Philocalist (Sirius Black love story)

Chapter 31

The Marauders chose to set aside their differences at the moment in order to help Evalyn. She had stopped taking care of herself. The usual sunny glow had left her eyes and hair. The whites of her eyes had stayed a red color due to all of her crying. Bags formed under them since she wasn't sleeping well. Her curls had tangled up without the proper care.

The only thing she ate were the pieces of toast James would force her to eat. She didn't go to classes for the next week, staying in either Sirius' bed or her own. But the most notable thing was the fact that she would not talk. None of the boys had heard a single sound from her in fact.

As the fourth day came and Regulus noticed she still wasn't at meals, he panicked. Although he and Barty wouldn't hang out with her anymore, he still tried to keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay. Barty gave his hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.
"I can go ask the buffoons if you'd like?" He offered. Barty knew this boy like the back of his hand. He knew Reggie's pride got in the way when it came to asking Sirius. Regulus bit his lip but in the end he agreed.

"I think I'll come with. In fact, Pettigrew will probably tell us." The duo stood up and headed over to the table of lions. Students around them looked curiously but didn't say anything. They watched as the young Black heir stood behind his brother and James and cleared his throat. The four turned their attention to the snakes and frowned. They all knew what this was about. Sirius went to speak first, but as he opened his mouth, Barty piped up. Eyeing Reggie's older brother, he said "we need to speak to Pettigrew actually."

The timid boy dropped his fork and pointed to himself. "M-me?" Barty smiled devilishly. "You're the only Pettigrew here yeah?" Peter went to stand up, but was stopped by James. "We know what you want, but you'll talk to me. If that doesn't work for you, bugger off." He stood up confidently and strutted out of the Great Hall. Barty scurried after him hurriedly, while Regulus just scoffed.
"She needs you Reg." The words were quiet, in fact, he almost missed them. His older brother looked at him with a sad look. "It has to be you." Regulus offered no response, just silently walked after his love and his brother's best friend.

They had followed Potter towards the Gryffindor portrait, when he looked around and pulled them to the side. "Listen, she got some bad news about her parents. They are gone." Barty gasped and dropped his hands. He bounced anxiously, wanting to go see her. Regulus' cold gaze never faltered, a pure blood mask he was so used to wearing. However, on the inside he was broken. How could this happen to someone as good as Evalyn. James put his hand up so he could continue. "She hasn't been okay. Not taking care of herself, she won't even speak. So if I let you up there, you have to swear you want cause her anymore hurt." There was a fierce protectiveness behind his words. The Slytherin's nodded and James looked at them carefully for a second. Regulus flinched as James pointed his wand at them. However, when no pain came he opened his eyes. "I've just changed the color of your robes and hair." James avoided his eyes, knowing why the boy flinched.

He led the two up to the dorm and quietly opened the door. He flicked his wand in their direction again, changing their hair back. "I'll be in the common room waiting." James shuffled back out, shutting the door behind him. Regulus crinkled his nose when he saw the state of their dorm. The boys were messy, unorganized. Barty ignored his surroundings, immediately going to the lump that was lying on one of the beds.

"Eva, you smell like a wet sock." He flopped onto the bed beside her and picked up a strand of her matted hair. "You look like one too." Her green eyes flew open as she stared at the young boy. "What are you doing here?" Evalyn's voice was hoarse and dry since she hasn't used it. The bed dipped on the other side of her and she whipped her head around.

"Do you think I'd let my sister throw herself away?" Regulus' lips curled up just barely. "I can't let my name be tied to someone who looks like a hippogriff spit them out." She glared at him and then pulled the covers up over her head. Regulus gave Barty a look and nodded towards the bathroom. The boy took the hint and headed over there to run a shower. Regulus stood up and stood at his brother's trunk. He couldn't bring himself to go through it, so he moved to James' trunk. He pulled out some comfortable looking clothes and placed them in the bathroom.

Evalyn peaked her head out when she noticed the boys were silent. She didn't see them anywhere and just assumed they left. That was proven wrong however when the covers were ripped away from her by Barty. Before she knew it, Reggie had her hoisted up and carried her into the bathroom.

"Now you can either take your clothes off and do it yourself, or we will just have to throw you in there with your clothes on." He blocked her exit. She stood there scowling at him. Regulus didn't even look concerned when he saw the flash of gold in her eyes. He stood still in defiance, arching an eyebrow at her.

The look made her break. They have been the only people who haven't treated her as if she were fragile. They didn't dance around the problem, but instead forced her to face her issues head on. She collapsed to the floor and started crying. Regulus stood still for a minute, debating what to do.

Two arms were wrapped around Evalyn and she was carried into the shower. The water was warm and comforting, and her tears stopped. She was back to feeling empty. Reggie's hands worked a shampoo that he knew to be Sirius' through her hair, gently trying to detangle the mats. "You left me Reg." The gaze in her eyes were hollow as she looked at him. "Barty left me. And my parents have left me." She couldn't notice the few tears that ran down his cheeks due to the water of the shower. He spun her around to rinse the soap out of her hair. Thinking over his words carefully, he started to condition her curls. "We had to leave yes. But your parents didn't leave E. They are always going to be with you. You and I both know they wouldn't want you to continue like this." She watched as the conditioner was rinsed from her hair, and then she eyed his clothes. "Reggie, your clothes are ruined, I would have been fine." He scoffed in return.

"Please, I'm a wizard." He stepped out of the shower and with a wave of his wand, his clothes and hair were completely dried. "Besides it looked like you were starting to prefer smelling of rubbish." He grinned cheekily at her. She glared playfully. "You prat! Take that back!" He held up his hands in mock surrender.
"My mother told me to never lie." This made her giggle and Regulus' heart grew at the sound. He threw the new clothes at her and walked out of the bathroom. "Get changed, my brother will flip when he hears that I showered with you first." Her face turned a bright red and she slammed the door.

A few moments later, she walked sheepishly over to where Barty was lying and handed him a brush. "Can you help me with my hair?" He gave her his usual goofy smile and snatched it away. "It's about time you asked. Do you want me to just brush it?" Evalyn looked around for a minute before shaking her head. "I need it cut, maybe to my shoulders?" He grinned maniacally, reaching for a pair of scissors, "it would be my honor." Regulus gulped at the sight of Barty holding something sharp.

An hour later, Evalyn vanished all of the hair strewn over the floor. Barty fluffed her curls and Reggie brought over a mirror for her to look at herself. The two stood behind her as she gazed at her reflection. "It's beautiful." Evalyn smiled a real smile, showing off her slightly crooked teeth. Both boys noticed it immediately and smiled back. "Yes it does E."

The girl turned and pulled them both into a hug. "Thank you boys, I love you both tremendously." The two were at first stiff, but softened up in her embrace. "We love you too. We will always be here for you when you truly need us. Even though we are on different sides." They pulled away and she smiled up at the two of them. "Get going, you have work to do." She shooed them out the door.

With a huff she plopped back on Sirius' bed and pulled out the letter from her dad. Her hands trembled as she opened it. A gasp left her lips as she read the contents, and she dropped the letter.