DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER BUT I DO OWN MY CHARACTERS.
Gabriela looked down as she stood by the door. She could hear her parents' voice talking about the rest of her family. The day of her quinceñera had come and she had never been more nervous. From the confession to the fact that she invited Mona, she was afraid that she would crack under pressure.
As she saw the door of her house open wider, she was met with her cousins rushing to hug her. She was the oldest from her mum's side of the family and the others were all younger than ten. After she greeted her cousins, she saw her grandmother approach her
"Has crecido hasta ser tan hermosa, Gabriela." Her maternal grandmother told her. Her grandmother still lived in Uruguay and spoke only Spanish. While she understood English and could probably speak it, she refused to. "Estás creciendo para ser tan hermosa como tu madre." (You have grown to be so beautiful, Gabriela. You're growing up to be as beautiful as your mother.)
Gabriela glanced at her mum who was conversing with her brother. "Gracias, Abuela. ¿Cómo estás?" (Thank you, grandmum. How are you doing?"
"Estoy bien. Solo me duelen las articulaciones mucho más en esta edad." She responded to Gabriela. As Gabriela was about to greet her uncle, her grandmother turned to her parents. "¿Ya ha ido a confesarse?" (I'm good. Just my joints hurt a lot more in this age. Has she gone to confess yet?)
Her dad was about to open his mouth, but her mum spoke first. "La voy a tomar tan pronto como te conformes, mamá." Gabriela's eyes widened at her mum's words. She glanced at her dad who seemed just as shocked as her. (I'm going to take her as soon as you settle down, mum.)
"I thought I'm going to take her." Her dad cleared her throat a few times. "We talked about it a few times last night. Did you forget?"
"No, I didn't." Gabriela pressed her lips together. Since her mother had been diagnosed, she didn't go that much outside. She focused on gardening. When she did go outside, she always went out with her dad. "I just think I should take her to the church. It will make more sense if I do."
While her dad was Catholic as well, he was definitely not as religious as her mum and her family. Through the years, he didn't go to church as much as her mother and she did. He always seemed more distant to the religion compared to them. She had no idea why.
Her dad gulped down. "Then, Loretta will take her."
After they greeted their guests and they all were seated in the living room, her mum turned to her and smiled. "Gabriela, you should get ready to go to church. I'll just talk to mama while you get ready."
Gabriela nodded her head and climbed the stairs. She had hoped that she would go with her dad to the church, but now, she was even more nervous with her mum. Her mum was unpredictable at times and Gabriela didn't know how to react when she was. She was lost every time her mum did something that was out of the ordinary for them.
She breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. Another reason to be more nervous about the day was going to confessions. She had never confessed in her life and she didn't know what to do. She had a lot of things to confess, but it was one thing that had been bothering her since her third year. She knew that it was a sin and she tried to stop herself, but she couldn't. She had fallen in the depth of it and it made it worse that one of her friends accepted her. Christina should have condoned for her sin even though her friend didn't believe in sin.
Gabriela got ready after a few minutes. When she exited her room, she could hear her uncle Pablo speak to her dad.
"How is Loretta doing?"
Gabriela gripped the railing of the staircase as she eavesdropped on the conversation. While she knew a lot about her mother's state, she also knew that her dad didn't tell anything. "She's not as bad as last year." Gabriela pressed her lips together at her dad's words. They had hope, she thought. "But she seems more out of touch these days. She constantly loses her attention and sees things that aren't there. Two weeks ago, she put salt instead of sugar in a chocolate cake." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "She also forgets a lot that Gabriela isn't here. She forgets that she's fifteen at times and she's in Hogwarts." Gabriela was aware of this. Her mum got shocked at times when she saw that she was doing homework. "However, she always prays every night."
"She does?" She heard her dad hum at her uncle's question. "It doesn't surprise me. Mama always said that Loretta has the strongest relationship with God from all of us." Gabriela's stomach churned. "What does she pray about? Do you know?"
"She prays for Gabriela." At her dad's response, her eyes almost filled with tears. She didn't get why her mum prayed for her. She knew that she wouldn't pray for her when she learned what kind of person Gabriela was. She knew that her mum would hate her if she found out that Gabriela fancied girls. She was sure that most of her family would. After all, she hated herself for fancying girls. Why wouldn't her family hate her as well? "She prays for Gabriela's happiness every night." A single tear escaped as she knew her mum wouldn't pray anymore for her if she found out. It was good that Gabriela was planning to keep this a secret forever.
