𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 - regulus black

chapter one hundred and two

When Adena came back home, she realized how Regulus' presence had managed to erase any feeling of worry that had overwhelmed her since the end of school. She was reassured when she saw her mother sleeping peacefully in her bed. She even dared asking her sister how was doing their mother even though she had been absent for a day only. She diligently answered, looking rather uninterested though. 

Adena was still present for her mother, never missing a chance to be by her side, but deciding to leave her some space when she claimed she was doing better. A Healer visited them and said that her health condition had indeed improved. Not enough to let her out of bed for now, which saddened the young girl. She still had hope that one day, she would be able to be herself again, to enjoy life, and to work maybe.

At some point Candace vanished from the house. Adena supposed she was off with her friends, taking a break from her studies. And so, she stayed in her bedroom, alone, waiting anxiously for Regulus' visit, which she didn't expect to be so soon.

And so, one afternoon, as she was reading in bed, trying to get her mind off Regulus and anything dangerous that could happen to him during his first real mission as a Death Eater, the brunette heard some commotion coming from downstairs. Her first thought was that Candace had come back but making so much noise seemed unbelievable. The brunette had no choice than to leave her room to see what was happening downstairs.

"Regulus...?" she asked almost inaudibly, but it seemed like it was enough for him to look up at her.

The girl ran down the stairs in seconds before coming to his side where he was sitting in the middle of the entrance hall.

"Regulus what happened?" she asked worriedly, fear reflecting in her hazel eyes as she took a hold of his pale face, analyzing any injury. Blood was dripping down his forehead and nose, she could notice.

"W-we fought..." his voice murmured, trembling. It looked like he had not recovered from that awful experience yet. His whole face was showcasing horror.

"Are you injured anywhere else?" she tried to ask calmly.

"Potter got me on the chest," he answered weakly.

She lifted up his robe to see that there was indeed a large cut crossing his chest. It didn't look too deep, but it must have hurt a lot.

"There was so much blood Adena, it was awful... the plans weren't exactly to fight with the Order. We had to attack Muggles to incite them to come and fight us..." His whole body was trembling by now. It even looked like he was about to cry.

"Regulus, please calm down... We have to go up to my room and I'll clean everything..."

"O-okay..."

"Pimchin!"

The house elf appeared in front of them when her name was called.

"Yes Miss, what can Pimchin do? W-what happened to Mister Regulus?" squeaked Pimchin in shock.

"Pimchin, bring him to my room," ordered Adena.

She got up and left Regulus' side to apparate in her bathroom. Her trembling hands were fumbling around, looking for the first aid kit that was supposed to be there. Once she found it, she apparated in her room where Regulus was with Pimchin. He was lying in her bed, his body trembling but she didn't know whether it was in fear or in pain.

"Adena... Adena..." he was calling out her name. The brunette regained her senses and walked up to his side. Feeling her presence, he opened his eyes to look at her.

"I'm here. I'll do my best..."

After that, she started healing him, her hands were still shaking as she wasn't sure of what to do. She tried to be as gentle as possible when cleaning the wounds. She was glad he was strong enough, barely wincing in pain when she was touching him.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you..." she would say, trying to keep her calm.

Adena left her boyfriend's side for a while in order to look for any healing potion in her sister's bedroom. She luckily found a healing oil for open wounds that she used on Regulus, hoping it would help to heal.

After long minutes, she was finally done. She had thrown aside the male's clothes that were covered in blood, and now his chest and forehead were wrapped up in bandages.

Her hands were completely covered in blood and she was exhausted. She had been biting anxiously on her lip that it was now bleeding as well. But she didn't care. She was just kneeling beside Regulus, her eyes stuck on him.

"Are you feeling better?" she tried to ask.

"Yes..." his voice croaked.

Noticing he must be thirsty, she stood up again, looking for anything in her room, and finding a forgotten glass on her bedside table. She filled it with water using her wand and tried to make him drink.

"Was my sister there?" next whispered Adena, fearing his answer.

"Yes..." he said again.

She felt so ashamed of her sister right now. She was one of the people who had hurt her boyfriend. At the same time, the brunette felt so angry. Her fists were clutched into balls. But suddenly, she felt a cold, shaking hand fall on one of hers.

"Lie with me please..." whispered Regulus, and she wasn't sure if he was aware of his words.

She relaxed a little and turned to him. His half open eyes were staring at her, and she couldn't resist. Slowly, Adena lied her body beside him, carefully, trying not to hurt him more. 

The girl's hand grabbed Regulus' one as she whispered, "Get some rest now..."

It didn't take long for the boy to fall in a deep slumber. Adena's eyes wouldn't leave his face, she was watching him worriedly, nothing could shake off that feeling, it was possessing her whole body. The possibility of him getting injured and even killed during one of those missions completely paralyzed her. Unconsciously, she tighten the grip she had on his hand. She hated this idea of Regulus disappearing in those stupid fights where he did not want to stand. At some point, she remembered her boyfriend's words form a few months ago. 'You could say anything, and I'd run away with you.'  She was completely sure of what he meant by that. He would run away with her if she would ask him to. If she would tell him to quit the Death Eaters. She believed that his safety would be more preserved outside of the Death Eaters, unlike him, but she hadn't told him her thoughts yet. But Adena wished this moment would come soon, the moment where she was ready to leave everything behind and create something new with Regulus. She wasn't afraid, and she wouldn't regret anything. Deep down, she knew it was everything she had ever wanted.

As she was still lost in her thoughts, her eyes that were fixed upon Regulus' face caught something wrong with him. In a second, his calm expression was replaced by a frown. Sweat was slowly dripping down from his forehead and it wasn't due to the hot weather outside. His breathing seemed to quicken and barely a few seconds later, he woke up in a jump. His frantic eyes were wide in shock and fear, looking everywhere around the now darker room, until falling upon Adena who was staring at him with worry. She took a hold of her wand laying on the bedside table and lit the tip so they could both see each other more clearly.

"Regulus, did you have a nightmare?" she whispered softy to not browbeat him.

He nodded and started to calm down, his breathing becoming steady. Her hand went to brush his arm comfortingly while the other glided into his raven curls that were slightly damped as well. He accepted the gestures and seemed to regain a calmer composure.

"The images... they keep coming again. I can't stop thinking about what happened..."

"I'm sorry this had to go wrong... I'm sorry I can't do much..."

"Just stay with me and I'll be fine."

"I'll stay then."

And she offered his weak body a comforting embrace, making sure not to hurt him. And he gladly melted into her arms.