Fights and Breakdowns
The girls and James were sat in Mary's living room, the tension could be cut with a knife. They'd have to tell the truth, there was no other way to explain what had happened. He stared at Mary specifically, as if she was the reason that all this had happened.
"When, where, how, who, what?" He asked, still directing his body language towards Mary.
"It was a few weeks ago, we had gotten stranded on Mako and found this pool." Mary started, swallowing words that attempted to ruin her explanation.
"There was a full moon above, and the water started sparkling." Lily added in, eagerly. She was probably happy that they could finally tell James.
"Now, we grow tails and have powers." Marlene scoffed, folding her arms and rolling her eyes, bored. James gaped, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the girls, now his attention was focused towards Lily. She grabbed his hands and gave him a hug, exclaiming her excitement in the form of squeals.
"Is there a cure?" He asked, awfully dumbly.
"Of course there isn't a cure, idiot." Marlene spat, playfully punching his arm. "Shit, we have to go to school." She began packing her things up, into her white tote bag.
"What happened to your backpack?" Mary asked, whilst also packing her things away. James and Lily left before them, since they hadn't unpacked their books like the other two had done.
"I dropped it in a river in front of like fifty people!" Marlene said, dramatically slapping the back of her hand onto her forehead and tilting her head backwards. Mary felt sorry for her, she really did. "Anyway, this was the last thing left in stock, I look like a total lesbo!" She whined, and Mary chuckled slightly, honestly, she was convinced that Marlene might be a lesbian.
"Are you sure you're not gay?" Mary whispered, jokingly. Marlene went red in the face, and she scrunched up her features.
"Shut up! My dad would kill me." She snapped, before angrily storming out, slamming the front door behind her. Mary was stood there, struck and alone. She shrugged and hurried to school, hoping that she wouldn't be late.
***
Mary was already late, so she'd decided to wonder the hallways until next lesson rather than walking in thirty minutes after it had started. It was all going well, there was only ten minutes until advanced maths when somebody turned the corner, looking worried. Barty. She was beginning to fall for him, that was until he did what he did to Lily at that party. He didn't know the severity of his actions back then, but he certainly would now.
"Hey," He started before he was cut off. Mary slapped him as hard as she could across the cheek, he stammered back and clutched his hand over his cheek as he stared down at her. She was tearing up, but she really couldn't help it.
"I know what you did to Lily, you know she's my friend and I," She was going to keep going, but her words got caught up in her throat. Barty attempted to grab her shoulders, but she pushed him away, and began to storm off.
"I'm sorry, Mary." He said, sincerity staining his voice. Perhaps he really was sorry, but Mary wouldn't know, because she wasn't going to look back at Barty. It had only been a week that they'd been dating, but she really had trusted him.
She continued down the hallway, only to bump into another familiar figure. This one wasn't mean or negative, though. Sybill Trelawney, the most infamous hippy, was staring at Mary with wide eyes. She was carrying a water bottle, so Mary took a quick step back, just incase. "Oh, yes, you mustn't touch the water here." Sybill murmured, nodding sheepishly.
"Sorry, what?" Mary replied, her voice cracking slightly. Sybill squeaked like a mouse and hurriedly pushed up her round-framed glasses.
"Be careful of the full moon, the first is always the hardest." Sybill continued, fumbling for her bottle before hurrying away in more of a scatter than a run. Mary was speechless, that had left her more baffled than the whole Barty situation. Did Sybill know? Was it possible that Mary had been that obvious?
Advanced maths wasn't too important, so Mary hurried towards both Marlene and Lily's class and waited outside for them. The two girls were let out about four minutes later, and Mary immediately took them both by the arms and hurried behind the school shed, which was just off campus. They all sat down, the other two being confused as well as slightly concerned.
"I think Sybill knows." Mary blurted out, and the other two girls looked puzzled.
"About what?" Marlene asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Lily slapped herself in the face and pushed Marlene over, knocking her onto her side. "The fuck!"
"Your stupidity needed disciplining, obviously about us being fish." Lily screeched, and they all stood in silence for a moment before Mary turned on her heel and begun to walk away. Marlene grabbed her wrist and Mary stared down at Marlene with a frightened expression.
"I can't miss maths." She lied through her teeth, faking a smile. Marlene inspected her features, before letting go slowly. Mary hurried out of the shed after being released, she went straight towards the maths block, tripping over her own feet a few times on the way.
When she arrived to her classroom, she slid open the door loudly, making all heads turn towards her. Mary panted and hurried over towards her isolated seat, which was in the back corner of the classroom. People resumed their conversations, and the teacher continued loudly sipping her coffee, whilst Mary pulled her knees up to her face and tucked her chin in between them.
