Sneak

She knew what she had done was stupid, reckless. Even as she had stood in the office, surrounding by cats in pink boys and tables covered in crocheted doilies, she knew what she was doing was bad. The Professor's wide grin had said it all; Potter and his friends were in deep trouble, and so was Cho.

"Marietta? Come on, will you come out?"

Marietta sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. For once, she didn't care that a trail of snot was left on her jumper, how disgusting she was. She looked up into the bathroom mirror, already knowing that her face was much worse. Her eyes were red, and her face blotchy. Her limp red-blonde hair stuck to the tear-tracks running down her cheeks. She was a right mess, but as her eyes trailed further up to her pimple-covered forehead, the tears came fresh.

Sneak.

No matter how much she tried to scrub them away, the sores would not leave her skin. She had never had completely clear skin like some girls in her year boasted, but her blemishes could always be concealed. The words on her forehead now, however, gave 'problem skin' a whole new meaning.

"Marietta, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad, anyway," Cho's voice called from behind the door.

For once in her life, Marietta thanked her lucky stars that Moaning Myrtle haunted the bathroom. Although the ghost had cackled at her appearance at first, she had eventually agreed to help Marietta keep out her friend—at least until she was ready to talk.

Marietta sniffled again and turned on the faucet. The rushing water drowned out Cho's insistence that she come out, and Marietta used the opportunity to splash her face with the cold water again. It wouldn't do any good for her predicament, but at least it would help cool down her cheeks.

Using a few scraps of toilet paper, Marietta dried her eyes and took a deep breath. She was still hideous, still a sneak; she would have to cut a fringe or something when she got back to her dormitory. Now, however, she had to face the music.

Her heart began to palpitate as she tossed the toilet paper into a wastepaper basket and headed towards the door. Her legs trembled as she reached out for the doorknob and turned it. The cold metal handle bit into her clammy palm, but with a deep breath, she twisted it.

What would Cho say? She sounded concerned now, but would she get angry when she saw her? Was she there to simply tell her that she never wanted to see her again, to never be her friend?

These thoughts continued to pound in her ear as she pushed against the door. She had never been this nervous about anything in her life before—not even her OWLs last year.

What if Cho never saw her again? Worse still, what if she thought she was ugly, and would never want to—

Myrtle crossed her arms and shook her head from a nearby stall, no doubt disappointed that she was no longer needed to flood the bathroom or threaten to fly through anyone who tried to get in. Marietta ignored her, however, too focused on Cho's shocked face to care.

"... Marietta."

Cho's gasp said it all. Marietta looked down at her feet, her eyes feeling hot and tired. More tears threatened to spill, and she blinked furiously to stop them. She was right—Cho did think she was ugly now. Uglier. Cho had probably already guessed that she was responsible for the disbandment of Dumbledore's Army, but the writing on her forehead now set that suspicion in stone.

Well, at least she could try to apologise, to explain, before Cho left her for good.

"I—I'm sorry!" she blurted, raising her sleeve to her nose again. "I didn't mean to—I wasn't trying—but they were—and my mum—"

Great, choking sobs wracked her body, and she had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. She snuck a peak at Cho, her heart still pounding as she saw her friend's face. Tears were also welling up in her lovely dark eyes, making Marietta's body hurt even more. She had betrayed her best—and often only—friend.

"I—Umbridge—my mum," she tried again. The words barely came out, but still, she had to try. She could hear Cho give a sniffle and continued, "You—you were—going to get in—into trouble. I wan—wanted to save—save you. I'm sor—"

Before she could finish, she was pulled forward. For the briefest moment, she thought that Cho was so furious with her, so angry, that she was going to hit her. As such, she squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the blow. Instead, Cho's arms wrapped around her, her hands rubbing up and down her back.

"It's ok, I know," Cho whispered, holding her tight. She had to repeat it a few times before Marietta could register what she was saying.

It was… ok?

After a few moments in which Marietta was sure she had stained Cho's pristine uniform with snot and tears, she pulled back and stared into her eyes.

Cho was still silently crying, but her lips were pulled up into a small smile. She reached forward, gently pushing a strand of her curly hair from her sticky cheeks.

"I'm not mad—not any more, anyway. I was hurt at first that you didn't at least come to me, but I understand. It was only a matter of time before Umbridge found out what we were doing—"

At this, Marietta's eyes welled up yet again. Part of her knew that Potter's little group were already known to Professor Umbridge to some extent; the Inquisitorial Squad was always sniffing around the seventh-floor corridor waiting for them to slip up. Why should she have protected a group lead by a known liar from a school teacher and Ministry employee? The truth was, she knew they would get caught, and she didn't want her or Cho to be blamed for the group. What would her mother say if she were expelled?

What she hadn't thought too much about was that if she had just waited for someone else to expose them, she wouldn't be stuck with a messed up Minister for Magic had called her useless, the DA now hated even more than before, and Cho—well, Cho was being her usual forgiving self.

Cho patted her back again and continued, "—but if I were you, what with your mother and all, I doubt I would have been able to resist Umbridge either."

Marietta sniffled and lifted her head. "Really?" she asked.

Cho's smile grew, the tears she had now long gone. "Really," she said. "Now, let's go see Madame Pomfrey. You are not a 'sneak', and we don't want you to walk around with false advertising now, do we? You could at least walk around with something like 'good friend', right?"

This time, a relieved sob escaped Marietta's lips. It soon turned into a small, awkward chuckle, the humour from Cho's words trying to seep past the reality of her situation. She allowed her friend to wrap her arm around her shoulder and guide her down the hall, relishing the comfort it provided. A few students stared at them as they passed, but as she clutched onto Cho's arm, she was able to keep walking.

Cho didn't hate her, not at all, and if that was all the good she was left with after her actions, it was more than enough for her.

A/N: This story was written for The Golden Snitch forum (come join us!). Specifically, this was written for Cheeky Slytherin Lass' 'The Great School Bake Off' competition. Black Forest Jubilee: 1. Chocolate Cake (Pairing: ChoMarietta) 2. Cherry filling (Emotion: nervous) 3. Almond whipped cream frosting (Restriction: No mentioning any Hogwarts Houses) 4. Topped with a chocolate covered cherry (Word: reckless)

I'm not that good at writing slash or femm!slash, so I hope this passes for the prompt :)