"There is no evil in sorcery. Only in the hearts of men."
- Merlin
Almost everyone in the wizard community know who the Weasley Family is; an old line of purebloods with red hair, freckles and enough children to start their own Quidditch team. But S...
I APOLOGISE FOR FRIGHTENING YOU ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
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Seraphina had written home to her brother to tell him that she had to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas break. If he had been disappointed, he had not argued. She did feel a little bad for abandoning Bill and Charlie during Christmas since she didn't get to see them much. It was also Percy's first Christmas - not that he would remember it.
But at least her nephews would have each other, their parents and uncles. Regulus would have been completely alone if she didn't stay and that didn't sit right with her. There was a reason he had chosen to stay behind and she was determined to find out what it was.
Not many students stayed at Hogwarts that year and in Slytherin house, it was only Seraphina and Regulus. However, since the other students departed from the castle, Seraphina had seen very little of him. They ate dinner together in the Great Hall and during the evenings they would sometimes read together in the Common Room before going to their bedrooms.
But on Christmas Eve, she did not see him during breakfast, lunch and dinner. He was completely gone, leaving Seraphina to eat her Christmas dinner alone at the Slytherin table. It was truly an awkward dinner with the teachers sitting up by their table while the nine students, now eight without Regulus, sat scattered out by the house tables.
Seraphina didn't stay for long. Instead she returned to the Slytherin Common Room only to find it empty still. Getting a little worried, she decided to go up to the boy's dormitory and check if he was hiding up there.
"Reggie?" she called but there was no response after knocking on the door. She decided to open it only to find it completely empty. "Hello?" she said without getting a response.
With a frown, Seraphina turned around and tried to think of any place Regulus might be. Hogwarts was a large castle and it was near impossible to locate someone if that person really did try to hide. Curfew was nearing, so she had to be quick and discreet in finding Regulus unless she wanted detention once school started again.
She raked her brain for any locator spell that could help her. Eventually, she returned to the dormitory once more, hoping that he might have returned. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Deciding that Regulus had no one to blame other than himself for just disappearing on her like that, she looked around his things for something she could use.
Neatly folded in his trunk was the Slytherin tie he always wore. Seraphina hoped it would work and picked up her wand and pointed it at the tie, "Avenseguim," she muttered and the tie left her hand and started fluttering around the room like a trapped bird.
Then it flew out of the room and Seraphina jogged after it and out of the Common Room once more. She followed it up the stairs from the dungeons. She passed by both the ground floors and second floors and through the corridors of the third floor before the tie was stopped by the door leading into the trophy room.
Seraphina flicked her wand and said, "Alohomora." The lock unlocked and she stepped into the dark room. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues glittered in silver and gold in the darkness.
The tie moved around like a crazy bird and then it disappeared from her view. But then, she spotted a figure sitting down on the ground behind one of the trophy cases, "Regulus?" she asked carefully and his head snapped in her direction. It was like he had been in his own world completely and therefore hadn't even heard her arrival.
His tie finally settled when Regulus caught it and that's when she noticed how red and puffy his eyes seemed. He was wearing his school uniform - without the tie and the robes - and she couldn't help but think that he looked more like Sirius than ever before which worried her.
When Sirius was dishevelled it was a part of his charm. She knew Sirius purposefully wore his shirt untucked and his tie loose sometimes in a rebellious way; as a part of his 'bad-boy persona'. But Regulus never looked anything other than proper so this was a warning sign. Something was definitely wrong.
"Sera - I," Regulus wiped his eyes, looking away from her. "I was just- why are you here?"
"Well," Seraphina said, walking over to sit down beside him, back against the wall. "When you didn't turn up for breakfast, I got a bit worried. When you skipped lunch I was worried for real. When I didn't see you for the entire day, I slowly started to grow a bit distressed. When you didn't even turn up for dinner, I panicked a bit – and when I couldn't even find you in your dormitory, I honestly just assumed you were dead. But that's just my wonderful Christmas Eve."
Regulus snorted and cracked a small smile, "I apologise for frightening you."
"Apology accepted," Seraphina playfully bumped her shoulder with his. But she couldn't hide her worry at his distraught state. It reminded her too much of Sirius when he had arrived at Potter Manor that summer, crying his eyes out after years of abuse finally had reached its tipping point. "It's probably a stupid question - but are you okay?"
"I - it's nothing," Regulus said dismissively.
Seraphina herself hated when people pushed her to speak of things she didn't want to talk about. Only, it was difficult to simply ignore that her friend was in distress. Especially when she had seen the signs for a long time and had tried to ignore it, hoping that he would be the one to bring it up.
"I can see that something is weighing down on you," Seraphina told him. "You have never been a ray of sunshine, I admit that-"
"Thank you," Regulus said sarcastically.
"The point is that I've noticed a change recently and you are my friend, Reggie. I care about you," Seraphina told him, placing her hand on his. "Whatever burden you are carrying, you don't have to carry it alone. Let me help you."
"No one can help me now," Regulus murmured, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. It was like he had given up completely.
"If I can't help you, tell me so that I can suffer with you or something," Seraphina told him. "Rant to me if you wish - or yell if that's what you want."
"Trust me, you don't want to be dragged into this," he told her tiredly.
"I can handle it," Seraphina told him. "I promise. And I promise that I won't tell anyone if that is what you worry about. Trust me, I know how to keep a secret."
Regulus continued to look anywhere but her and she sat there silently, waiting for him to decide. She would not push him further, now it was up to him to tell her. Then after almost a full minute he looked her dead in the eye and said:
