologize Andrei, you had no control over yourself. You were able to break free from the curse, that is something that most full-fledged wizards have a hard time doing! Thank you for all of your help, and stay safe!" With that said he immediately ran off.

It seemed as though he had been running for a very long time before he had found a trace of anything, or anyone but what he did see was enough to make his heart freeze. Outside of a abandoned cottage lay the Death Eater that had also been known as Bella's father with a gaping wound in his chest, obviously dead. Artemis's eyes widened, and he sprinted to the cottage running inside.

"Bella?!!" He saw her curled up into a small little ball, covered in blood, and he felt his heart stop again. He immediately went over to her side, dropping down next to her. "Bella please let me look at your wounds...please let me help you. I'm sorry that I didn't get here in time to protect you, I tried. I really did..."

[Bella Walsh]

When he spoke, she didn't want to look up and her body curled tightly again. "I know you tried...I know you tried. I'm so proud of you baby...you don't know how much." She still felt like vomiting, and slowly tried to catch her breath before hesitating and lifting her eyes slowly. The gash across her face was deep, and would likely scar, but she choked softly, petrified that he would be humiliated to be seen with her. "It's bad...isn't it?" Tears filled up in her eyes and she shivered before lowering her head again, embarrassed. "I have...salve in my bag in the castle. It'll close it, but it will scar. I'm sorry...are you okay? No cuts...breaks...burns? How's Andrei...?" She tried to hide hehind her hair and look up at him without making him look at her.

"My back hurts worse...but all I need is salve. C-c-can we go back to the castle please? I don't want to be out here anymore..." She looked at the blood covering her hands again and shivered violently. "I'm scared to death..." A little stream of tears slid from her eyes. "I don't know what...I...my father....I couldn't stop it...." She started shaking violently, trembling in fear. "I...I'm awful...I could have gotten you and Andrei both killed...Simmons was right...I am a useless blight..." She trembled again, stronger, her stomach knotting violently.

"I'm...useless without magic...." She felt sick again and carefully got off the floor and she moved out of the house, holding herself up on stable items until she could look at her father again. The shock ran through her and she simply stared at him for the longest time before she could hear sobbing racking her own lungs. "I'm so sorry...dad...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..."

She heard shouting, familiar shouting from the house and looked in. The toddlers had navigated the networks and stood in the empty frame within eyeshot, holding handfulls of weeds from one of the pictures of the garden in the hallway of the castle. She laughed softly and hung her head. "I scared myself...I could almost hear his intentions in his voice. He would have destroyed your family if something didn't stop him...Artemis....I'm so sorry.....I must have let you down..."

[Deleted]

When Artemis saw the size of the gash that had been placed upon her face there was something that happened to the gentle Demetriou male. His eyes seemed to harden and fill with a surprising amount of rage, and hatred, not towards Bella but for the witch that had done that to her. She had been lucky that Andrei had dealt with her instead of him. What he would have done to her after seeing what she had done would make his sister's past actions look like child's play. "She's lucky that Andrei was there instead of me. I would have made her regret the very moment that she was brought into this world for hurting you in such a way." It took a moment of deep breathing in order to calm himself, before he looked at Bella, and taking out his wand.

"There's no need to wait that long love. Do you trust me, Bella?" He waited for her answer before smiling weakly at her and pointing his wand at her. "Episkey."The healing charm created a small orb of soft silver light, and it immediately went into the wound on Bella's head. While it would not heal the wound completely, it would stop the bleeding, soothe some of the pain, and prevent the cut from somehow getting infected. It was the one thing that he was happy to have learned.

When she complained of her back hurting, Artemis casted the same healing charm on her back. Merlin, they truly had done a number on her. the more wounds that he found on her, the more his heart broke until it seemed to be just a small pile of pieces that sat in his chest. He saw the blood on her hands, and again his wand pointed at her hands. "Scourgify." The blood was soaked up from her hands into the very tip of his wand, disappearing without a trace. "Andrei and I are both fine love, You got the worst of the damage, and yes we can go back to the castle."

