The train ride back to Hogwarts was miserable. Luckily for Lena, though, she hid herself in the back of the train in a window seat and didn't see her fiancé on the way there. She was able to sit somewhat in peace, at least for a little while, as the train sped towards the castle.

The Slytherin's thoughts drifted anxiously back and forth between her future husband and her best friend, who she was dying to see, making her restless. She hadn't been able to express her feelings about the arranged marriage to anyone over the Christmas break, and she knew Kara would be able to empathize with her and would give her the support she needed not to have a mental break down.

It left as though it took an eternity for the train to arrive at the station, and Lena's heart leapt when she finally caught sight of the castle in the distance.

Thank God, she was thinking. Almost there.

By the time her journey was over and she was walking into the castle, she was emotionally exhausted and ready for bed, so naturally, when she saw Kara standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, waiting for her, her heart jumped again, but her enthusiasm was deeply buried. Kara furrowed her brow as Lena offered an exceptionally weak smile and wave as she stood beside her friend.

"Lena, what's wrong?" Kara asked anxiously, touching the brunette's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Lena shook her head slowly, not having the energy to say much. Besides, the knot forming in her throat was making it hard to say anything at all.

She managed to tell Kara, "Later," but couldn't bring herself to tell her more.

Kara's look of concern continued all throughout dinner, but Lena avoided her gaze, trying to ignore it.

Eventually, when Kara noticed that Lena wasn't eating, she scooted closer to her friend on the bench where they were sitting side-by-side and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to leave? We can sneak some food out and go sit somewhere else."

Shaking her head, Lena mumbled, "Not hungry," and continued to stare at her full plate of food.

"Lena," Kara urged her with concern in her voice. "You've gotta eat something. I'm worried about you."

"Not hungry."

"Lena," the blonde repeated, putting her hand on Lena's thigh. "Please?"

But the Slytherin girl shook her head slowly and mumbled, "I feel sick."

"Shit. Do we need to get you to the hospital wing?" Kara asked quickly, putting her hand on Lena's shoulder and leaning in slightly. "Are you gonna throw up? Let's take a walk."

Feeling nauseous, but knowing that it was simply from being drained and emotionally overwhelmed, Lena stood up and left the table, leaving Kara a few steps behind her as she walked out of the Great Hall.

"Lena, wait up," Kara called out, running to catch up to her. When she reached her friend, she was leaning against the wall just outside the Great Hall, looking paler than usual, so Kara's brow furrowed as she said, "Lena. Tell me what happened."

Taking in a deep, slow breath, Lena just barely managed to offer the words, "I'm engaged."

Physically knocked backwards by the shock of this statement, and the confusion that came with it, Kara stared at her friend and said, "Sorry… What?"

"I'm engaged," Lena repeated.

"I heard you, Lena. I just… don't… quite… understand. I didn't think you were seeing anybody…"

The younger girl felt her insides turn and twist into multiple, heavy knots. Had Lena been seeing someone and just hadn't told her? Had she met someone over break? No, that would've been too fast. She must've had someone in her life before that. But why wouldn't she have just said so? And when in the world would she have had time for that?

Kara felt herself getting choked up and scolded herself for her selfishness. If Lena was engaged, Kara should be happy for her. Right?

"I wasn't," Lena told her, straightening up slightly but still bracing herself on the wall. "My mother arranged my marriage to the son of one of her associates."

The blonde's mouth fell open as she gasped, "She what?"

Turning away, Lena faced the wall and rested her forehead against the stone as she covered her eyes and started to cry, not caring that several students were walking by and noticing her display of emotion.

"Come on," Kara said quickly, wrapping an arm around Lena's waist and gently pulling her closer, away from the wall. "Let's go somewhere private where you can sit down."

Lena nodded, rubbing her eyes as she followed Kara down the hallway with tear-blurred vision. When they reached the nearest empty classroom, Kara let them in and ushered Lena inside, carefully helping her into a chair before pulling up her own to sit beside her.

"I'm really, really sorry, Lena," Kara whispered, reaching out instinctively to thread her fingers through Lena's soft, dark locks of hair.

Despite feeling an incomprehensible wave of relief from Kara's gentle, soothing touch, Lena began to cry harder, whimpering, "I don't know what to do. I know I have to marry him. I have no choice. I'm just… so… scared."

Kara nodded her understanding and pulled Lena into an embrace, cradling her against her chest and stroking her hair back as she cried.

