Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 192

Isabella made a trip to her hometown one bright August morning. 

She went to her old house at first and it was as James said. The place was in ruins, entirely burned and not a single thing remained. 

"It's all gone," Regulus muttered, as they entered the ashen floor of the upper landing. 

All the trophies and the certificates that hung around in the living room were all burnt down to nothing but ash and chunks of metal. 

Isabella went further into the house. She had never cared for those. 

But the little table was nothing but cinders now. The walls scorched black, the beds broken and burnt like the curtains and the cabinets around the place. 

The little greenhouse they had in the back of the house was gone and the shop on the first floor to tatters. 

Regulus held Isabella's hand bracingly. 

Isabella was silent all the way to Sarah's house. 

She saw the old red car outside, at the parking, rusting with all the wear-and-tear it had to go through.

"My grandfather used to live here too," she said. "All I know of the man is that he used to be grumpy,"

The place was dusty and cobwebs covered places due to the years of neglect. 

"This is yours too?" Regulus asked. 

"Apparently," Isabella sighed.

"What are you going to do now?" Regulus asked, pulling her into a hug as she stared at the old photo of Sarah with her red car. 

Isabella thought for a while, then said, "Sell them,"

Regulus blinked. 

"I'll just put them on the market. This house can be kept, but the other place, it will just be the plot. . .Come to think of it, I haven't visited Gringotts since our grand robbery of the place,"

Regulus chuckled lightly.

"Are you sure about selling this?" he asked.

Isabella nodded.

"I have nothing to remember by," she said. "I've never been in this house properly and the other one is just destroyed, there is nothing left. . .I'm keeping Sarah's car though,"

After that, Isabella sent Regulus back, and he left very reluctantly. 

Isabella preferred doing this alone. She wanted some time to think too. 

She had to use a few confundus charms to get her work done soon at the registers. And then she put a charm on the mailbox at Sarah's place which she had cleared up using magic, so that any letters or offers to buy would come straight to her.

After all this, when she went back to the Potters' mansion late in the afternoon, rather exhausted. 

"How was the trip?" Lily said bracingly.

"Satisfying," Isabella said dully. 

She wanted to go to sleep, but she couldn't. So she had no choice but to stay awake, and she just stared at her parents' old photograph, one her father had kept. 

A while later, Isabella started sketching in her old sketchbook. She hadn't done it in so long.