Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. f o u r t e e n

The two girls were stunned into silence after Melynne's story. The words felt sacred, like they held some kind of powerful ability in it. The older woman stood up and retreated into her room, feeling it was not her place to see what went on any longer. 

"That was..." Liora's voice trailed off. "Way more than I expected. It's..." Liora buried her hands into her hair, a bad habit that she seemed to be doing often. 
"It's bad, Mirabel. He won't hesitate to hurt you, to hurt anyone. There are people at school, Mira, bad people, and there are things that can get you killed. And in the story, my mom only mentioned her. Voldemort wanted her, not me. He'd kill me if he could, right?"
She paused for a breath, relieved that her friend was still listening to her. 

"Mira, Voldemort killed my dad. I asked my mom before, and he was a Selwyn. His siblings were loyal followers of Voldemort, and they let him die. These siblings were normal, Mira. They could love each other- my father loved my mother, even if my mother couldn't love him back."
Then, Liora started laughing mirthlessly. 

Mirabel looked at her friend, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"We're not supposed to be thinking about this. There shouldn't be a war looming over our shoulders. Normal people don't do this, Mira! Do you see what's wrong with all of this? I shouldn't have to ask my mom for answers. You should be worrying about you, your career, your family, not my uncle's quarrel." 

"It isn't fair, is it?" Liora said, turning her eyes to the window. The rain was still hitting the walls hard, and the windows were cold and frosty because of it. 
"It's not fair. Because of what we were thought- because of a simple divide in our world, we're forced into a war we're expected to end. But life isn't exactly fair, is it?" 

"No. Both sides have their points, ones that make tons of sense when you think about it. It's hard, because I want to hate that side, but I can't. There are people there that believe in blood purity, and my uncle is one of them." 

Liora closed her eyes, scrunching them shut. 
"Mira, people idolize him. See him as right, agree with him. And... I can't really blame them, can I? What were you taught about at home?"

"Muggles were evil. They killed us because they didn't understand, because they were scared of something more powerful than them."
"Exactly. That's all true, isn't it?" Liora asked. Mirabel nodded in agreement, knowing what Liora was going to say. 

"You're right, Liora. He has a reason, he has a motive, he has a cause that is logical and in many ways valid. What the pure-bloods call blood traitors, the Weasley family, they see muggles in a way that we don't. Both sides make sense." 
"Exactly! But we're divided, and one side is more brutal than the other." 
"And sooner or later..." 
"We'll have to choose a side." 

They fell into another silence, rain drumming on the windows loudly as they thought. Mirabel replayed the story in her mind over and over, trying to find some sense as to how she could hate Voldemort. As to how Liora could love when her mother couldn't. Was it possible-?

Then, the idea dawned on her. 
"Liora, your mother didn't say anything about the blood of her father. Just a wealthy boy, right?" 
Mirabel let that sink in for a minute as the cogs in her head turned. 
"What if... your mom and Lord Voldemort aren't pureblooded?" 

***

"Cast it," Bellatrix waited expectantly as she watched the two boys try and fail to cast their patronuses. Twelve Grimmauld Place was filled with his aunts and uncles, all preparing for Regulus and Evan to join the Dark Lord. Evan and Regulus glanced at each other, brandished their wands, and waved them. 
"Expecto Patronum!" 

A soft, white light escaped the tips of their wands, but not in the form of a coropeal patronus. The Lestrange looked at it disdainfully, baring her teeth at the two scared boys. 
"A happy memory. The Dark Lord will not want you if you are so incontempt that you cannot cast a simple Patronus!" 
The two boys shivered, and Regulus closed his eyes. He could not disappoint his idol, but what was a happy memory? The ones he'd tried had all failed. Evan, too, seemed to be frustrated, but the boy kept going. Regulus turned away to glance up at the stairs, where his other cousin was walking down. Narcissa Malfoy was with her boyfriend (boyfiend), Lucius, the man displaying his death eater tattoo proudly on his left inner forearm. 
"FOCUS!" Bellatrix screamed at him, forcing him to pay attention. Happy memories weren't his strong suit, though, as even some of the times he'd felt happiest hadn't worked. 

An old memory popped into his head, a memory supposed to make Regulus feel disgusted. He was supposed to despise every moment with him, and later memories would prove that, but this memory... it held everything. Times when they didn't have to worry about blood purity, times when they could act as kids and not adults choosing a side. 

It was too bad those times didn't exist anymore. They'd barely existed in the first place. 

Opening his eyes, he inhaled sharply and cast the spell. 
"Expecto Patronum."