The second the five of them touched down, all Annie could do was cry with relief. She cradled Dante gently in her arms, making sure that he felt safe with her, despite the tears that streamed down his cheeks. She started hugging him, laughing wetly in relief, momentarily forgetting the pain he currently still endured. She constantly peppered kisses lovingly across his face as he continued to cling onto her for support. 

"You're all right! It's all right! You're safe, Dante. I would never ever let that woman hurt you again. You hear me? God, you have no idea how terrified I was for you!" 

That was when Dante broke down completely. His shoulders shook, letting out gut-wrenching sobs of pain. But he felt comforted in Annie's embrace, knowing that she would do everything to protect him, as she had done in Malfoy Manor when she and her friends escaped. She shushed him gently, speaking in soothing, murmuring tones as she softly rubbed his back in a reassuring way. 

"It's okay. It's okay. You can let the tears out. You've been through a lot over the past hour." 

"Annie!" her brother called, sounding panicked. 

Annie turned, about to get snappy with him for interrupting their moment. But the moment her eyes landed on her brother, she found the elf who had rescued them, passing away in Harry's arms. 

The elf's body was now still. There was nothing they could do except to bury him. And as much as Annie would love to stay and help bury her elf friend, she wanted to get Dante inside the house and get him on the road to recovery. 

"Let's go get you to the house, Dante, and get you to recover," she murmured softy.

"No," Dante whimpered. He clung tightly to her, refusing to let go. He stubbornly refused to let Annie pick him up in her arms. He wanted to stay and help bury the elf that had saved his life. 

"Dante, you're badly hurt. You're tired, I can tell. You need rest, and your arm needs some attention." 

Finally, after minutes of hesitating, Dante finally nodded, allowing Annie to pick him up. He wrapped his legs around her waist. His arms hung loosely around her neck. He rested his head tiredly against her shoulder. 

Bill and Fleur were waiting for them at the entrance of Shell Cottage. Annie caught sight of Bill's expression. His face had gone pale with shock, clearly not expecting to see a weakened Dante on his doorstep.

 From what Bill had always heard from Annie, Dante had always been a fun, feisty, sarcastic kid who always had some sort of witty response. But never had he seen him look like this. Sure, he's heard Annie tell him Dante's darker past, but he never thought that he'd live to see Dante's horrific nightmares come back to life. 

"What in the bloody hell is going on, Annie?" he finally burst out as Annie drew nearer to the house. She shifted Dante in her arms, making sure that he was more comfortable. He let out a whimper of pain as she moved him and she quietly apologized to him. "First, you turn up with a weakened Ollivander, who looks as though he hasn't eaten in probably a year. And now, you're bringing me a dead house-elf and your friend? He looks as though he'd clearly gone through some incredibly serious torture." 

Annie winced at Bill's words. No, she knew that he was not upset with her. She knew that he was upset with the woman who had done this to Dante. 

"He — He was tortured, Bill," she answered quietly. Her voice barely came above a whisper. She had tears in her eyes. She did not want to relive the events that had happened earlier in the day, ever again. "And quite badly, too. He needs bed rest." 

Bill nodded, his expression unchanging. "I can tell." 

"I've got a spare bedroom in the back of the house," Fleur offered in a gentle voice. "I can let him recover there, if you'd like." 

Annie's shoulders relaxed and she smiled gratefully at Fleur. 

"Thanks, Fleur." 

She nodded and led Annie and Dante to the room located on the farthest side of the house. Annie gently laid the partially-conscious boy on the bed, where he immediately closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of contempt. Annie smiled sadly, knowing that this innocent boy needed all the rest he could get after being tortured by his horrific aunt once more. His lips were parted slightly and he let out a soft snore, something that Annie found rather adorable. 

Fleur and Bill had left for a moment. While they were both gone, Annie tugged the covers up Dante's limp body, except for his injured arm. His sleeve was still tugged up a bit past his elbow, revealing the partially-dried, bloodied words that had been carved into his skin from Bellatrix's silver knife. 

The same one that had killed Dobby. 

Annie sighed, ignoring the clenching, guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach, before taking Dante's arm gently in hers. She carefully set it upon her lap and she examined the horrible words etched into his skin. With pure gentleness, she ran her thumb cautiously across the two words. The skin around the word 'Blood Traitor' looked rather enflamed, infuriating Annie. 

Shortly after they'd been gone, Fleur had returned with medicines to help heal Dante's wounds. But she highly doubted that the marks on his arm would ever fully heal. They would most likely scar over. No magic can fix scars like the ones on his arm. 

"I got him the stuff to heal his arm," Fleur declared gently. 

"Annie, I need a word with you," said Bill sharply from the door. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I just want to know what's going on and how Dante ended up in the position that he's in." 

Annie glanced down at the still-unconscious boy. He was now sleeping soundly, his lips still parted with little snores escaping his lips. He looked a bit more relaxed than he had been moments ago when he was still awake. 

