Chapter 9
Chp 9
“Marry me.” Regulus says without thinking. He means it, means every bit of it, but he does it without thinking.
He doesn’t regret the words, but he regrets what it does to her face. Aurora’s expression crumples, as if her heart were made of porcelain and he had just shattered it.
And of course she is upset; she just lost her father. Not like she had been particularly fond of him before but, still. And the inheritance… she would have nothing until she married. He would take care of her.
“Marry me.” He repeats “problem solved.”
“Problem solved…” Rory whispers, eyes meeting his. Cold fury burns through those eyes, straight to his soul.
“How could you say that to me. Problem solved.” She lets out a dark laugh. Pandora and Regulus can only stare in silent horror at the obviously mounting storm. They don’t even have the chance to take shelter before her next words come, biting.
“How many times have I wished you would ask me that. I always imagined it further in the future of course. But desperate times right? Problem. Solved. My love for you, Regulus, is not a problem to be solved. I have been in love with you since I was eleven. There has been no one else. It was always you. And you dare ask me that like it’s nothing. Like I’m nothing.” She rises from her seat, looking down her nose at him like a goddess of war from the sky.
“You know what the worst part is? I don’t even know what my answer would be if you asked me again. I doubt it would be no.” At that she walks swiftly out of the dining hall, Pandora rushing to follow after her.
Regulus sneers at the staring faces, rising from his seat to go lick his wounds.
James is staring open mouthed at Regulus, along with his whole group.
Everyone saw. Great.
The stares and whispers continue throughout the day. This wouldn’t have bothered him overly much, if he had only been able to speak to Aurora. To apologize, to explain.
Like I’m nothing she had said. Could she really think that? Had Regulus really never told her what she meant to him? That she was everything.
But she hadn’t been at lunch, or any of her classes. At dinner, Pandora is tight lipped. “You fucked up Reg.”
“I know.” Regulus whines, burying his face in his hands.
What was he supposed to do? The question bounced around in his head all day. He is formulating a plan in the common room when he sees the lit candle through the window.
He is on his feet in an instant, hurrying through the halls and up the stairwell to their alcove.
Regulus is upon him in moments, burying his face in James chest and groaning; relishing the comfort.
“What happened?” James asks, his voice a soft rumble against the younger boys cheek.
“I proposed to Rory.”
“You what?!” James startles, pulling away.
“So you haven’t talked to her at all?” James shakes his head.
“Her father died. He left her a great sum of money but she can’t access it without a husband. Not until she’s twenty.”
“Poor Rory. But that’s ridiculous. It’s so….” James struggles to find the word.
“Backwards?” Regulus supplies dryly.
“I was going to say archaic.” James pouts.
“Yes well, that’s our families for you. Ancient and proud and woefully out of touch. I just thought… well I didn’t think, I suppose that’s the problem. I love her. I thought that would be enough.” He trails off sadly. James takes his face in his hands, forcing him to meet his gaze.
“It is. It is enough. Your love is enough. And she loves you too. Just give it time.”
He presses their foreheads together, Regulus loosens. Rory did love him. She said so, not in so many words, but still. My love for you is not a problem to be solved she had said. She had always been more forthcoming about her feelings than Regulus was. Maybe he just needed to be clearer.
“How are you being so good about this? I proposed to someone today. You’re not…. bothered?”
James pauses thoughtfully “I want you to be happy. I want you both to be happy.” James shrugs like it’s the simplest thing in the world.
“I want us all to be happy.” Regulus frets, feeling very far away from that reality.
——————————————————————Aurora couldn’t stop crying. As soon as she had reached her bed, she had collapsed into a puddle of inconsolable weeping.
Pandora had stayed with her through lunch, both of them missing their lessons. When the dinner hour had approached, Aurora was in no state to leave her room. Her tears had lessened from a waterfall to a trickle but she was exhausted from trying to piece her heart back together. She had sent Pandora away to dinner, assuring her sister she would enjoy the time alone to think. In her sisters absence, silence fell over the room like a soft blanket.
Aurora felt nothing. Aurora felt everything.
She felt sorrow and anger and frustration and guilt and fear and. And nothing. She felt nothing for her fathers passing. And guilt for feeling nothing. She certainly didn’t feel grief.
In truth, she felt relieved. She had never been happier than when she was away from him. Away from that house. He was her only parent, her father. Shouldn’t she feel something? Hollow wind echoes through the chambers of her heart. Nothing. She felt nothing.
The days pass as a slow, thick trickle, time like molasses. Pandora goes to classes, leaving Aurora in bed. Meals are brought to her door; she is excused from classes for a week. She speaks to no one. Sees no one.
It’s easy. She thinks to herself. She had forgotten how easy solitude was.
She startles at a tapping on her window. She almost screams at the sight of a smiling face through it. She runs to the window when she recognizes James. “What the fuck?!? What the actual fuck are you doing?!?” James is hovering on his broom just outside the open window.
“Didn’t leave us much choice did you? We haven’t seen you for ages!”
Rory peeks her head out the window at the unseen voice to find Sirius, also on broom back.
“Oh my fucking god” Rory curses, running her hands through her hair.
“Such a foul mouth! Grab your broom and let’s go Batty we haven’t got all day!”
