War is Over

24.

R E G U L U S

"Have a good weekend, Professor." A small Ravenclaw girl told me as she exited my classroom. I smiled.

"You too." I waved the rest of my students off. The door slammed closed behind the last one. I turned around to finish gathering my things. I heard a soft cough and turned around.

Cas.

"Hey Black, or I guess it's Potter now." She said. She sat at a table in the front row. I set my stuff down on my desk.

"I've heard whispers about you, Meadows. I was wondering when you'd come by." She smiled sadly.

"I hear plenty of the hot professor Mr. Potter. At first I wondered how the hell James Potter became a professor, then I realized you were alive." She wiped a tear that fell. I nodded.

"It broke me when I found out you weren't." I told her. She shook her head. The gold cuffs and beads remained in her hair braids.

"No, you don't get it Reg. I died thinking you were dead. I died thinking the only person left to take care of our girls was Rosier. Shit, I died not even knowing if Marlene was alive."

"What do you want me to say, Cas?"

"We were both spies, Potter. You could have clued me in." I nodded.

"You're right. I should have." She wiped more tears.

"Fuck you, Black. I wanted to tell you that before I died, you needed to hear it now." She said with a laugh. I smiled.

"Yeah, fuck you too Meadows." We both just smiled at each other for a moment. I coughed awkwardly before rubbing the back of my neck. "Who- who did it, Cas?"

"Pettigrew. I went to Marlene's family home, thought she was still there. I nearly had him, Reg. He only got me because I dove to protect her mum. I nearly fucking had him." She began to weep. I couldn't comfort my best friend in that moment, so I just nodded.

"She knows you did everything you could have, Cas." She nodded.

"What'd they even send you off on?" I shrugged as I shoved some papers back in a folder. I didn't talk about what happened to me when I was away much. Nova never pushed, so I never told.

"I, uh, had to destroy a horcrux." I told her. She floated closer to me.

"That's not an easy task, don't say it like it is."

"I'm not."

"Reg, what happened to you out there?"

"Master, Kreacher feels obligated to tell you this is a terrible idea." I looked at the poor creature and just nodded.

"I know, Kreacher." He handed me the locket.

"Be safe, Sir." I nodded again.

"If I don't make it back, tell Nova Potter I love her." I told him. He nodded and I set off to destroy the locket. An heirloom my mother held close to her for as long as I can remember. I made my way to the cave by the sea, wading through the waves to get into the depths.

This had started as a suicide mission. If I died with this locket, at least Nova would be safe. Hell, maybe she'd even marry Rosier. But the further in the cave I got I realized I wasn't dying with this locket. I wasn't dying at all until I got to see Nova again.

The waves crashed at a rapid speed against the rocks, making the wind nearly unbearable. I bashed the locket against the walls, trying to break it. I got to higher ground and tried to use magic. I finally sat in the rain. Watching the locket glow as he got stronger. It couldn't be broken. I did the one thing I knew would work. I set it down and watched the waves pull it away. Good luck finding a piece of your soul in an open body of water.

"I got the letter the next day that it was safe to come home." I told Cas.

"I want to hug you so bad right now." I laughed lightly.

"I'm having a baby." I told her. She nodded.

"Ran into Nova a few days ago when she brought her paperwork over." I smiled.

"Girl or a boy?"

"Girl. Elenora."

"I'll terrorize her when she comes to school. Only eleven more years." I laughed. Her face dropped. "How is Marlene?"

"As good as she can be. She lives with Rosier but they basically live with us now that Rosier is with Crouch-"

"Wait! Crouch is back?"

"Oh yeah, not a traitor or anything. Long story. We'll have to have lunch next week and I'll tell you everything." She smiled.

"I'd like that."

"Me too." I began to gather all my papers again, and grabbing a few books I'd need for the weekend to grade. She floated to the back towards the door, stopping to look at a few things students had engraved on the tables over the years. Likely some of her own handy work. She stopped at the doors.

"Hey Reg?" She asked. My head shot up.

"Yeah, Cas?"

"You're gonna be way better than our parents. Your little girl won't know half the paid we do." She told me. I smiled.

"Thanks Cas." She nodded and floated through the door, spooking some students on the other side.

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hihihi short little chapter from Reggie's pov for yall tn <3 if you guys like these i could def add more in from Reg.