Philocalist (Sirius Black love story)

Chapter 74

The snow outside chilled Evalyn to her core. The cold wind nipped at her nose. Her and Remus were building snowmen while Sirius was at work. As the bakery picked up, she would go in during the morning to bake the products and leave when her employee got there to sell the food. It wasn't every day that it was like that, but she needed a break every once in a while. Choosing to disregard her mittens to build a better snowman, the tips of her fingers grew numb. Small snowflakes stuck to her glasses making it hard to see.

With a frustrated sigh, she kicked the snowman over. It was the third time she messed up. She looked over to see Remus fully invested in his creation. A tongue stuck out between his teeth and his nose scrunched up as he concentrated on the last details. Mischief filled her eyes. Behind her back, she used her magic to build the perfect snowman. She also formed a mound of snowballs and sent them flying at the werewolf. He fell back onto the snow, his just finished snowman falling on top of him.

"EVALYN HARPER BLACK" the witch paled before taking off running into the flat. Forgetting magic existed again, she nearly fainted when Remus apparated into the kitchen. He held a snowball that was starting to melt from the warmth of the house. Evalyn shook her head and held up her hands. Before she could step back, the snowball hit her right in the face.

"I deserved that, let's make hot cocoa, I'm bloody freezing." The two worked together to make their drinks and sat down on opposite ends of the sofa. They each put their legs up in the middle and Evalyn summoned a blanket to cover them. A burning heat coming from her bracelet startled the witch so much that she dropped her cup. The steaming beverage spilled all over her.

"Alright Evalyn?" Remus cleaned up the mess and looked her over. She said nothing as she looked down at the bracelet. Instead of Regulus' birthstone, it was charred. A small burn engraved on her wrist where it lay.

"I have to go, I'll be back." He tried to stop her but was too late, she already vanished.

Evalyn was shocked to see that the location was somewhere she had never seen. It was a seaside. The water was choppy and she had forgotten to grab a coat. The chilly wind bit at her through the jumper she wore. She nearly collapsed when it wasn't Regulus who approached. It was Kreacher. Evalyn fell to her knees immediately knowing what must have happened. The distraught house elf faltered briefly at her state. Despite not caring for anyone less than pure, he knew how much Evalyn meant to his master. He was the one who made sure Regulus' pictures and little gifts from her were left hidden while he was at Hogwarts. He had seen the smile that sat on Regulus' face when he spoke of Evalyn. A tiny part of him was thankful that the witch took care of the boy.

The emotion was very brief. Pretty soon, the familiar sneer came across his face and he walked over to Evalyn. She shook her head and whispered, "He can't be. I failed him." Her eyes found the chain that dangled from Kreacher's hand with a wrinkled letter. The house elf shoved the items into her hand and vanished. Before Evalyn could open the letter, he came back with a box. "Master's items." Kreacher left for good this time, leaving Evalyn alone. The tears hadn't found her eyes yet as she was still in shock. Two shaky hands unfolded the letter after she slipped his necklace on.

My dear sister,

The first day you came into my life, you told me you would be there for me if I wanted you to be there. You said you would be my sister despite the fact that we wouldn't be able to be seen around each other. Over the years you put up with my nonsense. You stuck by me when I made the worst decisions, when I treated you like rubbish.

You said to me that my parents would be proud of me, of the path I took. But recently I have found it was not their praise nor their pride that I wanted. It was yours. You are the epitome of sunshine, of happiness. I will forever be grateful of the years you have given me.

There is nothing in this universe that I can do or give to make up for the wrongs I have committed. There is nothing I can offer to make up for how I have treated you. Just know I am eternally sorry for everything I have ever said or done that has harmed you.

If you are reading this letter, it means that I am gone. That my task may not have went as planned. I tried to make things right by you and by Sirius and Kreacher. I am unable to write the details in case this letter is found, but know I did it out of love for the three of you. Please do not blame yourself, I chose to do this on my own so I could prove to you that my soul wasn't ruined, that you didn't lose me.

I ask that you do not share these details with Sirius, simply let him know that I am no longer here. I do not want him living with regret or blame himself. Stay strong for me E, you are a force to be reckoned with. Stay weary of those around you, not everyone is who they may seem. Your health and safety, as well as Sirius', is what's important. If it gets too bad, leave, go far away from here.

I love you with my entirety. Forever. I am so thankful you were stubborn enough to stay by my side for so long.

Your brother,
R.A.B.

Teardrops finally fell. She folded up the letter before they would potentially damage the parchment and opened the box. Inside were the pictures and the fuzzy blanket, as well as one of his old quidditch jumpers. She tucked the letter in the box and disapparated.

Remus jumped in shock when she reappeared. He immediately worried about her state. She let him guide her to the sofa, but when he tried to take the box, her grip tightened. Slowly, he let go and sat beside her, wiping her tears with a tissue. After her face was clean, he wrapped her in a blanket. The whole time she stared into the fireplace. "What happened?" The werewolf whispered, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to try to bring some warmth to her freezing body.

After a moment of silently staring into the fire, she opened her mouth. "Reggie is dead." The words were so faintly said, that if he didn't have werewolf hearing, he wouldn't have known she even spoke.

"I'll call Sirius." She finally whipped her head and faced him with wide eyes.

"No, not yet. James. I need James." Remus furrowed his eyebrows but obliged. His patronus sent for Potter stating that Evalyn asked for him but not to let Sirius know.

10 seconds. That's how long it took for the frantic wizard to show up. Remus left so they could have some space. Together, James and Evalyn sat on the couch. He read over the letter and held her as she cried silently.

"I'll tell Sirius that Kreacher showed up and told you he died, but wouldn't tell you what happened. You can hide the letter somewhere safe, maybe in a book since we both know he won't look there." Evalyn nodded. He got up and made her favorite tea. "Would you like to tell me some stories about him from Hogwarts?" James gave her a soft smile and turned her to face away from him so he could do her hair.

Sirius came home from work that day to find the two of them asleep on the sofa. Both of their glasses sat crooked on their noses. James nearly drooling on the top of Evalyn's head. He gently woke them both with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing here mate? Not that you aren't welcome or anything, it's just unexpected."

Evalyn turned to James and gave him a nervous smile. He nodded towards the hall, telling her silently she can leave the room. She wrapped herself in the blanket, and carried her box to the bedroom. Sirius kissed her cheek with a smile as she walked by. The smile quickly faded as she left and his attention turned to James.

James patted the spot next to him, "Take a seat Padfoot."

Authors note:

I got the year wrong, we are in 1980 but Regulus died in 1979. Either way, RIP Reggie :(

Update again: I changed the year. It bothered me. We are back on track now I believe