Last night had been... Interesting to say the least. First, house elves had panicked and knocked on her door-- but Jordyn Dimbleby and Isla Spectre followed soon after. Awoken from her nap, it had taken Mai a moment to compose herself and figure out what the hell happened. Cadance was pregnant, Virgil insulted her and went too far, she cursed him, and he panicked and cut his face open and bled all over the kitchen. The pair of them needed a hug. Even if she hadn't docked ten points off apiece for the whole incident (something Mai HATED to do but the house elves were in such a state that she had to).

Besides, she had to talk to Cadance first. Mai had told Cadance earlier in the day that she wanted to speak with her this afternoon, if she had time. Mai hoped and waited for Cadance to show up-- if she didn't, then she was going to have to hunt the Slytherin down. Something that she also didn't like to do to students.

Then she heard a knock on the door. Mai immediately answered it-- and was not disappointed. Quickly, she welcomed Cadance in.

Once Cadance was settled with a hot drink, Mai sat across from her. It was best, in these situations, to be straight to the point.

"I heard that you were pregnant." She said softly, eyebrows furrowed together with earnest concern, "Is this true?" Mai wasn't one to believe every bit of nonsense that was rumored about, but she felt a responsibility to check in and make sure that Cadance was okay. If this was true, was she getting any support? Did she know what she wanted to do? Did the father know?

To expect that she would walk away from the previous night's ordeal without some sort of repercussion was naive. Despite what many thought of her outward persona, Cade was not a naive girl. She knew that sort of confrontation was coming, though she had hoped it would have taken longer. She knew the word would get out before too long, despite her 'plea' for it not to and she knew she'd be hearing from at least one Professor if not more after Virgil went completely mad and cut his face open. So when Councillor Biladeau-Yukawa approached her in the afternoon, Cade complied. It certainly could have been worse.

At arrival Cadance looked as though nothing were wrong. The events of the previous night, nothing more than a bad dream. She was still a little pale from her morning sickness and being unable to keep anything too substantial down. The only thing amiss in her wardrobe was the lack of corset, an accessory she had been wearing since she first started at Hogwarts. While it likely caused no threat to the life growing inside her (after all Witches had been wearing corsets for centuries and they were able to reproduce with no complications) it did wreak havoc on her stomach issues.

She accepted the hot tea and settled into the chair she had been offered. Cup and saucer held at her lap, ankles crossed, back straight. Her porcelain features held no real expression. She would have normally had a smile fixed to her mask but she wasn't entirely in the mood. There was also little room for her to be feigning ignorance. The Councillor certainly knew what had happened in the kitchen and she should look the part of a student about to be reprimanded for their actions. She, however, was not expecting the questions the other woman posed instead.

For a moment she wondered how she should react. Being meek and uncertain, hadn't benefitted her the night before. Nor had being happy or nonchalant. While quite disastrous, the reactions of her peers were a good precursor to what she could expect of the rest of the student body. For now she decided to go with matter of fact. After all Maiko didn't seem to want to punish her for the time being.

"Yes." She tilted her head to the side and looked to the ceiling as if thinking hard, running her teeth along her bottom lip, "Perhaps seven weeks, if I've done my math correctly." She thought for moment, "Perhaps eight." More than enough to know that she was indeed with child, harder to pinpoint an exact date.

Certain she knew what the Councillor was interested in knowing, the questions that were often associated with such a revelation, Cadance continued, "The father doesn't know. I haven't told anyone," She took a sip of her tea, "willingly." There a touch of venom to her voice there, "I fully intend to keep the child." She took a deep breath and gave a small smile while actually looking at Maiko, "My parents will not be pleased and will offer to move up my Wedding Date before I start to 'show'." She sipped her tea, "Which is why I don't intend to tell them until after Graduation." There was an obvious plea to her expression though not for the reasons she had given. If her Mother and Grandfather discovered she was with child she'd never escape. She'd be bound to Charlie for the rest of her life. Keeping her secret just a few months longer gave her enough time to work out where she were to go once she could no longer stay at Hogwarts.

Cadance was poised, outwardly calm. Mai remembered being in her position, not much older. Of course she had made the opposite choice. It was the choice that was right for her. However, what was right for one person was not necessarily right for another. The witch completely accepted and supported Cadance's choice. It would be hard being a mother so young, especially with such a small support system. From the sounds of it, her family owuld not be very supportive.

Something Mai would never understand was the tendency for some pureblooded families to marry off their children to other purebloods. It was a practice that felt outdated and thoroughly purist. Although she was a halfblood, that identity came to her late in life. Growing up, as far as she knew, she had been muggleborn. She still bristled up at the idea of anti-muggleborn ideologies, even if they were subtle. Her comment about a wedding date being moved up brought up red flags.

After graduation, Cadance would begin to show. She could probably hide it from her family, but not for long.

