𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐲𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 (𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘳.𝘫. 𝘭𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘯)

ch16; agony

"W-what?"

"We can't do this anymore"

And just like that her entire world stopped,
"W-why?"

"Because...... Because I'm not good for you!"

Her eyes were welling with tears. She bent forward, trying to cup his face, only for him to move away and stand up. He turned his back towards her and mumbled,

"Just, just go"

Her lip started quivering,
"N-no. You can't just do this, Remus."

"But I can! Marina, I'm nothing compared to you. You have so many dreams and possibilities, while I'll only get in your way."

"Bullshit!"

"Pl-please, just leave"

"B-but I need you", she said in between sobs.

"Marina, wake up! I'm old and poor, I have nothing to offer. I'm only doing this for you, you deserve better..."

"No"

"Face it, this is wrong. We are not meant together." His voice cracked a little. "So please, don't make this harder for me than it already is"

Too lost for words, she turned around and walked out the door. Of course she wanted nothing more than to fight for her love, but she knew she was weak. She broke down after every argument she had and this one was too heavy on her soul for her to stay.

As she was walking through the hallways, she bumped into someone.

"S-sorry", she mumbled quickly.

"Marina? Are you okay?"

When she finally looked up, she noticed that the person she bumped into was Catalina Borealis, Francisco's friend.

She tried to answer, but at the sudden empathy received from the girl, her lip started quivering and she broke down.

Catalina was just on her way towards the teacher's quarters when she bumped into a girl she recognized to be Marina Edmonds. The girl was visibly upset, so she asked what was wrong. But the moment she asked, sed girl broke down crying in front of her.

Catalina might not have been close to her, but her caring instincts took over and wrapped Marina in a big hug.

"Shh, everything's going to be alright", she whispered softly as she stroke her hair. Marina was a lot shorter than her, so she rested her head on top of the girl.

"Come on, I'll bring you to your dorm."

"N-no", Marina quickly responded. She didn't want to go there, knowing she'd have to answer to her friends' questions about her state.

Catalina tried to think of a different solution, quickly settling for trying to sneak Marina into her dorm. Catalina was a prefect and had her own room, so it wouldn't be to hard to smuggle Marina in.

They arrived at the Slytherin portrait hole and Catalina turned to Marina, who was still sniffing and holding onto Catalina's sleeve.

"A-re you sure, I don't want to be a bother"

"Don't be silly, you're like Francisco's sister, so I care for you too"

A small, but genuine smile crossed Marina's face as she said, "Ok"

They were about to walk through the portrait when a second-year was looking weirdly at Marina, seeing her tie, but Catalina gave him an angry glare and he quickly scurried away.

Upon arrival at her dorm, Catalina put Marina down on her bed and walked towards the bathroom, where she grabbed a wet towel.

She came back, sitting down next to Marina, and started cleaning the girl's face from dried tears and makeup streaks.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Promise you won't tell", the girl said softly.

Catalina chuckled, "Honey, I'm a Slytherin. I was born to keep secrets." This caused Marina to break out a smile. "Plus, I'll tell you one of my secrets in return, if it'll help you trust me."

"O-ok, it's uhhh I... I kind off had a thing with professor Lupin, but he ended things just now" Out of shame she lowered her gaze, fumbling with her fingers on her lap. She was scared of the judgement she might receive, so she defiantly didn't see it coming when Catalina started laughing.

"Are you serious? Wow, oh my god. I- This is awesome!"

Marina looked up again, confused out of her mind. Catalina noticed the bewildered look on the girls face and quickly explained,

"I was just on my way to shag Snape."

Marina eyes tripled in size,
"What?"

Catalina finally calmed down from her laughter a bit, a few chuckles still escaping her lips.

"Yeah, it started because I failed this test, but it has become a kind of regular thing over the last month."

Marina couldn't even wrap her head around the absurdity and unknowingly started laughing as well.

"I- I- What?"

"Oh come on, you're not judging me are you?"

"Wha-No! How could I? I literally shagged Remus in the classroom last week!"

"Really?! Was it good?"

A blush rose to Marina's cheeks, but it was quickly faded away as a tear rolled over her cheek. It was over..

"Oh shit sorry, I didn't mean to upset you"

"N-no, it's alright. Not your fault"

"Let's talk about something else, alright? What's your opinion on Francisco's hair? It's slowly becoming a mullet. I told him to cut it but he did he said he wanted your opinion first."

Marina giggled softly upon hearing her best friend's behavior, finally able to get her mind a bit of Remus.

"I kind of like it, he looks like a rockstar"

Catalina smiled, happy that she was able to cheer Marina up at least a little.

The two girls spent the rest of the day in the dorm, finding out they had a lot more in common than they initially thought. For example, they both had a passion for literature. They quickly fell into a conversation, discussing Joyce's Ulysses and it's incredible symbolism.

When the lavish grandfather clock against the wall struck 7, the girls stood up to go to dinner.

"Thanks, by the way. You really made me feel better", said Marina. Although the constant aching in her heart hadn't left and she knew that tonight she'll most likely break down again, she was truly thankful for Catalina.

"No probs, love. If you ever need to talk or just want to hangout, just knock on my door."

Marina smiled, given the taller girl a tight hug.

When they dispersed, they walked out of the dorm, peaking around the staircase to see if the coast is clear.

"Alright, the common room seems to be empty. It's safe to go"

With a final wave, Marina walked quickly through the grand common room and stepped through the portrait. Now all she had to do was pretend to be alright for a few more hours during dinner and then she could let her emotions run wild.