"So, are you excited for tonight?" Her mum asked her as the two headed to the marketplace where the church was. "With your friends coming?" Gabriela nodded her head. If there was one thing she was excited about, it was her friend coming to this celebration. Everyone was excited to meet her family and learn more about her religion and culture. "What were their names again? I keep forgetting them."
"There is Mona." Gabriela didn't even know why she started with her. While Mona was her friend, she didn't think her as a friend only. "She's in Hufflepuff-"
Her mum cut her off. "Oh, I remember Mona. You mention her a lot. She's the redhead who is good at Potions and Herbology right." Gabriela wanted to scream. She didn't even know why she talked about Mona so much. So, she made a mental note to herself to mention her less. "It's the ones in your house I'm asking about."
"The girls I share a dorm with are Christina, Diana and Evelyn." Gabriela began to explain to her mum. "Christina is the Asian girl with black hair, Diana is the black girl with brown hair and Evelyn is the white girl with blonde hair." She glanced at her mum and noticed that she was listening to her. "Then come the boys. There is Don who is the tallest and has short brown hair. He's also very broad and big since he's a Beater. Carter is broad too, but he's shorter than Don and has longer brown hair than him. Henrik is Irish and has a thick accent. He also is very pale, so you'll notice him quickly. Edrick is the shortest of the boys, has auburn hair and his Welsh accent slips at times."
Her mum chuckled. "That was a detailed description of them. It helps." Gabriela forced a smile. Her heart started to beat fast as she noticed they had come close to the church. "You know I was afraid you wouldn't make any friends." At her mum's confession, she forgot all about the church and turned to her. "You have always been shy just like me and I thought you'd struggle with having friends like I did your age."
Gabriela gulped down. "It was all my friends, mum." She admitted. "Christina approached me when she saw me alone at our sorting. During the feast, Evelyn and Don kept including me in the conversation and after we got in the same dorm, Diana helped me unpack and settle my things." If she hadn't been around friendly people, she probably would have ended up alone. She was quite shy and besides her friends and Mona, she barely talked to other people. Merlin, Evelyn had introduced her to Mona as she thought they had a lot in common.
"At least, you have good ones." Her mum told her as the two of them entered the church.
When they did, Gabriela tensed. For a split moment, she had the urge to turn around and run away. She was a sinner and this was the house of God. She shouldn't be here.
"Go on." Her mum beckoned her towards the confession booth. She gave Gabriela an encouraging smile that made the girl find the courage to go there.
Gabriela walked in the confession booth and closed the curtains. She could feel another presence near her and she knew that she needed to talk soon. So, she breathed out and started to speak. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." She began to say. "I have never been to confess and I have never sinned... until recently." She bit her lip. "I accuse myself of the following sin which is love." She couldn't dare to say the exact word for her sin.
"Love is not a sin, my child." The reverend told her and she sighed.
"Mine is, Father," Gabriela confessed. "I shouldn't feel like this for this person. This person is supposed to be a friend, nothing more. I've tried to deny myself of these feelings, but I lost my battle. I have succumbed to this sin." She stopped to gather her thoughts as she could feel herself close to breaking in tears. "I know that the bible doesn't technically condemn this kind of relationship, but my Catholic family does. They say that it's unnatural to love someone like that, they say that person is sick and that they are living in sin." Tears started to gather in her eyes despite her efforts. "I was taught that love isn't a sin. I was taught that love makes us humans and connects us to one another."
A tear slipped down her cheek and she rested her head against the booth.
"I'm not in love with this person, not yet," Gabriela revealed. "I just know I'm halfway there." She sniffed. "How am I supposed to look at my family and tell them that I love this person? How am I supposed to tell them when they will think it is a sin?" She closed her eyes as more tears fell down. "What am I supposed to do? Can I be forgiven for this sin of mine?"
Silence fell for a few seconds. She held her breath as she waited for him to speak. She waited for him to condemn her as God was and her family was going to.
