origami. . . REGULUS BLACK

twenty-two.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Oh, But I Love Him!
June 31st, 1979.

          It was a shock to wake up and not see Regulus Black by her side, but Pandora Lovegood. Her smile was wide, her cheekbones red and her eyes were squinted because of how much she was smiling. Regulus is gone. The three words she had uttered rang in Mallory's mind ever since she had pronounced them, and it somehow hurt even more every single time. It had been a week since Regulus had disappeared, and today was her last day at St Mungo's. Mallory had asked for Sirius and Remus to fetch her out, as she was not sure of wanting Fabian there.

"There she is!" Sirius said loudly, pushing the door as Remus did his best to shush him. "Oi, come on, Moony! There's only elderly people, they won't care if I shout."

Mallory snorted, "Oh trust me, they will. Those nurses are mad," she replied quietly as Sirius leant down to kiss her cheek. "Hello, Sirius. Remus," she greeted softly.

"Hiya, how are you?" Remus whispered tenderly.

"I'm alright."

Sirius seemed to examine the room and said, "No Reggie today?"

"It has been a week since I've seen him," Mallory replied, trying to swallow back her tears. "Your brother has decided that he is not good for me anymore."

"Oh," Sirius said, sitting down next to her. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Mallory answered. "H-He just left in the middle of the night and bloody asked Pandora Lovegood to tell me."

Sirius kissed the top of his teeth, anger building within him as he tried to think of a reasonable reason why his brother had disappeared so suddenly. Mallory was tired and had cried more than once, he could see it if he focused enough on her face. He wondered if the feelings between Regulus and Mallory were real or if it was only a masquerade to make everyone believe he was courting her, but Sirius knew Mallory. She had feelings for him.

Sirius watched as Remus helped her get on her feet, he scrutinised the wounds on her ankles and how they had left scars. Under their shocked eyes, Mallory joked that at least now she'd be matching with Remus. The couple assumed she would feel better if she was back home instead of their noisy flat, so they took one train and two buses as she was forbidden to apparate for now.

When they reached the Abbott Manor, it was mid afternoon, the sun was bright and almost too warm. Sirius contemplated the idea of jumping in the pool but fought his urges, and stayed with Mallory. As they opened the door of her bedroom, it was quite a shock to smell Regulus strong cologne. It was almost as if Sirius was back at Grimmauld Place where little Regulus used to spray his expensive cologne all over the house.

"Are you two going to stay here for a bit?" Mallory asked, laying in her bed. Sirius laid next to her, nodding his head.

"As long as you need to, love," Sirius replied softly. "How long do you need us?"

"I don't really know," Mallory whispered, fidgeting with her fingers anxiously.

Sirius stayed quiet for a while, staring at the ceiling, "What happened with you and Regulus?"

"We–" she started but there was a little silence. Sirius grabbed her hand, his eyes still fixated on the ceiling. "We went to retrieve a Horcrux. No one knows, not even the Order. We only told Moody and Albus–Regulus and I believe that their Dark Lord is putting fragments of his soul into objects."

Sirius gasped, "That's mental."

"Yeah, right," Mallory said with a sad snort. "I got grabbed by Inferius."