till death do us part -regulus black (the blacks, vol. 1)

chapter 8

It was the day of Harry's hearing at the Ministry of Magic for performing magic underage and in front of a Muggle, his cousin, Dudley. He left with Arthur Weasley to the Ministry since Mr Weasley was working there.

Meanwhile, Hermione and Ginny were in Regulus' and Evangeline's room with Eva, having a girl talk.

'How did you know that you liked Regulus?' Ginny asked, needing the advice to act on her situation with Harry.

'I guess I always did,' Eva admitted. 'But I realised how often my heart would skip a beat when I would see him or how I'd smile like a fool around him,' she added.

'But when was the moment you knew?' Ginny asked.

'My fifteenth birthday, after he took me in the middle of the night to this field in the outskirts of London and he told me all about the Wizarding World. We were laying down on the picnic blanket, looking at the stars. I had spent weeks learning about the Leo constellation and the Regulus star. And when I saw it that night in the sky, shining brighter than all others, I pointed at it. He told me that as long as that star is up there, he'll watch over me,' Eva confessed. 'Why are you asking?'

'You see, I like Harry,' Ginny told the blonde woman.

'I know,' she told the teenager. 'It's pretty obvious to anyone other than him.'

'Boys are so dumb,' Hermione sighed.

'Why are you saying that?' Eva asked the girl. 'Does it have anything to do with Ron?'

'H-how...?'

'Oh, please, I might have not raised my child but I'm still a mother with something we call a mother's intuition,' Eva pointed out. 'Plus, I saw the way you were looking at him at breakfast,' she added.

All three of them laughed.

'What about you? Has it ever been anybody since Regulus?' Ginny asked.

Eva looked down at the wedding band on her left ring finger and smiled sadly.

'No, it has not and I don't think it will ever be another,' Evangeline admitted. She raised her hand and showed the girls the wedding band. 'I made a promise sixteen years ago, and I intend to keep that promise forever,' she added.

'But don't you think he would want you to be happy?' Hermione asked.

'Who says I'm not happy?' Eva asked. 'I have an amazing son who I love and I can't wait to see him again after fifteen years and tell him how sorry I am for leaving him with Lucius Malfoy and hug him. I have my mom with whom I get along despite our many differences. I have a job that I love and I have a best friend who's always been there for me no matter what.'

'You love your son...' Ginny pointed out.

'Every mother loves their child,' Evangeline pointed out. 'It doesn't matter if we raise our children or not, we still love them, and we'll always love them. They're a part of us, and we carry them inside for nine months. We feel everything: every kick, every movement. We're connected to our child in a way that's impossible to describe.'

'I think you should write to Mrs Malfoy,' Hermione said. 'It's high time you meet your son.'

'Narcissa said the same thing when she came to visit me in New York,' Eva told them. 'But what if he sees me as nothing but a muggle. He was half of the time by Lucius Malfoy, too. What if once he finds out his origins, he'll grow to hate me and himself. He's everything the views inflicted on him hate.'

'You're his mother, and he'll know it, too. The moment he sees you, deep down in his heart he'll know that you are his mother,' Hermione assured Eva.

'Plus, he kind of looks just like you. I mean, the resemblance is there,' Ginny pointed out. 'Heck, who am I kidding, he looks like you but boyish and taller,' Ginny laughed.

Evangeline looked around the room and smiled. 'You know, this room holds so many memories...'

'You lived here, right?' Ginny assumed. 'We found dresses and heels and some girl's clothes in the closet which now I presume used to be yours,' Ginny said and Eva nodded.

'Did you find my wedding dress there by any chance?' Eva asked, and she stood up, walking into the closet, the girls following her. She turned on the lanterns and looked around the closet.

'I swear, your side looks cleaner,' Hermione pointed out.

'Regulus was messy, but his messiness had a system,' Eva pointed out while looking through some of the clothes. She found a dark cherry red knee-length dress with a V in the back which looked amazing and handed it to Hermione. 'Here, go into the bathroom and try it on. I think it would suit you well,' she told the fifteen-year-old girl.

'Are you sure?' Hermione asked, taking the dress.

'Yes, now go and get changed so we can see you,' Eva instructed Hermione and the girl entered the door next to the closet's door. Eva turned back around to the clothes. 'Now, I'll find some heels for that dress and I'll find you something, too, Ginny,' Eva told the ginger.

'Are you sure?' Ginny asked.

'Yes, I am sure. Plus, I don't believe I'll ever wear any of these and some of them barely fit me anymore since my body went through a pregnancy and I've gained a little bit of weight over the past sixteen years,' Eva assured the Weasley girl. She looked through the clothes until she found a black satin dress with long sleeves and not so short. She gave it to Ginny along with some black heels.

'Wow, this looks amazing,' Ginny told Eva.

'What can I say, living with an all-rich pure-blooded family had its perks. Walburga couldn't have me be seen by the upper elite society in sweats and Regulus' Quidditch jersey, now, could she?' Eva said. 'She had an obsession with both me and Regulus looking formal anywhere we were going to a point where we grew annoyed,' she added.

'What was she like, your mother-in-law?' Ginny asked.

'She wasn't the best mother, but deep down inside I know that she loved her children even though she did not know how to show it. She was forced into a marriage with Orion Black and also he forced her to become just like him,' Eva recalled. 'I feel sorry for her. She could have been a great woman if she escaped this reached family.'

'Has she ever done anything to hurt you?' Ginny asked.

'Not until after she found out I was a muggle and she threw me out,' Eva answered.

'Hey, I'm done,' Hermione said, walking into the closet.

'Mione, you look amazing,' Ginny complimented the girl.

'Here,' Eva told Hermione, handing her a pair of heels the same colour as the dress, which Hermione put on. 'Now you look perfect,' Eva pointed out. 'Alright, Ginny's turn,' and Ginny went to the bathroom to change herself, too.

Eva kept looking through the clothes until she finally found her wedding dress. She pulled it out and looked at it in tears.

'It's beautiful,' Hermione said, breathlessly.

'I know,' Eva laughed. 'It's from a muggle fashion house which I paid for with my own muggle money. No one knew besides Regulus,' she recalled with a smile on her face. 'You can have anything you want from here,' Eva said.

'Wait, are you serious?' Hermione asked.

'No, I'm not Sirius, I'm Eva,' Evangeline joked. 'Yes, I'm serious. These clothes are still good and it's a waste to throw them away. Look through them and pick whatever you like.'

'Wow, you're amazing,' Hermione said.

Ginny walked in, the dress looking amazing on her.

'Now, how about this, let's head out. I know a cute cafe nearby and you two are dressed for the occasion. You'll just have to wait for me but I'll make it quick,' Evangeline proposed and the girls agreed.

Eva changed into a beige dress and put on the same-coloured heels and the three girls headed out to the cafe where Eva and her classmates would go.

That night, Evangeline wrote to Narcissa.

'I'm ready.

-E.M.B.'