"I'm glad you have thought about this," Mai said gently-- clearly, Cadance had thought about this. She knew she was going to keep the baby. She knew when she was going to tell her parents. What she didn't seem to know though, is what she was going to do after they found out. That was something they could figure out together, if the conversation went there. Mai just needed to know something first.

"Cadance, do you want to marry him?" The counselor wasn't sure who her betrothed was, but she got the impression that there was... Hesitance regarding a relationship with him. So many girls raised in a strict purist household didn't feel like they had the option to do what they wanted-- and the idea of Cadance being coerced into a marriage that she did not want was not something that Maiko liked.

Cadance bit back a scoff when the councillor was glad she had thought about it. What a thing to say. Of course she had thought about it, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it for the past four weeks. Every time she felt faint, every time she threw up, every time she looked at the baby's father. It had completely dominated her thoughts, there was little room for anything else. She was surprised she was able to make it through class, let alone actually complete her homework. Granted there was a part of her aware that she had actually meant that she was glad Cadance had made certain decisions, but still, what a thing to say.

Cadance's eyes whipped up to meet Maiko's. No one had ever really asked her that before. Sure, her friends had asked her whether it was weird, Charlie had asked her whether she loved him and her mother had even asked her once if she had a preference on her Wedding Date but no one had ever really asked her what she wanted, and meant it. Despite that exact question having not be posed to her a practiced answer danced on her lips, "Of course." She smiled sweetly.


She gave a pained expression as her stomach turned and she placed her cup and saucer on Maiko's desk. She rubbed her abdomen and released some tension from her shoulders. If there was anyone she could actually be honest with, it should be the person whose actual job was to listen to the students' problems, "I don't," she averted her eyes, "I found out when I was Eleven I'd be marrying Charles Whitman. Eleven. I hadn't even hit puberty and my entire life was mapped out. I thought I was lucky. Charlie was nice, well brought up. He didn't fight like the other boys and he was always really nice to me." She rubbed her stomach and took a deep breath fighting off a wave of nausea, "I love him, I do. Just not in the way he wants me to love him and certainly not enough to give up my entire life for him."

She looked up. She was unaware if there was a Mr. Biladeau-Yukawa and added hastily, "That's not to say marriage is the end of my life but I'm only Seventeen. I know that sounds weird considering the fact that I'm going to be a mother, but even with the baby I can do what I want, with Charlie? . . . I'd have to do what they want me to." 

Cadance's first answer was reactive, instinctive. A habit. Why wouldn't she want to get married right after graduation? It probably had been expected of her to want this from a young age. "Of course." Mai saw right through that in an instant. But she kept her expression steady.

She didn't even have to press further before Cadance confirmed her suspicions. She did not want to marry Charles Whitman. She'd rather live life as a single mom, with very little support backing her up. Cadance didn't want to sacrifice her entire life to being somebody's life, and she craved freedom. Many pureblooded witches in similar situations often felt like they didn't have a choice... Truth was, they did. The choices were just incredibly hard, and didn't often have family support behind them.

"Cadance, it's ultimately up to you to make the choice that is best for you and your baby." Mai said softly, "And you're not sure about Charlie. Raising a child alone is difficult, but it's not impossible." She crossed one leg over the other, "Do you have any family, any friends who would be supportive if you decided not to go through with the wedding?"

Cadance's initial instincts were to push back against what the councillor was saying. No, it wasn't her choice, it had never been her choice. Everything about her life was dictated by those around her. She had never had the freedom she craved and was still scared to death at the mere possibility of actually achieving it, despite how badly she wanted it. She took a deep breath to keep herself from saying so. She wanted to lash out, something she never got to do. Every emotion needed to be controlled but it was getting harder and harder. She wasn't sure if it was the effects of the pregnancy hormones or if she was finally hitting her breaking point. Either way attacking the one person who seemed to genuinely want to help her was probably a bad idea.

"I've never made a choice like that before." She was partly aware that she was making that choice right now, in wishing to keep the baby but it didn't feel like it. After all she could still be Charlie's wife and a mother. The presence of a child wasn't an automatic ticket to her freedom. In fact, if handled incorrectly it could just as easily become shackles that were even harder to break free from.

"I'm not really sure. I haven't spent much time thinking about it." She did a mental once over of her relatives, "My parents certainly wouldn't approve. It's tradition and family pride and all that. All my Aunt's were married this way, my uncle got lucky and was allowed to choose his wife, so long as she was a pureblood. My cousins, well they all have husbands lined up, except the Cavanaughs - Grandfather says Cavanaughs don't make good wives but excellent Aurors. My brother and my male cousins will get their own choices so long as they make the right ones." She grabbed for her tea again, taking a tentative sip and hoping not to be hit with more nausea, "I doubt I'll have much support from any of them. Berkeley would be my best bet but she's already responsible for so much. She works ridiculous hours as an Auror, takes care of both her younger siblings and her ailing father, I couldn't possibly impose on her." Her brow furrowed as she thought of the large extensive Wentworth family tree, so many other Pureblood families were connected to them though she'd likely have to reach out to second, or third cousins to try and find someone that wouldn't look down on her situation, ones who'd be willing to help.

