Magnolia- Tom Riddle

2. Happily Ever After

CHAPTER 2

Does such a thing as the fatal flaw , that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside of literature? Magnolia was sure it didn't, a figment of a tortured writer's imagination. After this night she wasn't so sure. The warm golden light of the chandeliers reflecting every surface of the manor making it seem like a palace of a fairytale , the ones where everything was okay in the end. Tho in this particular night she felt far from being in a such fairytale where they all live happily ever after. Regulus had slipped away. Again. She had seen the black-haired boy  just a few minutes ago. Standing stiffly besides their parents looking like he wanted to be anywhere else then here.
"Excuse me have you seen my brother?" Magnolia asks a passing servant. Just earning a polite 'no miss' from her. She didnt worry usually when one of her brothers ran off during one of the many parties her parents held she really didn't. The troubled girl did it a million times herself, just sneaking herself a cigarette from her older brother and disappearing into the enormous garden. But this was far from usual. Sirius off and gone after a particular brutal fight she also had to endure in many different ways. The dainty bruises reminding her daily ,Regulus being up in his room all summer slowly rotting away like a bad apple was to much for her already tortured soul to handle. She worried for both of them. Which was a severe understatement. Let alone this month she had written sirius fifteen letters. Earning no response from her twin. radio silence.

A sharp breath escaped her lips as she stumbled back slightly as she bumps into a rather tall figure.
"Sorry sir" mumbles Magnolia. Just as she was getting ready to walk away from the so flustering encounter. The man holds her back. Magnolia didn't recognize him so he mustn't be from her familiar circle. Handsome certainly , and elegantly dressed for sure. Though there was something unnerving about him. Maybe it was  the piercing intensity of his gaze or the fact that his hand had lingered a little too long on her arm before finally releasing her.
"And you must be Magnolia Black?" he asks softly , his voice deep and smooth. Almost like silk with an edge. She froze for a second. He knew who she was - of course he did.
"You look quite...distraught Miss Black is something wrong?" inquires the black-haired man.
"I'm looking for my brother" she finally manages to say "have you seen him?",his smile widened though it still had no familiar warmth,
"I have not but don't worry yourself too much –sometimes people do not wish to be found". God how she hated everything about this, the encounter, Regulus's sudden disappearance and this stupid gala made her want to sink into the marbled floor and just disappear right there and then.
"Perhaps " he added while stepping aside gesturing gracefully "we'll bump into each other again". Embarrassing that's the only word Magnolia had in her vocabulary for the obscure situation that she just had to encounter. Something about that mystery man had been so deeply unsettling. His presence still haunting the cold corridor. Who was he ? Whatever, right?  She had to focus on finding regulus right? and not some stranger.

The cool breeze of the garden was a welcome exchange from the so suffocating atmosphere inside.
„Regulus" she called out again. The garden  quiet,too quiet. Suddenly a flicker of movement caught Magnolia's eye.
„I've been searching for you everywhere," she says, her voice laced with worry.
„You shouldn't have followed me." he muttered.
" What- of course I followed you, you've been acting weird all evening and then you just disappear like some-" Regulus interrupted her,his voice coming out sharper than intended.
„Magnolia go back inside".
„Just tell me what's wrong then I can-„ Magnolia started to ramble.
„Then you can what Maggie? Fix everything? This cannot be fixed and no way in hell I'm going to drag you into this big mess" insisted Regulus. As she felt a sinking dread creeping up on her.
"Just talk to me regulus, please" she whispers, „ I don't want to lose you too." The black-haired boy hesitated, his jaw tight and his hands clenched in fists hanging , his knuckles turning white.The silence was deafening before Magnolia spoke up again her once so cold demeanor dropped completely. As she felt her tears rolling down her face.
"I can fix this I-I know I can. summer break is almost over and then- yeah then I can ask Sirius for help.
"I can do that."
„You can't help me." Regulus whispers, „Magnolia you don't know what I've done ,what I've become." Magnolia stood frozen in her place, her breath catching in her throat.

A/N:
this is so bad sorry school just started but I'll make sure to update this story more often!:)
-cece