the moon and the stars| a hp fanfic

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝘅

"CASSIUS?" The young boy heard his uncle say softly. Cassius, who was in bed but wasn't asleep, didn't reply or turn around to look at him. He didn't move at all.

He had been spending days in bed, not getting up for food or anything. He couldn't fall asleep, either. The one time he did fall asleep, he had a nightmare. Not a nightmare, actually. It was something that had already happened. He saw his father dying. Again.

Harry tried getting Cassius to eat and get out of bed every day, but when it was clear Cassius wasn't going to do anything, Harry would leave him be and let the boy grieve in peace.

Sirius did the same thing, while dealing with grief too. However, his focus wasn't on the grief he was feeling. It was on the grief his nephew was feeling.

"Cassius?" Sirius repeated, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Dumbledore's here. He wants to talk to all of us."

"Leave me alone," said Cassius, his voice hoarse from not using it for days. He didn't even make an attempt to move.

"Please, Cassius." Sirius let out a shaky breath, catching the boy's attention. "I lost him too, you know? You need someone to go through this with, and so do I. We have each other, Cassius. You've got to realize that."

Cassius turned around, looking at his uncle. "I've got you?" He quietly asked.

Sirius looked extremely worried. Cassius' eyes were bloodshot with dark bags under them. His curly and neat hair was no where in sight. It seemed like Cassius had cut his hair. His knuckles had dried blood on it, and his lips were cracked and bleeding a little from being bitten too much.

He looked to the side, now realizing the shattered glass everywhere and the dried blood on them. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked at the vulnerable boy. "You've got me, Cassius. I'm your family. You're my family. We've got each other."

Cassius merely stared at him for a minute, then shook his head. "I lose every family member."

"You won't be losing me. I promise," whispered Sirius immediately.

Cassius seemed doubtful, but nodded for the man's sake. "Okay."

"Can you get up today? Only for the meeting Dumbledore wants. Nothing else."

Cassius sighed, but nodded again. "Okay."

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

It was a shock to see Cassius finally come out of his bedroom and coming into the kitchen. It was an even bigger shock to see the state he was in.

Cassius, who was avoiding eye contact with everyone and staring at the ground instead, sat down where he usually sat. He looked at the empty chair next to him, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Thank you for joining us, Cassius." Dumbledore said, his voice softer than usual when he addressed the boy.

Cassius didn't reply, looking away from the empty chair and looking at the table instead.

"As I was saying, the death eaters are all finally caught and sent back to Azkaban." Dumbledore looked at the Weasleys in pride. "You guys fought bravely on one side of the school, while Harry, Sirius, Regulus, and Cassius fought on the other side. I want to thank you all."

Cassius shook his head at the sheer audacity of this man.

He had lost his father because of the fight, and Dumbledore was thanking them?

He stood up and walked out of the kitchen without a word, rushing to his room again. But then, he stopped, glancing at his father's room.

He walked to the room, opening the door that hadn't been touched in days. His eyes immediately stopped on the picture on Regulus' nightstand.

It was them. Together. When Cassius was only ten.

Regulus was looking at his son, eyes filled with emotions, but the biggest one evident: love.

Cassius, meanwhile, was staring into the camera with crossed arms, not noticing his father looking at him.

Cassius picked up the photograph, lips trembling and hands shaking. He hugged it to his chest and sat on the floor, letting out a sob.

Maybe he would move on one day.

But for now, he had to deal with the absence of his father.

The absence of someone he should've never had to deal with.