The Archer

Marked

Regulus Black would never forget seeing her.

She sat with her back straight and her head forward. Her eyes seemed lifeless already. They seemed to have lost all color.

He knew why she was there. The dark lord demanded one person from each family to declare their loyalty.

Her older siblings had already been married and taken on the mark for their new families. That left her. Nothing could've spared her.

Regulus knew the Emory Flawley he knew before didn't exist anymore. He knew the second she got her mark she would disappear, they all did.

He tried to forget that oddly warm spring day, but he couldn't. Suppose that memory is what kept him going.

He now sat on the train, he tried to pretend he didn't care about seeing his brother but he cared. He cared more than anything. He always cared. Regulus Black the caring one.

He listened to Evans stupid stories and the rest of the quidditch teams even stupider stories. He had no stories to add. He spent the summer rotting hoping to be let out of his misery. He never was.

Snape walked by to pull him for his prefect duties. He followed behind him.

"Flawley let's go" he opened the compartment where she was sitting alone staring into nothing. That same lifeless look on her face.

She didn't move, her eyes didn't even flicker.

"It's just for an hour" he gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up.

"Hey Emory" Regulus softly said as she walked by.

She stared into his eyes and just simply kept walking. He didn't expect much so at least she looked at him.

During the meeting with Slughorn she still had that same expression and it chilled everyone in that small compartment.

Regulus wanted to talk to her, even if it were for just a couple minutes. He wanted to know how she felt, he wanted her to know that she could always talk to him, that he really didn't want his mark either.

He knew Slughorn was saying nothing important so he spent the entire meeting trying to figure out what to say to her, he replayed conversations in his head and all of them turned out horrifically.

They ended up being the last two people after everyone had left.

"I know you're dying for a conversation Black"

That was the first time in so long that he had heard her speak least of all to him. Her voice was soft still.

"I am, but i don't know what to say"

She didn't say anything she just waited. Regulus always appreciated her patience.

"Are you still in pain?" He finally asked.

He waited and read her face for a reaction, there was none until he saw a tear rush down the side of her face. She nodded.

"Does it ever stop?" She asked finally turning to him. He wasn't prepared for that, the eye contact made his heart accelerate.

The tears just sat in her eyes refusing to drop as if one falling was disappointing enough.

"No, it doesn't" he was honest. He knew she didn't need some bullshit lie, she needed the truth.

"We have matching wounds now"

He smiled. Something about not being alone helped. He knew a lot of his friends well so called friends had the mark but the more you accept the dark lord the less it hurts. So finally someone who felt that same pain. The pain that comes along with being a pig raised for slaughter.

"I made this healing ointment, it helps, I can make you some"

Right as he finished the compartment door opened. His worst fear. Sirius.

"My baby brother has found himself a girlfriend" he chuckled in the way that Sirius found everything funny.

Emory turned off again. She stood up and left the compartment slightly bumping into him.

"Oh and not a nice one, mother must approve of the Flawley girl"

Regulus stood up and walked away harshly bumping into him. He hated how Sirius could act casual about everything. He was torn at the seems that night that he left. Left him alone. Left him for James. And Sirius could make jokes? As if him leaving not only put all the pressure on him but made him deal with everything alone. Regulus knew he could never forgive him for leaving.

When he finally found Emory again Evan Rosier had beat him to it. They were better friends anyways. Regulus had always been jealous of their genuine friendship.

"Stop pinning over her this year mate" he felt Bartys hands on his neck.

"I'm not" he slightly laughed. He went back to sit with his friends and eventually Evan and Emory came to sit with them.

Emory had always been part of their friend group which now was just a bunch of death eaters.

Regulus wondered how he was able to convince her to come sit with them. She even would engage in some conversation.

Another friendship he was jealous of.

He could've had that with Emory but it happened that oddly warm spring night. But it seems has if Emory was choosing to forget it ever happened which slightly hurt his feelings but he could also understand she had bigger things on her plate now.

Sometimes Regulus hated how compassionate he could be because it seemed like no one ever returned that favor to him and that wasn't fair. Nothing in his life was ever fair.

Those thoughts kept him entertained the entire train ride.

He didn't eat much at dinner and he saw her plate was empty as well. Except for when Evan would serve her food and give her a certain look that always seemed to work because then she'd take a bite out of it and he'd smile.

She was right they did have matching wounds. No one else felt the way he did and he felt comforted by that fact and the fact that he finally had someone.

If things hadn't gotten as messy as they did Emory would probably be his friend.

He looked past Emory and Sirius was directly behind her facing him. He just stared as he happily laughed and ate talking to his new family.