She was hesitant to leave his side, as she never wanted to leave him again — especially not after what had just happened to him moments ago. But luckily, Fleur smiled reassuringly as she put the medicines and her wand down. 

"Don't worry, Annie. He's in good hands. I'll take care of him, I promise. Go talk to Bill for a moment." 

Annie nodded, appreciating Fleur, knowing that she was right. Dante was in good, healing hands. Annie gave Dante one last look before retreating out of Dante's recovery room and following Bill, who led her to the hallway. He leaned against one wall, and Sera leaned against the other. 

"What's going on, Annie? I'd like to know what's up before anything worse happens. Your friend looks as though he's gone through Hell and back." 

Annie winced, hesitating. But she new that she had to give Bill the answer. She exhaled slowly, thinking of a way to tell Bill what they were doing without giving too much away. It would be betraying Dumbledore's trust if she told him everything. 

"We're looking for a way to destroy You-Know-Who, Bill. Bellatrix accused Dante of something that we didn't even know about. When he didn't give her the answer she wanted, she tortured him. He would have died, Bill, if Dobby hadn't come and rescued us." 

Bill nodded forlornly. "The elf that had rescued you and your friends has died, Annie. They're burying him, now." 

Annie was quite saddened by the news. But, of course, she had seen the elf die right before her very eyes while trying to comfort a traumatize Durante Knightley. She knew that she would have to tell Dobby 'good bye' later, when they had finished burying him. 

"That was all that I needed to know. You can go back to Dante," said Bill. Annie nodded. She began to turn around when Bill called out to her again. "And Annie? Keep watch over your friend. He seems to really respond to you. He might need you by his side while he recovers." 

Annie nodded. "I know. I was planning on staying with him, anyways, in case he needed anything." 

Bill patted her gently on the shoulder, giving her a slight smile. "You're a good, young woman, Annie. Dante must be thrilled to have someone like you take care of him while he recovers." 

And with that, Bill left Annie to some peace and quiet. She stood there, staring after where Bill had left, before retreating back to Dante's room. When she got there, Fleur was already working on his arm. 

She was relieved when she saw that Dante was being taken care of. But it quickly transferred to distress when she saw him breathing heavily, chest heaving. Sweat coated his face and more tears streaked down his cheeks, though Melly noticed that his tears were less than it was earlier. When the cotton ball touched his half-healed wounds once more, his body tensed and he whimpered. 

With her heart strings tugging uncomfortably at his distress, Annie hurried forward, taking his other free hand in hers. When Dante felt Annie's familiar hand touching his, Dante's eyes slowly blinked open He grimaced, showing his pain. His eyes were watery. 

"I'm here, Dante," Annie reassured him as she ran her fingers gently through his matted, sweaty hair. "I'm here." He grimaced again and scrunched his eyes closed. She turned to Fleur, who gave Dante a sympathetic, apologizing look. Annie sighed, holding onto Dante's hand more tightly. "Is there any way you can make his pain less?" 

Fleur shot Annie a look of apology. "I'm sorry, Annie. But I'm afraid that I don't. I'm doing my best to not hurt him. But his wounds need intense recovery. I don't like seeing him be in pain, either. I reassure you. But this is all that I can do right now. I have no skill of Madame Pomfrey from Hogwarts, or the natural skills of a Healer. But I'm almost done healing him." 

Annie nodded, keeping her eyes anxiously on Dante. She continued to hold his other hand and stroke her fingers through his hair. At long last, Fleur was done healing him, and Dante let out a sigh of relief. He relaxed now, a soft smile on his face. Annie looked up gratefully at Fleur. 

"Thank you, Fleur." 

"Of course. Call me if you need anything else." 

********

Annie continued to stay with Dante, even while he had fallen asleep. The only time she left was to bring a glass of water to Dante in case he woke up feeling thirsty, and to go have dinner with the rest of the family. Annie wasn't too surprised when she found that no one was touching their food. But the moment she walked into the kitchen where everyone else sat, they all looked expectantly up at her. 

"How's Dante doing?" Hermione asked at once. 

"He's doing okay. He's sleeping right now," Annie answered, sitting down in her seat. 

"I feel horrible for him," Luna commented thoughtfully. "He didn't have to go through that. But I could tell that his head was not filled with Nargles or Wrackspurts while he was up there with her." 

Annie sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, his aunt is a horrible bitch of a woman." 

They sat in silence, continuing to do their own thing, when quite suddenly —

Crash! 

Everyone jumped when they heard the crash. Hermione and Luna looked concerned. Annie was the first to leap immediately to her feet. Her face had a panicked look flashing across her face. 

"DANTE!" 

She darted off to Dante's room to see him flailing around, his body twisted in his bedsheets. Annie lit her wand, getting a closer look. His eyes were squeezed shut, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Sweat beaded his forehead, staining his nightshirt. His face looked flushed, and tearstains soaked his cheeks. He whimpered, clutching at his bad arm. 

