Losing Game/// James Potter

Chapter 64

Seven years. It has been 7 years since Elsie first stepped into Hogwarts, and today was her very last day being there. The place that taught her everything she knew, the place that gave her best friends to her, the place she know knew as home was slowly slipping out of her hands. This was the last day Elsie knew she was ever going to be a kid, the last day before she knew that she was going to be thrown into a war.

With that in mind, the small brunette was walking around the corridors that knew her more than she knew them. She passed by all the classrooms, recalling each and every memory she ever had within them. And while some were excited to leave and start their new lives, Elsie was becoming extremely nostalgic. She wanted nothing more than to do those last 7 years all over again, to relive the best years of her life. And, she felt, that the rainy weather outside perfectly matched what she was feeling on the inside; At peace with the experiences she had, but still yearning for more.

Everyone was packing, getting ready to go home for the summer. But as Elsie was watching the rain fall onto the ground, she knew at least one other person wouldn't be packing. Not while it was raining. So, she found herself climbing up the stairs of the astronomy tower.

She walked through the door that led to the outside overlook, a small smile gracing her face when she saw the exact person she was looking for letting the rain cover him. The oncoming droplets clung to his messy, black hair as he sat down, letting his legs dangle off the tower. Elsie quietly walked over there and slipped into the spot next to him, copying his sitting position.

"You found me," a wet Regulus Black softly let out, his eyes trained on the ground below them.

Elsie smiled and leaned her head into his shoulder, "As long as it's raining, I'll always know where to find you."

The younger boy hesitantly rested his head on top of hers, eventually giving in to the calming notion while speaking again, "So, are you as excited as everyone else to be leaving?"

"Excited for what? To leave and be thrown into a war?" She let out a slight chuckle before running her hand through her wet hair and nudging him in the side, "You're lucky you have more time."

Regulus tensed up as soon as the word "war" slipped from Elsie's mouth, something that she didn't fail to notice. He absentmindedly tugged on his left sleeve, making sure it reached all the way over his wrist. He lifted his head and looked over at her, speaking again in order to make it seem as if nothing was bothering him.

"But, you're a Gryffindor," he teasingly rolled his eyes as a small chuckle escaped from his lips, knowingly speaking in a snarky tone, "Don't you all want to be heroes?"

"I'm only 18," Elsie laughed at his remark while turning to make eye contact with him, before her laughter came to an end and her lips tugged downward, "I don't want to be a hero, I just want to be a kid."

Regulus curiously locked his eyes onto hers, watching as a scared emotion flashed over her eyes. And all of a sudden, the Black boy saw more than just Elsie sitting next to him. He saw himself. His left forearm began stinging him, a pain that he was now used to having to live with, as he thought deeper into her expression. Elsie was scared, she didn't want to fight. But him? He was terrified. Because, he had to fight. Regulus had no choice, and he knew this war could only end up in two possible ways: He loses himself physically or he loses himself mentally.

"So, you're not going to fight?" He asked her out of pure curiosity, trying to find a way out for himself.

She shook her head as a spark of determination flooded her face, looking away from him and out into the distance, "I don't want to fight, but I'm going to."

"But, why?" He asked another question, her reasoning not making any sense to him, "Why fight when you're scared?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," she nodded her head in self-assurance, looking back at him while doing so, "We can choose to be good or choose to be...not good. But either way, we always have a choice."