Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. t e n

Liora had found nothing.

The Room of Requirement had made sense, for it to be Hufflepuff's or Gryffindor's room, but the key piece was nowhere to be found. Liora had thought of the key piece as she walked past the entrance of the Room of Requirement, but she still hadn't found it. Giving up, she decided to look for it tomorrow.

She decided to study, disappearing into the library for ages as she returned some books and read up on texts. The girl finally escaped late at night, sneaking off back into the common room. Not expecting anyone to be up, she moved quietly and quickly to make her way into the room. "What are you doing?" Regulus asked quietly as she was about to go up to her dorms. Turning to face him, Liora raised an eyebrow. "Why's it any of your business?" "It's not. Here, take this." Regulus threw Liora the Hogwarts, A History, but out of instinct Liora ducked and the book went flying into Mirabel, who had gotten up for some water. The brunette stood up and glared harshly at both of them. "What the hell? Are you two playing book frisbee? Why are you even awake?" She said before tossing the book to Liora, who caught it. Mirabel sighed, got her cup of water, and the two girls walked up. Regulus sighed, spinning the bright yellow shard in his hands, finally deciding to go back up. 

***

"Any mail?" Mirabel asked Liora as they were eating. The former had a light blue bruise on her nose, formed because of the book incident last night. "N-" She. was cut off by an owl dropping a letter onto her lap, causing Liora to sigh. "Nevermind, yes." With a flick of Mirabel's wand, the letter was opened neatly, and Liora read it quietly. Tidy print saying things like expectations, and then a small note for Mirabel. Liora passed said note to the other girl, continuing to read the letter. And finally, what she needed, answers; but it would only come at the end of the year. 

Slamming the letter onto the table in frustration, Liora was tempted to just rip the piece of paper to shreds. Sensing this, Mirabel grabbed the envelope and the letter and placed them neatly together. "Don't rip that. It could very well be important, and you're supposed to keep your letters anyway." Mirabel whispered the last part quietly, knowing that it was a private thing between Melynne and Liora. Grudgingly, the latter agreed, and they went to put the letter inside Liora's trunk. 

The pair worked together well, thankful that their classes were mostly filled with study and revision time as they worked towards their O.W.Ls. The other fifth-years also had the same mindset and for once, the library was packed with the sound of quills scratching and pages turning. They left the library surprisingly early, as both girls had textbooks in the dorm room where they could continue studying.

 The days passed and the students grew more and more stressed, some even skipping classes to study. The school's environment was growing tenser by the moment as well, and Liora couldn't help but want it to stop.The exams were what people were supposed to be focusing on. So why were they focusing on the war? Liora's hands clenched onto her fingers as she thought this, gripping tighter and tighter. Her nails dug into skin, cutting deeper and deeper until an icy hand gripped her own, preventing Liora from hurting herself. 

"Stop." Mirabel looked her friend in the eyes, then released her arm to let Liora look at what she'd done. Her nails had cut through her own skin, but not so much that it bled. Liora gasped in shock, but before she could do anything else Mirabel slapped her. "Stop thinking. Work on your assignments. Nothing is happening outside of Hogwarts right now," She said harshly. Of course, they both knew these were lies, but Liora nodded and focused again. Nothing was happening, nothing was happening, nothing was happening... 

She looked down at the parchment paper, deciding that it was done and she needed rest. Mirabel looked up as Liora slammed her books shut and placed them in her bookbag, and the former followed her friend back to the dorms.
"You didn't have to follow me-" Liora started. "I was waiting for you. I finished ages ago," Mirabel retorted. Liora smiled weakly, collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep in a split second. Mirabel, though, stared out into the black lake, not expecting anything to happen. But tapping on the door made Mirabel get up, and to her surprise, Anabel Greengrass stood there with steely eyes. 

"I need to talk to both you and Liora Gaunt." 

***

"What do you want?" Liora woke up, irritated beyond belief as she spotted the two Greengrass girls hovering in her dorm room. Anabel shot to attention first, sitting down on the bed opposite Liora's.
"Who is Emmeline Greengrass?"
"She's your cousin. Any other questions you want me to answer?" She replied exhaustedly. Anabel narrowed her eyes, causing Liora to sit up in frustration. "What?"
 Anabel took a deep breath, looking at Liora. "Emmeline. Vare. Hevaltica. Keanno. Who are they?" "Disowned members of the Greengrass-" Liora's eyes widened in realization. "You remember?"
She got no response in return, but the appearance of the names got Liora's mind whirring. If the Greengrass family erased their disowned members from the non-disowned members' minds, who did the erasing? Mirabel cleared her throat. "I don't remember. Regulus does. And," Anabel said, pausing, "Our mother does." 

"So what's the goal? To be disowned as soon as possible?" Liora asked dryly. "I'm sure they remember you guys." To her credit, Mirabel nodded.
"They do. But why do the Greengrass family erase their disowned members? If you look on the family tree, their names are still visible. The pictures are the only things burnt off, so why bother erasing the entire thing from our minds?" She took a deep breath. "Furthermore, I can remember Aunt Hevaltica and Uncle Vare just fine. But you know who can't?"

"Mom and dad," The two Greengrass sisters whispered in sync. Liora looked between the two, nodding. "Um, cool, but why did you need to talk to me?" Anabel steeled her eyes again. "My fiance wanted to give you something." Out of her pocket, the shiny yellow fragment caught the light and glimmered, briefly illuminating the room with a soft yellow light until Liora's fingers wrapped around it. With that, Anabel left the room, and Mirabel and Liora were left in their dorm room. "Why did Regulus give you that?" Mirabel asked after a moment. Liora shrugged, looking back out into the black lake. A mermaid swam past, glancing at the fragment in Liora's hand, and made a three sign with her hand. Liora nodded in agreement, glancing down at the piece of shiny glass in her hand. Three more to go.