"I don't have much friends to speak of." She averted her eyes, "And I think my actions last night may have jeopardized any chances I had of gaining favour." Everything about the previous night had been a mistake. She had never made so many in her life. She had broken her facade, shown a side of her no one was aware existed and even shown herself as unhinged and dangerous. What she wouldn't do for a Time Turner.

"All that being said I don't doubt my abilities to do this on my own." She straightened her back and lifted her chin, "The father . . . he'll want to help, I know he will but . . ." She chewed her lip, not sure what she wanted to say, "It may be better off if he doesn't know." She said to her tea cup rather than to Maiko.

Judging by her reaction (and what little Maiko knew about the ins and outs of purist culture) Cadance's life was full of choices being made for her, taken from her. If she didn't go along with those choices, she wouldn't get support. Money wasn't the only thing at stake-- her status and reputation were. She grew up knowing that, and that life wasn't very empowering.

She sat and listened as Cadance went on. The more the girl spoke, the more it was clear to Mai that Cadance had already decided what it was she wanted to do. The hardest part was actually putting it into action-- and the way her family and friends would react. Cadance was facing motherhood with the reality that she would not have a support system. If worse came to worse, Mai knew she would offer the spare room in her house... Just until Cadance got back on her feet. She wasn't going to offer it yet. She'd wait.

The resilience of the students never failed to impress her.

"What do you think will happen if you tell the father?" Mai asked. Was the father her fiance?

Cadance sat back in the chair, rubbing her lips together as she thought. She was vaguely aware of the relief she felt. Maiko wasn't pressuring her to do things a certain say. At this point she was simply asking questions. Ones that Cadance had been asking herself but never really got the answers to. She was thankful for the chance she was getting to think it all through.

"Well he is only a teenage boy, I expect a full on melt down. Possibly denial, we only did it once. Then again," she lowered her eyes to her teacup, "he's one of the sweetest boys I've ever known. Impulsive, possibly reckless, seems to have very little forethought of his future but sweet. Kind, gentle. I suspect he'd actually be excited if I told him, without really thinking of the magnitude of change and responsibility that will come with it." For all intents and purposes the description did not fit her Fiance. She wondered if the Councillor would notice.

She sipped her tea, "I suppose I'll have to tell him eventually. There's still three months left before we graduate. By then if won't exactly be easy to hide this. Even if I use a few disillusionment charms. Not to mention every one from last night knows about it. I can't expect them to keep quiet forever."

Mai wasn't sure if it was Cadance's upbringing that made her grow up so fast, or if it was the situation she currently found herself in. Either way, she was thinking through everything with a maturity that Maiko admired and respected. These choices and decisions could only be hers, and hers alone. And Cadance was owning them with a quiet dignity and practicality.

Only a teenage boy though. The way that Cadance said it led Mai to believe the father was somebody in her class, a fellow seventh year. Plus, she had not referred to Charlie as the father at all-- just as the fiance. The way the witch was talking about it, Charlie and the father of the baby were two different people... The traits she used to describe the father of the baby did not describe (to her knowledge at least) Charles Whitman. The truth would come out at some point, and Mai suspected that the Bulstrodes would not be happy.

Shit, what a mess.

"You don't have to answer this question, but." Mai paused, "Is Charlie the father?" And if he isn't, how would he react? Cadance would risk whatever support system she had. She was about to go out into the world as an adult, facing the reality that she may not have anywhere to go if the truth got out. And it couldn't be a secret forever.

Cadance supposed Mai wasn't the school Councillor for nothing. Then again she wasn't exactly being cryptic about her answers, just a little elusive. She could have flat out said that Charlie was the father, it would have been easy. It was also something that would have been expected of her. The two had been a 'couple' since they were eleven. Cadance was seen as flawless, perfect. No one would have suspected anything else of her even if ending up pregnant at barely Eighteen was unexpected. However she wasn't about to lie about it, not when she was fully intent on escaping her oppressive life. 

"No." She said softly looking back down at her tea, "He's not. We only had sex once but I was using protection at the time." She paused for a moment, "He doesn't know that." Her cousin had given her a Contraceptive Bracelet as a present for Christmas. At the time she had found it wildly inappropriate but come Valentine's it was surprisingly effective. Or at least it had been with Charlie. The charmed jewelry was super effective when you wore it, not so much when you forgot to put it on.