"There's nothing to be forgiven, my child." He began to say and Gabriela furrowed her eyebrows. "The love that you feel isn't a sin." She dropped her head as more tears came down her cheeks. "Love isn't something we can choose. Love isn't something we should be ashamed of. Love is a feeling that we need to embrace and never let go of it." She pressed her lips together as she listened. "The Bible doesn't say something about a love between two women." Gabriela's eyes widened when she realized that the reverend had connected the dots. "It doesn't condemn it and neither should your family. They should embrace you for who you are."
"What if they don't?" Gabriela choked out.
"There are people out there who will accept you." He responded to her. As he said that, an image of her friends flashed through her mind. "You need to remember that you aren't the only person who fears disapproval because of this reason. In the world, there are a lot of people who will accept you and lend a hand." She frowned as she hadn't thought of that. Somehow, Gabriela thought she was the only one. "There is no need for forgiveness because you haven't committed any sins." She found herself letting a sigh of relief. "God bless you, child."
Gabriela found herself smiling at this. She had expected to feel worse after this confession. However, she had ended up getting a pleasant surprise. "Thank you, father." She whipped the tears off and walked out of the confession booth.
It was a few hours later when her friends showed up. Gabriela had put on her white dress, fixed her hair and applied light makeup. She breathed in as she descended the stairs. Her dad had told her that her friends were here and she was a bit nervous to meet Mona. She had spent so much time in the mirror, trying to look perfect to impress the girl. While she knew that Mona would never return her feelings, she wanted to impress the girl.
When she entered the living room, she saw her friends. Diana who was wearing a lilac dress was talking to her dad and mum. Immediately, Evelyn joined the conversation and she was wearing a blue dress that matched her blue eyes. Christina was with the boys while wearing a dark red dress. Don and Edrick were wearing black dress robes while Carter and Henrik had opted with suits. As she looked around, she noticed that Mona was nowhere to be found. She frowned.
"Gabby!" Gabriela flinched at Evelyn's beaming. Out of nowhere, her friend appeared in front of her. "You look so beautiful! It's as if you are an angel blessing us with your presence." Her friend complimented Gabriela making her cheeks feel warm. Evelyn was saying all the things she wanted to hear, but she would have preferred them to come from Mona.
"Absolutely gorgeous." Diana joined Evelyn in complimenting her. "White is such a good colour on you."
"Isn't it a good colour on you?"
"Yes, but it fits better with you," Evelyn told her as she moved closer to Gabriela to inspect the material. "It kinda looks like a wedding dress."
"Because it is." Her mum answered and everyone turned to look at her. "It's the fabric of my wedding dress. We thought it would be a good idea to use it for her Quinceañera dress." She explained to Evelyn and the others.
"Is it a tradition?" Evelyn asked her mum. Gabriela forgot sometimes how inquisitive her friend could be.
"Not necessarily." Her mum said. "Gabriela and I just thought that it was a good idea." Her mum smiled at her and Gabriela returned it. The moment her mum was about to say something, her aunt called her. "If you'll excuse me." She smiled at her friends and her dad followed her behind.
When her parents were gone, Carter let out a gasp. "Wow, you look radiating." He joked before covering his eyes. "I need to stop looking at you because I'll go blind."
"Blind?" Edrick scoffed. "I'm about to faint because of how beautiful she looks." Her friends chuckled at him and Gabriela giggled. "Hold me, Hen." Henrik frowned at first, but after that, he had to hold Edrick who had fallen on his arms.
Don rolled his eyes at the boys. "Stop acting ridiculous. You want to embarrass yourself in front of Gabriela's family?" Both Carter and Edrick straightened themselves. "How are you doing, Gabby?"
"Good, good." She muttered. "How about you?"
Before Don could answer, Evelyn spoke for him. "Can't you see that he's glowing?" Gabriela tilted her head and studied Don. He was smiling more than he did usually. "This glow has all to do with his girlfriend, Anya." She poked Don's cheek while he smacked her hand away. Behind Don, Carter let out a whistle. "They've been dating since Valentine's Day and he didn't tell us."
"I was waiting to tell you in person." Don reminded her and Evelyn raised her eyebrows. "But, yes, I'm with Anya now." A sheepish smile spread on his face and Gabriela found it endearing. "And speaking about news, I'm not the only one who has them."
