【 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 : 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒙𝒖 ( @antigonai ) 】
is it better or worse to believe, however temporarily, that they’d been abandoned ? those fleeting hours aren’t easy, but the pain of being stood up surely pales in comparison to what awaits them in the not so distant future. the malfoy family ball is meant to be their shining debut, shot to hell when they arrive & daisy never does. they do try their best to ignore the sinking feeling tugging at their heart / they don’t refuse a single flute of champagne offered to them by bored servers / throw themself into conversation with peers and dignitaries alike, but no distraction is good enough to make it go away. the entire time, they flit between the inner ballroom & the outer gardens, searching the crowd for the date that they had so happily announced they had to anyone that would listen, anxiously plucking petals, one by one, from the childish corsage picked with so much care. when the purple flowers have nothing more to give, they are forced to accept that their girlfriend - though merlin, they wonder, can they call her that, after such an obvious sign ? - isn’t going to turn up. after being fed such a tough pill to swallow, it’s no surprise that they apparate home without a show of goodbyes. their siblings will understand.
antigone is in no state to notice when argos lifts his head at something he hears outside of the van, but they can’t exactly ignore his booming barks when someone knocks against the side, loud enough all else. there is, of course, a hopeful, excited little rush ; a moment of oh, there she is, and everything is okay, again, that against their better judgement has them using their pyjama sleeve to wipe hastily at tear stained makeup as they rush to unlock the back doors and throw one open. they’re hurt, sure, but not beyond forgiveness, evidenced by the smile that barely has time to shine before disappearing as polyneices is lit up by the ambient lighting that spills from their van. their shoulders sag, and they allow argos - unable to read the room, as per usual for dogs - to bound past them, excitedly, and out past polyneices into the car park. “ alexa, ” they sniffle, “ pause. ” the chorus of you’re on your own, kid that had been playing through their bluetooth speaker cuts abruptly off, and though he’s not exactly who antigone would want to see, right now, he’s still a pretty welcome sight. “ i’m sorry i left the party before you got there. i had a really, really bad night, and…- is that what you wore ? ”
𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 about the domino effect , about heartbreak , and the way that polyneices loves his siblings . it’s something that set him apart from the rest of his house at times . the way that he felt things so strongly sometimes that he had no choice but to act on it . the way that he’d herd little first-years away into their common room and let them cry about how homesick they were because they’d look up at him with watery eyes and all he’d see is antigone . the way he’d pick fights on purpose with his own housemates after any altercations with the gryffindors ( catch my sister in the crossfire and i swear you’ll regret it , you pricks — ) . not cunning enough . not good enough at holding his tongue . far , far too much empathy . it comes into play even now because there is only the briefest moment where polyneices attention is stuck on the dog—he’s a very good boy and polyneices is obligated to give him a pat to let him know that—before his eyes land on antigone’s face . those watery eyes that he’s never built up any resistance to are plain on their face and it’s enough to snap his heart clean in half .
this was his job . he couldn’t help them when they were struggling back at school . polyneices had needed the stability that hogwarts offered and antigone needed the freedom that hogwarts had lacked so he had found himself at odds with his youngest sibling with no comforts to offer them . but this ? protecting them from dark wixen and the fallout of their actions ? this was what he did daily . he should’ve done a better job of making sure that none of this touched antigone . ❝ don’t apologize , ant . is and i aren’t bothered a bit , ❞ he assured them . one hand tucked itself into his pocket , sweeping back his work robes with the motion , while the other hand came up to rub at his mouth in an awkward motion . ❝ i didn’t actually make it to the party tonight . something came up at work and - ❞ he cut himself off suddenly . the last hurdle of making the words actually come out of his mouth seemed impossible to overcome , especially in the dim lighting of some random parking lot . but he didn’t think there was a best spot to deliver some bad news and this was probably the best they could do at the moment . ❝ actually , honey , do you mind if we take a seat for a bit ? i have some things to tell you . ❞