With melting wax and loosened strings
It had always felt like the most natural thing in the world. Being at her side. Striding through the stone corridors of that school. The other students would see them both and simply move out of their way, letting the pair pass without issue. Regulus often noted that others repelled away from him and Odessa as though they were afraid to touch them. Not as though he was made of glass and would break, but more like there was a dark fog under that glass that no one wanted to let out. With Odessa they avoided even the air around her, like her glass was so magnificent it could have been made of crystal. They examined her from afar as though she was too shimmery and bright to be close too.
But Regulus had always been able to see it. A strange emptiness about her; an area at her side. Like the marble of her statue had been carved too shallow to make a whole person. Or perhaps the artist that made her had meant to give her a partner, but could never find the right muse.
Regulus often thought that place had been left empty just for him, because it felt so nice there.
Odessa felt much the same about Regulus. Even when they were children, she could never take her eyes off the boy. He always wore black, from head to toe—a black shirt, black pants, and a black vest with pockets. His hair was also black, but messy and unkempt like his older brother’s. It had always made her laugh to compare Regulus to his namesake, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It just seemed so unlike him.
So unlike her quiet, gloomy Regulus.
At this moment her shoulder was just a breath forward from his as he stood beside her. They had just reached the end of their last year at Hogwarts, and while Odessa eagerly awaited her owl to come back into the owlery, Regulus did not share her excitement. He knew he had distanced himself from her these last few weeks, and had sent almost no word of anything to his family. The weight of what he had uncovered the month early had been weighing so heavily on his mind, he was surprised he had passed his O.W.L’s at all.
Papyrus, the short eared owl that had once belonged to Odessa’s late mother, landed in front of her with a quiet screech. Odessa patted her owl gently on its side, before handing over a beautifully-stamped letter which Papyrus took, taking off from the open archway.
Regulus had not bothered to compose a letter. As expected, he had achieved marks of ‘Outstanding’ and ‘Exceeding Expectations’ in his O.W.L scores, as the heir of the Black House must. But now, that goal he had written onto the pinned note in his old dorm, it just seemed so silly, and worthless.
The only thing worth anything now was Odessa. Her, and what he knew he had to do.
A part of his heart burned as though on the edge of tears at the smile Odessa gave him now. So overjoyed that he had finally agreed to accompany her on a walk after avoiding her during the exam period. He slipped his hand into the warm grip of his friend’s and the edges of his mouth lifted for just a moment.
“I’m not going back to the Black Manor tomorrow.” Regulus said, turning her towards him. Odessa’s eyebrows furrowed, and he took her other hand, squeezing them both at once. “I want you to come to our beach estate, the one we visited as children. Just for a few days.”
The witch turned her eyes out of the owlery’s open, arching window. Regulus waited in the silence that followed as he watched a dozen questions pass through her brilliant mind. He knew she would resist bothering him for answers, even when she wanted so badly to understand him.
As they had both learned in their many years spent side by side, in time they would always tell each other. Everything.
“Are your mother and father there?” She began rambling, “Perhaps if you wish for me to come and celebrate with you all, I would be delighted to come along.”
“My parents are not there.” Regulus said firmly, and he pulled her closer towards him, studying the kind nature of her eyes. “I want just one more summer alone, with you. Before this part of our life ends.The Black heir had always been so at awe with just how much light Odessa Mallory managed to emit, despite all her life had done to try to snuff it. Her family was a noble house, the same as his, and already she had been promised away to a Minister she had never met. Her sister had died and taken her mother with her at birth, and her surviving father had since turned into a husk of a man.
But here she was, through that unforgiving storm of death and hardship.
Odessa Mallory.
The only light left.
“Regulus, it’s the middle of winter.” Her voice was soft.
He knew she could feel the sadness blooming in him, but it was more than the end of their time at Hogwarts, and distinct enough from the fears of their already-written futures.
“Can we not just pretend then?” Regulus insisted, tightening his hold of her hands before he let go. “Spend an afternoon running through the coming tide, sleep under the stars, get sand in our hair.” He felt solemn as he dropped his eyes from her, “build a home for ourselves, in the driftwood and wind-grass.”
“Like we did as kids?”
“Like we did together,” Regulus looked up at his friend, “Please Odessa.”
Owls flapped their wings around them, shaking off the light dusting of snow that had blown in from the open architecture of the tower. Regulus’ robes drifted around him, it was likely the last time he would ever get to wear them.
She couldn’t ask, he knew. She wouldn’t allow herself. But she could say, “Yes,” and draw her friend into a crushing hug, content to suppress her questions into a bubble of giggles. Always cheerful.
Odessa smelt of wildflowers and expensive vanilla, and he buried his nose in her hair as he hugged her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around much the last few weeks,” he murmured into her waves of hair.
“It’s alright. You have a lot on your mind.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, but he willed them away.