Slipping Through the Fingers

Chapter 10

Edlyn woke up with the morning light entering her windows. Her mother had insisted that she needed as much rest as she could get, so she would have a perfect, well-rested face for the wedding day. And that implied to leave her getting up when her body felt like it. She called her house-elf to warm her bath and she prepared the dress she was going to wear today. It would be her light blue one. The Carrows and the Blacks were having lunch together, and it would be the last time Edlyn and Regulus saw each other before their wedding in two days.

She bathed, cleaned her teeth, and got dressed up. She silently walked down the stairs, as her brother was surely still asleep, and entered the living room to bid good morning to her parents.

They were at the opposite side of the door, her father was sitting down on his favourite armchair, the Daily Prophet hiding his face. Her mother was standing up behind him, looking out of the window. When her parents heard Edlyn arriving, they both looked at their daughter, their faces stern.

"Edlyn," her father started. She understood that something was wrong. "It's Regulus. He was out with his house-elf and didn't come back. Kreacher says he's dead."

"What?" Edlyn murmured. Her head felt suddenly very light, her legs like marshmallow, the whole room seemed to spin. She steadied herself with the door frame. She half-listenned to her father explaining how Regulus hadn't answered his parents' calling, how the Daily Prophet had already printed out that the Black heir was dead, how the wedding was cancelled and she had to write to her guests.

Her world fell apart. The small escape she had found in all this; it was gone. She was sure her heart was being ripped in two halves, but she still breathed, still lived, and that was horrible.

*

"I knew I would find you here." Edlyn called to Barty. He was looking out at the lake, his hands crossed behind his back. They were standing on the lake shore where the wedding would have taken place, on this precise day. At this hour, Edlyn would have made her way down the aisle to wed Regulus. Only, there was no aisle, no guests, no music, no dark-haired teenager to marry.

"Do you have the ring?" he asked, turning around to face her. His face was tensed with rage.

"I do." Edlyn gently replied. She took it out and tossed it to him. Before it was halfway towards him, Barty destroyed it with his wand. The ring was shattered in pieces that flew in every direction. He was crying.

"Regulus is gone. And I blame you." he cried. Edlyn thanked her fast reflexes as Barty sent a hex. She deflected it with a Shielding Charm. They both looked at each other, slowly breathing. The lake seemed to have stilled. The summer breeze stopped. There wasn't any sound. Everything seemed to have paused, or ceased to exist.

Then, Barty sent another hex. He and Edlyn duelled. They sent jinxes and hexes at each other, casting Shielding Charms to protect themselves or dodging the spells.

"I didn't kill him, Barty!" shouted Edlyn. He responded with another hex. "I don't know how he died, or why." she sent a hex, "I'm grieving, just like you!"

"Stop lying!" he shouted. "You were with him more than you ever had these past weeks. Don't tell me you didn't know what was going on."

"I didn't! I didn't know what was going on! And I still don't know now."

"Shut up!" he yelled, deflecting Edlyn's jinx. "Crucio!"

The curse hit Edlyn by surprise. She had never felt such pain. It was everywhere in her body, a piercing pain. Horrible. She fell on her knees, dropping her wand that rolled away from her. Barty stopped the curse, leaving Edlyn to breathe hard and shakingly. He walked up to her and pointed his wand to her heart. He looked down on her, but she found the strength to look up to him.

"Kill me, then." she said through clenched teeth. She was frowning, trying to hide her trembling hands, keeping her composure to face death. His face was hard, his jaw clenched, his brows frowning. But he lowered his wand, and Disapparated.

Edlyn was left alone, sitting on her knees, to cry the death of one friend, and the leaving of another.