War Waged Alone is Never Won FINISHED

Constantine did feel bad for Maisy, he truly did. It must be awful being in the same house as the person frightening you, the Hufflepuff couldn't image it. They were bound to bump into each other, which only made it worse. It was a nasty situation, but at least he was a senior, so he wouldn't be around too much longer. Although, Constantine still didn't enjoy the thought of Maisy having to put up with him until he left. "We really should tell somebody." He replied. Even though it may make the staff intervene, and help Maisy, it could potentially make Luke madder. "We could do it anonymously, right?" The Hufflepuff added.

"I know you don't want him to hurt anyone else, but why do you have to carry the burden? You shouldn't put so much responsibility on yourself." Constantine continued. "And stop it, the tree wasn't your fault. I'm not your responsibility, so what happened to me is none of your concern, alright?" He reassured firmly, attempting to get Maisy to accept it. They had to do something about this, now. It was no longer a nagging at the back of their minds, but a serious issue that couldn't be solved by ignoring it.

Despite knowing that the situation was riddled with anxiety in Maisy's case, the Hufflepuff couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Forgiveness hadn't crossed his mind the entire time, after all, she'd never really condemned herself against him in the first place. Though her words had hurt, he only needed to hear Maisy say that she didn't believe what she'd said was true, for him to feel slightly less offended by it. He'd never hold it against her, as she was purposefully trying to push him away - although it did sadden him that she'd use such a tactic, considering what he'd mentioned about Adelaide, and how he had originally felt a bit disappointed in his chosen house.

"You are truly the silliest Slytherin I've ever met." Constantine said endearingly, a lopsided grin plastered on his face, "I didn't do all of this just to end up not being friends with you, did I?" He smiled, playfully patting her on the head in a reassuring manner. "I haven't anything to forgive you for, anyway. I know you've been put under a lot of pressure, and I just happen to be a bit of a catalyst for trouble. But there aren't any hard feelings." Constantine stated. Maisy was probably his best friend as well, so seeing her so distraught about the way she had treated him was enough to absolve her in his mind.

Constantine agreed with Maisy the moment she'd said it; it truly had been one of the worst couple weeks he'd endured in a long time. He almost felt rather silly himself, for all the anger and sorrow he'd wasted on such a matter, one that could've been resolved in a relatively short yet meaningful exchange of words. The Hufflepuff was eased by the fact that Maisy still considered him a friend, even after his rather regretful outburst. At least now, after this experience, they'd hopefully never fall out over something so ridiculous. "I'm thankful to hear that." He smiled pleasantly, finding comfort in her words.

Of course, he couldn't agree with her next statement, and he doubted he ever would. Constantine was driven on the need to help other people, so being told that he couldn't only made him want to do it more. However, he'd learned that his insistence and interference had partially led to the falling out. Constantine accepted that he'd have to be more respectful of what Maisy wanted to do, even if he didn't think it was the best way. After all, it had been, and still was, her issue. And if the Slytherin wanted to tackle the problem on her own, he'd let her, so long as he was allowed to comfort her if anything went down the drain. "Alright....but can you at least keep me up to date? I won't do anything, promise." Constantine asked, the former part of his sentence reluctant, yet truthful.

"As long as you don't change too drastically, I'm all for it." He supported. It would be good for Maisy to get a little more confident. Maybe he'd have to take a leaf out of her book, and learn how to be a little less impatient, like his peers.

Constantine shook his head firmly, "Honestly, there's no need. You aren't indebted to me for one silly argument - if it worked that way, I'd owe a lot." He chuckled. Obviously, the Hufflepuff didn't want Maisy to feel like she had to make it up to him in any way or form. Constantine was completely fine with things just continuing the way they were before all of this began.

"Yeah, it has been pretty lonely." He admitted with a sheepish look, "Though that doesn't matter now." Constantine stated, eager to bury the hatchet. He knew that they would both change in the end, hopefully for the better rather than the worst, however he'd like to believe, just for a little while, that things would stay like they were now.

The boy shook his head again, "If you think that fixing this on your own will help you in the long run, I don't think it's dumb. Well, as long as you decide to take action, that is." He answered honestly. As long as it was sorted in the end, Constantine didn't mind what course of action she took, as long as it wasn't ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away.

"You flatter me too much." Constantine laughed shyly, brushing off the compliment. In his opinion, it was the other way around. He was extremely grateful that she had chosen to remain his friend, and not cut him off in order to spare him from Luke's possible taunting. "Oh, I love them! I haven't been close to one in person, but I've read about them! They're brilliant to look at, aren't they?" The Hufflepuff gushed.

He was briefly cut off by the serpentine creature that had been weaving it's way through the water, and he couldn't help but stumble onto his hands and knees to get a better look. Despite the act being rather foolish, he couldn't help but get closer to the water's edge, in an attempt to watch the figure in better detail. It surged towards them, before changing it's path. Constantine kept his eyes glued to it, watching as it delved back into the lake's darkening depths. "Wow! Did you see that? We were so close to it!" He beamed, looking over his shoulder at Maisy in delight.

Constantine nodded, "I think it's a good place to start." Constantine conceded with a smile, before shuffling back from the water. He liked watching the creatures in the lake, but didn't want to get splashed if they leapt from the water. "What's all this about Hippogriffs, anyway? Have you got one tucked in your pocket?" Constantine jested.