When she admitted that she was scared, that was perhaps the one thing that haunted him the most. She had every right to be scared. He had promised to protect her, and he had failed her in every way."Love none of this was your fault. None of this. You are not useless, you are one of the most wonderful, one of the smartest women that I have ever met. You are the furthest thing from awful. The furthest thing." He frowned again, and this time he gently took her chin into his hand, making it so that she looked him in the eyes. "You have helped me find who I am. You have helped me find out about my birth parents, you helped me find where I was born and raised. All without magic. You are not useless, you were just taken by surprise. We all were love."

When she stood and started walking outside, he immediately followed after her, ready to catch her just in case. When they reached the dead body of her father, he looked at her in surprise. She was apologizing to him after all that bastard had done to her? He was even more surprised by her revelation, and her apology to him, himself. "Bella. You have saved the life of me, my sister, and any possible relatives that we may have left. You endured torture, this type of physical harm just to keep my family's home, and will safe. How could I ever be let down, or disappointed in you after all you've done for me?"

[Bella Walsh]

The blood was gone, the pain was gone, but she felt like there was something still missing. "I feel no better than him. Who knows how many people he's hurt? Innocent people. Does me doing...that...make me a good person, or a bad person?" Her eyes lifted up to him and she seemed to be asking him to somehow make what she'd done make sense to her. People who hurt innocents were bad, but, were people who hurt bad people necessarily good? She bit her lip softly and her hand rose to grip the locket around her neck, finding comfort in the press of the metal to her hand.

"I would have died to keep you safe...you and your family." She looked down softly. "I didn't care about the pain, I just...I didn't want to see you hurt again." She limped slightly, letting her hair curtain her face as she worked on catching her balance. "Now that he's gone...I feel funny. Mom doesn't have to hide...my birth mother was avenged in a way...all the people he hurt can sleep safely...and I don't have to hide. Seamus doesn't have to protect me."

She was walking back to the castle, thinking about what he said. "You're right...I can do a lot without magic. Not many people can say they punched a Death Eater in the face and lived through it. Andrei killed her, didn't he?" She had a feeling he had. That witch had talked some nasty stuff to them and there was no knowing what hell she had put him through before they had gotten there. That one got what was coming to her.

"You know..." She finally said, once they hit a set of stairs leading up to the castle doors as she finally reached back and took his hand. "We've gone through some hell together, love...but I wouldn't trade one day by your side for a normal life. You know, for a moment, I blacked out when Simmons drew life out. I saw my mother, your mother, and your father as real as you are to me...and they said I could have stayed and that the pain could have stopped right then...and I told them I would rather endure torture that never ended to keep you safe than to leave you all alone."

She smiled weakly, "All I ever need is to wake up and see that you still love me. That makes all the hell worth it." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and headed up the stairs, "Dibs on the shower. Though, when I get out, I will have you put that salve on there anyway. Just to ensure that it stays closed and everything is kosher. That is, if you're not afraid to see your girlfriend's skin...mister taking on Death Eaters." This time she laughed, heartily, enough of a laugh that if chased the rest of the shadows from her face and out of her mind.

[Deleted]

"What you did does not change who you are love. You did what you did because you believed that he would kill you, me and the rest of my family if you did not. He did what he did just because he enjoyed it. Besides, a bad person would not have been torn up about it like you were. A bad person would not have been torn up about what they had did like you were. They would have just shrugged it off, and moved on. You even apologized to him despite everything that he did to you." He smiled weakly when he saw her reach up to grip his locket, happy that the small metal charm appeared to comfort her.

"I would do the very same for you love. I promise that you will never be harmed again. I will give my all to protect you. I don't ever want to see you hurt again."He smiled softly at her. "Yes. You are safe now, and you always will be." He couldn't help but laugh at her words, he was so proud of Bella for punching that woman!

"Yes, we have been through a lot but I think that that is a good thing. We are stronger because of it." He paused when he heard her next words, his eyes widening in horror. She had been pushed to that limit and she had come back just for him? "Thank you for coming back love. I don't know what I would have done if you had left me."

He froze when she mentioned that he would need to put the salve on the wounds for her. Was he afraid of seeing his girlfriend's skin?

YES!!!!

But she needed him to do this for her, and he couldn't just say no, could he?

"O-Okay Bella...."

[Bella Walsh]

The hesitation in his voice made her cringe slightly. "Or, I could do it...I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, love." She felt a lump forming in her chest and cleared her throat. At times she forgot that they were only seventeen, as it seemed most people found easily do. They didn't act like your typical teenagers, and they never seemed to have many instances where they were simply being teens. Some grew up so quickly.

