LUNAR (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

Twenty Nine. The Owlery.

Marlowe hadn't expected to feel nervous to talk to Sean, but he did. It had been such a long time since they'd spent any amount of time together and Christmas had not counted, because Sean had basically been in the room and that was as far as his presence went. He and Caiti had felt like they were overcompensating for Sean's sour mood the entire time they were with him. Every time they had found themselves alone, it was like air flooded back into the room and he could breathe again.

He took his time in the locker room after practice that afternoon, trying to use the extra few minutes to come up with something to say when he arrived.

Of course, when he actually arrived on Sean and Evelyn's doorstep, the few ideas he had managed to come up with flew right out of his head.

Sean answered the door almost immediately so Marlowe knew he'd been waiting for him.

"Hi," Sean said quickly. He seemed as nervous as Marlowe felt.

"Hi," said Marlowe. "Evelyn's still at work?"

"No, she goes to yoga on Tuesdays."

"Oh," said Marlowe. He had sort of been counting on Evelyn being there, too.

He stepped inside a little further so Sean could shut the door.

"So, how've you been?" he asked. It felt weird to say. As long as they had known each other, they had seen each other every day. They had shared a room for seven years. They'd never had to ask questions like this.

Sean appeared to really be considering his answer because it took him a while to say something. "I've been a lot of things," he said finally. "That's why I wanted to talk to you."

Marlowe nodded once.

They sat down on opposite ends of the couch which was good because they didn't have to look at each other. He waited for Sean to start, but he didn't get right into his own story. Instead he asked, "How's quidditch been? How do you like it?"

Again, this question struck Marlowe as so odd. The fact that Sean didn't already know, that he even had to ask... it really drove it home how much they had been absent from each other's lives.

"Good," Marlowe said. He almost left it at that, but something in his gut told him he'd better kick himself into gear. Sean had held out the olive branch by sending him that owl. It was Marlowe's job to meet him halfway.

"It started out kind of weird," Marlowe said. "I didn't- I mean, it's just different than Hogwarts I guess. I didn't know anyone."

Sean didn't say anything, but he was clearly listening and that was a change from just a few weeks ago.

"I think they were all a little wary of me at first, but I don't know. It got better around Halloween. I feel a lot more comfortable now. I just want to get to play, I guess. I haven't actually gotten to play in a match since our last game."

"You'll get to," said Sean. "Eventually."

"Caiti keeps saying it'll happen this season, but I'm not counting on it," Marlowe said with a small laugh.

There was an awkward silence then. Marlowe scrambled to come up with something to say.

"I'm sorry I've been such a crap friend," Sean blurted out.

Marlowe didn't know how to respond to this. Was it okay to agree? Should he just brush it off?

"This year has been..." Sean ran a hand through his hair. "It's been awful. I quit my job a week ago and I still feel sick even thinking about it. Ev's been really understanding, but she's so cautious around me now and it;s just like constantly reminding me how bad I messed up. She doesn't trust me."