War Waged Alone is Never Won FINISHED

To say he was confused, and hurt, was a severe understatement. Even though he'd only known Maisy for a couple weeks, it had seemed like forever. She was the closest friend he'd made at Hogwarts until this point, so why now was it that she was nowhere to be seen? Well, that was a lie. The Slytherin had been spotted by him a multitude of times over the course of this week long silence. He remembered each time distinctly, and after each time Maisy would go to greater and greater lengths to avoid him. Constantine could recall the day that he'd spotted her in the Great Hall, his excited smile met with her own, uneasy glance before she had darted off. The Hufflepuff had angrily speared his breakfast with his fork on that occasion, with no intent to eat it. He could replay the time they'd walked past each other in the corridor, not spared a single glance as the Slytherin strode by. What had he done to deserve such a thing?

At first, he felt an overwhelming guilt. It must be his fault - that was the only reasonable conclusion. He'd scarcely ever seen her angry, only when confronting that senior group. Had he really been that horrible? Next, he felt sad. Perhaps Maisy had used him to her advantage just to get Luke off of her back, and now wanted nothing to do with him? Constantine hated the thought, that she was just another stereotypical Slytherin that had manipulated his willingness to help. The Hufflepuff had then felt an immense betrayal, an indescribable ache that he couldn't understand. Had everything been a lie? Was what she had been telling him true? Before he knew it, he was back to anger. Fine. If that's how she wanted to play it, he wouldn't chase after her. But first, he wanted answers.

He'd looked pretty much high and low, everywhere that wasn't restricted for a student. With each attempt to find her falling through, his heart sank a little bit more. This feeling was all too familiar, and it made him want to sit in his dormitory and never come back out again. Constantine trudged down to the lake reluctantly, forcing one foot after the next. Maybe she was sat in her own common room, smug that she'd outsmarted both Luke and himself in one foul swoop. Or maybe, the accomplishment of 'befriending' him and then tossing him to the dirt had earned her a place in their ranks. Gritting his teeth in a mild fury, he paced down to the shoreline, pelting a few pebbles into the water with his shoe. The Hufflepuff knelt at the water's edge, fighting back the temptation to cry. He hated being ignored, and yet, it seemed to favour him greatly.

Constantine stayed in place for a second, bitterly looking out into the depths of the lake. Usually, he enjoyed the view, but now it was simply an annoyance. It was the last place to check, and he hadn't found what he was looking for. What would he do now? Were they now not friends? The Hufflepuff didn't know what to think anymore. However, he knew that staring at the lake was definitely not the answer. Constantine got up, giving the water one last sorrowful glance. Although, he hadn't expected for Maisy to be standing right there. It was a shock to see her so close, but he didn't stay like that for long.

"Oh, so you've finally shown yourself - or are you planning to run off again?" He snapped, storming closer. He was not going to let her leave, not until she'd explained herself. The Hufflepuff radiated anger, his fists closed tight, though there was hurt in his eyes. Constantine pointed an accusing finger in her direction. "So, what is it?" He attempted to shout, livid, though the end of his sentence wavered. Constantine wanted her to lay it out for him, why she was mad or what he had done. He partly felt to blame, but the rest of him argued that it wasn't his fault.

Constantine folded his arms sternly, waiting for an answer, a hint, anything.

Upon hearing the answer Maisy had shielded from him this entire time, he laughed. Of course, it was far from the jovial chuckle and teases he had shared during their time together. It was a disbelieving, almost hysterical guffaw that ended in a dead silence. He couldn't imagine it, or to be more precise, he didn't want to. "I...I can't believe you've just said that to me." Constantine spoke breathlessly. The Hufflepuff had never been ashamed of his house before, even when insulted by Luke. And yet, here he was, feeling the indignity of wearing the vibrant yellow attire. "Your 'own sort'?" He repeated, as if trying to understand a foreign language. "I thought you didn't believe in things like that, but I guess....I was wrong. " He rasped. Had he really known anything about her at all, or was it all just his own silly assumptions?

"Why aren't you looking at me? Do I disgust you that much?" Constantine gripped his arm tightly, willing himself to keep it together. His eyes stung, but he wouldn't allow himself to cry. He'd been in a scenario like this before, and it had hurt him immensely. The Hufflepuff didn't want to be left reeling like that again, ever. So, he reacted in the only way he knew how. With anger. "Of course, it was too good to be true. Are you one of Luke's lackeys now?" Constantine hissed, humiliated by the way she had stabbed him in the back. "Well, how is it? Have fun picking on all those first years?" The Hufflepuff prompted. It was vicious, and cruel, but what was he supposed to do? She looked sorry for herself, and it made him mad. Why did she have the right to act so downcast, when it was him who had to deal with the consequence? Even though she'd double-crossed him, he still felt a guilt when looking at her. Constantine had grown to worry for her, and he couldn't get rid of that feeling with a snap of his fingers.

"That settles it, then. But I won't be around to look out for you anymore, so don't say I didn't warn you." He added quietly, but he was sincere. The Hufflepuff turned his head to the side, covering his eyes with a sleeve. When it was removed again, he refused to look in Maisy's direction. He was already embarrassed enough, so to reveal that he was crying would only add to his shame.

"I don't understand, we've sorted this!" Constantine objected, realising that she was referring to Luke. They'd both made Luke and his friends back down, the former if only a little, so why was she bringing this argument back up? Besides, what they were doing was the least of his concern. "Is that why you're avoiding me? Because you're afraid I'll get hurt, or involved? It better not be." The Hufflepuff warned. He'd already made himself known to Luke, and had no intention of leaving Maisy to deal with it on her own, no matter how much she protested.

Constantine ran a hand through his hair, indicating that he was stressed. He turned to the Slytherin this time, disregarding his own watery eyes. "Look, I'm sorry I've made things worse by interfering, but you don't understand how much you're hurting me by saying we can't be friends." Constantine sniffled. He hated that he was making things difficult, even when he was attempting to fix things. "It really does hurt more than anything when you ignore me, much more than what Luke could ever do." He continued. Constantine knew she wanted their friendship to be over, but why should he make it easy? After all, he didn't feel the same.

"So, what do you want me to do? He snapped again, with a slight ferocity. "You say it's not sorted, but you don't want me to sort it. What choice does that leave me? It's unreasonable, and inconsiderate." Constantine chided. It was nice that Maisy cared for him, but this was just silly. The Hufflepuff would never put their friendship on the line like that, even if it meant getting picked on slightly more than usual by Luke. "You don't have to care about my safety. I'm my own person, and I'll stand up to Luke no matter if we're friends or not." Constantine stated, finality in his voice.

The Hufflepuff sat down, face resting on one of his palms, pulling up grass with his free hand. "Do you think that hating you would be easy? Because it isn't. I can't bring myself to resent any of my friends, even if what you'd said was hurtful." Constantine added with a sigh. At least Maisy hadn't ran off this time, it was the closest he'd gotten to someone who'd actively ignored him. Fortunately, it had not gone down like the situation with Adelaide.

"If it's not sorted, then what is it?" The Hufflepuff asked, wanting a little clarification.