It was a quiet day. Pandora thinks that’s the worst part. It was quiet and sunny and it was a genuinely nice day. It was beautiful out and she was outside and she felt great. This is why she immediately noticed when the air changed and saw someone walking towards her house. It took her longer than it should have to recognize him. It was Barty Crouch Jr., Her former friend, and current death eater. Her husband was inside getting food, so she got up and walked up to meet Barty.
She wasn’t scared of him, not really, she couldn’t be, not when she remembered him tripping down staircases and barely getting a simple disarm charm to work. Pandora wasn’t looking for a fight but she wasn’t relaxed either when Barty finally came up to her. She was ready to tell him to leave and that she didn’t want to deal with his shit when she saw his face. It was blotchy and his eyes were red and puffy and he was holding a note in his hand. Pandora had only seen Barty cry once or twice in her many years of knowing him and it was never good when he let his emotions get the best of him. He took a deep breath and looked down at the letter one last time before he looked up to meet her eyes and held the letter out to her. She thought about refusing to take the letter but the look in Barty’s eye’s told her that he wasn’t there to cause harm and honestly she felt kinda bad for him, he looked like he hadn’t slept in a couple of days. This isn’t unheard of since it is only the 4th day into the New Year and a lot of people lose sleep with the holidays around this time. But with the way his shoulders sagged, he looked so so tired but not the lack of sleep kind of tired, the done with everything kind of tired. The type of tiredness that seeps into your bones and eats you from the inside out. As Pandora observed the person she once called a friend and took the letter out of his hand she felt her stomach sink when she saw her name written on the envelope in fancy calligraphy that could only belong to Regulus Black,
“Barty.” She said hesitantly, “What’s going on? Why are you here?”
“To give you the letter.” His voice somehow sounded so sad yet it was almost completely devoid of emotion. She looked down at the letter again,
“Why couldn’t Regulus come and give it to me?” She questioned softly, the pit in her stomach growing with the silence that followed.
“Um..” Barty started but seemed to not be able to find the words. He looked around as if searching for something before he ran a shaky hand through his hair and let out an even shakier breath, “I really wish I wasn’t the one who had to break the news, Dora” He said softly. Maybe it was the way he was being frustratingly vague or the way he used a nickname she hadn’t heard in years but she could feel her vision start to blur with unshed tears,
“Barty, Where is Reg?” Barty looked up at the sky before turning to look at her again his eyes were glossy and his lip was trembling,
“I’m so sorry Dora, I’m- I’m..-sorry.” He said his breath hitching on the last sorry. Pandora felt her stomach lurch and felt like she was choking on her own throat,
“No. No.” She shook her hand, backing away from Barty and making a quick glance at the letter in her hands, “No. Barty. Barty, No. No….. I- He- No.” She said at a loss for words. She stared at Barty with Denial and horror in her eyes. She could barely see as tears ran down her face.
“Dora, I wish. I do but… He’s gone. He… He disappeared on December 31st and Krecher came back saying he was dead.” Barty says, taking a step forward. Pandora steps back again, her back hitting the wall of her house this time,
“No. Barty, he can’t He- No- he can’t- He. Not Regulus. Please, Barty, just tell me you're lying.” Pandora begged as she leaned against the wall afraid she was going to collapse. Barty shook her head and stepped towards her again with his arm open in the universal signal for a hug. Pandora let out a sob and fell into his arms. Her legs gave out bringing them both to the ground.
“Maybe Krecher was wrong, Maybe Regulus is still ali-” She tried to get out between sobs before Barty stopped her.
“Dora, Please. He’s gone. He’s gone” Barty said in hushed whispers against her head. Pandora stilled for a solid second, before letting out a half scream- half sob.
“Oh my god, Oh my god. He’s dead. Reg’s dead.” She said before going silent, her sobs the only sound filling the area before the sound of the door opening made both friends look up. Xeno was looking at them with wide eyes,
“What?” He barely got out before Pandora was interrupting him,
“Xeno, go back inside, I’ll be right there and explain everything.” She gave him a watery smile that she hoped looked more convincing than it felt. Xeno looked at her for a second before nodding his head and going back inside. Barty stood up brushing himself off and wiping his face,
“Um. I have to go. People will get suspicious if I stay any longer.” He said awkwardly, “ I’ll, um, I’ll see you around I guess?” He said starting to walk off,
“Wait, Barty?” Pandora said Barty stopped and turned towards her in question, “Will there be a funeral.” Barty shook his head,
“There’s no body and The Blacks want to keep it quiet.” He said before walking off. Pandora let him watch him as he walked away before apparating. She sighed looking back towards her house knowing she was going to have to have a tough conversation in a minute but before then she moves into a sitting position so she has her back against the wall of her house. She looks at the piece of paper in her hands before opening the envelope and reading her best friend's last words to her.