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( January 1980 )
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THE TWO WOMEN CAREFULLY MADE THEIR WAY UP A SPIRALING STAIRCASE AND DOWN A LONG CORRIDOR. It seemed as though the House of Black never had an end. Libillule supposed it was also like that for those who held the Black name on their birth certificates, especially Regulus. He was a spiral of darling endearments buried in animosity for the outside world to see.
"My name is Narcissa, by the way. Narcissa Bla– Malfoy," she corrected herself as they neared a door. The initials R.A.B had been printed in the center of it, no doubt belonging to Libillule's deceased lover. "I'm a cousin of his."
"Libillule Dupont," she introduced while grazing her fingers over the darling letters. Her hand hovered over the doorknob, one turn of the wrist and everything would be real. The house, the memorial, their love, or lack thereof. The girl twisted the brass knob and revealed what could be argued to be the inside of Regulus Black's brain.
Dozens of piles of books had been stacked, some in the form of castles, the mattress looked far from comfortable but it didn't stop Libillule from taking a seat at the edge of it. When her body sunk into it, it was almost like she could feel the imprints of where his body would lay in it. The lighting was overall dim, the curtains were as though they had never been drawn back, and his desk was unbelievably neat. Far neater than Libillule's had ever been.
"It seems as though you were a perfect muse for him." Narcissa showed a canvas that had been covered by a beige sheet. "He caught every detail."
Libillule stared at the painting. He made her look straight out of a dream. A faint smile on her face, a minuscule crack in her glasses, the faintest freckles on her cheeks. She looked so elegant on the canvas. Regulus captured everything he adored about her just the way he liked it.
Tears prickled in her eyes while registering how he took in every single detail about her and recreated it.
"I'll leave you alone in here if you like," Narcissa clicked her heels across her cousin's bedroom after Libillule nodded.
So many thoughts ran through her mind while she dropped to her knees onto the cold floor. But all she could focus on was that the painting wasn't as Regulus had told her. It wasn't tea. It was her. A chuckle bubbled past her lips at the pathetic thought but it was quickly silenced.
