ARSONIST'S LULLABY ━━ r. black¹

𝖝𝖛. midnight rain

彡 chapter fifteen
( midnight rain )

SOME WOUNDS NEVER heal. She's seen it in the flesh. Remus Lupin's silvery scars that scatter moonlight over his olive skin, a fuck you from Selene herself. The grotesque pulsing of the black ink on Regulus's wrist. The mysterious claw mark slashing down Sirius's chest in suspicious silver threads that causes Remus to avert his eyes when Sirius unbuttons his shirt. Morgana had unhealed wounds too.

Hers crossed ravines in her brain, marks of cruelty and incessant pressure that had caused her to cave in on herself. She felt her heart in her throat every second of the day, racing at the speed of the fastest broomstick, fingers trembling, voice cracking. Her knees had knocked together at Platform 9 and 3/ 4 at the thought of starting her seventh year engaged like those girls she used to scoff at, calling them prissy and stuck-up. The gold prefect pin attached to her robes was the same shiny color as the emerald and gold ring glistening on her finger. A promise ring, he'd called it. A promise to marry her that his parents had tied him into but they did not care.

Purebloods rarely married for love. Marriage was a strategic alliance to fill vaults and negotiate societal standing. They were strategic. A Slytherin boy, heir to the most noble and revered house in magical society, and his Gryffindor fianceé, a legitimate daughter of a disgrace and a dead woman, raised by the firm hand of her grandmother. She was the last of the high-society Fawley's. The two branches had split generations ago, one pure, the other tainted. Hufflepuff and Slytherin. They despised one another. She fell somewhere in between, obligated to fulfill her family duty.

The Dark Lord had blessed the union, her Grandmother proudly smiling as his gravelly voice announced their nuptials, which would be held the summer after they graduated. She would fulfill her duty as the wife of a Death Eater. Sirius and Remus had heard the news and wrote her a letter pleading for her to not marry him. They had no idea what was in store, and she knew better. They hadn't written since she politely told them to fuck off.

Her future was at a crossroads. One path lead into dark fog, and the other to a secure future. She was fine picking the road through the fog if it meant she could be with her love. Her lovely moon-child of a lover, with his soft lips and tender words that had swept her off her moral path and into his shadowy world.

She could feel that darkness when she looked into his silvery eyes as they glinted with the slightest hint of malice whenever he felt slighted. As he did now the moment she mentioned the Dark Lord in a hushed whisper that only reached his ears. "Slughorn," she added. "The Dark Lord said the spell is in a book he owns?"

Regulus hummed as a response, lightly resting his head on her shoulder. His damp, freshly shampooed hair smelled fresh. Like something lemon, and honeysuckle. There was a small scar behind his ear. She'd noticed it one summer night and asked it where it was from, her fingers lightly dancing over the raised skin. He refused to tell her.

"We'll have to get it during Slug Club I guess," she added, quirking her brow. "When he's distracted."

Regulus hummed once more, his head lolling on her shoulder. He had not been sleeping, the rings under his eyes somehow darker and bluer than they were the year before. They were a month into seventh year and it was easy to see why this was the case. Her face mirrored his own, hollow and sleepless. NEWTS may take place second term but the workload and expectations had begun since the first day of classes and the two were dealing with far more personal troubles than almost all of their peers. Summer and its dreamy haze had faded into a cool September and now a dull, dreary October.

The rain tapped a steady rhythm on the panes of the window, the prefects bathroom full of steam. The bath, rather a pool, was full of lavender scented bubbles, and the two got some much needed privacy in the room, away from prying eyes and tempted ears. Morgana closed her eyes, leaning back to rest her head on the edge of the marbled bath. It was silent for a few moments, before Regulus moved, sliding out of the tub and wrapping a towel around his waist. Drops of water glistened on his pale skin, muscles tense in his shoulders. He was as slim as ever, his spine prominent even in the moonlight. As Romulus said, Reg was built to be a seeker.

"Same time tomorrow?" Morgana asked, herself rising out of the water to wrap her own towel around her, wringing out the strands of flaxen hair that had darkened as they soaked up water.

He slipped his shirt over his shoulders and glanced back at her, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. "You know I wouldn't miss our standing date for anything Ana."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

IT WAS PITCH black in the Gryffindor girls dormitory when Morgana found herself climbing out of bed after yet another sleepless night where her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She was going to have to acquire some Dreamless Sleep soon before she had a nervous breakdown from sleep deprivation.

The stars twinkled brightly against the velvet canvas of blue, the night sky clearer than it had been when she'd gotten into bed and pulled the curtains shut. The drumming of raindrops on the roof, which was usually enough to lull her to sleep, had completely ceased, and the clouds had made their escape. She glanced at the clock. It was just before 6am, and the sun would rise above the horizon soon.

She dresses methodically and quietly, careful not to wake any of her fellow 7th years, her tie knotted loosely around her neck, legs covered in thick tights to protect against the biting morning chill. Makeup disguised the hollowness in her cheeks, hair brushed to tumble down her shoulders.

The sun was on its way up now, painting the sky in a lilac haze that would eventually give way to pink and orange as Morgana made her way across the Hogwarts courtyard to the Quidditch field, where surely enough, the Slytherin team had gathered in a shivering huddle. She settled herself into the stands waiting for them to wrap up their practice, which ended at 7 on the dot as usual.

"Hey," she smiled softly as Regulus sunk down next to her, his kit covered in mud, sweat glistening on his brow. He gave her a brief kiss, pulling away to stare into her eyes adoringly.

"Hey," he replied, eyes warm and gentle. He was so beautiful and all hers. Forever. "Couldn't sleep?"

"You know me too well," she chuckled softly.

He brushed her shoulder gently, before settling his hand in the small of her back. "You know what you need?" he asked, not even waiting for her to answer. "A party. Some drinks, dancing, fun, to relieve all that tension you carry on your pretty little shoulders."

She laughed, not taking him seriously, but he looked her straight in the eye, telling her he was dead serious. "Friday night. Be ready at 7."