Evelyn shrugged. "I was going to tell them when we went back to Hogwarts as today is Gabriela's day."
"What is the news?" Gabriela questioned as she looked around the room once again. She didn't get why Mona was nowhere to be found. Her dad had told her that her friends are here.
"We're moving in with Ezra at the beginning of summer," Evelyn revealed and her eyes widened. "Mum told me that he asked her to, but she didn't want to make a decision without me. We talked about it and I told her that it was alright. So, we will be moving out and moving in with him."
Gabriela frowned and gulped down. She knew that Evelyn had a different mindset to life in comparison to her. She thought that living together before marriage was wrong. She thought that the couple should only live when they were married. She was raised to believe that sex before marriage was sinful and that children born out of wedlock were as well. When she had learned about Evelyn being an illegitimate child, she had hesitated to be friends with her. Of course, with years, her opinion had changed, but there were still a lot of things she disagreed with when it came to Evelyn and her mother's lifestyle. However, Gabriela knew better than to voice her opinions.
"That's great." She muttered to Evelyn who smiled at her.
"Oh, by the way, I learned a bit Spanish," Don informed her and she quirked her eyebrow. "It helps when a lot of the students in your school are Spaniards."
Gabriela was about to explain to him that the Spanish language was a little bit different in Spain and Uruguay, but her dad interrupted. "Gabriela, you just got a letter from your friend Mona." She turned her head towards her and her heart clenched. "Apparently, she won't be able to make it." Her face fell and she pressed her lips together. "I'm sorry." Her dad muttered to her when he noticed her facial expressions.
Gabriela gulped down before looking up to her dad. "It's alright. Something probably came up." She faked a smile at him before he handed her letter. As she faked a smile, she didn't notice that two of her friends noticed the falseness of that smile.
Gabriela took a deep breath as the night had fallen upon them. They were in her house garden which had been decorated for the party.
Most of the party was done. She had done her entrance at the party, had waltzed with her dad. Next had been the first meal course. After that, she had danced with her friends and relatives. The dancing had followed with the main meal. They had danced once again before eating desert and now, they were dancing once again.
With all the food, dancing, joy and loved ones, Gabriela had forgotten that Mona hadn't come. A part of her was even glad that she didn't. She feared that her crush on Mona would be too obvious and some people would notice. She didn't have to worry about that and she could enjoy her night.
As Diana was spinning her around, Gabriela noticed her grandmother motioning her to come. So, she excused herself to Diana and made her way to her grandmother.
"¿Sí, Abuela?" She asked as she approached the woman.
"Ese chico alto era tan dulce. Me dijo que aprendió español de sus amigos " Her grandmother shamelessly pointed to Don who was dancing with Evelyn. "¿Es tu novio?" (That boy was so sweet. He told me learned Spanish from his friends. Is he your boyfriend?"
Gabriela shifted before shaking her head. "No, es sólo un amigo. Un muy buen amigo." She found herself being uncomfortable with her grandmother insulating that Don and she were in a relationship. "También tiene una novia. (No, he's just a friend. A very good friend. He also has a girlfriend).
"¿Es la chica rubia?" (Is it the blonde girl?)
She scrunched her nose. "No, parecen a hermano y hermana. Su novia vive en Francia y van a Beauxbatons juntos." Gabriela explained the situation to her grandmother. (No, they're like brother and sister. His girlfriend lives in France and they go to Beauxbatons together.)
Her grandmother nodded before she turned to face Gabriela. "Hay algo más que quiero discutir." She frowned at her grandmother. "¿Por qué escuché que no estás haciendo la ceremonia de 15 velas?" (There's something else I want to discuss. Why did I hear that you aren't doing the 15-candles ceremony?)
Gabriela had forgotten that her grandmother wouldn't be happy with this news. She had to insist on her parents to skip this ceremony as she didn't feel comfortable doing it. "Yo no quería hacerlo." (I didn't feel comfortable doing it)
"Es tradición." Gabriela was reminded.
"Una opcional, Abuela," Gabriela responded to her and her grandmother pressed her lips.
"Everyone, gather around." Her dad called and she noticed that he was holding a glass of champagne. "It's time for everyone to say their toast." Her dad announced. "So, I would ask for everyone to take their seats." She pressed her lips together knowing her parents and Evelyn were going to give a speech. She didn't know what they were going to say, but she was excited to hear it.
