Black Rose [Regulus Black]

48 - odd reappearances & quick getaways

Somehow, Alessandra's reappearance gave Regulus a bigger heart attack than her disappearance.

It happened less than two hours after Regulus attempted to throw himself into a restless sleep after spending hours searching for her. Evidently, the day had taken a toll on everybody — dealing with the birth of a baby and then the disappearance of a close friend wasn't an easy burden to bear. Between looking for Alessandra and caring for the one-week-old baby, they'd all had their hands full.

Except, even after everything that had happened and the sheer exhaustion that had taken over his body, Regulus Black could not sleep. He had gone mad with worry, having absolutely no idea where his girlfriend had disappeared off to. Was she taken? Did her best friend's murder just break something within her and send her running? Honestly, if the latter had happened, she may have dodged a bullet: he and his world and its craziness were far too much too handle for anyone, even for someone as well-adjusted as her, at some point, she was bound to choose her own happiness.

There was a knock on the door and he bolt upright, covered in sweat. Was it the Death Eaters? Had they captured her and tortured information of his location out of her? Was that why Sirius and Remus weren't home, because they'd been taken already? Or was it the Ministry, which may have found out he had the Dark Mark? His mind was spiraling with possibilities, so many that he just wanted to drop back to bed so he didn't have to think about it.

He picked up his wand from the bedside table and cautiously approached the door, his grip tightening around his wand with each step. He took a deep breath and wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, pulling the door open to reveal...

Alessandra.

What the fuck.

"What the fuck?"

"Hello."

"Hell- hello?! You disappear for two days in the middle of a funeral and give me the fright of my life and all you have to say is hello? Do you have any idea how much you scared me? Scared everyone? Remus and Sirius are probably out looking for you right now." Regulus paused when he saw the tears glimmering in her eyes, instantly feeling bad for yelling at her after she'd lost someone so important. Still, it was infuriating how she just disappeared and he needed answers.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It just got too much for me, I guess."

She hugged him, and he wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her scent. The relief was overwhelming, so much so that his knees nearly buckled under the pressure of it. He feared she was dead, or being tortured. "Where were you? Where did you go? You could have at least told me where you were going."

"I needed to leave, Reg. I just couldn't handle it, I couldn't bear to see them putting my friend in the ground."

"But where did you go?" He pulled away from her, trying to gauge if she'd been harmed in any way.

A beat of silence. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" he stared at her, trying to recognize some signs of the Imperius curse or maybe Polyjuice potion or a memory charm. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated. "I mean, I just walked around, I guess, stopped here and there once in a while."

"That's such a vague answer."

"You needn't worry," she insisted. "Isn't this normal? I've read that sometimes grief makes you lose track of things."

"Lose track of things? You just disappeared. I went to get you a glass of water and when I came back, your chair was empty. I understand your mind being clouded, but how could you just run away, especially considering how things are at the moment? I was scared you were dead!"