The ruffle of clothes next to her indicated that somebody had just sat down, but Mary didn't bother looking. "Mary, what's wrong?" The familiar voice of Sirius spoke in a hushed tone, his warm breath on her ear. Mary turned towards him, her gaze softened.
"Do you know what the moon phase is tonight?" She asked, her breathing steady, now. Sirius looked taken aback. He stammered over his words, mumbling before he replied.
"Full I think, why?" He asked. Mary took singular brown curl of hair and began chewing on it, a habit which came out when she was anxious. The bell went off and everybody began to pack up, but Sirius wouldn't stop pestering Mary about this. "We have lit next, I'll walk you." He said.
"I'm going home." Mary stubbornly refused, as she stormed out of the classroom, one strap of her bag hanging lazily off her shoulder. Sirius wordlessly followed her, even unlocking the school gate for her and helping her make her way to her house. She unlocked the door for him, and led him into the living room which was now a bit messy due to her sleepover with Marlene and Lily the previous night. They sat across from each other, staring intently.
"Well?" Sirius asked, unusually serious for him.
In the dimly lit room, Mary sat across from Sirius, her eyes cast down, and her fingers nervously tracing invisible patterns on the table. The weight of her emotions pressed heavily on her shoulders, and she took a deep breath before finally mustering the courage to speak. "Sirius," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "there's something I need to tell you. I've been carrying this burden for a while now, and I can't keep it to myself any longer."
Sirius, sensing the gravity of the moment, leaned in attentively, his expression a mixture of concern and empathy. Mary hesitated, searching for the right words that wouldn't betray the secret she guarded so fiercely. "I feel like I've messed up, like I've made choices that led me down a path I never intended. It's not easy for me to admit, but I've been struggling with this feeling of being lost, like I've strayed too far from who I thought I was."
Her eyes met Sirius's, and she could see the genuine concern in his gaze. Encouraged by his understanding demeanor, Mary continued, carefully avoiding any mention of the aquatic world that was her hidden reality. "I've been second-guessing myself, questioning decisions I've made, wondering if I've let down the people who care about me. It's like I'm trapped in my own doubts, and I don't know how to break free."
Sirius reached across the table, placing a comforting hand on Mary's, offering silent support. "You're not alone, Mary," he reassured her. "We all make mistakes, take wrong turns, but that doesn't define who you are. What matters is how you move forward from here. And you don't have to face it alone; I'm here for you, whatever you need."
Mary felt a sense of relief wash over her as Sirius's words wrapped around her like a comforting embrace. She hadn't exposed her deepest secret, but in that moment, she realized the value of sharing her vulnerabilities with someone she trusted.
She hadn't told him that she was a mermaid, but now he was definitely more suspicious than he would've been before, but that's fine. Mary didn't regret opening up to Sirius, they'd gone through everything together, they'd even dated for a month before Sirius realised he was gay.
Mary was having more doubts about herself than she led on, though.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
James knocked on Mary's door, Lily and Marlene stood behind him. He was surprised to see Sirius open the door, scruffy hair and rubbing his eyes like he'd just woken up. He even had a pillow tucked under his armpit, for heavens sakes. Nonetheless, James leapt into his arms with a big smile on his face, and Sirius fell over, James on top of him.
"Why are you here?" James said, still giggling. Sirius shrugged, before gesturing with his head over to a snoring Mary on the sofa. Her brown curls fell over her eyes, and there was a dent in the sofa which looked like somebody had just stood up from. "Were you cuddling?" James asked, looking Sirius up and down before clambering off of him.
Sirius shrugged and chuckled, before throwing a pillow at James' face. From behind James, somebody made a coughing sound, so he craned his neck to look behind him. "Hey Lils." He grinned widely, and she flicked his forehead in return.
"I'm gonna split, I promised Effie I'd help her cook tonight." Sirius said.
"Isn't she making samosas? Tell her I'll be back tomorrow, save me some!" James shouted after Sirius, who slammed the door on his way out. Marlene pulled James to his feet, and he brushed his lap whilst they all made their way towards Mary, who was snoring on the sofa.
"Lily..." Mary groaned in her sleep, turning to her side lifelessly. James glanced at Lily, who was animatedly talking to Marlene on the sofa, coughing at the cloud of smoke which Marlene was creating with her cigarette.
He took a seat next to Mary who was asleep, as he looked out the window and noticed the sun beginning to set in the distance. It was a full moon that night, right?
James was going to watch it rise, it usually looks really pretty that time of year. "Marlene and Lily, you wanna join?" He shouted back.