The next afternoon was more difficult than Kara had originally anticipated.
Seeing Lena off at the train station was something she wouldn't have missed for the world, but she also knew it was a terrible idea and that as soon as Lena got on the train, she was going to be left standing there crying like a fool.
Which is exactly what happened.
"I'll miss you," Lena promised, hugging Kara tightly in her arms as they stood on the platform together. "Be good, okay?"
Kara shook her head, ignoring Lena's request, and said, "You be safe."
This gave Lena pause, so she stood there staring into Kara's eyes as she wondered what exactly the prefect had meant and didn't say anything back.
"Lena?" Kara pressed, nudging the girl's shoulder.
"Yeah," Lena finally sighed. "I'll be safe."
"Don't sound so sad," Kara scolded her, wiping away her own stray tear as it just barely slipped past the corner of her eye. "You'll be back soon."
Lena nodded in affirmation and hugged Kara again, whispering, "You be safe too. No wandering the halls alone at night."
When Lena pulled away, she was smirking, so Kara rolled her eyes and said, "I'm a prefect. It's literally my job."
"I know," Lena confessed with a smile, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind Kara's ear.
Just when Kara thought she might have to turn and run, for fear of kissing Lena as the girl stared into her eyes, the last boarding call was announced.
"You gotta go," Kara choked out, making Lena's hand fall to her side as she looked at her sadly.
Lena felt everything in her tighten in protest as she reached down to grab her bag.
"Go," Kara pressed, gently pushing on her shoulders as she straightened back up.
Please, go, she was thinking. Go before I can't not kiss you.
"But I—" Lena tried, causing Kara to shake her head and nudge her towards the door of the train.
"Be good. Be safe," Kara urged her, giving her hand one last anxious squeeze. "I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Kara," Lena choked out, stumbling onto the train and waving quickly before being ushered down the aisle towards her seat.
~!~!~
"Well, well. Look who's home," Lillian Luthor greeted her adoptive daughter, upon her arriving at the mansion.
The seventh year nodded in passive greeting, gently brushing past two house elves to head up towards her room.
"Oh, Lena," her mother sang, watching with hawk-eyes as her daughter began to ascend the stairs.
"Yes, mother?" Lena called back, stopping on the third step to turn back and look at the woman addressing her.
"How's studying for your exams going?"
Hand gripping the railing tightly, whitening her knuckles, Lena clenched her jaw to prevent the expletives in her mind from slipping out of her mouth.
"It's going fine," the young Luthor managed, after taking two long, slow breaths.
"You will be receiving exceeds expectations on all subjects, won't you, dear?"
Lena thought she might pass out from irritation. She knew exactly where this was going.
"Of course, mother," she agreed. "I need to be headmistress, after all."
But Lena made the mistake of rolling her eyes, and her mother jumped on the opportunity to reinforce their family values.
"Lena," the woman snapped. "This is the plan. This has been the plan. Your brother is on his way to being Minister for Magic. It's time for you to fall in line. You need to start thinking about our future."
"Our future?" Lena hissed. "You mean my future."
"No, Lena," Lillian shot back. "Your behavior affects your entire family, and if I haven't taught you that by now, I don't know if you'll ever learn anything."
Her mother's words stung so deeply that Lena nearly stumbled back on the stairs, but because she was steadying herself on the railing, she managed to stay upright.
"I hope I've made myself clear today, Lena," her mother added sharply, making Lena visibly flinch.
"Yes, mother," Lena ground out, not wanting to upset her mother further and receive her wrath.
"Now, go upstairs and study. Oh, and change into something presentable. Wear one of your evening gowns. We're expecting guests tonight."
"Who?" Lena asked curiously, brow furrowed.
"You're dismissed," the woman said coldly, refusing to address Lena's question. "Oh, and Lena… Wear the red one."
Wanting to press the issue but feeling unwilling to do so, Lena turned and ascended the staircase to her bedroom.
