𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆 - pjo x hp [₂]

l. godric's hollow

𝐊𝐀𝐘𝐒𝐄'𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐘. It had left behind a scar as thick as a coin, curving from his left cheekbone, directly down to the corner of his lip, where it simply disappeared. Raya suspected that the scar would never entirely heal, but it'd fade over time. Like the one Raya held on her back.

A bit of raised skin was likely going to be the worst of it.

For the first day, Raya had been terrified that Kayse would hate her, would shut her out. It was what Luke did after he had gotten his scar, and Kayse — the scar looked so similar to Luke's, just on opposite sides.

But Kayse simply sat her down and told her he loved her and that he'd get a hundred more scars if it meant he'd get to fight Luke. Raya made out with him in the infirmary for that.

She'd gotten Regulus looked after as well, and they went out to get him a new wand, since his old one had been destroyed by You Know Who. He had been getting healthier the last few days. He was still all sharp lines and angles, but his cheeks were less hollow and his eyes looked more alive than before. He liked being around Loki a lot.

Raya was pretty sure he still cried himself to sleep sometimes. She set some Sleeping Draught out for him each night — diluted, so he wouldn't develop an addiction — and each morning, it was gone. They all had their demons, but they would get through it. Together.

Which was precisely the reason that Raya had her arms on her hips, as she glared at Regulus Black.

"You're not doing it," she told him matter-of-factly. "You will not go out to hunt the rest of the horcruxes. We're going back to England at the end of the break, and then you and Sirius are going to bond in Newbrooke Manor, and stay there while Kayse and I finish our last semester at Hogwarts. Understand?"

"I didn't even say anything," Regulus raised a hand in surrender. He stroked Loki with his other hand as he settled comfortably in his lap, purring contently.

"You were thinking it," she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Don't deny it, I'm a walking lie detector thanks to Apollo."

"I'm not even supposed to be alive," Regulus told her in a matter-of-fact tone, which made Raya frown. She didn't like that reminder. "If I can nab a few horcruxes without him realizing it, then I will. I've already got two secured, we just need to destroy them."

"I — what? Two?" Raya blinked.

Regulus nodded, looking down at Loki as the cat stretched a little. "The one in that cave, and then this other one — a ring. I'll... I'll have to look for the ring again, but I had a tracking spell on it. I'll be able to find it."

"Still no," Raya told him. "Look, first of all, you're still healing from that mind shit the Lotus put you through. You're weak, and you need to heal, and there's no shame in that. Second of all, you and Sirius need to actually have some proper brotherly bonding time because you're both huge messes, said with love. Third, I thought you were dead," Raya's voice shook. "I thought you were evil and dead, and then I found out you weren't really evil, just maybe not good. And then I found out that maybe you were good. And then I find out you're alive, and you're finally here, and I don't want to lose you yet. I lost one father to this whole war, don't make me lose another."

That made Regulus back off.

"Fine," he said quietly. "I'll stand down, for now."

"After I graduate, I'll join you on the hunt," Raya told him. "We'll look for them together."

"I'm coming too," Kayse added, from his own bunk in the Apollo Cabin. Loki perked his head up at the sound of the familiar voice, before deciding he was too comfortable, and falling asleep again.