Truce

1976~1

Pandora-

"Regulus, you have to talk to us." Silence. The Leaky Cauldron would have been the last place any of the friends would have thought to buy four tickets to France but the moment they entered, the opportunity crashed into them. Literally. A drunk businessman offered Pandora a free ride to France as long as he was able to get a kiss from Gene. Although disgusting, Gene happily obliged and now the three were trying to get Regulus out of his bed. The bartender had told them that Regulus hadn't left his room in two days which caused Pandora to immediately run up the creaky steps to find Regulus huddled in a small ball on his bed. Pandora remembered tearing up, forcing the blanket off of her cousin so she would be able to see his beaten face. Jacob had entered after and immediately got the tub running. Now Jacob was trying to coax Regulus out of his bed to little avail. Pandora watched in worry as Regulus buried his bruised face further into the pillows. Jacob glanced to Pandora who gave him a slight nod.

"Reg, can you hear us?" Regulus stiffened after hearing Pandora before slowly nodding. "Okay, that's good. Do you want to hear something funny?" Without waiting for a signal to continue, Pandora quickly lay next to Regulus so she could hear his breathing. "There's a man who offered to take us to France. He was extremely welcoming and then he asked Gene for a kiss," When nothing happened, Pandora sighed. She leaned closer to Regulus' ear and smiled. "Xenophilius kissed me on Christmas Eve," Pandora could tell Regulus was listening so she tried again. "I'm pregnant Regulus, with his daughter. I'm so afraid-," Regulus suddenly hugged Pandora tightly causing Pandora to giggle. 

"You're so stupid," Regulus mumbled, finally allowing himself to wake from his depressive slumber. 

"It worked," Jacob sat on the foot of the bed, slowly scanning Regulus for more injuries.

"Hi Reggie," Regulus' heart broke when he heard the nickname but he said nothing. Instead, he gave Jacob a crooked smile. 

"How did Sirius look?" Jacob shrugged, holding himself back from mentioning how he heard Sirius sob as James held him.

"Better than you," At that moment Gene broke down the room door, his face flushed as he held one hundred galleons. Gene quickly slammed the door causing Regulus to jump.

"I think I have a sugar daddy!" Gene quickly turned to Regulus, eyeing his friend up and down before grinning. "Well hello, Reggie-boy, you smell like absolute fucking shit." And with that, the four friends all laughed.

~

Now, the four did not know this rich businessman or how this rich businessman, or Daddy as Gene liked to call him, had been planning to get the four to France and back in three days. The tall man had guided the four fourteen-year-olds out of the inn and to an alleyway before he took off his left shoe. Jacob almost ran away but the man stopped them.

"This is just my portkey. Don't worry young one. I'm not planning on doing anything bad. I'm just a lonely old sot." Regulus and Pandora exchanged glances, both daring the other to back down. This was probably not the best idea. But then again, France was such a beautiful place. What was the worst that could happen?

"How will we get back? We only have five days left of break," The businessman gave a curt nod before pulling out a packet of white powder. He snorted the powder down in such a loud fashion that the four friends all jumped back. Now Gene was back to normal and he glanced at his old sugar daddy in concern. The man then whispered an incantation and pulled the shoelace off of his shoe. He tossed it to Jacob who cautiously caught the shoelace. 

"There, you have part of the portkey. It'll bring you back here before you know it," The businessman patted his stomach, swiping his nose from any pain before grinning at the four preteens. "Come on, now. I don't bite," The four preteens sighed before Jacob slowly touched the man's coat. His friends all followed suit and soon they were off. 

Traveling by portkey had to be the worst feeling imaginable. It was like pressure slowly condensing before everything became impossible to navigate. Jacob had done it only once before and it was a terrible experience. He flattened his feet in order to brace for the landing that was seemingly coming at any moment. Pandora, on the other hand, gripped Regulus tightly. She had somehow gotten herself into a fetal position, her legs pressed against her chest as her blonde hair flew wildly. She hated the feeling of no control. It made her feel helpless and insignificant. After being disowned, all Pandora could comprehend was her feeling of senselessness. She had thought that perhaps she had been existing in a bad dream but the moment she awoke from a night's rest, all she could feel was terror. Of course, the terror subsided when she realized she could be staying with Xenophilius for the summer and that she would be seeing more of his handsome face. But then she would be woken up by pressure, pressure somewhat like this, and then she felt as though she couldn't breathe. And then it stopped. She let out a breath of pain as her body hit the cold marble floor of some building in France. The chill of the floor left Pandora breathless as she slowly stood up. Gene and Regulus had quickly ran to support her but she merely smiled, wiping her face of any access tears that were visible. She wasn't weak, she was the opposite of weak. 

"Well, that's that." The businessman cheered happily, giving Jacob a pat on the back before smirking flirtatiously at Gene. "I'll hopefully see you around, love," Gene nodded, biting back a gag as he checked Jacob's wrist to make sure the portkey was still there. The businessman left in a hurry and the four watched him hobble his way out of the doors. The four brushed themselves off and picked up the little belongings they had managed to bring. This included some clothes, two thousand pounds that Gene had most definitely not stolen, and some personal belongings. 

"Are we actually in France?" Gene asked, slowly looking around to where they had been dropped off. Jacob, who had been making sure that they had enough money, glanced at the nearest sign which was written in French. 

"I'd assume so," Pandora, who had somewhat collected herself from the treacherous journey, studied her surroundings. 

"There's a map over there," Pandora pointed weakly, willing her legs to battle exhaustion as she walked towards the map. Regulus followed with his suitcase and they both stared blankly. Regulus whispered translations as Pandora followed his gaze. Suddenly, their hearts stopped. "Guys!" Pandora called while Regulus beckoned the two closer. Regulus pointed a pale finger towards the location of the Eiffel Tower, daring anyone to laugh at his pathetic excitement. Jacob glanced at his friend, amused by the sudden childlike fascination Regulus wore in his eyes. Pandora was similarly excited, lightly tapping Gene's leg to get him equally enthusiastic. They had to go. They had to go right now. With a mischievous giggle, Gene glanced outside to see snow falling and laughed.

"First stop of paradise, Eiffle Tower," With Jacob close behind him, Gene quickly grabbed a random suitcase before running into the snow. Pandora and Regulus glanced at each other before laughing merrily, carrying the rest of the luggage before running to catch up to their friends. Regulus couldn't help but smile as the cold snow burned against his cheek and his bruises. Although the pain was uncomfortable, the beauty of the town never left him as he screamed into the snowy town. Citizens stared at him weirdly and bikers did their best to ride around the boy but Regulus didn't stop screaming. Pandora glanced at him before joining, her high pitch tone harmonized with Regulus' tenor sound. The two screamed and screamed until they had finally caught up to Jacob and Gene who were cackling over a fall Gene made. The four's faces were bright red as they stared at the Eiffel Tower in front of them.

"To Wonderland," Regulus whispered, slowly allowing his hands to grab Jacob's. Jacob smiled softly, rotating the weight of his body to keep warm.

"To Wonderland," They all repeated, watching as the snow fell around the Eiffel Tower and covered the surrounding area in a soft blanket of white.