~!~!~
That night, despite every nerve in her body wanting to tear the dress to pieces, Lena wore her best evening gown, thinking that she needed to look presentable for one of her mother's business associates. Quietly, she sat down at the table and folded her hands in her lap, waiting for the house elves to serve the meal. But to her surprise, they didn't come. Lena and her mother sat in silence for three or four minutes, Lena not daring to speak or upset her mother, until a house elf finally presented in the dining room.
"Mistress Luthor," the house elf addressed the older woman. "Your guests have arrived. Shall I show them in?"
Lillian nodded her head to give the order, and Lena felt herself growing more irritated by the moment. Why did she have to dress up for her mother's pompous business associates anyway? What did it matter?
Then, the sound of two sets of heavy footsteps entering the dining room caught Lena's attention, and she finally looked up from her empty plate to see who had joined them.
To her horror, the first person she saw standing there was not an old business associate of her mother's, but rather a seventh-year boy she knew vaguely of from Hogwarts, along with a man she assumed to be his father, who must've been the business associate of her mother.
"W-What—" Lena started to ask, but was quickly silenced by her mother raising her hand to stop her words.
"Lena," she announced. "This is Jack Spheer. This young man, blood as clean as a flawless diamond, has agreed to take your hand in marriage."
Lena felt as though she might faint, blood rising to her face and making her intensely dizzy. She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. This boy she hardly knew was supposed to be her future husband? Lena knew her mother wascontrolling, but this… this was a lot, even for her. An arranged marriage? It was impossible for Lena to believe.
Stunned into silence, Lena stared at the young man, her mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.
"Hello, Miss Luthor," Jack addressed her. "It's a pleasure to formally meet you."
Although they were in the same year and same house, they'd never really spoken to each other, since Lena was one to keep her head down. Feeling the stark sinking feeling in her stomach, Lena thought, This is it. My life is over.
She was unable to speak, even after his polite introduction, so Lillian cut in, demanding, "Lena. Say hello."
Briefly, Lena's gaze dropped to the wine glass on the table. The thought to throw it at her mother overwhelmed her only for a moment before she smothered it like a flame and swallowed her protest.
Feeling a knot forming in her stomach and a lump in her throat, Lena managed to say, "Please, excuse me," before leaving the room.
Stepping outside was the best idea she could have possibly had, as the cold, biting breeze stuck her cheeks like a blow from someone's fist and sobered her somewhat, or at least enough not to have the meltdown that was threatening to strike. Still, the tears flowed as soon as she was sure she was alone, falling down onto her sequined dress as she lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.
As much as she hated it – the thought of marrying a man she didn't love or even know – Lena was too terrified of losing her only family to fight her mother's decision. There was no hope of escape from this arranged marriage if she wanted to remain a Luthor, and she knew better than to tell her mother 'no.'
That being the case, she let the tears keep flowing freely, hoping no one would face the cold to bring her back inside. Still, she knew she'd face her mother's wrath for stepping out, and she knew she had to get her shit together quickly to return to the dining room before she made things worse. But she couldn't stop crying. Couldn't hold it in. Lena knew this was symbolic of her childhood ending, and that was what scared her most.
Then, to her dismay, Lena heard the sound of the heavy oak door opening and heavy footsteps leading outside and knew it was her arranged fiancé. Rapidly wiping her eyes in an attempt to hide her tears, she looked away to cover up the fact that she was crying while she tried to recover.
"Pardon me," Jack said softly, taking a careful step closer to Lena. "But it's quite cold out here, and I couldn't help but notice you left without a jacket."
Lena, dumbfounded, forced herself to be polite enough to look up at him, her eyes still regrettably shimmering from her tears. He was holding out his jacket. Unsure of what to do, and too stunned by his chivalry to speak, she simply stared at him until he spoke again.
"Please, take my jacket," he offered.
His eyes were soft, gentle, and warm, encouraging her to trust him, so Lena reached out a hesitant hand to take the jacket and put it on slowly. She couldn't deny that it was freezing outside, and it would have been ridiculous of her to ignore his offer.
