Barnaby Lee x Reader - Year 6

All Good Things Come to an End

Lana and her friends were sat by the black lake, catching up with each other for good, as they hadn't all had the proper chance to since school started. The Gryffindor was feeling tense, and she had been for the past couple of weeks since she found Jacob again.

It was the first time they all properly hung out with one another, but Lana wasn't in the best of moods. The topic of conversation got to her, and she was becoming more and more impatient with everyone.

"It's too dangerous, guys!" Lana exclaimed, feeling more irritated by the second.

"I don't think any of us care about that right now, Lana. All that matters is your safety if you're the one to break the curse. If anything were to happen to you, then this statue curse won't budge. That's where we come in." Rowan said, earning some nods in agreement from the group.

"I don't want any of you to get hurt. You know what that white quill said - trust me, they're not kidding when they say they 'intend to collect'." the brunette said sternly.

"We'll always be right there beside you, Lana." Barnaby tried, placing a hand on her knee, but she stood up and shrugged him off.

"That's the problem!" she yelled, "Why cant any of you see that being close to me in any way could potentially cost you your lives?!" she added, eyes becoming glossy.

Everyone looked awkwardly at each other and the ground, not sure what to do or say - it was very rare that Lana got angry, let alone this angry.

Lana took a deep breath and walked away from the group, sitting a few metres away on the bank to try and cool off. Barnaby sighed and followed her, sitting next to her.

"Lana—"

"What?" she snapped.

"I know you think you can do this alone, but you really can't. Nobody can. Everyone needs someone behind them." Barnaby said.

"That's not necessarily true." Lana frowned.

"Lana, I'm telling you—"

"Ugh, you need to let me breathe, Barnaby! Every time I mention the vaults, it's like you pounce on me so I can't go anywhere! I don't need you all the time!" Lana yelled.

"I only wanna protect you!" he yelled back, a frown forming on his face.

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't want you protect me anymore!" the girl exclaimed, burning her eyes into his own that immediately widened.

"W-What do you mean?" Barnaby asked, frown disappearing completely.

"I mean...I think we should split up." Lana said, swallowing thickly to try and stop herself from crying.

"You're serious?" he asked, voice cracking.

"Y-Yeah."

All Barnaby could do was stare blankly at the girl, eyes brimming with hot tears, heart aching like no pain he'd ever felt before. He stood up and ran a hand though his hair, tears running down his cheeks. He took one last look at Lana and let out an airy laugh in disbelief and simply said "Ok." before he walked off, footsteps heavy.

The rest of the group just stared in shock at the sight. Lana sat on the lake's bank, head in her hands as she sobbed, realising what she'd just done. Penny watched as Barnaby entered the castle, then flicked her eyes over to Lana, who was now stood up.

"Lana—" she started, but the girl simply dismissed her with a wave of her hand, and sped walked off back to her dorm, tears streaming down her face.

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The next morning, Rowan practically had to drag Lana out of bed to go to breakfast with her. The brunette didn't sleep that night, unable to stop the tears from flowing. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked as though she'd been hit by the Knight Bus.