Snakes and Roses|| Rosekiller || ✔️

24. Meetings

TW: disassociation/ losing grip on reality, references to past murder, murder, talks of death, talks of war

Evan:

It's been a week since Evan lost his parents and since then he's been living in the Rosier Townhouse alone.

He isn't sure how to deal with his grief, none of it feels real, so he's just been ignoring it, spending everyday out in the meadow, immersed in his textbooks until nightfall when Holmes calls him in and makes him eat.

Holmes has been stepping in as a kind of caregiver for Evan, and he really appreciates it, without Holmes he wouldn't eat, wouldn't have clean clothes, his room would be a mess, he wouldn't be looking after himself properly.

Today is New Year's Day.

The day of Evan's first Death Eater meeting.

Evan steps into the shower, welcoming the warm thrum of the water, the rhythmic beating of the droplets. Evan has been showering twice a day since the deaths of his parents.

Everything has felt so out of whack for Evan, he can feel himself losing his grip on reality, completely consumed by grief. He's lost any sense of routine, so he's been showering twice a day, one in the morning and one in the evening so that Evan doesn't lose his sense of time.

Evan goes through the motions of the routine of his shower, appreciating the predictability, the consistency, the continuity. Nothing feels very predictable anymore and it's sending Evan into a spiral.

For the first time ever, Evan finds himself aching to go back to Hogwarts so that he can get away from this house, from it's tainted memories. He yearns to go back to Hogwarts to slip back into the routine provided to him via his timetables.

Thankfully, he returns to Hogwarts tomorrow, provided he manages to get to the train on time, but then again, he's sure that Holmes will make sure he makes it to the train on time.

Evan would truly be lost without Holmes, he's glad the elf has been with the household for longer than Evan's been alive, he knows how everything works, and he knows Evan just as well as his parents did, he's been a great help for Evan. In a way, Evan will miss him when he inevitably does go back to school.

At around lunch time, Evan feels his arm burn and he hisses in pain.

"Holmes" Evan calls

"Yes, Master Evan?" Asks Holmes

"It's time for my meeting, could you get me there?" Asks Evan

"Of course, Master Evan" Holmes replies

"If you just hold my arm you should know where to go" Evan explains, offering his arm to Holmes who takes it and in an instant they apparate, travelling out of the Rosier Townhouse and ending up outside a rather luxurious looking estate.

Evan isn't sure anyone actually lives there anymore, but it's still well kept. It's a converted barn house with read boards for walls and small square windows spaced evenly along the walls.

Evan dismisses Holmes and steps inside of the barn, finding people already sitting at a long table that had been charmed to stretch longer than its original length.

Evan takes a seat near the back of the table and scans the members. He doesn't recognise many, a lot of them being adults. He then spots Regulus, who spots him at the same time, and if Regulus is surprised to see him he doesn't show it, which Evan gives him credit for because Evan is slightly surprised to see Regulus here, although he seems to be flanked by both of his parents, so he suspects Regulus isn't exactly a Death Eater of his own choosing.