Hearts are Blind (Severus Snape X OC)

The Tears and The Pendant

If she was being completely honest with herself, after everything she'd been hearing from Professor Snape (and adding to the fact that several of her best mates were sort of saying the same things), the long walk to meet up with Tristin was one of the most intimidating of her life.

She was dressed in her winter robes, as she walked down the halls. After climbing a dozen staircases, her forehead had begun to perspire. Whether it was because of her heavy garb or because of what she knew she was about to face, she didn't know. Her mind was reeling. She half expected the boy to zap her with his wand the moment she stepped out into the cold air of the Astronomy Tower... but, of course, he didn't.

As she went up the winding steps, his form came into view. The layer of snow covering the floor of the tower softened her footsteps and the wind froze the sweat on her forehead, as she walked towards him. He had his back to her, black cloak billowing behind him in the winter breeze; arms folded atop the stone wall, his chin resting on them; his face gazing out over the school grounds, as the last of the grey light of late afternoon faded into the west. He couldn't see her approaching him, but he seemed to know she was there.

"Come to break up with me?" He asked, when she was only a few feet away.

Lucinda stopped in her tracks and her heart skipped in fear for the smallest of moments... but then she relaxed again. He didn't sound angry, at all. The voice that came out of him was a replica of the same dejection that had plagued his speech, as of late. The girl took a steady breath and finished her journey to his side.

Tristin kept his eyes on the fading horizon, as she slowly stepped up next to him and stared into the side of his face. His gaze flickered over her for a moment and then he looked ahead again. "It's alright," he said, smiling sadly. "I kind of saw this coming."

The snow swirled around them and Lucinda let a nervous breath out. "I'm sorry—"

"Ah, well don't be sorry, Morgan." Tristin gave a genuine smile at the frozen Black Lake in the distance. "It was my own fault." His smile slowly disappeared the longer he stared at the scene. Then he turned dark eyes on her, face a little apprehensive, and added, "It was, wasn't it?"

Lucinda chewed her lip uncomfortably and dropped her gaze to their feet. What did he expect her to say? "I don't know how to... respond to that..." She said quietly.

"And there is my answer." He said—just a touch bitterly—and looked out over the castle grounds again.

"Tristin..." the girl spoke tentatively and brushed her blowing hair behind her ears. "It isn't that I... blame you." She looked at him, eyebrows rising up and head tilting slightly into his line of vision. The boy looked at her.

"You don't?" He asked, surprise coating every bit of his tone.

Lucinda twisted slowly and leaned her back against the wall next to him. She didn't answer him for several seconds. Did she blame him? Truthfully?

Yeah, kind of...

But her own guilt made it impossible to say so. No matter what happened with Tristin, she still did things that were simply unforgivable; things that she never would have done, before coming to Hogwarts; feelings she never would have acted on in any other situation... had Severus not been involved.

"There were some things you did that were a bit... dishonorable, but..." Lucinda finally answered him and then ended her thought with a weak shrug, staring toward the darker side of the horizon. "So did I..."

Tristin didn't say anything. He just watched her gazing out at the dimming sky behind him; the snow fell heavy on her hair, getting tangled in the dark waves and curls.