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"Uh... Josie?" Pandora's voice carries a serious tone, an edge of shock or something akin to it as she calls her name. They are seated at breakfast, and Pandora, having picked up the newspaper, abruptly calls out to her.
A sense of foreboding settles over Josephine, a feeling that something is amiss in Pandora's tone.
Turning to her friend with a questioning look, Josie feels a surge of nervousness.
Pandora's eyes hold a mix of anger and shock as she turns the paper around for Josephine to read.
It takes a moment for the shock and anger in Pandora's eyes to register with Josephine.
"Newly engaged couple! Regulus Black and Priscilla Parkinson are set to be married!"
Time seems to freeze. The noise of other students in the great hall fades into nothingness. Josephine's focus narrows to that single sentence.
Engaged?
The word echoes through her mind, bouncing off the walls of her thoughts.
He can't be engaged. There—
Her other friends haven't read the daily paper yet.
"What?" Her voice resonates with the betrayal she feels. Josephine seizes the paper from Pandora, bringing it closer as if hoping what she has read isn't true, as if her mind has fabricated it.
The paper crunches beneath her tightened grip. Regulus hasn't mentioned it, hasn't said a word about this. Is this the reason for his odd behavior? It has to be.
But that means he has known for days. Days he spent ignoring her.
She has to set the paper down before she rips it apart in frustration.
Anger surges through her, attempting to mask the overwhelming heartbreak that grips her.
It feels as if something inside her shatters into pieces.
"Josie?" Pandora gently takes hold of her hand.
"Where the fuck is he?" Josie demands of Pandora, her anger palpable. Despite Pandora's worry, she doesn't flinch at the intensity in Josie's tone.
If she is honest with herself, the anger serves as a defense mechanism against the sadder emotions coursing through her. She feels betrayed, as if he has stabbed her in the back.
Why couldn't he have told her before this? Before the public got wind of it? He had days to inform her.
Evan and Barty observe from their seats. "What's wrong?" Barty inquires with concern as he leans forward.
Dorcas furrows her brows before seizing the paper. Her eyes narrow into slits.
