𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄, j. potter

──thirty

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘
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"I THINK HE FELT CLOSEST to the angels in the middle of a thunderstorm, soaked to the skin," Regulus faced her, cigarette lazily hanging on his lips. "And the problem was that he always chased the angels."

Olivia let a sad smile appear on her face. There they are, two people most affected by the loss of a man worth tens of other men. "Would you go back? If you could turn back time, would you do it?"

"I would kill to be able to turn back time," he said. "But I think even if I could, I wouldn't belong there anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"The Regulus Maxwell loved is no longer the Regulus sitting beside you," he said and Olivia can hear the pain in his voice, the longing and the anger. "The Regulus Maxwell loved was soft and desperately in love who hopelessly held onto the hope that everything would turn out just fine in the end. Now, I'm nothing but rough edges and ugly scars with a cynical mind."

"I think he would have loved you anyway," Olivia told him.

"Perhaps," Regulus grinned as if thinking back to the times he had his lover in his arms. "Maxwell is certainly stupid like that.

Olivia looked ahead, eyes tracing the shapes of the thousand stars against the black sky, legs dangling at the edge of the astronomy tower with the jacket Regulus had lent her wrapped around her shoulder.

It's way past curfew and a part of her feels guilty because she's certain James must be losing his mind back in her dorm room, but she needed to be someone who understood. James, no matter how hard he tries and she knows he will try hard, will never understand the pain of having the half of you ripped away and so she allowed herself to be selfish, consoling herself with the fact that he has the Marauders' map, most probably already knowing where she is and is just giving her the space she desperately needs.

"In the memory," Olivia started. "Maxwell said something about horcruxes, a way to kill him. What do you know about that?"
Regulus grinned at her, yet it held no amusement. Instead, it's dark and deadly and his eyes look as if he's ready to wage war. "There are six in total; his diary, the Gaunt's ring, Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, his snake."

Then Regulus pulled out the locket hanging around his neck to show it to her. Olivia recognized it to be the same locket Maxwell had been wearing in his memories. "And Slytherin's locket. Maxwell already destroyed the diary and the ring. I know where the cup is and I figured you deserved to be the one to destroy the locket."

Olivia looked away from the piece of jewelry, remembering it was owned by Salazar Sytherin himself, her ancestor apparently. That would also mean that her children will be too. She couldn't help but let out a smile as she imagines James' reaction to the news.

"Do what you need with it, I don't care."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "Alright, then. The location of the diadem is currently a work in progress."

Olivia's brows furrowed in confusion as she tried to digest everything she's learned. "How do you guys know all this? What's a horcrux?"

"A horcrux is an object in which a wizard or witch has hidden a part in order to become immortal. It's very dark magic and can only be after committing murder," Regulus calmly explained. "It's some sick joke. A soul for a soul and all that."

"You mean to tell me Voldemort's immortal?" Olivia asked. "Like actually immortal?"

Regulus nodded. "That's right. It's possible to kill him, but eventually, he'll come back. That's why we need to destroy all of his horcruxes before that happens."