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"Oh my Merlin," Josie mutters under her breath. The first day of classes was less than ideal, to say the least.
Firstly, her hair refused to cooperate that morning, which was incredibly frustrating. She needed Dorcas' assistance to find a spell to tame her unruly locks.
Secondly, her class schedule was unexpectedly shuffled around, causing quite a bit of confusion.
And thirdly, James seemed relentless in his attempts to engage her in conversation. She knows she will eventually talk to him again, but for now, she needs some space. Unfortunately, James doesn't seem to grasp that concept.
Currently, she is navigating the hallways, on her way to her first patrol of the semester with Regulus. It's the first one after the holiday break.
As she turns a corner, she spots her boyfriend leaning against one of the walls. It still feels a bit odd to call him that.
A soft smile tugs at her lips as she approaches him. "Hello," she greets him.
"Josephine," he replies, pushing himself off the wall with a small smile.
They fall into their usual stride as they begin their walk together. She idly picks at her nails as she speaks, "How was your break?"
Regulus lets out a sigh. "It was alright." It's an obvious lie.
Josie could be upset that he's lying, but she can't deny that she's also concealing her own truths, lying to everyone around her. She blinks a few times, attempting to clear her thoughts.
"Are you alright with telling me what happened?" he inquires, though she averts her gaze to avoid meeting his eyes.
"My father and I... we had a disagreement," she admits.
"About what?"
"About my choice of friends."
"So," he hesitates for a moment, "about me and the others?"
She nods slowly.
Regulus seems to withdraw into himself, no longer looking at her.
"It's not all because of who I am friends with; don't blame yourself. My father finds any excuse to yell at me," Josephine finally turns to look at him.
"Has he ever thrown something at you before?" he asks.
"No," she replies, picking at her nails to distract herself. "He actually, uh... said some other things also." She hesitates, unsure if she should share it.
Does it matter?
To her, it does. It matters a lot. But maybe Regulus wouldn't care. She feels selfish again. He has his own problems, and he had to go home. That had to be worse.
"Where did you go?" Regulus lowers his voice.
"What?" She snaps out of her thoughts.
"You sometimes stop replying and get this look on your face. It's when you're too lost in your thoughts."
Her eyebrows furrow. "Stop being so observant."
He smirks at her.
"Tell me what else your father said."
"He said I was adopted," she admits, biting her lip as she revisits the painful memory of the day. Sometimes she has nightmares about it or finds herself lost in thought, replaying the memory over and over.
"I guess it's not that hard to believe. He always favored James more, but I assumed it was because he's his first child, and James does everything he expects. But I didn't think that the reason he hated me so much is because I'm not even his." She hates the lump forming in the back of her throat.
It makes her feel weak, wanting to cry over a man who has disliked her throughout her entire life.
Regulus pauses in his steps, causing her to turn and look at him. He wears an expression that she can't quite decipher.
Josephine has no intention of burdening him with her problems or making him feel obligated to "help" her in any way.
She shakes her head lightly. "It's fine; you don't have to say anything, really—"
"I'm just not good at comforting people. But I hate how upset you are," he confesses, taking a step closer.
"I'm not upset."
He raises an eyebrow. "You often lie about your true feelings."
In that dimly lit hallway, Regulus seems oddly at ease. He gently takes the hand that has been nervously picking at her nails and stops her from fidgeting. His hand trembles ever so slightly.
She wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been so still.
"You don't have to," she whispers to him, her unspoken message clear: physical touch isn't easy for everyone, and she doesn't want to pressure him into comforting her.
In frustration, he sighs, and his hand drops slightly.
"It's okay," Josie reassures him.
He turns away from her.
"Regulus, it's okay," she repeats.
"It's not," he responds.
Josie feels a deep pang of helplessness. She wants to fix everything, but sometimes there are limits to what words can do.
She gives him a soft smile.
"I understand, Regulus," she says, recognizing that he's deep in his own thoughts.
"Come on, let's go," she suggests, starting to walk forward. He follows her.
As they walk, she begins to talk about the book they have read together during the break, discussing various aspects of the story and its characters.
It seems to help.
Josephine just wishes there was more she could do to ease his burdens.
