Paradox | T. Riddle ✔

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Marble green irises looked up at the blank ceiling as her eyes fluttered open at last after what seemed like deep sleep. The last thing she remembered was giving in to Tom Riddle after making the deal of sparing his life in exchange for Reg and Esmeralda's.

At first, she was worried that she had woken up in the Leaky Cauldron again due to the repetitive time loop. But the room she found herself in wasn't the dingy old room at the pub nor was it the luxurious room at the Malfoy Manor.

It was the room she had been longing to wake up for a very long time. Reg's room.

Out of instinct, she tilted her head to the side, hoping to see Regulus sound asleep beside her. But the bed was empty and her heart sank. She sat up, looking around to determine where she was.

It was no doubt that she was in Regulus' room, at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. But Regulus himself was nowhere to be seen.

She left the bed and went to check the bathroom, hoping that Reg would be inside. But there was no response when she called out his name.

Somewhat anxious and praying hard that her suspicions were wrong, she opened the bedroom door. An eerie silence met her as there was no one outside.

"Regulus?" She called out yet again, carefully descending the stairs.

Somewhere far off a woman was crying and as she stepped closer to the sound, her heart almost stopped. That was Walburga's voice and the only time she had seen the woman cry was back in the past when Regulus had died.

To think that the woman was crying brought back memories from that terrible time and she froze, not wanting it to be the same as before.

She had made Riddle promise not to kill Regulus but what if he hadn't kept the promise? What if in spite of all she had been through, she had failed to save Regulus?

With a heavy heart, she pushed open the door to Walburga's room and saw her sitting on the bed, clutching a photo frame close to herself. She was crying inconsolably and Orion was trying his best to console her.

But even on his face was the resignation of a father who had lost his precious son forever.

Seeing the sight in front of her made her feet sway and she held onto the doorframe to stop herself from stumbling. However, that slight sound made both the Blacks look up and saw her standing there.

"Eleanor... My dear..." Walburga stood up shakily, surprised to see her awake but definitely not in the state to be glad that she was okay.

The photo frame she was clutching fell to the floor and shattered, ensuing a pained gasp from the woman who bent to pick it up, collecting all the shards even though it cut through her fingers. It was then Eleanor saw that the frame held Reg's photograph and shock made her rooted to the spot.

"Where's Regulus?" Her voice trembled as she asked, dreading the answer that she would receive.

"Sit down, child," Orion had reached out to her, knowing that she wasn't in the state to hear the truth.

She stepped back, her green eyes wide in shock and disbelief "why don't you tell me where he is? He's not... He's... Please tell me that he's alright... Please..."