𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇! s. black

letter the fourth.

i will reply as long as i live. oh, disregard the fact of living! i shall reply from beyond this life into a time when life no longer constricts us. i shall stay forever, until you are sick of my soul and shatter the illusion of caring for me. i am no god, lovely one. you hide yourself as a mortal — they all tell you so, for they are blind — but you, freya, are higher than any deity. your name rings true, unlike mine. the goddess of beauty and femininity. myself and my own name? it is a star. i am no star, except perhaps a collapsing one...

freya. freya. freya. i could say your name for eternities, freya. it lays in my mouth as the sweetest honey. freya, freya, freya. it sounds as the loveliest melody, to make apollo envy with all his song. freya, freya, freya. you have enraptured me with your siren song of words. i would not mind if i drowned in my love for you, a sea to make the pacific look as a puddle.

nothing, you say of yourself. how are you blinded to your loveliness? you are everything, everything. the stars, the sun, the moon. the ocean and its tide. the earth and all its treasure. of course you have a purpose, freya; everyone does. you must not have found it yet. or perhaps you have, in writing to me. (did i express how much i adore your letters, lovely one?)

you flatter me in simply your presence, lovely one. i do not see auras as clearly, i fear i am rather blind to such matters of soul and spirit. (your soul must be as moonlight, lovely one.)

you are all these things and more. you are every lovely thing in the universe. marvel not, for this is why i call you the lovely one. unfortunately, i must go to entertain some other doe-eyed, dumb thing that is not you.

elodie couldn't help sighing like a lovesick little girl. merlin, he made her blush so brightly she was sure the whole school could see. and they would think. and they would wonder. and they would know. and that was something she couldn't afford.

speaking of him, the gryffindor was busy tormenting a hufflepuff boy who she had seen in the slytherin common room, chatting with regulus. as she made her way down the hall, elodie could see the brunet flying involuntarily, his yellow robes like so many butterflies.

regulus gasped from beside her. 'lennon!' a furious look came over his pale face. taking his wand out, he stormed up to his brother and growled, 'put. him. down.'

sirius looked shocked. she could see the emotions flicking over his face. disbelief. anger. contempt. and why should i? is he your boyfriend?'

regulus looked even angrier, if possible. his grey eyes flashed dangerously. 'what's it to you? you're not even a part of this family.' then all hell broke loose.

sirius yelled 'everte statum!' and regulus neatly dodged it, returning an 'anteoculatia!' causing his black hair to become antlers. elodie giggled despite herself.

professor mcgonagall suddenly entered. 'what is going on here, mr. and mr. black?'

elodie rushed to the woman. 'he was harassing regulus's friend. reg was just defending him—his name's lennon, i think?'

'thank you, miss selwyn, for explaining.' her face darkened further as she looked to the brothers. 'and what, exactly, is going on here?'

'he got in my way!' sirius blurted. 'tried to tell me what to do, future death eater he is—' elodie could hardly contain her giggles (he looked daft with horns).

'that's enough, mr. black.' she turned her dark eyes to regulus. 'and your side of the story, mr. black?'

'we were going down the hall, and then i saw him doing that to lennon—i got so angry, professor. i'm sorry, i was just defending my—my friend.'

'twenty points from gryffindor and detention with me for two weeks, mr. black, for attacking not only one, but two students. i expected better.'

'minnie!' sirius whined. 'twenty points? really? it'll take months to get that back!'

'you should have considered that before carrying out your actions,' professor mcgonagall said curtly. 'five points from each of you, lupin, potter, and pettigrew, for encouraging it. ten points from slytherin, mr. black, for fighting.'

she lowered her voice so only regulus and elodie could hear. 'good job on the antlers, by the way.'

later in the common room—with lennon, of course; regulus wouldn't let the red-haired boy out of his sight—elodie asked regulus, 'what made you do that? you're usually so stoic about everything he does.'

regulus stopped humming and looked across to her. 'i- i just got so angry, seeing him do that to lennon.' said boy was lying on the couch, feet over the side and his back leaning on reg's shoulder. at his name, he looked up from his book, giving regulus a 'what's going on?' look. 'it's nothing, mon chér. just explaining myself to ellie. you've heard it already.' he nodded, settling back into his spot. suddenly lennon froze and looked at elodie, tensing. regulus whispered in his ear something inaudible to her, but it must have been a comforting thing because he relaxed again.

elodie dared not ask the question on her mind, because she knew it was improbable. regulus would most likely be married off unless he could find a partner suitable to his parents' desires for him—she had heard it all and more from her frequent trips to the black manor. still, hope fluttered in her chest that he would be happy with the outcome.