Let me be a part of the narrative.

“Do you have someone of that title then?”

“Oh no, definitely not. I wish, but just not something that’s happened yet.”

“Have you been crying?” Phoebe asked and wrote down that she had headaches on her chart.

“Not much, just a normal amount. This whole thing has kind of really put a delay on things I need to get done.”

“Anything I can do to help?” he wasn’t much of a one to pry, but he tried to support wherever he could.

“Provide a distraction?” She asked with a light laugh.

He smirked as they sat down, surprised at the slight face Caroline gave him. “It’s cheaper,” he said. “And they have a much larger infrastructure for it. There are some things Muggles are more efficient at than we are. They’ve had to come up with new ways of doing things since they don’t have magic.” Antonin shrugged. “I suppose it depends on what your tastes are,” he drawled. “I tend to go with whiskey most of the time but the wine list is decent.”

“She does not know that I am talking to you at all. And believe it or not, despite not being a Ravenclaw, I am rather capable of independent thought.” She didn’t appreciate the tone that Caroline was taking, how defensive she was. It just seemed to confirm for her that Caroline didn’t really appreciate just what she had done, or the ramifications it would have - was already having. “However she is reacting to Thorfinn is not your concern. But for what it is worth, her fiance also fucked her supposed best friend in this scenario, so it would be a little odd were she not also cross with him. But it is truly heart warming to know that you and Thorfinn have been having little tête-à-têtes about whether or not Katherine is justified in her feelings.” 

“I am not sure that you do know what you have done, Caroline. Or at least, I do not think you know what effect this will have, including upon you and your reputation. If you did you might not be so quick to turn on those who care about you.”

“Katherine was your best friend,” she pointed out. “So I am not really sure what friend means to you. And it hardly answers the question.”

She shrugged. “Depends who you hang around by the time you’re the one getting married.”

“Well, at this rate I won’t be hanging out with very many people apart from whoever the groom is.”

Phoebe nodded. “Charts do state these things.” She started looking the girl over. “How bad is your head though?”

Caroline shrugged lightly, “It’s just throbbing a bit. Nothing out of this world. Kind of like those headaches you get after crying a lot?”

Phoebe was doing the rounds and checking out people here and there as she ensured they were okay enough to actually leave. Making her way into another room, she looked at the chart before putting on a smile for the girl. “Hello, Caroline. How are you feeling today?”

Caroline’s face perked up slightly at the visitor. While she’d been a bit down that no one outside of nurses had visited her so far, she wasn’t about to turn down some kind of social interaction. “A bit better, thanks. My head’s still a bit sore, but it’s nothing too bad. The rest are just a few bruises so they’ll be fine in another day or so. But you probably knew that...”

“Well, I’m sorry that you had to cancel them like this. Whatever it is, I’m sure you’re better off not attending anyways.”

“Thank you... I’m hoping your right about that as well. It’s been a long time coming. I hope someone tells me if I ever become anywhere near the level of bridezilla I’ve had to deal with.”

Antonin looked over at her and smirked. “I’m sure you’ve had more than you think,” he said with a grin. “A lot of wizarding establishments stock with Muggle alcohol. It’s just not highly publicized.” He gestured for her to move ahead of him as he took a seat at a hightop table.

Caroline made a slight face in surprise, not having expected his answer. “You don’t say...” She moved to the table, taking a seat opposite him. “So what exactly do you recommend from here?”

“Self-deprecating? Why?” he frowned at Caroline, genuinely concerned. He was a generally happy guy, and disliked seeing others unhappy if there was anything he could do to help. “You alright, Caroline?”

“Bad sense of humor?” Caroline offered, not really knowing what else there was to say. She was rarely the type to be over-the-top happy, even when she was in a particularly good mood. “I’m fine... Just a stressful couple of weeks.”

He smiled as she took his arm and then apparated them to the higher-end bar in his repertoire. It was near Chelsea, where they’d had tea previously and he chuckled at her comment once they’d arrived. As Antonin moved to hold the door open for Caroline, he spoke softly. “Muggle locations are discreet,” he said. “And their alcohol is perhaps the one thing they do better than us.” He smirked.

Caroline couldn’t help but wonder in the back of her mind if he was trying to hide the fact that he was spending time with her, but she pushed it away. At least for now. She was the one who wanted to keep today on the DL. “Really? I can’t say that I’ve had much muggle alcohol.”

Alastair frowned slightly, confused again. Had he missed something? “I don’t really know what you mean.”

Caroline grimaced slightly, her embarrassment rising. This was definitely not her night. “Nothing, forget it. It was a joke... A bit of self-deprecating humor.”

Though most of their social set were not wont to go to Muggle bars, the Dolohov heir preferred it. Muggle bars offered more anonymity, something he always thought was necessary in political times such as these. At Caroline’s response, Antonin chuckled and offered her his arm – it was, after all, the polite thing to do. “Do you trust me to apparate us?” he asked, not wanting to be rude and simply take her.

Caroline glanced at his arm for a brief moment before taking it with a nod, “Of course.” She’d never been one to enjoy side along apparition and so she braced herself for the familiar sensation, keeping her eyes shut until she knew they’d arrived. “You seem to enjoy going to muggle locations for food.”

The final part of her stated sounded false, even to his ears. Although he’d entered their arraignment thinking of Caroline as nothing more than a good friend, eventually his feelings had started to shift. It wasn’t love - or at least, he didn’t think so, but he cared for her. Things had changed, even if neither had fully intended them to. “You may say it’s fine, but I know well enough that I am putting you in a difficult situation. She’s your friend, and I ended things. Maybe we need to… stay away from each other for a bit.” Even as he spoke the words, his resolve to stand by them waned. “Because I do want you there - always.”

“I can take care of myself. If it was too much then I’d say something,” Caroline did her best to hold back any reaction as she listened to him speak. She could already sense where it was going before she heard the words- after all, they’d already had a very similar conversation before, and the last thing she wanted was to react. “...You want me to be there for you by staying away? That doesn’t make sense, Thorfinn. If you’re going to say it, then just say it. Don’t sugarcoat it and just tell me the truth. Tell me you don’t want me in your life anymore.”

“Caroline… you fucked her fiancé. And not just once,” she said slowly, careful to keep her tone as gentle and even as possible. Poppy wasn’t usually one for swearing, but if it truly wasn’t romantic like Caroline claimed, then there really wasn’t a more appropriate expression for it. And it was something that she felt needed to be pointed out, especially now that Caroline was apparently upset at Katherine for being upset with what the blonde had done. “Not her friend, or her boyfriend, or the boy she fancied. You fucked the man that Katherine not only is going to marry, but has to marry - she has no choice. She is allowed to be upset with you. What did you expect her to do? Welcome you into her marriage bed with open arms? Perhaps ask you for tips on how to best please him?” She tilted her head to the side. “If you felt so awful about it, why continue to do it? Simply because she called you a nasty name after the fact, neither excuses nor justifies what you did to her. How would you feel in her position?”

Poppy shrugged one shoulder. “I would have thought the question was fairly straight forward.”

“Oh goody, did she give you another speech to lecture me with? Because there’s no need. I know what I did, Poppy,” Caroline said simply, focusing her energy on keeping her emotions at bay rather than letting things get out of hand, “Exactly. He’s the other half of a business deal not her soul mate. And yes, she’s allowed to be upset with me but she took it a bit farther than upset. There’s no reason for her to be this mad at Thorfinn. What is this- an interrogation? I hardly see the point in bothering. You clearly have already made up your mind no matter what I say. ”