"It would be really easy, to just tell him he was the father, if I wanted that life but I don't. Besides, once the baby's born . . . well it will become rather obvious." If she did her math right, she wasn't due until mid November. That gave her plenty of time to finish school and at least start her new life.

Mai felt a pang of sympathy for Cadance. Only once. That's all it took.

....Wait, it would be obvious that the baby's dad is not Charlie. What did she mean by that? So, not blond. Not Sasha Schlagenweit or Virgil Carstairs. Not Trumble. Xavier? Wait, no. They were cousins... And people who had more sense than that. Bevans? No, he was pale and white enough to maybe be able to pass off the baby as Charlie's.  Figaro was too blond, Elijah Grimlish and Theo Whitman were too careful. Harcroft? Marco Caldara?

Oh god, not Marco. So many unexpected things were coming up lately, she wouldn't even be surprised. The idea of Marco as a dad was terrifying. Maybe not as terrifying as Eli Amherst being a parent.

Fuck, that was a possibility too. There were too many options. The school was chock full of teenage boys whose child would most-definitely-not look like Charlie's

She looked at Cadance, quiet for a moment. Would it be too much to ask who the father was? Did she even need to know? It was best to ask questions that would help Cadance think the situation through.

"Do you think the father's family would be supportive?" It was hard to know if she hadn't told the father. It's a difficult question to answer if you didn't know the family well. Wizarding families often knew a little bit about other wizarding families, so she could guess...  "What do you think would happen if he got involved? What kind of life could that bring to your child?"

Cadance took her time answering the question. What did she know of his family? Would they be supportive? She had never really needed to know much about other family workings outside her own and those of the many Whitman's. She had been taught Wizarding genealogy at a young age however and could recite all of the active Pureblood Families within Great Britain and some others across the UK. She knew many by name and few by face. She had spent many social events being toted around, showed off alongside her eligible cousins. Once she was betrothed there wasn't much room for her to be more than decoration at such events, though.

Finally she gave a sort of non committal shrug, "I don't know much about his family to be honest. I know they're pureblood and expansive." She rolled her eyes lightly, "Which family isn't these days." Her own family tree was a mess and that was just the Wentworth side. There wasn't much left to the Bulstrodes as so many had lost their Pureblood status a generation or two back, "I've met a few of his cousins and I think there was an uncle here a few years back but I know little of his parents." Cadance purposely avoiding using the family name. She wasn't ashamed of what she had done, in fact she had rather enjoyed it. She wasn't ashamed of the child she was now carrying either she just wasn't entirely ready to admit it yet. This was her burden, one she planned on dealing with on her own as much as possible. She was prepared for what it meant for her and her future. That was a bomb she didn't want to just drop on someone else.

She lowered her eyes, "I wasn't planning on telling him. I don't even know if I was planning on telling Charlie it's not his." She rubbed her lips together again, "I was sort of just planning to disappear. I have some money. There's an account at Gringotts that will become mine once I graduate. It could be enough to start a whole new life for myself and the baby."

Mai was comfortable with silence. Sometimes people needed to sit and think their thoughts without someone interuppting them for the sole purpose of filling the silence. She let it hang between them, until Cadance made it clear that she wasn't going to share who the father was, that she didn't know if she wanted him to know, and that she wasn't sure how to even approach all of this with Charlie. No matter what she chose, it would be a difficult decision to make.

And it wasn't Maiko's, or anybody else's place, to make the choice for her.

It was good to hear that Cadance had some sort of financial support, though Mai wondered if that support would be taken away as soon as the family found out she was pregnant. It seemed the plan right now was: keep it secret, don't tell anyone, and hope for the best. It sounded like she really cared about her unborn child, and was willing to do whatever it took to secure a good future.

"Where would you disappear to, Cadance?" She asked, clasping her hands together.

Cadance sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling, "I could go anywhere." She said almost wistfully, as if there were no one else in the room. All she had ever dreamed about was getting free, travelling the world, doing whatever she wanted, all on her own terms. Even with a child in tow she didn't suspect her plans would be much different. Hadn't that famous boy spent nearly a year in a tent travelling around the countryside? And he had Death Eaters and Snatchers after him. Cadance had the added bonus of not being the most wanted person in the country. She'd be able to go from village to village with limitless freedom. Just the thought brought a sparkle to her eye.

"There's a summer house in Spain. The family owns it but no one uses it. There's also a home in Australia, one in California and another in Alberta, I believe. Probably countless more. Grandfather keeps them for when he does business abroad. Few simple wards and no one would even know I'm there."

She sipped her tea and held it in her lap, bringing her gaze back to the Councillor, "I should be due in November. I suppose I'd have to return for that, or at least locate another wizarding Hospital. I don't think I could manage all that on my own, no matter how independent I become." She tilted her head to the side, "Is apparition safe while pregnant?"