Sirius Black | Omnia Vincit Amor ✓

Chapter 15: Talks with Reggie

◇ 4th School Year 1975/76 ◇

~ Mathilda POV ~

"Alright, don't worry you really don't have to join me. I'll just quickly bring Slughorn these herbs and that extremely oddly-looking potion. I will be back in a few minutes!" I told my friends while walking out of the Great Hall after dinner. We have just returned from Christmas break and my grandfather had given me some things that Slughorn asked him for. I quickly made my way to his office and knocked and waited. After a few seconds I knocked again and the door was finally opened. "Sorry to disturb you so late, Professor, but here are some things my grandfather has given me to give to you!" Slughorn grinned brightly, accepting and grabbing the things I held into his direction. "Aah, good evening, Ms Bell. Thank you. Thank you very much. Exactly what I asked for!" he beamed, still grinning brightly. "You're welcome. Have a good night," I said and turned to leave again. He smiled mumbling a 'you too' and waving me goodbye. I liked Slughorn, he sometimes was a little bit odd, but still he was a quite nice teacher.

While making my way back to the dorms I suddenly heard something that sounded very much like sobbing. Was there someone crying? As I did not want to be intrusive I just kept walking, but the sobs became louder and so I tried to figure out where they were coming from. After a few seconds of looking I suddenly saw him. Behind a corner, looking like a picture of misery Regulus sat on the ground crying into his arms which he had folded on his knees and his face buried into them. His knees were pulled tightly his chest, while his shoulders shook with the sobs.

I did not know if I would be to pushy if I walked up to him and asked what had happened or if he would maybe appreciate it. After a few seconds of debating with myself what decision I would make I started to slowly walk into his direction. I calmly took a seat next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder to which he flinched. His red puffy eyes looked at me with so much pain and hurt in them. My heart clenched and I gasped audibly.

"Sorry, I did not mean to scare you. I just saw you sitting here and thought you might like some company or someone to talk to," I told him while trying to hold back my own tears. Honestly, how can you not cry when someone looks at you like that? He had completely red and swollen eyes from crying, tears flowing down his cheek.

"This is embarrassing. You should not see me like that. I-I..." And he with that started weeping again. "Don't worry. I can leave if you want me to but it is not embarrassing, not at all," I comforted him, brushing my thumb over his shoulder.

"NO!" he suddenly exclaimed, his voice pleading and quite loud. "Please stay....He left us. He left me. He left our family to live with a new family. How could he? How dare he leave me alone like this? 'Regulus you should leave too' was what he told me. But I am not like him. I don't just leave my family because I do not agree with some of their views. They are still family, right?" the Slytherin boy gave me a questioning look. His voice was so shaky, trembling and breaking. I was shocked, my heart sinking into my stomach. He did not say a name, but I assumed this was about Sirius. So he left the family?!

That was a tremendous step.

I did not really know what and how to answer Regulus. I felt incredibly sorry for him and I understood what he was saying, but on the other hand I also somehow understood why Sirius had left. The Black family was quite well known among other wizarding families. The Nobel House of Black, which values blood purity more than anything and which is disgusted by muggles and muggleborns. Toujours Pur!

The even went so far that they got married within the family, I believed I have heard that Sirius' and Regulus' parents are second cousins.

"Right?" he asked one more time, snapping me back to reality. "I believe, yes," I said, although I wasn't really so sure about it. I hugged him around his shoulder and the sobs became less when I stroked my thumb over his upper arm.
"Regulus, I am so sorry....but sometimes we just have to accept people's decisions. Sometimes we have to understand that they leave and won't come back," I whispered, blinking away a few tears. Yes, I also accepted that my father had left. Had to accept it and somehow....understand it.

"Mhm....but it hurts. It hurts so much. He is my brother. He was my brother. I always looked up to him. He was my idol," Regulus sniffled. I continued stroking his arm, leaning closer to him. This was an odd situation since we had never really had much conversation before and were not particularly close, but he needed that in that moment.

After a few minutes of sitting there in silence I realised that it was already past curfew. I shifted slightly, poking his shoulder. He opened his eyes and realised too how late it had gotten. We decided that it would be best to make our ways back to the dorms. He had calmed down, his face was covered in dried tears and he still sniffled.  We got up, I smoothed down my skirt and waved him goidbye. When I was already on the verge of leaving he quickly said, "Thank you. I mean it. Thanks for being there for me! No one has ever done that for me before."

"Every time, Regulus. If you want to talk again, just let me know." I flashed him a sympathetic smile before telling him goodbye and leaving.

----------

Quite a sad chapter I know. What do you think of poor Regulus? Do you understand why he did not leave the family? Or do you think Sirius made the right decision?