King Of My Heart | R. BLACK

32 | wedding bells

HEIR TO THE HOUSE OF BLACK HAS ANNOUNCED ENGAGEMENT TO ADHARA LESTRANGE — IS THIS A POLITICAL ALLIANCE OR SOMETHING MUCH WORSE?

EXCLUSIVE: Regulus Black and Adhara Lestrange talk about marriage and their future together. (See images above. Full report on pg. 8).

IS THERE MORE TO THIS MARRIAGE THAN WHAT MEETS THE EYE?

Angela stared at page eight of the Daily Prophet, the paper crinkling in her clenched hands. Her gaze flickered back and forth between Regulus in the moving photo who had his arm wrapped around his future wife with a carefree smile and the aforementioned fiancé. Adhara Lestrange, Rodopholus's sister. Regulus's future wife. He was marrying one of her torturer's sisters. He would be his brother-in-law.

It had been a month since Regulus had returned Angela home and then vanished without a word.

She ripped the paper in half so Regulus and Adhara were no longer next to each other and she tossed the girl's half onto the ground carelessly. She stared at Regulus for a moment before crumbling the remainder of the paper up and throwing it across the room.

She let out a frustrated scream and fell back on her bed. The door to her room opened immediately, she looked up to find James and Sirius were nearly tackling each other as they entered. "What is it?" James asked, "What happened?"

"Get out!" she shouted and his eyes widened, "Out!"

Sirius was quick to grab James's arm and pull him out, allowing the door to shut behind them.

Angela was nearing her breaking point. Between her family's nagging and the ever growing pile of letters from her newfound 'friends' since the accident, she wasn't sure how much more she could handle.

"What did we do this time?" James asked with a huff as he fell back on the living room couch.

"Nothing," Sirius responded as he joined the boy, "Girl's are incredibly confusing."

"James, Sirius!" Euphemia exclaimed from the other room, "Your friends are here!"

Sirius and James exchanged a grinning look before immediately getting up and running to the door. While the group would typically constantly meet up in Diagon Alley, that wasn't much of an option this holiday. They couldn't go anywhere.

"Moony, Wormtail!" James exclaimed and the four of them slammed into each other, they immediately engulfed in what could only be described as a group hug.

Euphemia agreed to have the boys stay until school started up again, which was only a week or so away.

As soon as the group settled in, James was quick to fill them in.

"She won't leave her room," James explained. "We had just gotten her to come out again. She's been in there for a week now and won't tell anyone why."

"It probably has to do with the Daily Prophet," Peter spoke up and the other boys turned to look at him in confusion. "You haven't seen it?"

"Seen what?" Sirius asked.

Peter's eyes widened at this, "I, er, uh-"

"Out with it Wormy," Sirius demanded but James opted for an alternative approach.

"Hey, that's my stuff!" the smaller boy exclaimed but it was too late.

James pulled the Daily Prophet out of the bag and was staring at the cover. "Oh," was all he had said as he merely stared at the front.

"What is it, Prongs?" Sirius inquired and the bespectacled boy hesitated but ultimately handed over the paper. The color drained from the boy's face, "He-he's getting married?"

"That explains it then," James frowned. He looked up at his friend, "Pads, snap out of it."

"He's only 16!" he exclaimed. "He can't get married!"

"Technically, he can," Remus countered and Sirius shot him a look. He was quick to add, "That doesn't mean he should though."

"I can't believe they're making him do this," the boy huffed, "We shouldn't have let him go back."

"And then what?" James inquired. "We should risk my family's life because your brother chose the wrong side?" Sirius couldn't help the sting of hurt in his chest at the way he said 'my family' as though Sirius weren't a part of it. "He made his bed, now he gets to sleep in it."

Sirius frowned at this but said nothing more on the subject. Maybe he was right. Maybe Regulus was done for and maybe it was his own fault.