Love, Life, And Lies- Regulus Black

.into the void.

.it's better to feel pain than nothing at all. the opposite of love's indifference.

It didn't take long for the Slytherin students to swarm the pit. For Regulus to be torn from me and hoisted upon the shoulders of our classmates. A sea of emerald green and silver separated me from him as more and more students pushed in to take part in the festivities.

Regulus was the uncontested hero of the match.

There was joy in his eyes that I hadn't seen in ages. Joy that lit up his face and reached every single feature. And when his eyes met mine, his smile appeared, breathtaking and bright.

For a small moment, I couldn't believe that he was mine. That I was the one he had chosen to give his heart to. This compassionate, kind, heart-wrenchingly beautiful boy.

And then the crowd was carrying him away back up to the castle for more celebration. All I could do was trail after them laughing as I listened to the whooping and hollering, the singing and chanting. And I couldn't fault them for their merriment.

Our world was dark and bleak, rocked by a war that stripped all the life out of everything. Joy and celebration were almost nonexistent. So I couldn't blame my classmates for seizing any opportunity to forget reality.

They carried him all the way into the Great Hall, students from all years swarming him to talk and share congratulations.

A large smile was plastered on my face as I took a seat and started filling my plate. He would find me eventually. But for now, the bone chilling cold had leached all the energy from my body and the warm food beckoned, promising to restore the heat and ease the hunger.

I should have known something was wrong from the moment I had set a foot in the Great Hall. Should have felt it in the atmosphere. But I was so caught up in the joy that I hadn't felt in so long. So caught up in the celebration. Too blissfully unaware that my life of carefully glued together shards was about to shatter before my eyes yet again.

Too caught up in the tingle that was left on my lips, and the fire that still pulsed through my veins.

Too caught up in everything that I didn't notice the group of Professors gathered together at the head table, whispering intently.

I didn't notice the nervous and pitying glances that were being thrown in my direction.

Instead I sat smiling and eating. So completely unaware that my life was about to change forever.

So unaware, that I didn't know Professor McGonagall had approached me until she had put gentle hand on my shoulder. I startled, almost spilling hot tea in my lap. But when I turned, my brows knitted in confusion at her face, which was drawn into an unreadable mask.

"Ms. Rosier, might I have a word?" Her voice was strained, tight. And that was all it took for me to know something was very, very wrong.

All it took for my stomach to drop, and the dread to seep in.

The smile that was plastered on my face fell as the rest of the Great Hall came into focus around me. The whole Slytherin house was cheering and yelling the noise was deafening, reverberating off the walls. But the rest of the students were quiet, staring at their plates on the long tables, or fiddling with silverware.

"Of course, Professor." Came my reply. I could hear the slight waver in my voice.

Fear crawled up my spine like spiders clambering up a web.

McGonagall gestured for me to follow her from the Great Hall. I trailed behind her on wobbly legs. My mind racing a million miles an hour.

It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room as I struggled to take deep calming breaths.