They entered the castle and she was overwhelmed with the sounds of cheering from the portraits, but, she didn't look up this time, insecurity quickly becoming her new best friend. She placed a kiss to the back of Artemis' hand through the soft black curtain of hair and uttered a soft, "You know where I'll be." Before unweaving her fingers from his and folding her arms tightly over her stomach as she sprinted up the stairs and into that first room.

"Wait a second!" A voice called after her, feminine in nature. She back tracked a few steps and hung her head slightly, "Yes, ma'am...?" She was all but whispering when she spoke now. "Take one of the empty frames with you, you sound horrible and I need to know what happened. Please?" Finally, Bella looked up, pushing the hair from her face. "Everything...is fine...your family is safe." Her shoulders slumped as the older woman gasped softly. "You poor dear...are you alright?"

She went into the hall and picked up an empty frame, bringing it into the bathroom and settling it on the wall. Within moments, she appeared as Bella was locking the door. "Darling...really, are you alright?" "No..." She answered softly. "I feel disgusting...like a monster." Before taking off the blood stained clothes, she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain tightly closed, only letting an arm out to set the clothes upon the floor. "Bella...who were those people?"

Before she turned on the water, she explained the whole bloody thing, sparing no detail to chance. The woman listened silently, then suddenly began to praise her for her loyalty to their family. She turned on the water and cleaned her skin and hair until the water stopped running red. She sighed, "Damn Andrei...I can't move my arms too far to get my back." She sighed. That was what hurt most.

"Ask Artemis?" The portrait asked softly, only to be answered with a quick, "I can't." The face of the portrait was confused, "Why not, honey, I think he could do that. You two were sleeping together, yes?"

"Just sleeping! We've never...no! Our relationship isn't like that at all. The last time he saw any amount of flesh, he couldn't even look at me with a straight face. Now...now...no. I don't think I could even try to ask him to even look at me." The water stopped and she grabbed the large bath towel and wrapped it nearly twice around herself before getting out. "Let me see your back."

Bella turned reluctantly and shoved her hair to one side. The jagged lines through her skin were still dark red and irritated, it was obvious that they had been deeper. Much deeper. "He really got you." "I know." She looked like she was trying to curl into herself and the portrait slipped out, popping through frames until she found her husband. "She's okay, those cuts will scar...but I think its more a matter of how she sees herself is taking a serious beating. She keeps trying to hide, no matter what she's doing."

[Deleted]

Artemis had seen and heard how Bella had reacted to his hesitance and immediately felt horrible. He knew that he had just unintentionally added to Bella's growing self consciousness about the scars that had been inflicted upon her by both the female death eater, and Andrei, something that he had not meant to do. Her scars were a symbol of her loyalty to both him and his family which was something that he would never be repulsed by. Her scars, and her herself had nothing to do with the reason why Artemis was so hesitant to touch or see her skin without any clothing. It was something inside of himself that made him that way.

Artemis was nowhere even close to being a normal boy his age. He was able to change his appearance at will. He was weaker, and more delicate than a normal boy his age was. He did not seem to have the urge to get Bella in his bed or to even see her without any clothing. If one didn't know any better, they would probably think that Artemis didn't have any of those urges at all, and perhaps on a normal occasion he didn't.

Then Bella touched, or kissed him and all of those urges, and feelings that he normally lived without came rushing at him all at once, and scared the bloody hell out of him.

He had no idea what those urges were, or where they came from, and the fact that they made him want to touch Bella, and were so intense was something that made him weary. He did not trust his body, he did not trust it at all, and though Bella had told him on many different occasions that she would never hate him no matter what he did, he really did not want to test that statement.

So there he was walking around, frustrated with himself and depressed over the fact that he had hurt Bella, something that he had always promised to both himself, and her that he would never do. A sigh left his lips and he felt tears begin to appear in his eyes. Reaching up to wipe them away, he froze when he heard the voice of his father:

"Are you crying?! Hurry up and wipe those tears away before anyone else sees! Men don't cry, that's something that we leave to the women son!"

THWACK!

There was the loud sound of flesh hitting flesh, and a small cry of pain that filled the air.

