Jondrette Girl | Regulus A. Black [2] ( ON HOLD)

Chapter Sixteen

The entire time Éponine sat in the Hospital Wing, Regulus kept hold of, at least, one of her hands. His fingers intertwined with hers and his thumb would gently graze over the top of her hand every so often. Despite how cold they were, her hands were soft and he was just thankful that she wasn't pulling away from his touch anymore. Instead, she stayed by his bedside, eventually moving to sit on the bed next to him, both of them waiting for Madam Pomfrey to release Regulus from her care.

Eventually, the matron came over, glanced down at the laced hands and offered a small smile. She explained that Regulus had fully mended and regrown all of the injured bones, but it would be a few days before he felt one hundred percent again. Regulus could confirm the soreness, slightly annoyed that it wasn't going to go right away, however, he would take a bit of pain over what he had felt when he initially landed in the pitch.

He was offered a few draughts to take back to the dorms that would help him sleep at night, while also being advised to take it easy over the next week. He would be able to return to Quidditch, but she didn't recommend attending any of the practices until his body was up to it. But even just mentioning Quidditch made Regulus wonder if he still even had a place on the team anymore after the stunt he had pulled. However, he wasn't going to worry about it for the time being as Madam Pomfrey was finally letting him leave and Éponine was going to keep him company.

Éponine helped him collect his belongings and remained by his side as he stood up from the bed. He could feel the stiffness in all his muscles causing him to grimace slightly until he looked over and saw the look of concern written on Éponine's face. Quickly, he forced a smile to his lips to reassure her that he was fine.

Slowly, Regulus made his way out of the Hospital Wing, thanking Madam Pomfrey for everything she had done for him. In return, she told him that she didn't want to see him in the Hospital Wing for a long time, if ever. The whole time, Regulus continued to hold onto Éponine's hand, thinking that if he were to let it go, he would wake up from the dream he was having.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he and Éponine were on good terms again. The way she asked him to make sure she wouldn't regret her decision, made Regulus want to strive for perfection in her eyes.

Truth be told, he was entering a new territory and he was absolutely terrified about it. Giving up his beliefs that had been so engrained in his mind for as long as he could remember. Giving up his beliefs didn't only mean accepting new ones, it meant realising that his parents had been wrong. And Walburga and Orion had never given him any reason not to trust them, making it rather difficult for Regulus to come to the conclusion that he was about to betray them once they found out.

Knowing how devastated his parents were going to be, Regulus couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Are you alright?" Éponine's voice pulled him from his thoughts, bringing him to glance over at her. "You've been awfully quiet since we left the Hospital Wing and-"