"T-Thank you," she stammered, teeth chattering.
Then, her mind flashed back to Kara and her sweater. The sweetest gesture anyone had ever done for her. Now, here was Jack, offering the same thing. It made Lena's head spin.
"Would you like to go back inside, or stay out here?" Jack asked gently.
She was surprised that he was asking the question, rather than demanding that she return to the dining room, as her mother likely would have.
"I'd like to stay out here," Lena said, voice small and shy.
"Alright. May I stay with you? You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I know this is a lot to process. I just don't want you to be out here alone."
Raising an eyebrow, Lena looked him over, confused by his display chivalry. After a moment, she nodded her agreement to his offer and leaned back against the house.
"I'm sorry this came so suddenly," Jack told her. "My father and your mother know each other from… I don't know. I forget where. But apparently, they'd been planning this since the beginning of the school year. I just found out too."
Continuing to be surprised, Lena agreed, "It was sudden. I'm just… a little surprised, I guess."
Jack nodded and offered her a warm smile, vowing, "I'll take care of you, Lena. I promise."
I don't want anyone to take care of me, Lena was thinking. I can take care of myself.
But his offer was unexpectedly reassuring. At least he was nice.
Lena shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling Jack's heavy jacket on her shoulders, her thoughts suddenly flooding back to wearing Kara's sweater and feeling her warm arms holding her in a tight embrace. Cheeks turning pink from the discomfort of the thought, Lena dropped her gaze and felt one last tear drip down her cheek.
When she didn't reply, Jack added, "You don't have to be scared of me."
But she was. She didn't even know him. How could she marry him?
After another silence-filled pause, the boy offered, "I think I should go back inside now, to converse with your mother. I don't want to be perceived as rude to either of you. And you deserve your space. I'll see you at school, okay?"
Lena nodded weakly and didn't meet his gaze. Feeling lonelier than she ever had, Lena watched him leave out of the corner of her eye, feeling grateful that he hadn't been pushy or abrasive.
After another five or so minutes, Lena finally forced herself to walk back inside, her face red from the cold. Before sitting at the table to eat, she held out the coat to her future husband and waited for him to take it, but he shook his head firmly.
"You keep it," he said, offering a smile.
"See, Lena?" Lillian said. "He's quite a charmer."
Blushing, Lena remained silent, draped the jacket over the back of her chair, and finally sat down to eat her dinner.
After their guests had left, Lena said nothing to her mother as she rose from the table and moved to ascend the stairs to her room, but her mother stopped her in her tracks.
"Oh, Lena," Lillian sang, earning her daughter's complete attention.
The way her mother said her name sent shivers down Lena's spine, and she knew in that moment that her brief exit would be sorely punished, if only with threats. She stopped and faced her mother, who turned away from her and walked over to a cabinet on the other side of the room, opening the glass door to remove a framed piece of paperwork.
When Lillian held up the framed paper, once again facing her daughter, Lena felt her stomach drop.
"Don't think," her mother began firmly, "that if you put so much as one toe out of line—" Lillian paused to remove her wand from her pocket before igniting a flame at its tip "—that I won't burn your adoption papers and rip that Luthor name from you like skinning a live animal." Mouth agape, Lena stared at her mother in disbelief of just how severe the threat was as Lillian moved the flame towards the edge of the frame.
"Don't!" Lena cried in unbridled desperation, when the flame got close enough to scar the wood of the frame. "Please."
"You will marry him, Lena. And you will be headmistress of Hogwarts. Or," Lillian told her, "you will be nothing. Is that clear?"
Lena, swallowing a terrified sob, nodded her head vigorously, hating the vulnerability she had just displayed but having instinctually been unable to stifle it.
"Good," her mother announced, voice returning to a joyful, chipper tone. "Then you are dismissed."
Lena waited until she was in her room with the door shut to cry herself to sleep.