The Art of Living - R. Black

thirty three

Song for this chapter: All I Ask - Adele

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December 27th, 1997

Christmas comes and goes. The Christmas holidays put everyone in a good mood and there seems to be a lull in the war right now. I know it's just the calm before the storm, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Harry and Hermione were spotted in Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve and almost got caught by Snatchers. That caused some tension among the Order but it was swept under the rug when someone pointed out that they hadn't been caught and are still safe for the time being.

Atlas and Elio are back home for another week. I love having the boys at home.

Currently, snow is falling outside of the living room windows. It reflects the tiny bit of light that the moon has to offer, but it's still almost pitch black outside.

I make the last move in wizard chess and destroy Atlas's king. My king lifts his sword and smashes Atla's king to pieces.

"Checkmate," I say.

"No fair," Atlas says. "You always beat me."

"You'll beat me one day, I've been playing for a lot longer than you have," I explain.

Atlas shakes his head but has a small smile on his face. Elio is sitting on the couch reading a book from the library. It's in French so I can't completely decipher the title.

"It's getting late, I'm going to bed," I say. I get up from the rug and ruffle Atlas's hair. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

"Okay, mum," Elio says.

I ruffle Elio's hair and smile at him. "Goodnight boys," I say.

"Night, mum," Altas says.

I head upstairs to the bedroom. The door is cracked open and there's a soft lamp light flooding the hallway. I push open the door expecting Regulus to be getting ready for bed or already in bed, but instead, I find him sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Regulus?" I ask, closing the door behind me. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing, I was just waiting for you," Regulus says.

"Uh, okay," I say. "Why are you sitting on the edge of the bed-" I spot a packed bag sitting a few feet away from him. I stare at the bag and then back at Regulus. "What-, what is that for?"

Regulus stands up and starts walking toward me. "Meredith, let me explain-," He says, his voice insanely calm right now.

"Regulus, what is the bag for?" I ask. I can hear the panicked tone in my own voice but I can't help it.

"Meredith," Regulus says. There's something in his expression that tells me to listen to him. "Please, just sit down and listen for a second."

I sit down on the edge of the bed and try to stop the panicked feeling that keeps rising.

"Please just listen to me," He says.

"Reg, you're scaring me," I say.

Regulus roughly runs a hand through his hair. He makes a frustrated sound and then drops his hands to his sides in defeat.

"Those kids need help," He says. "It shouldn't fall on three seventeen year olds to win this war, it's not their job."

"It's not yours either," I reply.

Regulus sighs. "It is though," He explains. "I never finished what I started and now a group of children are stuck with the burden of it."

"Regulus, you were a child."