𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐙𝐄𝐒 ☾ r. lupin

₃₃ rock bottom

THALIA'S BREATH caught in her throat as she forced herself to look away. Although she didn't know if that was much better, either. All 3 of her friends were staring at the couple, watching to see how Thalia would react.

She wouldn't react to anything.

Looking ahead of her, Thalia walked back over to her friends and smiled. "Let's go look at some other things," she said, dragging them over to the dried flowers.

"I've been meaning to buy some of these," Thalia explained, grabbing a jar full of baby's breath. She looked over all of the flowers, grabbing lavender, lilacs, and some rose petals. After that, she wandered over to all of the waxes, her gaze lingering a little too long on the maroon and emerald green. Thalia felt a lump grow in her throat, especially with Rhiannon's voice carrying through the store.

"Maeve, buy these for me will you?" Thalia said, thrusting her basket towards her friend and dropping some coins into it. "I'll be back."

"Wait, Tal-" Maeve was cut off by Thalia turning around and heading out of the shop.

She coughed to try and get the sob out of her throat, stopping for a second when Sirius Black spoke up next to her.

"Thalia Frilio, the girl who saved the day," he said, standing next to James Potter.

Thalia closed her eyes for a second, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. Quickly wiping it away, she started moving again.

"Hey," Sirius started.

"I'm not in the mood, Sirius," Thalia responded, returning her determined walk towards the train. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be in her apartment, with her cat, Cerberus, and her scented candles, and her oversized jumpers. She was over the school year. She was over the students.

She was over not being enough. For anyone.

"Thalia!" Maeve called, a bag swinging from her arms as she caught up to her friend. Thalia's hair was changing again, not its elegant silver anymore. Maeve stared at it for a second, watching as it morphed into a dark purple.

"What?! What is it?" Thalia said, startling Maeve.

"No, you don't get to do that to me. What the hell is wrong?" She asked, catching Celina and Marya walking towards them from the corner of her eye.

"Nothing, okay? Nothing," Thalia said, wiping another tear from her cheek.

"If you don't speak up I'm putting Veritaserum in your pumpkin juice," Maeve threatened, clutching the bag in her hands.

"Maeve, I'm really not in the mood for an interrogation. I just want to go home."

"No. What the hell happened in there? You went ballistic with the flowers, and the wax, and the ink. What's your problem?" Maeve started. "Was it Remus? Because, newsflash, he's with someone else."

"God, don't you think I know that?" Thalia yelled, turning around and facing her. "You don't think I know that I ruined my chance? You don't think I know, Maeve?"

Celina and Marya stood watching, eyes wide as Thalia lost it. They had never seen her yell at anyone besides the Marauders. Thalia was confrontational but she never raised her voice.

Maeve stared at Thalia for a second, the bag still clutched tightly in her hands. She didn't say anything. Didn't reach out, didn't talk, didn't do anything. So Thalia scoffed, turned on her heel, and walked away.

She was a traitor.

"Where are you going?" Marya called after her.

Thalia didn't stop walking, merely yelling back at them, "to talk to my mother."

__________

"Come on, I need a notebook," Rhiannon said, tugging Remus along in Gil's Stationary. Thalia and her friends had left, the bell tinkling as they all walked outside. 4 times. It rang 4 times.

Remus laughed at her, trudging along as she picked through different leather bound books. He wasn't going to lie, Remus had never been in this store before. It smelled like the Hogwarts Library, only a little cleaner. 

"Come here," Rhiannon said, beckoning him forward with a wave of her hand. As Rhiannon was showing him 2 different journals, they both heard yelling from outside. One sounding like Sirius and the other Maeve. 

Remus frowned for a second, surprised at hearing the shouting. They had both come to a truce after the Halloween party, deciding to just tolerate each other. That meant no yelling, no pranks, and definitely no fights. 

"Come on," Remus said, grabbing Rhiannon's wrist and bringing her outside. They managed to catch Maeve hurrying after Thalia, holding a brown paper bag in her hands. 

Thalia's hair turned a dark purple just then. Remus' eyebrows went up, wondering what that meant. 

"Woah," James whispered, watching as Thalia's hair changed color. 

There was a bit of bickering between the girls before Maeve said, "No. What the hell happened in there? You went ballistic with the flowers, and the wax, and the ink. What's your problem?" she started. "Was it Remus? Because, newsflash, he's with someone else."

Remus took in a breath of air and held it there for a second, watching to see Thalia's reaction. He didn't realize that Rhiannon was still standing right next to him, watching this whole ordeal happen. 

"God, don't you think I know that?" Thalia yelled, turning around and facing Maeve. "You don't think I know that I ruined my chance? You don't think I know, Maeve?" 

Remus' eyebrows raised, a hand clasping down on his shoulder as Sirius went wide eyed, too. "Merlin's beard," Sirius whispered, watching as Thalia laid all of her feelings out on the table.

Thalia turned on her heel and walked away a few seconds later, ignoring how her friends called out her name. 

The last words that came out of her mouth were, "to talk to my mother."

This time it was Sirius' turn to suck in a sharp breath, only letting 3 words come out. "That's not good."

_____ A/N _____

dun dun dunnnn ! villain arc. 

remember to eat and drink water !

<3