After giving Lena the space to cry for a while as they embraced, Kara whispered, "It's gonna be okay."

Lena shook her head and sobbed, "I don't want to get married."

Still not thinking much of the way she was touching Lena, or what it was doing to both of them, Kara began to rub Lena's back in small, slow circles to soothe her. Thankfully, it worked. Lena began to calm, and once she did, Kara took her opportunity to ask questions.

"So, when is this wedding supposed to happen?"

"As soon as we graduate. So… six months. He's a seventh year."

Biting her lip, Kara gave a nod of understanding and offered, "I wish… I mean… Can't you just… tell her no?"

Lena laughed bitterly at this, shaking her head as she wiped her tears.

"That's hilarious, Kara," she bit back. "You don't know my mother. If I want to remain a Luthor, I marry him. That's all there is to it."

"She said that?"

"She scorched my fucking adoption papers."

"She did what?"

"She held a flame to the framed adoption papers and told me that if I don't marry him, I'm nothing to her."

"But Lena… This is… This is a bit much, don't you think? I mean, isn't she going a bit far? You've gotta draw the line somewhere."

Again, Lena laughed, saying, "You have Alex and your mom, Kara. Would you ever walk away from them?"

Kara hesitated, biting her lip.

"I didn't think so," Lena quipped angrily, turning away.

"Hey," the blonde said quickly, grabbing Lena's hand. "I'm sorry. I… I understand."

But inside, Kara was screaming.

This might've been Lena's only family they were talking about, but Kara was still relatively positive that had their rolls been reversed, she would have walked away from them rather than enter into a loveless marriage fueled by a desire for power.

But she did understand where Lena was coming from, so she put her hand on Lena's thigh and waited for the girl to say more.

When what felt like a long while had passed, Kara finally asked, "So, who is he?"

"Jack Spheer. I hardly know him and I'm in the same house and year, which is pretty sad. But... he seems—"

Kara's mouth had fallen open.

"Him?" she gaped.

"What?"

"He's…"

"He's what?"

"He's…"

"A Slytherin. Yeah. That's the point. My mother wants to keep the bloodline strong."

Then, realizing that Lena had no choice but to marry this boy, Kara decided to keep her thoughts about him to herself, saying simply, "Oh."

He was well-known for being a pompous, muggle-hating prick, but if Lena didn't know that already, Kara wasn't about to tell her. It didn't matter anyway. It just likely meant—

Kara felt her heart sink further with the realization that this boy was definitely the type to interfere with their friendship, if he knew about her being only a half-blood. And if Lena had to marry him, that meant…

But she wasn't going to say anything to Lena about it. She didn't need to make things worse. Besides, Lena was pretty much stuck with him now, so Kara telling her all the reasons that this match was terrible wasn't going to help her in the slightest. Instead, Kara just hugged her friend tightly, savoring the moment that she knew would be few and far between from here on out.

As sudden thoughts of Lena's lips on someone else's snuck into her mind, Kara felt her muscles tighten and go stiff, which Lena noticed almost immediately.

"Kara?" she asked, straightening out of the embrace.

"We should get you back to the Great Hall to get something to eat," Kara said quickly, choking down the intense sense of loss she was feeling in that moment.

"Hey, what just happened?" Lena pressed, putting her hand on Kara's forearm to stop her.

But Kara ignored this and stood up anyway, taking Lena's hand and pulling her to her feet as she said, "C'mon. Time to eat."

"I'm not hun—" Lena tried, but Kara shook her head firmly.

"You're going to eat or I'm giving you detention for insubordination."

"You're not my boss," Lena laughed.

Realizing they were still holding hands – and not wanting to let go – Lena looked down briefly at where their fingers were laced. Kara was looking too, but having very different thoughts.,

This is going to end us, the Gryffindor was sure. She's going to have to reject me soon. We don't have much time now.

Just when Kara had found her person, the one individual who could always lighten her heart and brighten her day, it was all about to be ripped away. Kara could feel the rage building inside her, right beside the well of sadness that had formed within. But she knew there was nothing she could do to stop this train, so she resigned herself to hold on as long as possible and vowed to savor each and every moment she had left with Lena, feeling sure that they would not be theirs to share much longer.

Finally, realizing how awkward is was to simply be standing there holding hands for no reason, Kara let go and walked Lena back to the dining hall, where she forced Lena to have a small meal before walking her back to her common room and reluctantly saying goodnight.