𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 - regulus black

chapter eighty nine

Returning from holidays, as decided beforehand, Adena met with Regulus in front of King Cross' station, just so they could spend a few minutes in each other's company before hopping on the train. She was so happy to be with him that she hugged him right away. He hugged her back, with a surprising force, but she didn't mind, loving the contact. When Adena looked up, about to kiss her boyfriend like she would usually do, she noticed a closed expression on his face that she hadn't noticed before. Regulus was pale and looked tired, as if he hadn't slept the night before. The look in his eyes was almost frightening her when she saw so much darkness that she couldn't understand.

"Regulus, are you okay?" she asked. Her brows were knitted in worry while her eyes reflected confusion.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be," he replied nonchalantly. "Come." He let go of her to grab her hand, dragging her inside, trailing his trunk with his wand. She followed him silently but couldn't shake this feeling of worry away. He definitely had an odd behavior, but she decided to keep quiet about that.

"Go ahead," she told him when they passed by the group of Ravenclaws' compartment. He nodded and left her as she came to greet them.

"Oh, isn't that Adena."

"Yes, it's me Jacob," replied the girl with a grin. She gave a quick greeting hug to them all. Everyone had arrived, Noah was there too, it felt good to be in their presence again. For a moment, she forgot about her displeasing feelings regarding Regulus.

"Adena, you're quiet... How were your holidays?" asked Jade.

"You know the usual. I mostly stayed at home and also visited my grandmother," quickly replied the brunette.

"Ah Philomena. Love that woman," suddenly said the blonde boy which made Adena chuckle.

"You didn't meet your boy, though?" spoke Eugenia with a hint of curiousness.

"Well yes I did..."

"Obviously. We can't keep you away from each other," she said laughing and Adena just chuckled again at this. It reminded her of Regulus and his strange behavior from earlier.

"Noah, we should go."

"Oh, you're right! At least we're not late," answered the boy.

They walked together to the other side of the train where was taking place the meeting with the other prefects. Most of them were already present when they arrived. Regulus stayed silent and distant, making her nervous and tense. She couldn't understand his behavior, but she couldn't question it at the moment.

"It's awfully quiet in there," said Ivanna Flint, taking a seat beside Noah. Unsurprisingly nobody answered her, so she spoke up again. "Have you two been fighting or something?"

"No," only said the Slytherin boy. The blonde girl looked at Adena who just shrugged before looking out the window.

The ride was silent at their table. Adena only talked again when Noah confronted her about that situation once in the hallway.

"Did you really not fight?"

"We didn't. It's just nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"It's just Regulus, he's been weird since this morning..." finally answered Adena, her voice low, worry showing on her face.

"He'll probably be back to normal soon you know," he said hopefully.

"Hm. You're right." She tried to convince herself that he was right, and he probably was, but she was still worried.

She forgot a little about these nagging feelings when she was back to her group of friends. As she expected, their joyfulness was really influencing her mood, she was smiling more with them. The girl even managed to forget how bad her winter break had been. She was back to Hogwarts and she could only expect better things to come for her last months at school.

When the students got out of the train, Adena noticed with sadness how her boyfriend didn't seem to have changed at all, but she couldn't help feeling better once his comforting hand had taken a hold of hers. He was the reason of her sadness and happiness at the same time. The sadness would eventually fade away as she focused only on the positive aspects, she could see in him. Indeed, there was a form of distance in his displays of affection but his care for her was never erased. He wouldn't stop holding her hand tightly or hug her just as tight when he left her for the night. His words were so rare that evening so Adena seek comfort in his touch.

The next days weren't more joyful for Adena. While she enjoyed her time with the other Ravenclaws, she started hating being in Regulus' presence. Not because of him, but because he always seemed either lost in his thoughts or nervous. His gloomy feelings were fading out on his girlfriend without none of them realizing it. During these days, he was so rarely talking to the young Ravenclaw, or even meeting up with her. Classes were mostly the few moments they would be together. And when she asked him what he would do otherwise, he would just say he stayed in his room. His odd behavior was worrying the girl even more. She was starting to feel confused as well. What if he didn't like her anymore. She tried her best to seem unaffected by this, but she knew they would eventually have to talk things out. 

The morning of Regulus' birthday, the brunette woke up feeling a little anxious. She knew they would have to talk on that day, but she didn't know how he would react. She wanted to be by his side for that special day, but how could she get close to him when he kept on distancing himself.

That day started rather awfully. When she arrived in the Great Hall, it was louder than usual. In the morning, students were much calmer, but not on that day.

"Guys come here," said Jacob seriously, as he was reading the Daily Prophet. He glided the newspaper across the table so the four girls could take a look at it. It was with shock that they discovered the front page: 'Mass murder of Muggles in London.'  said the title. Under it, they could read, 'Earlier this morning, in the borough of Islington, not less than twenty Muggles were  attacked, tortured then murdered violently by the now infamous Death Eaters from The-One-That-Must-Not-Be-Named's army. Once again, this has been a display of power and an act of intimidation.'

Adena couldn't read any more. She felt a mix of fear and anxiety in the pit of her stomach. So much violence and cruelty revolted her. It was showing how unsafe these times were. This war seemed endless. She couldn't help but think about her sister who had joined this Order of the Phoenix right after Hogwarts. They could be the next target of those cruel Death Eaters.

After a few seconds of staring out in the void, she finally moved again. She thought of Regulus and lifted her gaze, looking for him at the Slytherin table. But she couldn't find him anywhere. The girl didn't wait much time before standing up.

"I'm not hungry anymore," said Adena before turning around and leaving. She had a hard time hiding her shock and fear upon seeing this news. She still couldn't believe what she had just read. People had been killed, for no reason, except a personal pleasure from Lord Voldemort and his army.

The brunette walked around the castle, looking for her boyfriend, wondering if he had even left his common room. She passed by the Transfiguration room when the bell rang but she wasn't planning on attending the lesson. Her only goal was to find Regulus at that moment, who didn't seem to be there. She would look anywhere for him, and she would never stop looking for him. Every floor of the castle was searched but she couldn't find him. That was until Adena finally got down to the dungeons, still having hope he would appear out of the Slytherin common room. However, she found her boyfriend sitting on the floor in front of the common room, his back against the wall and his head hung down. His face was covered by his raven locks, so the brunette could hardly guess his feelings at the moment. But she knew something was wrong. And she hated seeing that.

author's note: i love this part so much, i'm even wondering whether i should publish the next chapter right after