𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐲𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 (𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘳.𝘫. 𝘭𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘯)

ch17; apparently endless

It was Monday morning and Marina was sitting at breakfast. Her eyes still puffy, even though she tried to hide it with makeup. Last night she had cried herself to sleep, trying to wrap her head around what happened. Why did he just end things like that?

The twins were a sitting in front of her, planning their latest prank on Filch. Normally she would happily assist in their scheming but she was in much agony now.

Her somber trance was interrupted by the owls delivering the morning mail. When her family owl, Thebe, reached her, it dropped a few letters in front of her and sat on Marina's shoulder.

It were 4 letters and the Daily Prophet. The first one was a letter from her grandmother, telling her explicitly about how her 70 year old grandfather beat up a restaurant owner. Something about that he disrespected her grandmother, but Marina had trouble understanding the entire story because it was written in 3 different languages for some reason. The handwriting also looked very ancient, adding even more complexity.

The second letter was from her mother, asking her how she's been, especially after the break-in. A feeling of guilt washed over Marina as she remembered she hadn't written her parents in a month. She quickly made a mental note to write them later and closed her mother's letter again.

While Thebe flew away again, Marina opened the third, which was from Molly Weasley. It started with a really long story asking Marina to watch over Fred and George as they apparently blew up another toilet. She had already asked Percy, but they tended not to listen to him. At the end of the letter, Molly invited the Edmonds for Christmas Eve. Apparently, she was planning a big dinner party this year to lighten the moods with all that's been happening lately. It brought a smile on Marina's face, she already looked forward toward it. She used to love Christmas, but the last few years without her brother had been weird. To celebrate the holiday without him felt wrong and the whole dinner would be plagued by a melancholic feeling over the family of three. To do their traditions without him just felt wrong. So, spending Yule at the Burrow would lift their spirits a lot. Maybe she'd even make new traditions with the twins.

She then picked up the last letter, which looked quite different. It was all crinkled up and discolored by the sun. Her name was scribbled messily on the envelope, as if the person writing it had to hurry. She opened it and her confusion only grew. The letter was a ripped piece of parchment, on it stood:

I endure myself for the sole reason of existence. Only then can I achieve my desires.

Marina scrunched her brows together at the nebulous note. Her mind immediately went to Remus, but she knew that this wasn't his handwriting. In fact, she didn't recognize the handwriting at all. Maybe they sent it to the wrong person? But then she remembered it was specifically addressed towards her. Her mind started spiraling trying to understand the message, trying to come up with a theory about the sender.

Fred noticed her confused state and waved his hand in front of her.

"Hello? Earth to Marina?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, she looked up towards Fred and George sitting in front of her.

She chuckled softly,

"Sorry, I just received an odd note"

"Odd how?", George asked.

"I don't know, it's just a cryptic message with no sender"

Their expressions on the twins' faces became more serious, their protectiveness taking over.
"Is it a threat?"

"Wha- no, no, don't worry. Here look for yourselfs."

"All right, that's weird", Fred said with a chuckle.
"And you're sure you don't know who sent it?"

Marina nodded.

"Ok, well, let's just ignore it. But if you receive another one, you come to us, alright?"

Marina nodded again, but this time with an eye roll. "Okay mother"

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

The month of November passed rather quickly. For most students, it was just a regular school month in which nothing really happened. That's why when December rolled around, the entire school was filled with joy. The scenery around Hogwarts had turned an angelic white and the teachers had already started decorating the castle.

But it was different for Marina, who was trapped in an endless heartbreak. Almost all of her days were spent the same; waking up, crying, going to class, trying not to cry, eat, crying, sleep. The month felt like an eternity, for she had lost her first love. Of course there were days were she'd smile, but those had been rare lately.

Her friends had quickly taken notice of her change in behaviour and were extremely worried. But they didn't know what had happened and she wouldn't say a thing about it. So the last month it had been their top priority to make Marina smile. Everyday would be filled with cheesy jokes and bear hugs. When they did manage to make her smile, their entire day felt like a victory.

Of course, Francisco and Catalina had also taken notice of Marina's fragile state. The difference between them and the Gryffindors was that they actually knew what happened. They had on multiple occasions snuck Marina into Catalina's dorm, where they would comfort her and give her privacy if she needed to break down. After a few nights, Francisco started staying over in the room as well, cuddling Marina until she fell asleep.

Remus wasn't doing any better, he looked even more exhausted. The last full moon was complete and utter hell, it felt as though his broken heart worsened the pain of the transformation. But no matter what, he knew it was for the best like this. Even though it hurt him seeing his Marina so sad during classes, he held on that there'll be a day where she moves on and finds someone better for herself.

So, he had been ignoring her longing stares and Francisco's angry glares. Remus already knew that Francisco knew about him and Marina, but he didn't really mind. During the summer, Marina had told him endless stories about the two of them and how she trusted him with her life. He was just happy that she had someone to protect her, because he was unable to.

Right now, Francisco was sitting in the library when two people interrupted his study by sitting down in front of him.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend? Maybe you can join us and Marina at the Three Broomsticks." Marina's good friend Aurora asked. She looked hopefully at him.

"Don't worry, we'll set all Quidditch and House feuds aside, we just want to make Marina feel better again." Oliver said, who was sitting next to Aurora.

He put his quill down and said,

"Sure, anything for Mari."

Aurora squealed out of happiness, "Great!"