ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛʜ ᴡᴀʟʟ | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀꜱ ᴇʀᴀ

xxxii. confession

Right after the Death Eaters left, Regulus gathered all his remaining strength to get up. His eyes never left Callie who was bawling her eyes out, rolling around to get up. The twigs and leaves that caught up on her didn't matter.

Sirius and James tried to make the unconscious Remus as comfortable as they could on the ground. Peter was still stunned. He hadn't even cast a single spell to fight back nor uttered a word since.

Regulus helped Callie sit up; she didn't even bother wiping the tears away.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept repeating those words over and over ever since the Death Eaters left.

"Shh," he took her arms and knelt in front of her. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

Callie shook her head. She tried looking at his face but all she saw was his figure with all the tears replacing each one that fell.

"N-no, i-it's not okay. He knows! He knows, Regulus, he knows!"

Her head was going frantic. Regulus had to cup her cheeks to keep them steady and to wipe her tears away.

"It's all right," he tried to sound as mellow as he could. But nothing mellow could calm Callie right then. "He won't harm you. I will not let him harm you." Even if he had to do the worse possible scenario he couldn't think of, he would. He would keep her safe as much as how she had kept all of them safe.

"You're not understanding this, Regulus-"

"Callie, I do. I do. Trust me, I do-"

"You don't! It's not my life I'm scared of. It's yours! All of yours! It's your life, Regulus, yours! I-I-I can't bear to see you die! Especially like this. Not like this. Regulus, I can't!"

Callie knew it would be a trauma for her. Like losing Bubbles, her lifetime buddy, all over again. These boys weren't just fictional for her anymore. They were real! They were warm, she felt them, she laughed with them, she cried with them! God, they were her friends! She wouldn't let anything happen to them. Now that she had the capability to save their lives.

Callie would not just watch and let them die. Not now, not ever. Not again.

"Callie, I'm sorry, all right. But please, I need you to listen to me."

She stopped bawling but she was still gasping. Nevertheless, she looked into Regulus' eyes. He looked clearer than before.

With so much intention, his eyes spoke. "We won't leave you. Never. Do you understand?"

Callie nodded. He spoke with meaning in his every word. Even though he was unsure if that was possible. Bellatrix, those Death Eaters earlier could've killed all of them. But they didn't. That spoke to what they could have done.

In fear and for comfort, Regulus drew her in a hug. Callie returned it immediately and pressed her face on his shoulder.

"What should I do?" she whimpered. The tears were back again, blurring her eyes. Maybe thanks to that she wasn't able to properly see the Marauders attending to Remus.

"We can't let you in there, we all know that. It's dangerous. And none of us will let you go there," he answered, not breaking the hug.

"But if I didn't show up, they'll hurt you." She didn't want to say kill. She couldn't say kill.

"Callie, we've been hurt enough to know how to handle the Cruciatus Curse."

"I don't like how you know that. I'm sorry." She hugged him tighter and stopped the tears from producing.

"I'm sorry, too."

Callie tucked her head onto his shoulder and closed her eyes. She just felt the sting of tears. "What have I done?"