Wizards & Therapies | An OC Wizarding World Fanfic

Through the Looking Glass

Summer, 1978

Regulus was next to her at the table as they ate dinner with the rest of the Black family. She noticed the forearms of Bellatrix and her husband, along with Lucius. The Dark Mark gave her unease, making her dinner harder to stomach.

"Eliza," Narcissa said beside her. Her voice was sickly sweet. "You look dashing. I knew that sleek hair would suit you better."

"Does it?" she touched her hair that was stuck in a half-up-do, similar to how Narcissa wore it. Narcissa smiled.

"It does, it makes you look like a good pureblood." Anyone in that room who found out would kill her if they knew that Eliza wasn't a pureblood, but she knew that many people pretended that they were. She wasn't an imposter. She was simply... surviving.

Ever since she graduated from Hogwarts, Eliza spent her time between the Black family house and St. Mungo's. It was a rigid path she took every day as Walburga now expected her to bring honour to the Black family as a future member. Eliza's mother also spent her time at Grimmauld Palace playing 'Appease the Walburga' alongside Eliza. The invitation to Lily's wedding was tucked away in her trunk at the Rosier manor. She couldn't wait to go there. Eliza had lied that she had a shift at St. Mungo's and one of the nurses was willing to cover up for her. She couldn't wait to see her friends again.

"The Dark Lord might come tonight," Regulus mentioned to Eliza after their dinner. They were in his room, taking a break from the babble of the party. "I'm going to do it tonight. I'm going to become one of them. I've done the ritual."

Eliza looked up from her book. Somehow, she was expecting it but she also wasn't. Why else would the Malfoys be so care free about their allegiance tonight.

"You...can't be serious."

All of the things that she had been trying to achieve felt like they had gone down the drain. All that time he spent in the Slug club, all of Eliza's chiding to be more accepting. Perhaps she looked away too fast and didn't speak to him more directly.

"I'm tired of waiting, Eliza," he snapped. "Besides, you wouldn't get that, would you? You've been busy playing around with mudbloods and traitors. Once you are done and joined us, you'll see the light."

"You don't mean that."

Regulus turned around, "I do."

His grey eyes were cold. "I know Sirius has been pursuing you, trying to mock me and the family. That you're still here says a lot to me."

Eliza cursed herself. She thought they had been careful, but clearny they weren't careful enough.

"No one caught you," Regulus said suddenly. "I just... I just know my brother and how he looks like at people he likes."

"Regulus," Eliza breathed.

"I know...this is all more of a convenience engagement," Regulus looked at her sadly. "And we are friends. But there's a part of me that sometimes hopes that we can dabble in the thought."

"Is that what you always look away?" Eliza asked.

Regulus looked down at his hands. "Maybe. Maybe I wanted to see what you see too, but with Mother breathing down my neck..."

"You don't need to become a Death Eater," Eliza reasoned. "Please." She thought she would have more time. He hasn't even graduated yet. He shouldn't be one. The Dark Lord was getting restless.

"You have as much to lose in this as I do," Regulus said. He took a deep breath. "I'll be a Death Eater soon, which means this may be the last time we can speak this freely. He can read minds, the Dark Lord. So I want to tell you this. I'll allow you to go to Sirius, but come back. Always. We won't talk about this ever again."