All the Brightest Stars | Regulus Black

Chapter 3

Ardor peered around the platform of Nine and Three Quarters. The station was bustling with witches and wizards. She laughed as she saw a child (certainly a first year) anxiously chase after his escaped cat. Ardor gave her own cat, Jupiter, a kiss on the head and placed him back in his cage.

Ardor's mother turned to her and gave her a hug, much tighter than Ardor was prepared for.

"I love you so much, daring. Have a good time at school", her mother murmured, eventually pulling away from the tight hug, giving Ardor a chance to breathe.

"Thank you, mom. I'll miss you too." She offered her mom a tight smile, to which she then turned to Ardor's brother and gave him the same speech.

Ardor's eyes continually scanned the platform, looking for one person in particular, until she heard her name.

"Ardor!"

She turned her head to the deep voice and a wide smile turned the corners of her lips upward.

It was Sirius.

He somehow had managed to grow even taller over the summer. He looked stronger and less thin than their last encounter (which hadn't been particularly pleasant) and overall, he looked much happier. His hair had grown back to the long length it had been before Walburga had shaved his head bald. His beautiful blue eyes were sparkling, and Ardor almost felt shocked with what she saw. Happiness?

For so long, Sirius had been miserable in the Black household. He never felt like he belonged, and honestly, he never made an effort to try. She was glad that he was happy, but a part of her couldn't help but feeling upset. He's happy without me.

"Sirius!" She yelled, running up to him and throwing herself into his arms. He let out a laugh as he picked her up and twirled her around in the air.

Eventually he put her down, although he still was holding her hands. "I've missed you so much! I wish I could have seen you this summer. You should have come to James's house with me." He smiled down at her and she returned the grin. "I know the Balls must have been terrible without me." He raised his eyebrow and nudged her playfully.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, they were." She glanced around for a moment, realizing that most of the platform was staring at them. She swallowed nervously. This definitely wouldn't help getting rid of dating rumors. She even saw Walburga glaring at them with disgust, Regulus standing by her side. His gaze was harder to read, although she could guess it wasn't contentment.

She also noticed the rest of the Marauders standing around them, all of them looking at Sirius and Ardor with varying expressions. James, on one hand, looked rather smug. He had always teased Ardor and Sirius about liking each other, even if they continually denied it. Peter was looking a bit uncomfortable. Ardor wasn't surprised with that- Peter had always been the strangest of the bunch.

The look on Remus's face, though, made a piece of her heart break.

It had never been hard for Ardor to tell that Remus was in love with Sirius.

Remus always got quiet when Ardor was around- at least when she was around him and Sirius. She was actually quite close with Remus, as he was the only one of the boys who would study with her in the library. Ardor was surprised he hadn't been placed in Ravenclaw with her. (Although, that was besides the point).

Ardor could tell that Remus loved Sirius by the way he looked at him. His gaze got soft, his pupils would grow in size. He would gaze at Ardor and Sirius with a soft smile, although Ardor could tell it was a mask for heartbreak and jealousy. She had also never heard Remus talk about girls, and if Sirius talked about them around him, he would become very uncomfortable and end up leaving the room. The rest of the boys assumed that he just didn't like to talk about girls, but Ardor secretly laughed at their ignorance. She was thoroughly surprised that no one else had picked up on it. Well, besides Lily. Ardor switched her gaze to the red head, standing on the left of Remus. She raised her eyebrows at Ardor as she looked sideways at Remus and then back at Ardor, secretly communicating her feelings to Ardor. Ardor gave her a small nod and then turned back to Sirius, trying to clear Remus's gaze from her mind.