He was shaking her, hard. She could smell the liquor on his breath, mixed with his own rancid scent. Beer and body odor, nausiating. She closed her eyes, trying to bite back the scream caught in her throat. Her arms throbbed where he gripped them, she knew she would have bruises the next day.

She felt hot tears fall down her cheeks and all he did was laugh. Inside she was screaming...

Her body was drenched in sweat as someone shook her softly. When she opened her eyes, she froze, remembering where she was. Looking around, she saw Elena sitting on the side of her single bed, trying not to get to close to her flailing body. The concern etched on her face tore at Rhian's heart and she sat up to gether her in her arms.

She kissed her sister on the crown of her head, folding her into her lap. She was still smaller than her, though not by much, now a days. Elena was one year away from starting at Hogwarts, but was still small for her age. Her soft brown hair curling around her face. She stroked her back gently, trying to ease her own mind while comforting the little angel.

"I love you, Lena, you know that," Rhian said. She felt tears welling up in her eyes that her sister had to see her like this. It was something she hid very well from most people. But she wasn't able to control everything while sleeping. The memories took over then, some nights worse than others.

Elena looked up at her big sister, love shining in her eyes. Rhian thought her heart would break with that look. This little girl who loved her, who saw her pain, but didn't understand where it came from. She'd been so young then, just a baby.

"I love you too, Rhi." She tucked her head under Rhian's chin, making her lean back against her headboard for support. As they listened to each other breathing, neither saying a word, Rhian tried to blink away the tears.

She'd made a promise. A promise to her two year old sister. That Elena would feel nothing but cherished and loved for all of her life. That she'd never feel pain, even though, now, Rhian new she could never keep that promise. She never let anyone close enough to her heart to harm her, but she'd seen enough in school to know what awaited Elena, who had the temperment of a baby lamb, with the biggest heart she knew.

Closing her eyes, Rhian felt Elena's breathing level out and her body grow heavy with sleep. "I promise," she whispered, before drifting off to sleep herself.