"You leave our son alone. There is nothing wrong with a boy who isn't afraid to cry!" Daphne frowned at her husband, before turning on her son. Her frown was not as stern as it had been with her husband, but it was still there. "Artemas, dear. Your girlfriend is not taking the addition to her body well. She keeps trying to hide no matter what it is that she is doing. She has this belief that you will see her as a monster, and will be disgusted with her if you see her now."

"That's not true at all! I could never find Bella repulsive no matter what! She's absolutely beautiful to me! I..I just get scared when I touch her..."

Daphne stared at her son observing him for a moment, before a very embarrassed look came across her face. "Artemas, dear. Please don't take this the wrong way when I ask this, I promise that I will always love you no matter what, and so will your father. But, you do find women attractive right? You aren't gay are you?" Her husband gave her a livid look, and opened his mouth to say something before a well placed elbow to his ribs shut him up.

Artemis looked at his mother with a horrified expression. His face was a bright red, and his mouth opened, and closed without making so much as a sound. "I'm not gay!!!" He managed to get the words out of his mouth before continuing on. "I'm in love with Bella. I only find Bella attractive, no one else." Not women, and definitely not men. "I just get this strange feeling when we touch and kiss. I just want to keep touching, and kissing her, and even then it's never enough. I-I want more but what is more? How can you go any further than that? I-I don't know what these feelings are, and I don't know how to make them go away!"

He looked at his parents with a pleading expression on his face, begging them to help him figure out what these emotions were. Daphne looked at Roderich, and Roderich looked at Daphne.

"Dear would you li-"

"This is your jurisdiction. Mine is Luna." Her words were met with a sigh from her husband, before he looked directly into the eyes of his son.

"Son what you are feeling is completely natural. They are called hormones, and what it means is that you want to sleep with your girlfriend."[/i]

"But I have slept with her. I slept with her last night as a matter of fact..."[/i] He was met with a horrified look from his father.

"You...slept...with your girlfriend in the bed you used to share with your sister?" He was met with a nod, and the look on his face grew even more horrified. "Merlin's bloody balls have some common decency boy!!!! How could you do that there of all places! Your poor sister has just had her childhood memories sullied and she doesn't even know it!!" He had been about to say more to the confused boy when Daphne stopped him.

"Not in that way Roderich. He needs you to explain just what it is that you are talking about to him!" Roderich had the decency to look embarassed and cleared his throat slightly, before looking at him.

"Oh okay. Well you see son, when a man and a woman love each other very much...."[/i]

========== Time Skip==========

Artemis walked back towards the room with his face burning red. So that was the reason why he felt so shy around Bella? He wanted to sleep with her in that way? and in order to make Bella feel better about herself, he needed to start touching her more, eventually leading up to doing that? Oh bloody hell. Oh Merlin's bloody balls. He couldn't do this. He couldn't! He felt like he was going to have a panic attack and yet despite his fears he found himself making his way to the room that he and Bella shared with his wand drawn. He pointed it at Bella's bag, and whispered a very shaky "Accio, healing salve!"

When the small container of medicine came out of the bag, he held it in his hands for a moment, biting his bottom lip in nervousness before leaving the room, and heading to the bathroom that Bella was in, knocking carefully on the door.

"Love...It's me. I came back and got your healing salve for you....I'm ready to rub it on your back if you still need me to."
[/color]

[Bella Walsh]

Still wrapped up in the towel and perched on the edge of the sink, Bella sighed. Her skin stung uncomfortably still and she definitely didn't think getting dressed until the wound stopped stinging was going to be easy.

When she heard Artemis speak, she squeaked audibly and practically jumped from the sink, back into the tub and shut the curtain quickly. "You don't have to!" She bit her lip roughly and shivered nervously. "Uhm...you can...just set it on the sink...I can get it."

Carefully the towel was secured around her and she tried her best to just stay quiet in her spot. "I'll be ok...I promise." She bit her lip roughly and sighed quietly. A voice sounded from the frame on the wall. "Honey...he's trying." "I can't..." "Artemas come in, love." "I..." Bella sighed, getting out the tub and sitting on the edge trying to edge behind her hair as far as she could.

She could hear the door start to open and she shrank back slightly, eyes closing, waiting for him to say something.