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

chapter 28 - christmas, 1978

It was Christmas morning on December 25th 1978. Grimmauld Place was cheerfully decorated for Christmas, a corruption Evangeline did to Walburga, saying that they should embrace the Christmas spirit more and more at their house.

'Did you get it?' Orion Black asked his son while sitting by the fire in the drawing-room, having a glass of wine.

'I have it in my pocket,' Regulus answered, not taking his eyes off from the fire, the warm colours calming him.

'And are you going to do it today?' Orion insisted.

'I do not know, father. I might, but I do not wish to be rejected,' Regulus shared his feelings with his father, an event that didn't occur very often.

'This girl did not go back to her home for you; she stayed in London for you. She has been living here for a little over a year now. If you didn't know it by now, then this might as well be the answer you were looking for,' Orion explained to his son.

'What would you think if I told you that I want to move to New York after I graduate from Hogwarts?' Regulus asked his father, fearing for the answer.

Orion smiled proudly at his son. 'All I've ever wanted for you and your brother is for you to be happy. No matter the circumstances, as long as my boys are happy, I'm happy,' answered Orion, which shocked Regulus. 'So, go ahead, move to New York, build yourself your own family and whenever you need me, I will be here.'

'What do you think mother will say about this?' asked Regulus.

'I think she will indeed have a meltdown, but that doesn't matter,' admitted the father.

'Why have you never been like this before?' Regulus tried his luck.

'You want the honest answer?' Orion asked and Regulus nodded. 'I was never the bad guy in neither your life nor Sirius's. Your mother, nasty woman indeed. She was the one with the idea to throw Sirius out. I was happy he broke the curse actually.'

'Was she always like this?' the youngest Black asked.

'No, not until your brother was born. Motherhood changes some women for the better, and others turn as loathsome as your mother did. For the longest, I believed your birth would soothe her, but my hopes were broken into bits and pieces,' Orion told his son.

Later that evening, the whole family, excepting Sirius, had gathered in the drawing-room, opening their presents and drinking wine. Narcissa handed Evangeline a box wrapped in white wrapping paper and had written on it For Evie. Evangeline grabbed the box from Narcissa's hands and started to tare up the paper. When she opened the box she found a beautiful white gown, resembling the one the now Mrs Malfoy.

'What is this?' Evangeline asked.

'Well, you will for sure need something new,' Narcissa vaguely answered.

Lucius started elbowing his cousin-in-law as a sign to go ahead and pop the question. Regulus took the ring box out of his pocket while Evangeline was still inspecting the present from both Lucius and Narcissa.

'Eva,' Regulus said, catching his girlfriend's attention.

Evangeline turned her head around and saw Regulus next to her on one knee and a ring in his hand. She slapped her hand over her mouth, tears forming into her eyes.

'I know people usually say sappy things while they do this, but I do not wish for this to be an average proposal. But I will say this. Ever since you have came into my life, everything has been so much brighter, so much warmer. You brought along with you homeyness. Everything is so much better when you are around. I want the rest of my days to be like that, with you by my side,' Regulus told Evangeline. 'So, what I am trying to ask you is... Evangeline Moira Rose, will you do me the greatest honour and become my wife?' Regulus asked.

Evangeline was speechless. All she could do was nod.

'I will take that as a "Yes!",' Regulus said, putting the ring on Evangeline's finger.

Both stood up and hugged one another, Regulus kissing Evangeline's cheek. As quickly as he could, Orion pulled out the camera and took a picture of the heart-warming moment.

'Congratulations!' Narcissa exclaimed.