When everyone took their seats and the music was turned off, her mum got up from her seat. As she was waiting for everyone to quiet, she noticed her mum look behind her before looking around. Gabriela frowned at first. When her mum smiled at her, she relaxed.
"Hello, everyone." Her mum greeted them as she began to speak. "I hope you're all having a good time as we celebrate my daughter and her celebration of entering womanhood." Some people cheered for her making Gabriela look down. "I remember when I learned I was pregnant with Gabriela." She began to say. "I remember how scared I was and the rain that was falling didn't help my mood any better. However, that fear slipped away as soon as first caught a glimpse of my little girl in a healer's appointment. I knew that she was going to be my little angel." Gabriela gulped down. She knew that her mum would think of her as a devil if she found out about her sexuality. "At the end of May, Gabriela was born and it was such a beautiful day."
Gabriela's heart skipped a beat as she was born at the end of March. She noticed many frowns in people's faces, including her dad. Her mum had just mistaken her birthday and she didn't even notice it.
"It was a rainy day..." Her mum trailed off as she looked around. Gabriela's skin crawled and she gripped the table. "No, it was sunny." Her mum corrected herself as she pressed her lips. "It was a sunny day. Sunny. Sunny. Sunny."
Gabriela's eyes filled up with tears immediately. She couldn't believe it was happening in the middle of the speech. She couldn't believe that it was happing in front of guests at her Quinceañera. She couldn't believe it was happening right in front of her friends.
She saw her dad whisper in her mum's ear while his hand wrapped around her wrist. She heard her mum protest at first, but her dad kept whispering to her. Soon enough, she watched her parents leave the party and enter her house. Her lips trembled as she realized that her night was ruined. Her mum had to be given her potions and be taken into bed while her dad had to take care of her. This meant that her parents wouldn't even able to be here for the rest of the party.
Suddenly, someone clinked on their glass and everyone turned to look at the person. Gabriela frowned when she saw that Evelyn had gotten up and was ready to say the speech. She sighed in relief as she knew her friend's speech would distract the others from what happened.
"Hello!" Evelyn greeted with her usual bright smile. "For those who don't know, I'm Evelyn. One of Gabriela's many lucky friends, her dormmate and her housemate." She started her speech. "I want to start this speech by saying a quote from a very accomplished man. This man said 'I like to be different. It's the best thing about me'. That man was none other than Newt Scamander himself. Someone that Gabriela has been idolizing since the age of five." She heard a few people chuckle at that. "Now, those words don't just apply to Newt Scamander, they apply to Gabriela too." Gabriel shifted as soon as she said that. "Gabriela is different from the rest of us and that's the best thing about her." She gulped down as all she could think about was her crush on Mona. That made her different from many people here. "The world is harsh and rude to many of us and Gabriela, here, is the opposite. Never in my life have I seen such gentleness and sweetness in someone like I see in Gabriela every day." She bit her lip as Evelyn's words were making her feel guilty. She knew that many people here wouldn't find her gentle and sweet when they find out who she really was. "The sweetness that Gabriela has in her pinkie finger, some people don't have in their whole body." Gabriela gripped her chair to stop herself from crying. "This sets her apart. It makes her different. It makes her one of the best people I know." She wasn't good. She was bad. She was the worst of them all. "I hope that Gabriela would never change because people like her make this world a better place." Gabriela wanted to scream at her friend and tell her she was wrong. "Spo, let's raise all of your glasses and celebrate Gabriela alongside her uniqueness, gentleness and kindness."
Before anyone could raise their glass and cheer in her name, she got up from her seat and rushed inside the house. She heard a few people gasp, but she ignored them. She ran upstairs to her room before she sat down on her bed and covered her face.
She couldn't hear it anymore. She couldn't hear people calling her a blessing, the best person to live and an angel. They shouldn't be celebrating her, they should be condemning her. She was disgusting and she was wrong. The reverend had been wrong. Loving a girl was a sin and she needed to stop.
"Gabby."
Gabriela tensed when she heard Christina's voice. When she looked up, she saw that she wasn't the only one. Evelyn and Diana were behind her.
"What's wrong?" Christina asked.