Rory looks at him like he’s lost his mind.
“My broom? I barley know how to fly, I’m in my pajamas for Merlin’s sake!”
“Then get dressed. We won’t look.” James replies with a cheeky grin.
She was going to kill them. “Fine.” She grits, fumbling for her clothes. A soft cheer rises from the window.
As she is pulling on her shoe, Pandora drifts into the room. “It’s cold in here! Why is the window op- OH!” She squeaks when she sees the boys. James waving cheerily.
“Ok how do we do this? I’m not flying on my own.” Aurora leans against the window, assessing the best way to climb out of it.
James halfway in and halfway out the window, it takes both him and Pandora to get Rory on the back of his broom.
Sirius giggles as he watches Rory struggle, grappling onto James awkwardly.
“Be safe!” Pandora says, closing the window behind them, ever supportive of bad ideas.
Aurora bites down on a scream as they zoom through the air. She clutches James tighter, and he laughs.
Bastard.
She is grateful to feel the grass beneath her feet when they land at the edge of the forest, Remus and Peter waiting for them.
“Rory! You’re alive!” Peter exclaims happily, Remus throwing him a chastising look at his choice of words.
“All right who told you?” Aurora asks bluntly. Because she can tell. It’s so obvious on all of their faces that they know what’s happened.
“James told us. But who told you, Jamie?” Remus asks pointedly.
“Don’t worry about that” he waves Remus off lazily “what really matters right now is showing Rory that she is one of us right? We figured that’s why you didn’t tell us so tonight we are going to tell you some things. Alright?” James asks, looking hopeful.
Rory nods, confused, but curious. Only mildly suspicious. She follows the boys as they walk towards the Whomping Willow.
Keeping her distance from the violent tree, Rory watches in silent shock as Remus and Peter deftly dodge the swinging limbs of the tree. When they reach the trunk, Peter touches it and the tree just… stops.
Sirius runs forward to meet them. “Cmon hurry!” James says excitedly, lightly pulling her along. The others have disappeared through a now- revealed secret pass through the ground. James ducks into the tunnel, Aurora follows.
They emerge on the other side. Rory takes a moment to look around her at the dilapidated cabin they seemed to now be standing in.
“Okay… cozy…” she says, mostly to still the nerves she feels building.
Remus chuckles darkly. “Yeah. Cozy. This is the shrieking shack. It’s where we come every month. On the full moon.” He gives Rory a pointed look.
“Ah.” So that’s what this was about.
Pointed silence.
“You already knew. I can’t believe this! You already knew!” Sirius accuses, throwing his hands up.
“What? Wait… what?” James asks dumbly, gaze darting back and forth between all the faces in the room.
“You already know. About Remus?” Peter asks. Rory nods.
“How long?” Remus asks weakly. Rory winces, shifting from foot to foot.
“I figured it out pretty early on first year-“
“FIRST YEAR!” Sirius guffaws, sounding insulted.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” James asks, still visibly confused, but catching on.
Aurora wrings her hands “I didn’t think… I didn’t want to make Remus uncomfortable. It didn’t seem like you all wanted me to know. So…” Rory trails off, not knowing what else to say.
“Let’s get out of this place. I hate it here.” Remus says, and they all follow him out of the shack. On the walk back to the Gryffindor common room they fill her in on all she hadn’t yet picked up on, including the existence of James invisibility cloak. She had to hold back a squeal of delight when they snuck her into the common room under it.
The group spends the evening drinking contraband and chatting. Lily popped in at one point, along with a few others. Aurora lost track as the drinks blurred the edges around her vision.
“You know, you could always stay with me this summer. Or for however long until… you know.” James shrugs, looking into Rory’s eyes expectantly.
“Omigods yesh” Sirius slurrs “ittud be abslolutey cracking the three omf us”
“Maybe I will” Rory murmurs. Pandora would be jealous though. Maybe they could all go for a visit. She smiles lazily at the thought.
When the sun starts its slow creep across the sky, they mournfully agree it’s time to return her. James and Rory sneak under the cloak back to the slytherin dorms. They are stumbling and giggling and shushing each other as the arrive at her door. She fumbles for the knob from under the cloak and trips, promptly hitting her head on the door. Hard.
“Bollocks Rory, you ok?” James whispers harshly, helping her to her feet as the door creaks open.
“What the hell was that?” Pandora grumbles, rubbing sleepy eyes.
“Hhngg” Aurora groans, rubbing her head. Still supported by James, he drops her on the bed.
“I’m concussed.” Rory declares.
“You’re not concussed. You’re drunk.” Pandora chides.
“I am concussed.” Rory repeats.
“Should I get Pomfrey?” James asks worriedly.
“I want Regulus” Aurora pouts sadly.
“I thought you were still cross with him?” Pandora asks, sounding more fed up by the minute. Poor Pandora, she really gets no sleep with her around.
“I am” Aurora sighs “I am still cross” and then she’s crying. Fat teardrops roll slowly down her cheeks. “I am still cross. And I still want him.” She sobs.
“Right” James says, crossing to the door determinedly.
“Where are you going?” Asks Pandora.
“To get Regulus.” James replies, closing the door behind him.