𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐏A𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄, jp

Sharing Secrets.

Isabella sat on her bed, her fingers clenched tightly around her Herbology book. She wasn't crying. She refused to give Remus the satisfaction making her cry, but her chest felt heavy, a tight knot forming with every thought of what he had said. His words kept replaying in her head, twisting into something sharper with every second. You ruined everything. You killed her.

The words stung no matter how often he had said it. This was just like the summer before her fourth year all over again — that one was really bad. The close proximity was really make things worse than she ever wanted them to be. School was supposed to be her escape from Remus, not where things got worse.

Her fist still felt sore from the punch. Her temper was never her strong suit, but in that moment, she really had felt something snap within her. She hadn't even realized how much she had been holding back, how much he had been grinding her gears the past few months.

She hated that she let him get under her skin, but she never had a break from him anymore, she wasn't used to it.

There was a knock at the door, but Marlene didn't wait for her to answer. "Bet that punch felt good, eh?" Marlene grinned, stepping into the girls dorm.

"It was brilliant," she replied, smiling a little, "and deserved. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't."

"He had it coming," Marlene shrugged, sitting cross legged at the end of Izzy's bed. "What was it over?"

"A table in the library," Izzy rolled her eyes.

"You're joking!?"

"Nope. Well, that's where it started anyway. He barged in telling me to sit somewhere else as if I hadn't been there all day," she huffed. "Obviously it turned into bigger things, but he always makes it that way."

"Oh Iz, he's awful," Marlene shook her head.

"It's typical Remus," she shrugged. "He's always like this, and I suppose an argument has been brewing. In fact, I'm surprised he's had the self control that he did. If we were at home, we'd have argued a hundred times in the span of three months."

"Why do you guys hate each other so much? What's the cause of all of these arguments? Surely it has to be something serious?"

"As much as I hate him, he doesn't want people to know," she shrugged. "Something happened when we were kids, and he blames me for it. It was completely out of my hands though, I was only ten."

"Was it...the werewolf thing?" Marlene asked, drawing the dots together, her eyes widening.

"No," Izzy said quickly. "No, that was when we were five. This was something different. Worse — kind of."

"Oh," Marlene bit her lip. "You know I won't tell anyone. Not saying you have to tell me, obviously, but you can if you want to, it won't go around."

Izzy paused. She wanted to tell someone. She wanted to let it out and finally be able to speak about it again, but she wasn't sure if she should. What if Marlene started to hate her for it?

But then again, what if she didn't, and what if someone finally understood?

"You won't even tell Lily or any of the other girls?" Izzy asked, feeling the sudden desperate urge to tell her.

"Not a soul, I promise."

"Okay...but please, don't tell anyone," she hesitated, was she really about to tell her this?

Apparently so. She needed to get it out.

"We had a sister, Maisie. She was seven. We were playing in the garden together, making daisy chains, and Remus had gone to get us all drinks because it was hot and," she paused. She hated telling the story. Marlene looked shocked at the fact they had another sister already. Maybe it was too soon - but she was too far in not to say now. Her heart was hammering in her chest. "A man came, Maisie saw him first, and I didn't believe her when she said there was a man in the garden. She always came out with funny things, she was young...our dad wasn't liked by dark wizards..."