𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 - regulus black

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔

Valentina soon went back to study. She'd be meeting with her mother and Jo about once a week, she tried to find time for them as she felt very lonely while studying.

At the end of January, she got a letter from her sisters though it was written by Hannah. It was just to give some news and wish her a happy birthday, nothing special or out of the ordinary. Or so she thought, and realized at the end of the letter that it was not the case. At the bottom of the letter were written the following words "PS: Regulus Black wishes you a happy birthday"

She stayed frozen as she read that part at least a thousand times. Regulus what? Regulus talked to Hannah? Hannah accepted it? Regulus had thought about her birthday? He was thinking about her? It made a storm of butterflies explode inside her chest. She herself had not even dared send something for his own birthday and she felt guilty. Quickly, she grabbed a quill, ink and some parchment.

Thank you very much for the birthday wish. I'm sorry I didn't send anything for yours. I hope you are doing well...

Just these three sentences, nothing more except her name at the end. She wanted to stay simple but said just enough so he would know she thought about him too. She wasn't expecting a response very soon but when she woke up the next day, an owl was waiting for her.

I am so glad to hear about you! Honestly, I could not dare send something by myself so I had Hannah to help. And I think we are somehow getting along now... at least to me. And I am doing good, I will go back to Quidditch practice in a few days, I had missed that. I sincerely hope you are doing well too, that you are busy without feeling exhausted...

Just these words made Valentina's heart beat faster in her chest. It had barely been one month since they last saw each other and strangely she was missing him. But she put those thoughts away, quickly wrote something back and got ready to go to St Mungos.

In March started the first of numerous meetings Valentina had to attend as she was directly concerned by the topic of it. Over the past weeks, the Order had left her getting busy with working at St Mungos and studying to be a Healer, but now were starting serious matters. Only a few members of Order had been chosen to work on this mission. Valentina and Daisy obviously. Her boyfriend Gideon took part of it as she still wasn't an official member. Sirius was named too to participate in planning it as he was indirectly related to it through Regulus. Otherwise, Dumbledore summoned the best people when it came to strategy.

They started discussing about the girls' feelings regarding all of this. Dumbledore put in a lot of effort in making sure they were in a good state of mind to do this. After all this could have the worst consequences for them and their families at the least mistake. Everything had to be perfect. It seemed obvious Valentina wouldn't be thrown into that world right away. Daisy suggested she should try living with her family firstly, getting to know them even if she would probably never feel at ease with them. It would start with a few hours then a day and then a few days, most likely. At the beginning Daisy would probably be there too, somewhere. Dumbledore suggested to use an Invisibility cloak. It surprised everyone but he was an old wizard with a lot of resources and experiences after all. Both girls on their own would start making Polyjuice potion because they would need a lot. Daisy also suggested to start somewhere in April as it was her birthday and her elder brother would be back to celebrate. All at once, Valentina would be meeting Daisy's father, mother and brother but she reassured her she would be close. Valentina thought she would never be able to relax for these missions because this was just impossible. She agreed to this nonetheless. She started preparing mentally for this day. They planned beforehand what she would do, how she would act, what would happen. Daisy and Valentina met up at the Order headquarters in the morning. She thought going to her house at around 4 would be good since her brother was here, he would want to have a cup of tea with her and to have a chat. They practiced for hours some expressions and mimics. She had already had a gulp of Polyjuice potion just so they would be certain of their similarities. Gideon came too as to guide them. The resemblance was very shocking to him which proved the potion was well made. They also practiced gestures and tones. It wasn't perfect but Valentina was learning fast. For parents that knew their daughter so unwell that could be convincing.