Running in the dark

Chapter 35

In mid-October Regulus found himself alone in the Slytherin common room, lessons had just ended and he wanted nothing more than a coffee and some silence, of course, that was not possible and Barty and Evan came in a few minutes later. They threw themselves onto a leaver sofa beside his and began to talk loudly.

It had been a while since he had just sat there and talked to them so he engaged in their conversation about how they were sure there were no rules strictly forbidding not sleeping in class and that Evan shouldn't have gotten detention for it.

Pandora and Dorcas walked in half an hour later and sat on one of the other leather sofas and started to take part in their conversations.

"What's your opinion on the war?" Pandora then asked and it went silent for a few seconds before Barty spoke up.

"My dad's a ministry man, so he's against it, all of it, fighting at all seems like a waste to him, I say I'd want to fight for the winning side," Barty said. Barty had a strong opinion on the war, he didn't care about how it was affecting people, he just didn't want to be on the losing side, being part of the glory was all it was for.

"My dad's a supporter if you know who, and my mum's a bit indecisive about the whole thing, I'll probably end up following one of them," Evan replied.

"My dad was always about fighting for the thing you believe in until he passed and my mum always liked his view on that, but because she was a Slytherin and some of her cousins are known death eaters, not many people of Dumbledore's side trust her, but she's trying to help him, and I want to do the same," Dorcas said to them all.

"I don't agree with either side, my parents are also indecisive, I just want to stay out of the war but I feel like we're all going to get forced to choose a side in the end, what about you Reg?" Pandora asked and all eyes went to Regulus.

"My parents are supporters of Voldemort, but I don't want to fight, but I'm going to end up having to fight for him, I just know it," Regulus replied, he would never tell James, Remus or Sirius that, and he knew no one here would tell them either, all of them except Pandora were all born into lives where their decisions were limited because of their families.

"Do you think we'll still be friends after school?" Evan asked, his comedic demeanour not showing as it usually did.

"Depending on the fight, it's breaking families and friends apart already," Dorcas replied.

Barty wrapped an arm around Evans's waist and pulled him a bit closer and it made Regulus think of James. James would want to fight for Dumbledore, there was no doubting it, but what would he think of Regulus, Regulus was sure that his path would end up turning dark to dark for someone as bright as James to shine through.

Pandora liked to see the best in people, in that way she was similar to James and was one of the reasons why they became quick friends. A war seemed pointless to her, it was all about the loss or gain of power but she believed power isn't something people should care about, living their life as good people is what should be their goal.

Barty was rebellious, he'd always been, he craved his father's attention, but he was never given it and it had grown to a rate that he wanted to do anything to displease his father, he was ready to fight for Voldemort as long as it gave him glory and attention from his father.

Evan was sure he would end up following Barty, they'd been a pair for years, from best friends to lovers, he would burn the world with Barty, it was not the fight he would be there for, but he'd stay with Barty, no matter the cost.

Dorcas was prepared to fight, fight against Voldemort and fight to be respected and trusted by Dumbledore's side, Marlene and she both wanted to do good for the world and Voldemort's side just seemed to make chaos. She knew that she would lose so of the friends that she sat in the room with right now because of this decision, but the war was one of many sacrifices.

Regulus wanted to be with James, to be with his brother, to be with Remus and Dorcas and Marlene and Barty and Evan and Pandora. In a way he just didn't want to leave school, he wanted everything to stay the same but everything was changing rapidly. Next year was James' last year and then he would go and join the war, would he be there waiting for Regulus to come to him and fight?

If Sirius hadn't left that summer Regulus would be half sure that he would still have his brother, but now he was sure that he was going to lose them both, he didn't want that, he just wanted to have a choice about what he did, but from the moment Sirius left his choices were gone, he was the heir, he was going to follow the footsteps of his parents, they would expect him to marry soon, someone who was pureblood and have a child, he didn't have a choice in the matter, it was how it was meant to be.

The fight was close but also so far and choosing a side would be happening in just a matter of time, it wasn't that scared any of them, it was what they would be losing by their choices. There was no winning the war, it was only being on the better side of it, but there was no way of really knowing which side would be better.

Hiya, this chapter was dedicated to the Slytherin skittles and their adopted Ravenclaw pandora, and these chapters have been talking about the war but it won't be mentioned too much anymore it all be about happier events ish... 👀 Hope you're enjoying it