Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Eighty Eight

"This is sickening." Esme shook her head, "I mean it's just... Perverse..."
But regardless, she continued to read through the yellow-stained pages of the Dark Magic book, sinking deeper into its contents but still becoming increasingly disgusted.

Regulus glanced up from the other side of the room, "Have you stopped packing again? Put the book down if it's that horrible."
"I don't have anything here to pack." She explained, "I don't get why you're not in such a rush to read this. Reg, what the Dark Lord must have done to create the locket... It's-"

"Horrifying?" He asked, continuing to roll up tops and jumpers and pushing them tightly into the bag on his bed.
"Yeah, that." Esme confirmed.

"Oh..." A thought occurred to the girl, finally leading to her closing the book in her lap as she stood up and turned to face Regulus, "What do you want to do about your parents?"

Regulus abruptly stopped packing, focused his gaze on the contents of a backpack for a moment and then finally lifted his heavy gaze, "Well... I... Honestly, I think it's best if they don't know anything. If they don't know anything, then there's no reason for anyone to hurt them."

"Yes. You're right-you are right. It's just..." She sighed, "It won't be safe for us to come back and say goodbye to them. We don't know how long this is going to last and what's going to happen to anyone. We can't come back to see them."
Not that Esme was particularly desperate to speak to Walburga Black again. She knew how much Regulus cared for his parents though, despite all of their differences, and Esme felt the same about her parents. She'd at least had the opportunity to speak completely freely with her mother for the first and last time, for a least a long while.

He nodded, sniffled, then continued to pack the remainder of his clothes into the bag. "I know. It's best that way. Anyway, where is Kreacher?"

"Downstairs, I presume." Esme wandered around the bed to stand beside him, "No matter how many times I tell him to take a break, he will not stop cleaning. As much as he says he likes me, he only listens to you."

Regulus smiled softly at this, "I'd tell him to stop if I thought it would make him happy. He's about as close to disobeying my mother as he can get without going mad. At least he's keeping himself busy."
"Yes, I suppose so." She rested a hand on his shoulder and peered over to look in the bag, which prompted her to ask, "Why the need for so many clothes?"

"Well you don't have any." He explained simply, "And we can't go to your house to collect your clothes, and I presume you're not going to wear that same outfit everyday for the foreseeable future."

"I might." She scoffed, a grin emerging across her face as she took a step back and folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, if you decide you want clean clothes at some point - though I can't possibly imagine why - then you can borrow some of my extra ones." He pulled out one of his Slytherin tops and one of his old jumpers, both of which would drown Esme's frame but she was used to that as she'd always been one for particularly oversized clothing.

She shook her head and a laugh escaped from her lips, "I'm not wearing that Slytherin top again. Absolutely not."
"But you looked so... Nice in it."
Esme whacked him in the shoulder, "You mean because it was tied up at the front and I wasn't wearing trousers?"

"I'm just saying, perhaps I should spill tea in your lap more often." He shrugged slightly, then let out a laugh as he finally zipped up and closed the backpack.

"Merlin... You are such a boy."

Whilst this was going on, downstairs, Kreacher was busy dusting the staircase. With one hand he clutched the duster, moving it up and down the bannister as high as he could reach, and the other hand clutched the locket at his side.
He could feel the dark magic radiating off it, and only hoped Regulus or Esme would quickly get rid of the object.