origami. . . REGULUS BLACK

eleven.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Wounded One
April 7th, 1979.

           Blood. So much blood. Mallory barely made it home that night. The pain being too intense threatened to make her collapse at any moment. All she could recall was Regulus's horror face as he discovered her on the floor, leaning against a wall and whimpering in pain. Mallory didn't even know how he passed her front door but before she could ask the question, her eyes closed themselves and soon, everything around was black.

"Salazar," Regulus breathed out, carrying her on the sofa. He noticed multiple cuts and a nasty wound near her arm, it was as if she had been splinched. "What happened to you?" He queried more to himself as he gulped.

Regulus was panicking. What was he supposed to do? He hoped to see her before the dinner with his parents, which was in two days, but when he walked in–she was nowhere to be seen and then his ring had burnt him and left a mark around his finger. Mallory was hurt. When he heard the doorknob being turned, he was surprised to see a wounded Mallory. There was blood all over her clothes and face, it reminded him of the time she came home from a mission and he had been captured that day. It was as if she was another person, detached from this world.

After thinking it through, he took his wand and contacted Alastor Moody. Surely, he would know what to do about friends and family. Then, he grabbed the Muggle telephone and dialled a number he kept on a piece of paper in his pocket at all times: Pandora Lovegood.

Surprisingly, Pandora was here first. She greeted Regulus with a tight hug then hurried to Mallory's side. A grimace replaced her angelic smile, and Regulus bit his fingernails in nervousness. He couldn't stay still, all he could think of was Mallory and how bad she looked.

"Regulus, she is in bad shape," Pandora breathed out after ten minutes of examining her. "It looks like she splinched herself earlier. The cut is still very fresh. Then, there are multiple small wounds of jinxes–all of them are filled with magic," she said.

Regulus sighed shakily, a lump in the back of his throat as he prepared himself to answer, "I do not care about her wounds, Pandora. Is she going to be alright?" He asked, ignoring Pandora's look.

"Well, with some herbs and spells, she will be on her feet in two weeks," she told him as his eyes widened, but also relieved that she would be okay. "Who is she?"

"Mallory Abbott," he said softly. "A friend of mine."

"Is that so?" She asked, knowing that his sudden outburst of panic was not because she was only his friend. She had known Regulus Black for quite a time, and she was perfectly capable of reading him. "You fancy that girl."

"Salazar, no!"

Her eyebrow arched as she cocked her head to the side slightly, "Do not lie to me, Regulus Black. Must I tell you that you are an awful liar?"

"Just–heal her, yes?"

With a mere hum, she went back to what she did best–healing. Pandora Lovegood always had been brilliant when it came to herbs and healing spells–so good that she secured a place at St Mungo's when she was in sixth years. Pandora loved calmness and quietness, so as soon as she was done with Hogwarts, she started to work as a nurse in the severely wounded wing at St Mungo's.

Just as she was taking a slight break from it, the door flew open revealing the twins, which earned a sigh from Regulus who had no desire to see Fabian Prewett in the flesh. Then, Alastor Moody and two older people followed. Fabian Prewett charged at Regulus with a threatening finger and thin lips.

"What have you done to her?" Fabian queried angrily, though he kept his voice quiet.

Regulus snorted, "I have done nothing but call a healer for her. Why am I the one being targeted?" He asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.