selenophile || remus lupin

chapter thirty two

2 July, 1776
1:27am

"He's gone Reg," sobbed Ophelia. "Sirius is dead and I couldn't do anything about it!"

Regulus, who had been lying in bed reading a book, darted out of his bed and across the room to where his sister had stumbled in. Her face was red and hot with tears. She looked like she was about to collapse at any moment, so Regulus held onto her tightly so she wouldn't fall hard. She fell to the floor in front of a large bookshelf in his room, pulling Regulus down with her. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, while still being completely alarmed at hearing that his older brother had died.

"Fia, I'm going to need you to tell me what the hell happened?"

"They killed him!" she buried her head into Regulus' chest. "Mother and father killed Sirius!"

"How can you be so sure? You're sure that he's not just unconscious or has run away?"

"Be- Because- when-" she sobbed harder, not being able to get a word out.

Regulus closed his eyes and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her.

"It's alright. It's okay. Take your time. Start from the beginning, maybe?"

Ophelia took a few deep breaths, trying to collect herself just enough to explain what had happened.

"Mother and father got on me and Siri about who we hang out with at school. They were so harsh to us. They basically told me that the only reason they haven't killed me is because they need me to look good for them and get sold off for sex like a fucking doll."

She sobbed harder, completely drenching Regulus' shirt in tears, but he didn't care. All he cared about was that his brother was alive and that his sister was alright.

"I know, they're awful people. What happened after that?" he asked gently.

"I got pissed and I went up to my bedroom. I left Sirius on his own. It's all my fault, Reg. I could've been there to protect him, but I was a coward and left him to fend for himself."

"Ophelia, you are not a coward. You are the exact opposite of a coward. It's completely understandable to leave. You got upset so you left. That's what most people would do if they were in that situation. If Sirius did die," Regulus said, a few tears leaving his eyes as he started the last sentence. "Then, in no way was it ever your fault. You had no idea what mother and father were going to do to him. Now, what happened when you left?"

"They were still arguing. I could hear them from my bedroom, I'm sure you could hear them too. Then, it got violent. I heard them dueling. I could hear Sirius getting hit with curses, and getting thrown against the wall, but I didn't go down and protect him. I stayed in my room."

"Which was the best decision. It may not seem like it now, but if you were to go down there and fight with him, you both would've been killed. You can't overpower mother and father. We both know that they're too strong to fight against."

"I heard the fighting for so long, but then, it all stopped. It all fucking stopped Reg. The whole house was silent. Mother and father stopped casting spells, Sirius stopped fighting back. Why would he stop fighting back unless he wasn't able to? Unless he was dead? Sirius fights. He wouldn't just leave."

"Maybe he did, though," Regulus tried convincing himself, to no use. "Maybe he left."

"Where? Where would he go?"

"I- I don't know, Phee. I just don't know."

"I went downstairs a little bit after it had happened. To see if Siri was there knocked out or anything, but no. He wasn't there, mother and father weren't there. But do you know what was there? A pile of blood. Blood stains on the walls, on the floor, there was blood everywhere."

Both Regulus and Ophelia had begun to sob, losing what little hope they had left that their brother was still alive. They sat in silence for a long time, sobbing into each other, holding on to one another, not wanting to lose each other. Not wanting to lose a sibling like they had so recently done.

Silence.

The silence was awful. Ophelia had always liked silence. It meant that her parents weren't completely upset with her and she could assume that she wouldn't be getting punished. It was silent when she read or studied in the library with Lily. It was silent when Alice braided her hair, enjoying each other's presence without having to talk. It was silent when she and Marlene raced across the quidditch pitch, the only noise being from the wind blowing into her hair. It was silent when she and Remus sat by the lake, enjoying a breakfast scone or a cup of tea. It was silent when she and Peter snuck down to the kitchens for a late night snack, neither willing to get caught by Filch. It was silent when James smirked at Lily from across the classroom, and Lily just rolled her eyes and looked away. It was silent when Sirius switched out his records, the only moment of peace in between loud rock songs, always coming from his noisy room. It was silent when Sirius died.

The silence was overwhelming, it overtook her from the inside out. Ophelia had always liked the silence, but now she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to get used to it again.

The silence was interrupted, for just a moment. A split second, where she hoped that it was Sirius, who had come back to fight. To tell Ophelia and Regulus that he was still alive, that their parents would never be strong enough to kill him. The silence was interrupted, for just a moment before returning.

A loud bang filled the house, making Ophelia and Regulus jump a bit. They looked at each other for a moment, tears still streaming down their faces. The silence had returned, as did their curiosity. It took a moment to collect themselves enough to even stand up, but when they did, they had to grab onto one another for support. They slowly made their way down the stairs and into their grand foyer. What they saw almost made them collapse again.

The blood. The awful bloodstains, splattered on the walls, unmoving on the marble floor, a contrast from the white to a deep red. Kreature came in, a small smirk upon his face before snapping lazily and walking away. The blood disappeared. The last remains of Sirius had gone.

The two made their way into the sitting room, from which they believed the loud, interrupting bang originated from. What they saw actually made them collapse this time. Under one of the large windows in the room, the two siblings sat side by side, silently in shock, tears not once stopping flowing down their bright red cheeks.

In the sitting room was displayed a tapestry. A large tapestry covering the entire wall. Upon this tapestry, every single ancestor from the house of Black was portrayed, scowling disapprovingly in their frames. Ophelia's eyes passed over Regulus, who wore a stern look, yet showed his kind eyes. She passed over her smiling self, one of the only smiling pictures. She wanted to pass over Sirius, but she couldn't. She couldn't even if she wanted to.

Where his face should've been on the tapestry lay a black hole, still steaming with orange embers glowing. Threads from where he should've been disintegrated and their ashy remains floated gracefully down to the floor, leaving a pile of dust, ash, and pain.

Walburga had blown him off of the family tapestry. Sirius Black had been disowned. Sirius Black had been killed. Sirius Black had been murdered. No matter how you phrased it, one thing stood true to Ophelia.

Sirius Black was dead.