"Didn't you see?" She found herself snapping at her best friend. "I thought my mum would be okay today! She was acting alright all day, but when the party started..." She trailed off as she got up from her bed. "It ruined the night." Her voice cracked. "And it's not her fault. She tries so hard and it still takes over her. She loses herself." She sniffed before pinching her nose. "It's all my fault."
Christina tensed while Evelyn and Diana frowned. Evelyn took a step forward. "This isn't your fault." She muttered. "I don't get why it can be your fault."
"Because this is God's way of condemning me for my sin." Gabriela seethed through her teeth. "The Reverend said it wasn't a sin and the Bible doesn't mention it, but I know it is. I can feel it in my heart."
Diana tilted her head, Evelyn looked around them while Christina moved closer to her. "Gabby, God isn't punishing you. Your mum doesn't have schizophrenia because God wants to punish you, okay?"
Gabriela shook her as she disagreed with her friend. At that moment, the door opened to reveal Don. "Everyone downstairs is concerned for you, Gabby." He informed her as he studied her. She rubbed her chin when she remembered that the party was still going on. She had made a mistake coming here.
"What's goin' ahn?" Behind Don, came Henrik who was followed by Carter and Edrick. As Evelyn, all four of them seemed to be confused.
"Gabriela, what's wrong?" Carter asked her.
Gabriela stood in the middle of her room, staring all of her seven friends. Her heart started to beat fast as she looked at them. She didn't know how they would react if she found out. She was sure that Evelyn and Diana would be more accepting, but she didn't know about the boys, especially Edrick. If she told them, she could get shunned by them. Her life could be ruined if they thought her sexuality was wrong.
At that moment, Gabriela remembered the reverend's words. She remembered him telling her that people who loved her, accepted her. While Gabriela couldn't choose her family, she could choose her friends. So, that was why she took a deep breath and did something she would never do again. She became brave.
"I like Mona!" She revealed as she looked between her friends. While Evelyn, Diana and Carter immediately understood what she meant, the rest of the boys were a bit slow. "The most appropriate saying is that I fancy her!"
Silence followed her confession. All of her friends, except Christina, froze and their faces fell. More tears welled up in her eyes when she realized she had made the wrong decision in telling them.
"I'm horrible, right?" She cried out making all of them look at her. "I'm horrible and deserve to be punished for this. Isn't that what you all think?"
Evelyn shook her head. "You're not horrible and you definitely don't deserve to be punished." She stated and Gabriela furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry for acting like such a fool there, but I was taken back." She whispered as she took a step forward. "It's okay that you have a crush on Mona. It's more than okay." Her heart slowed down as she knew that she had another friend by her side. "You are still wonderful and instead of punishment, you deserve acceptance and support." Evelyn moved closer to her and gave her a smile. "I accept you and support you."
"Me too," Diana added.
"Me three." Don continued.
"Me four." Henrik joined.
"Me five," Carter whispered.
"Me six." Christina declared even though Gabriela already knew where she stood.
Gabriela's shoulders dropped when she realized that she had friends who accepted her for who she was. She expected to lose them, but here they were accepting and supporting her. As she was about to say something, she realized that one of them hadn't spoken yet.
She directed her gaze to Edrick who had his hands in his pockets and was looking down. Her hands started to shake when she realized that she had probably lost a friend.
"Ed?" Don called his name and Edrick flinched.
He looked up and met Gabriela's eyes. She expected to see some sort of disgust in his eyes, but she didn't. She couldn't pinpoint what his eyes were telling her. She gulped down and shook her head. She had just lost a friend.
"Me seven," Edrick announced. She looked up and saw that he was smiling at her. "Me seven." He repeated for her to hear.
Gabriela breathed in relief and whipped the tears in her eyes. Despite knowing that her family wouldn't accept her, she knew that her friends did.
"How about a group hug to make our sweet Gabby here feel better?" Don suggested making her part her lips.
Without hesitating, all of her friends gathered around her and wrapped their arms around her. She leaned in their embrace and relished in their touch. Her friends loved, accepted and supported her. At that moment, it was all that Gabriela needed.