Annie put down her wand on the bedside and immediately pinned both of his arms down to the mattress, ignoring the way he strained against her. She tried to persuade him to wake up. But all he did was squirm against her hold. Finally, she got Dante to wake up after a few words of reassurance. He stared up at her with big, tear-filled eyes, nearly on the point of hyperventilating. 

Annie could not stand to see him be in pain. Her lower lip quivered and she finally embraced the terrified boy in her arms. She hugged him tightly in order to calm him down in some way possible. She allowed him to sob on top of her, his shoulders shaking with each shaky breath he took. 

"Deep breaths," she murmured softly as she ran her fingers through his messy hair. "Take deep breaths, Dante. You're safe here. Okay? I promise. No one will hurt you here." 

Finally, he managed to calm down. The tight hold on Annie's shoulders relaxed. His hyperventilation slowed to stuttering breaths. Dante could feel the burn on his arm where Bellatrix had written the cursed words upon his flesh, and he flinched in pain. But it didn't sting nearly as badly as it did less than twenty-four hours ago. 

Annie continued to soothe him for as long as he needed. Dante curled himself against Annie, allowing himself to relax. She hummed a quiet tune, and he seemed to relax, just at the sound of her voice. She finally paused. 

"Are you okay, now?" 

Dante hesitated for a second before finally nodding. 

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" 

Dante hesitated at this, clutching tightly at the back of Annie's jacket. 

No, he did not want to go back to sleep. He was afraid of the nightmares that had endlessly tormented him throughout his entire life. But he was so tired, he could barely move. His body still felt numb from the shock of the pain he had to endure. He finally nodded against Annie's shoulder. 

"All right." She allowed him to get comfortable on the mattress and pulled the covers up to his shoulders. "Try and get some sleep. Call me if you need anything." 

She was about to leave, but Dante caught her wrist before she left him alone completely. She stopped, turning to face him. She frowned in confusion. 

"Please," Dante finally whispered. His eyes were filled with tears. He was afraid that she would would come back to his dreams and haunt him. "Stay." 

Annie smiled gently. She knew that she could never say 'no' to an innocent boy like Dante. So instead of leaving, Annie gently let herself slowly out of his grip. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, wondering if she was leaving him forever. But he relaxed when he saw that Annie was keeping her promise. She moved to the free side of the bed and got herself comfortable.

Dante hesitantly moved himself closer to Annie. He did not want to take over her space. But he was relieved when Annie motioned for him to come over. He blushed and allowed himself to get nearer to Annie. The second he relaxed against her, she enfolded him into an embracing hug, pressing a gentle kiss to his messy curls. 

"I'm right here, Dante," she cooed gently to the terrified boy. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again, okay? I promise." 

Dante nodded sleepily and finally allowed his eyes to close. 

Annie barely moved. She did not want Dante to wake up suddenly. No one disturbed her or Dante. They all knew that Annie was trustworthy when it came to protecting Dante, especially after the horrible ideal that he had gone through. 

But at last, Hermione had finally come in to check on them. She slowly opened the door, making Annie look up, her protective instincts kicking in again, along with the all-too-familiar rush of  adrenaline. Her hold around Dante tightened for a split second, only to see Hermione in the doorway. Her eyes fell upon the sleeping boy in Annie's arms, and she smiled softly, knowing that Annie had used her magic touch to calm him down. 

She walked over and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. She stared at the slumbering boy in Annie's embrace, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Light snores escaped his lips, which Annie found rather adorable. 

"How's he doing?" Hermione finally asked under her breath. 

Annie smiled, glancing down at the sleeping boy. She ran her fingers through his curly hair. 

"He'll be fine. It'll take him to recover from the shock that Bellatrix had bestowed upon him." 

Hermione's face hardened at the mention of Bellatrix. "It's horrible, what she did to him. I can't even begin to imagine how much pain he's in right now." 

"We're doing everything we can to take care of him, Hermione. And that's a promise." 

Hermione nodded, knowing that Annie would keep her promise. Especially when it came to the young Knightley boy. 

"Just . . . . Just stay with him, won't you? He seems to really respond well when you're around. He needs you, Annie." 

Annie smirked and tried to lighten the mood. 

"Just like you need Ron?" she tried to tease. 

Hermione blushed and quickly tried to change the subject. "We don't talk about that. We're talking about Dante. We know that You-Know-Who is clearly after him, as he's a part of the Malfoy family. Maybe not directly, but he is." 

Annie did not need Hermione to remind her that, but she knew that her friend was right. Instead, she nodded in agreement. 

"You're right, Hermione. He does need my help. Hell, he needs all of our help. He needs all the support he can get." 

Hermione nodded, her brown eyes on Dante again. She patted Annie gently on the shoulder. 

"Try and get some sleep. Keep a close eye on Dante, too. We've got some planning to do once Dante has fully recovered." 

Before Annie could say any more, Hermione had gotten to her feet, and left the room, closing the door softly behind her as she left.