The Art of Living - R. Black

fifteen

Regulus Black

Leaving the Ministry is a blur. I don't even know how I left the Death Chamber or how I ended up in the waiting room at St. Mungo's.

Meredith passed out, and I frantically got her here.

She was rushed off by Healers upon arrival, and I haven't seen her since, nor have I been updated by anybody. I don't know if it's been minutes, or if it's been hours.

I went to send Sirius a patronus, only to realize that it would never be received. So, I sent one to the first person I thought of.

My eyes are puffy, and I've only recently stopped crying. I think I'm in a state of shock. My brother is dead. I know he is. But it hasn't registered fully yet.

I'm pacing the length of the waiting room, fiddling with my wedding ring when he walks in.

Jack Trouche. Out of all of the people I know, this bastard was the first one I thought to send a patronus to.

He looks half asleep still, wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"What the fuck happened?" He says, rushing towards me.

"There was a battle at the Ministry. Sirius was killed. Meredith insisted on going but then after she said something was wrong and started cramping, then she passed out-," My voice trails off.

Jack blinks at me, trying to process what I just told him.

"Sirius?"

"Voldemort sent Harry a false dream to lure him to the Ministry, Snape alerted some of us. My cousin, Bellatrix, killed my brother," I ramble.

"And Meredith?"

"I don't know, no one has updated me, and I haven't seen her since we got here."

Jack looks at me sympathetically. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not talking about my feelings with you, Trouche," I reply, sitting down in one of the uncomfortable chairs.

Jack sits down beside me and glances over at me.

"Fine, I'm not okay. I just need someone to come out here and fucking update me and tell me if my wife and baby are okay."

Jack nods, "They'll be okay. Meredith is the strongest person I know."

"She's a stronger person than me," I say.

"Well, obviously," He jokes.

I stare at the clock on the wall, focusing on the clock hands moving. I start to zone out, probably from exhaustion.

"Mister Black?"

I get up from my chair as soon as a Healer walks into the waiting room and calls my name. Jack stands up as well.

"Yes, right here," I say.

The Healer walks across the waiting room and offers us a polite smile.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Meredith started to have labor-like contractions," She answers, an unreadable expression on her face.

I frown, "But she's only 16 weeks."

"She was experiencing a lot of stress, and her body didn't like that. So she started having contractions, she had a heart arrhythmia, and her blood pressure dropped very suddenly, which caused her to lose consciousness."

"Is she okay?" I ask. "I need to know if she's okay."

The Healer sighs. "She is stable right now, but she's still trying to come to. We gave her something to stop the contractions, and we're running tests on her heart to make sure that it's working properly."