She closed the backdoor of her house before locking it. The party had ended an hour ago and every guest had left. Gabriela had cleaned off the table and taken off the decorations in fear of the wind or the rain. She walked away from the backdoor and made her way to the kitchen. She let out a groan when she realized that she had a lot to put away
As she grabbed the plate of leftover pasta frolas, she heard someone come downstairs. She stopped herself and turned around to see her dad enter the kitchen.
"You didn't have to clean all by yourself." Her dad told her and she pressed her lips together. "You can't use magic and just gave yourself a hard task to do."
Gabriela shrugged. "It's nothing, dad." She told him. "How is mum?"
"She's sleeping." He informed her and she nodded her head. "It took a long time to put her bed and even longer time to get her to have her potions."
She stilled. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes, she'll probably be alright in the morning." Gabriela fixated on 'probably'. She bit her lip as she knew her mum wouldn't be alright in the morning as well. "Gabriela, is there something you want to tell me?"
His question made her heart quicken. "No."
"Are you sure?" He insisted and she clenched her jaw. "Because you need to know that the walls between your room and the bathroom are pretty thin."
Gabriela's stomach dropped when she realized that he heard. Her dad had heard her conversation with her friends. Her dad had heard her admit that she fancied Mona. She shuddered and began to shake.
"I'm so sorry, dad." She moaned and he frowned. "You don't have to say anything." Her body began to shake so much that even her teeth were shaking. "I can leave." She stated. "One of my friends can probably take me into their home." She looked down, not even daring to look at him. "You don't have to tell me to leave. I'll leave on my won." She moved to exit the kitchen, but her dad stopped her.
"Gabriela, that's enough!" He shot back at her and she shuddered. She closed her eyes as she waited for him to yell at her. Her parents had never yelled at her before. "You aren't leaving."
"But, dad..."
He raised her chin. She met his eyes that were identical to hers. "You know I hard your friend's speech from our room." He began to say and she frowned. "When she said that you were different, I agreed with her. A part of me has always known you were different. I'm not talking about how gentle and sweet you are. I thought it was, but your conversation with your friends made me realize why I always thought you were." He breathed out. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not in love with your idea of liking girls." Her lips trembled and she sniffed. "But if that's who you are, I can't do anything about it." She creased her eyebrows. "I can't change who you are, but I still love you no matter what." He moved his hand to cup her cheek. "You should know that that I love you right now as much as I loved you in the morning and tomorrow, I will love you the same." He sighed "You are my daughter. I vowed to myself when you were born that I will always love. I intend to keep that vow for both of our sakes." He stopped for a moment before speaking again. "So, I can definitely say that me eight."
Gabriela jumped to wrap her arms around her dad and he returned the hug. Her body was shaking, tears were still running down her cheeks and she still was scared, but she had her dad. That was more than she could ask for.
I know some of you don't care about the other characters and their journey, but I do. So, that's all that matters. This chapter is quite important to write. It was quite hard to as the chapter has a lot of internal lesbophobia/homophobia which stems from the way she was raised. I wanted to show the struggle that someone could feel in Gabriela's place, especially when some people say that you can't be religious and part of the LGBT+ community. However, I want to point out that I'm not Catholic or Christian and my information of it is based on internet sources. However, I did a lot of research about the Bible, Roman Catholicism, Quinceañera and Uruguay. Also, I don't speak fluent Spanish and had to use translators for the Spanish speaking moments. Fun fact: The 15-candle ceremony was written, but I had to delete it when I remembered that Gabriela is an extremely shy person. She wouldn't like to be in the spot like that. It's more of an Evelyn and Christina thing to do. So, I hope I did a good job.
Thank you for favouriting, following reviewing and reading my story.
averyeve5: As you can see by the title of the next chapter below, the Marauders are going to play quite the role, especially a particular one ;). Yeah, Rabastan was overly jealous at that moment and my heart breaks for Evelyn.
Guest your fan: I remember a few weeks ago, you were saying that Evelyn and Rabastan are interesting and that Evelyn doesn't have to end up with Sirius. It was quite funny to me because I knew your opinion of Rabastan would change. Plus, Sirius and Evelyn aren't even friends and have yet to share a romantic moment with each other. But yeah, Rabastan has been acting like a jerk these past few chapters. In the next chapter, you'll see Evelyn and the Marauders trying to find out what is going on with Hart. I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter and are enjoying the story.
Next up, Plotting With The Marauders
