UNFINISHED VERSION

2.9

The seventh day slowly came to a close, signaling a full week that Violet had been stuck in the confines of the hospital wing.

A week without the young Potter skipping down the halls with her best friends.

A week of oddly quiet meals at the Gryffindor table.

A week without seeing her smirk in the classrooms.

A week had dragged by, and it was beginning to take a toll on everyone.

Marlene seemed more reserved than usual. It was strange when the blonde bombshell began to close in on herself, consumed with worry for her best friend. The younger brunette that had been stuck to the blonde's side since her sorting first year, was nowhere to be found. Her partner in crime stuck in a dreamless sleep on the other side of the school.

Sirius was... well, serious for the first time. He sat by James for the first day when the boy skipped his classes, both boys sitting by their little sister's side all day hoping she'd somehow wake up while they sat by her. He was soon dragged back to his classes by Remus halfway through day 2.

Mary left every meal 10 minutes early, pockets stuffed with muffins and pastries. She headed down to the hospital wing and would place them on the bedside table, just so if the girl miraculously woke, she'd have something to eat if she was hungry. She'd place a quick kiss on the girl's forehead before leaving.

Lily worked with Remus splitting their time between mothering the group and finding a cure. By doing this, they found themselves so busy, that they were unable to focus on her absence. The two were some of the top students in the entire school, it was fair to say they were hardly paying attention to instruction during potions anymore.

James... James was a shell of himself. It was known that the boy had the tendency to mother hen all of his friends, being the one to remind them to eat, drink water, go to bed on time, and such. Now, he became the one who was being reminded. He spent three full days by his little sister's side. No classes, no dining hall, no friends, and no sleep. He should've known, he was her big brother, it was his job to keep this stuff from happening, and he failed.

And Regulus? Well, he seemed completely fine.

After the first morning when he drug his feet up the stairs to the crimson common room so he could deliver the news, it appeared everything had gone back to normal for him. He seemed to move along with his life as if nothing had happened at all.

Except for during the later hours of the night.

Far after the moon met its apex in the night sky and the professors and prefects monitoring the halls retired to their chambers for sleep, the Slytherin door down in the basement quietly creaked open. The curly-haired boy would then make his way through the castle just to sit by her bedside.

He would talk for hours, recounting the day to the sleeping girl. He was more vocal in these times than he ever was with his other friends, he had to fill the quiet somehow, it was eerie for the talkative girl to be drowned in eternal silence.

Sometimes, when he didn't have anything particularly remarkable to say, he'd bring down his notes from the classes they shared and read them aloud to her just in case she could hear him.

He'd leave shortly before sunrise, the only person aware of him being there at all, being Madam Pomfrey herself.

———

The door to the hospital wing swung open the same time as it usually did, the older woman in one of the far corners smiling softly to herself at the Black boy's new routine.

He made his way to the chair that had been placed by the girl's bedside, a messily folded blanket tossed over the back. 

On the bedside table sat today's final pastry from Mary, a now hardened sugared croissant that Regulus knew would be swept away and replaced by 8 am tomorrow. 

Beside it, a warm mug of tea that Madam Pomfrey had begun to set out for him. She claimed that if she didn't, he would soon be in there as well for a soar throat from how much he would talk in these hours.

He sat down in the chair, not yet picking up the mug, but leaning forward to fiddle with the loose strings from the blanket instead. "I have to tell you something" he spoke to her, embarrassment of speaking into the open air long gone by this point, "Actually, no, I have to confess something."

He took a deep breath readying himself, "why is this so terrifying" he thought, "she probably can't hear me"

Regulus looked up, eyes scanning over her face. Her eyes had been closed, so she looked as if she were simply sleeping, her chest moving slightly as she took relaxed breaths, and eyelashes fluttering over her tanned cheeks.

He huffed a small, bitter laugh, "This is the only moment I'd actually rather you were like this" he smiled weakly, "because if you weren't, I'm almost certain you'd smack me for what I'm about to say."

Regulus took a deep breath, "I'm still hanging around Rosier and Crouch."

The boy paused, wincing as he did. For a moment, he had expected her to respond.

"I-I know it seems bad" whispered, leaning forward his elbows pressed into her bed and burying his face in his hands out of frustration, "I know it's bad, but I don't know what to do."

He sighed, palming his eyes, "I don't know what to do." he slowly looked up, whispering to the girl, "You just, you'll just have to trust me. I care about you Violet, I do, and-and I know that after what they did I shouldn't even speak with them but-" he sighed, "but I don't want to find out what could happen if I don't."

One of his arms reached out, pulling one of hers off the mattress and intertwining it with his, "There are things, Violet, that you don't understand. Things that you shouldn't have to understand. I just, I can't disrupt the order of things Violet, you have to understand. The consequences could be" he trailed off, looking off into the distance as he did so.

"The consequences could be catastrophic." he whispered, "I'm not sure I'm strong enough to keep you from getting hurt if..." his face scrunched in a way that surely his mother wolf scold him for if she saw, "if they find out I defended you."

———

aaaah, first chapter back from that semi-hiatus, and it's angsty with some subtle foreshadowing? maybe? who knows

anywho, I have a feeling you all are going to love the next chapter... hehe 👀🤭

thats all for now! thanks for reading!

—ghost