Disclaimer; nothing you recognise belongs to me.
Demelza peered out the door, her eyes searching for teachers or students or anyone really that could potentially get her into trouble for wandering at this hour of the night. After moments passed and no one was in sight she took a step forward, her dark curly hair bouncing as she did, and tip-toed towards the nearest classroom.
She took a deep breath and opened the door before shutting it quietly behind her. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room and her body to find warmth in the chilly atmosphere. She sat down on one of the wooden benches and closed her eyes.
Merlin, she was tired. She wasn't quite used to actually learning at school and every lesson she still struggled to keep up. It didn't help that she hadn't been sleeping well lately. Although no one really was these days.
Her mind replayed the events of this past week. All the bad decisions she had made kept going over and over in her mind and Merlin knows she had made a lot. Mainly Jermaine Walters.
Jermaine was a nice guy, she would never say he wasn't. But his hair wasn't a mousy brown and his eyes weren't full of wonder and he was too tall and he was too broad and he wasn't Colin. Which was probably why she didn't like him the way she should.
Her eyes burst open as she heard a bang in the corridor. She stood up quietly and tip-toed towards the door where she saw Filch making his rounds. She swore under her breath and felt her chest tighten. She couldn't get caught, not if she wanted her parents to trust her. Although she wasn't really sure why they would anyway.
Filch continued his route down the corridor and passed the classroom without noticing the tall girl inside. Without a moment passing she snuck out the room and back into her dormitory. She tried shutting her eyes and calming her breathing but no matter what she did she just couldn't fall asleep. Not when the ghost of Colin kept keeping her awake.
"Demi, are you even listening?"
Romilda's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she glanced at Professor Sprout, who was still teaching at the front of the room. She wasn't feeling well, her stomach was in knots and with every movement she made she felt like she was going to vomit.
She couldn't tell Romilda any of this though, not if she didn't want to be smothered to death by her motherly love.
So instead Demelza just nodded and kept her eyes glued to the front of the room where she pretended to be paying attention.
Romilda though was no stranger to Demelza's weird habits and stubborn behaviour and knew better than to believe her every word. But instead of arguing with her she just rolled her eyes and shook her head before raising her hand.
"Yes, Ms Vane?"
Romilda glanced at Demelza from the corner of her eye before replying, "Demelza's not feeling so good can I take her to go see Madam Pomfrey?"
Professor Sprout's eyes softened before nodding. The events of last year had made the teachers more lenient and empathetic and while Professor Sprout probably knew they weren't actually going to the hospital wing, she let them go anyway.
Romilda smiled slightly and grabbed Demelza's hand before Sprout changed her mind. They walked out of the classroom quickly, hand in hand, before stopping in the corridor and leaning against the brick walls.
The sun shone from the windows and brightened the hallways. Demelza baked in it and let it warm her otherwise cold body.
Romilda stared at Demelza, her eyes checking for any sign of sickness or instability Demelza was showing.
"What's going on Demelza? These past couple weeks you've been bland and empty and unresponsive. You haven't been sleeping well either and don't look at me like that cause I know that you've been leaving the dorm halfway through the night and not returning till it's nearly morning." Romilda's voice cracked halfway through her speech and her eyes were filling with tears.
The war had impacted everyone in a different way and while it made Demelza empty and broken, it had made Romilda anxious and protective, especially over Demelza who she had known for years.
Demelza opened her mouth to respond and put Romilda's fears to rest but instead of words coming out vomit did instead. Romilda gasped, her eyes wide open as Demelza continued to puke her guts out onto the wooden floors.
She stopped and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater. Her head continued to pound and she still felt like crap but at least the knots in her stomach had disappeared.
Romilda didn't hesitate to grab her arm and help her upright. She started to walk her to the infirmary and this time neither of them spoke a word. Romilda was too worried about her physical health to continue talking about her mental health.
Demelza was in shock, there was no way what Madam Pomfrey was saying was true. There was no way that inside of Demelza's uterus a baby was forming. There was no way that she was pregnant.
Her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard as a sign of reassurance. Reassurance that everything was going to be okay, that Demelza would get through this and be a better person because of it, even though they both knew better than to actually believe that.
Her father, who was stuck on the other side of her, was silent. His lips were stuck shut and his eyes were wide open and Demelza was sure that his heart was breaking with disappointment due to the fact that his only child had just thrown away her future without a second thought.
Her parents were big on futures. They had always said that Demelza was lucky to have one, especially one full of bright opportunities and limitless possibilities. They told her that in Jamaica she might not have been so lucky, that when they were her age the education for growing wizards and witches was lacking and that she should be grateful that she was in England where life was good and safe.
Although right now life didn't seem to so good; not with her boyfriend dead and her depression developing and a baby in her womb and her future gone. Life didn't seem so good at all.
So, when Madam Pomfrey asked her who the father was and her parents looked at her, their eyes full of curiosity and disappointment, she didn't answer. Just because her future was ending doesn't mean his had to too. She wasn't about to ruin another life just because she had ruined hers.
She was sure her parents hated her, sure that they would never look at her the same way again. They had plans for her they said, plans of her getting a career and a life and now one moment of pleasure was going to cause a lifetime of struggle.
Demelza knew they were right, she knew that any hope she had had of a normal life was over. She was the pregnant girl with the broken heart and no one would want that.
Jermaine had found out as well and while he was supportive and said he wanted to be a part of the baby's life Demelza knew better. He wanted to be a journalist and have a life of ease and simplicity and becoming a father at 16 did not lead to the life that he wanted.
So, she shut off, for his sake and hers. She dropped out of school, moved back home and forgot about everything and everyone she used to love. She didn't play Quidditch, didn't talk to Romilda, didn't study. She gave up.
Cause now she didn't have school, she didn't see the point.
It wasn't long until her parents gave up and sent her back to school. They were tired of her brooding and sulking and deep down they still had hope that she could continue her studies and start a career, even with a baby.
Her stomach had already started to grow and her skin had already started to glow and her pregnancy had already started to show and it wasn't long until everyone started to treat her like crap because of it.
They whispered about her in the halls. About how her boyfriend had died and she had moved on right away and how this was karma's work at it's because if she wanted to be a slut this was what would happen.
They didn't know anything about her though. Not about her budding Quidditch career she had worked so hard for but eventually gave up on when she couldn't even get on a broom without sobbing.
They didn't know about how much she thought about Colin and how much she missed him and how she still thought about him every second of every day. They didn't know about Jermaine and how they had found each other in a moment of pain and suffering and how he was the only person who understood what she was going through because he was Colin's best friend in the entire world.
They didn't know about how she didn't mean to sleep with him and how it just happened because they were both craving love and affection and how it didn't take long for the two of them to realise that the love and affection they were craving could only come from one person and the fact that that person was dead made their hearts break all over again.
They didn't know that this baby was going to be her future now and while her parents may have thought that this baby had destroyed the future they had planned for her, she knew better.
She knew that in fact her future had died the day Colin did. Because when his heart stopped beating, her heart did too. But hopefully this child, her child, could change that.