December 20
Lily stirred, her eyelids fluttering. She grimaced in pain as she touched her stomach, which was bandaged.
Lily sat up fast, seeing a figure watching her and went to grab her wand, which wasnt there.
“Stay still, youll rip your bandages.” Regulus’ stern voice commanded Lily, walking to her side with a cup of water.
Lily accepted the glass of water gratefully, and drank the entire thing.
She looked at the room, which was big but rather empty. There was a grand piano in one corner, and a few couches. Lily was laying on a matress that had been dragged into the middle of the floor from a bedroom. Lily was now out of her robes and into a pair of pajama pants and a green slytherin jumper.
Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she looked at Regulus, “Where are we?” She asked, looking around the room still at a portrait. It was of Regulus and three people, an older, pointed face woman with high cheeckbones and a pale face, and a shorter man, who had the same high cheeckbones and fair skin. The third persons face was burned off in a black hole, but Lily knew it was Sirius, and that was their family portrait. Nobody in the painting was smiling, but their cold, grey eyes looked almost into the soul of the viewer. Lily got goosebumps looking at Walpurga.
“This is my familys house.” Regulus replied stifly. Lily could tell he didnt enjoy being there.
“W-where are they?” Lily asked, turning to look at Regulus, who had a grim look on his face.
“Dad died a few years ago, Mum just recently.”
Lily nodded her head and rubbed her bandages, which had stung but didnt hurt.
“I couldnt remeber the spell to mend stab wounds, so I didnt want to risk it. Kreacher put some salve on it and it seemed to go away though, but theres still a scratch so I bandaged it.”
Lily smiled softly at Regulus, looking around the room for Barty and Evan.
“Wheres-?”
“Barty and Evan?” Regulus cut her off, staring at his fingers and figeting with one of his many silver rings, “they, well Lucius stupified them and I couldnt get to then after you fainted, so I had to leave them there. I’m trying to come up with a plan to get them out, but I cant think of one.”
Regulus’ mouth wobbled but he closed his eyes and it stopped. He sighed and opened his eyes, standing up.
“Well, Im going to go make some tea.”
Lily watched him stand up, but noticed how he hadnt made eye contact with her.
“Regulus?” She asked, concerned, standing up to walk over to the man, “Regulus, whats wrong? Whats happend?”
Regulus looked at his shoes.
“Regulus?” Lily asked, raising her voice
Regulus looked up at the wall behind Lily and sighed, frowning.
“Er, its about Longbottom.”
Lily gasped and put her hand to her mouth, “Whats happend? Is it the whole family? Is it Alice? Frank? Neville?”
Regulus hung his head breifly and then, finally, looked Lily in the eyes,
“Its Frank. Hes been murdered.”
Lily froze and stared at Regulus, her face going white.
“W-what?” She whispered
Regulus hung his head and figeted with his rings, “Bellatrix Lestrange. Severus Snape. And.” Regulus paused looking up at Lily, who was staring at him, pale wide eyed and blurry. “Peter Pettigrew.”
Lily inhaled sharply and everything went fuzzy.
Frank. Her friend. The man she went to when she had her panic attacks quite frequently in 4th year, who she went to when she needed help on her homework, who helped her with her prefect duties. Who was there when her and James knew they were having Harry and she needed advice. Her first friend when she went to Hogwarts even though he was quite a bit older.
Lily tried to breathe but she couldn’t. Her hands were sweaty and shaky and she put them on her chest
“Lily?” Regulus yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, “Lily are you okay?”
Lily nodded and breathed in and out, in and out, in and out. Concentrating on her breathing, she started to cry. Her cry turned to a sob as she fell to her knees, struggling to breathe and sobbing, she moaned franks name over and over again, hoping it wasnt real. Regulus was lying but she knew he wouldnt lie.
Frank was dead.
Lily cried so hard as she fell to the ground and blacked out, Regulus catching her and picking her up and laying her on the black couch.
Regulus walked to a green chair and sat on it, watching Lily
“Kreacher?” Regulus whispered, voice cracking.
There was a POP and the old house elf stood in front of Regulus.
