PHANTOM FIGURES | harry potter

SUMMER OF '96

     Aspen rarely had a chance to talk to him, since Margaret was determined to spend almost every minute with her. She claimed, "I've gone without you for almost a whole year, I'm allowed to smother you with my love!"

     And the other part that made it difficult was the fact that he kept hiding, leaving a room whenever she entered. Aspen thought it was ridiculous, if he truly wanted to avoid her he should just leave the house; it's not like anything would (or could) stop him from doing so.

     But then, finally, Aspen had a moment to herself when Margaret left to get groceries since they had been running low after Aspen's first week back. Those seven days had been boring, she busied herself with reuniting with Alexander - who was, surprisingly, still interested in her, baking goods for her friends, and chatting on the phone with Jasmine and her brother.

     "Regulus!" Aspen's voice echoed around the house.

     There was no response, but Aspen searched the house anyway. She needed to talk with him about where he disappeared on the night of Sirius' death, and their argument in the Three Broomsticks back in February.

     She found him sitting in the backyard, gazing at the garden, like he was contemplating something.

     "Come inside," Aspen said quietly, not wanting any neighbours to hear her talk to thin air.

     Regulus complied and didn't complain. He could probably tell from her voice and expression to not bicker with her right now.

     She stood in the middle of the sitting room and watched as he placed himself on the couch in front of her.

     "Do you even care?" Aspen said, her voice already cracking. "Or do you just not know? He's dead, and you haven't even said anything. You disappeared that night, we could have used your help, I could have used your help." If Regulus was with them, she could have just asked him to check Grimmauld Place for any sign of Sirius, and all of the damage could have been avoided. "You're never there when I need you most, for Merlin's sake, you had me as a baby and then left me and mum. You're probably the reason she went mad, abandoned me, and disappeared! You know, nobody knows what happened to her? Not me, not Margaret, nobody!" She wished to punch him but that was a little difficult when he was made of vapour.

     Regulus let her scream in his face, sitting there silently as he listened. He waited patiently until she was done, the only sound surrounding them her angry, heavy breathing.

     "I do care about Sirius, I just don't know how to go about it. We've always had an interesting relationship growing up." He swallowed harshly as he paused. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there to help, I just needed a break -"

     "A break?" replied Aspen incredulously. "You? You need a break? Are you joking right now? You have nothing to worry about! You're dead, in case you're forgotten! You don't have to constantly look over your shoulder for Voldemort!"

     Regulus flinched at the name. "Do you not know how difficult it is to be dead but roaming the living world with no one to communicate with for fifteen years and then suddenly a little girl shows up and she can talk to you, and the cherry on top is that she's your daughter? One that you didn't even know existed?" At her shocked face he said, "Yeah, that's right, I didn't know I was having a baby. I'd stupidly assumed your mother was protected, we don't use the same things that Muggles use. And I'm sorry it happened, it was supposed to be some last act of rebellion or something in a way before I died, I didn't know it would lead to a kid's life I would miss out on." He took a deep breath. "It's hard to look at you and not imagine the childhood you could have had with me, if I were there."