“Yes, Master Regulus?” Kreacher spoke, twirling his fingers together.
“Could you please make me and Lily some tea?”
Kreacher nodded and snapped his fingers, disappearing. Regulus sat back in his chair and reached for the book on the table next to it. The Catcher in the Rye.
Regulus wished he could run away to the states and experience New York like Holden had. Lily stirred and Regulus looked over his book, but she as still out, tears still streaming down her face and her mouth moving, but no words came out. Regulus felt terrible, he knew her and Frank were somewhat close. He had seen the two together quite a bit at school, when she wasnt with Marlene Mckinnon, Mary Macdonald or the fucking Marauders. Thats what Siruis had called his little group of friends. Regulus thought is was a bloody horrible name, but Sirius had smiled when he said it, so Regulus like that it brought his older brother joy.
But when he left Grimmauld Place, leaving Regulus, Regulus only wanted him to come back and take him with him. Sirius did, once. But Regulus was to afraid. Gods, Regulus hated being back here, in the house. He hated it then and he hated it now. He looked over at the corner, the same corner where his mum had broken his fingers for painting his nails. He was sitting on the couch where Sirius had been hexed and lashed and abused. Lily was laying on the couch that Regulus had to sit when Sirius had ran away and Orion and Walpurga threw rocks at him.
Fucking hell, Regulus had to get out of the sitting room.
Walking upstairs, he passed the room where he was locked for 5 days without food or water because he had fallen down the stairs and broken a vase. Sirius had brought him food and water though, and talked to him.
Regulus walked into his room and sat on the bed. It was covered in Slytherin banners and posters, and had a picture of him with Barty and Evan. There were a few letter lying around, some said things like,
miss you! come back soon please love!
Love, Panda
and
panda wont stop talking abt you. when are you coming back?
Xxxxxxxx, Dorcas
The ones from Barty and Evan just said things like they would be there soon.
Barty and Evan had helped him through so much after Sirius left. They were the ones to help clean his bloody body up off the floor when Orion had practiced new curses on him. Or mended his fingers when Wallurga slammed them in the piano because she found out he had talked to Sirius.
Regulus flinched and stood up, walking to grab the picture of him, Barty, Evan, Dorcas and Pandora off the wall. He folded it in half and pocketed it as he walked down the hall to Sirius’ room.
The door was closed and locked but Regulus muttered “Alohomora.” and the lock clicked and he opened it.
The room was dark and dusty, seeing as nobody had been in there since Regulus left. Regulus looked at the posters of half-naked muggle women, some on motorbikes and some just standing. Regulus smiled and rolled his eyes, remebering how he had helped Sirius put them up, and how he had found the spell to make them impossible to take down.
Regulus walked across the room to the small picture on the wall, it was of the Marauders and they all were smiling happily at the picture. There were some griffindor banners hanging around, and you could tell that Sirius enjoyed angering his parents.
Regulus smiled as he walked out of the room and downstairs, tiptoeing past the covered portrait of his mother.
“R-regulus?” A small voice called him, and Regulus walked into the sitting room again, where Lily was sitting up with a cup of tea in her hand. She was still pale and her eyea were watery but she had stopped crying.
“Where’d you go?” Lily asked, at the same time Regulus asked, “are you okay?”
Lily nodded and took a sip of her tea, wincing at the hot temperature.
“I just kind of just walked around, remebering my, er, happy childhood memories.” Regulus closed his eyes and pressed his forehead, trying to hold back the massive headache he felt coming on.
“Er, Kreacher left you some tea.” Lily whispered, pointing to the steaming cup of tea on the coffee table. Regulus picked it up and smiled at Lily.
“Im sorry.” Regulus whispered, looking into his cup.
“No, no i-its fine. Frank is just one of the many people I happen to be losing to this war.”
Regulus took a shuddering breath and nodded, thinking of Barty and Evan.
“We’ll get them back.” Lily encouraged, Regulus looked up to see her looking at him.
“Yea, yea I know. Bloddy hell, Potter. Were really fucked up, arent we.”
Lily nodded and the two finished their tea in silence.