The Life and Lies of Cassiopeia Rosier- Regulus Black

.hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

.we stopped checking for monsters under our bed when we realized they were inside us.

My life was in shambles.

I had just endured the cold goodbye from my parents on the train platform. The exchange had left me so shaken that I was having difficulty lifting my heavy trunk onto the train. My life lately it seemed was just a series of eternal struggles.

Even the beautiful red and black steam engine that at one point filled my heart with such joy was failing to lift my spirits.

There were plenty of people on the platform. Parents bustling around making sure their children had every thing. Little boys trying to avoid the coddling of their mothers. Hugs and laughs were exchanged, and my heart felt a familiar pang of jealousy. I wished on a star every night when I was younger for a family to love and care for me. For a family to laugh with. Even the stars it seemed, were against me in this life. For the future they had written for me was so dark the sun couldn't even shine on it.

I was pulled out of my daydream by a tap on my shoulder. I swung my head around, black sheets of hair flying everywhere, only to find myself staring into a pair of stormy grey eyes.

I cast a wary look around the station before turning to the boy. I wasn't supposed to be talking to him, and my parents had spies everywhere. Somehow I knew this would find its way back to their ears.

"Relax Darling, they've left." He said sending me a wink.

Sirius Black. Despite the many times that I told him over the years not to flirt with me, he never listened.

"Black." I greeted, eying him warily.

"Why so cold darling Cassiopeia? You and I both know how much we love each other. Yeah?" He asked.

I had grown up with the Black brothers. Our parents were the greatest of friends, so Regulus and Sirius were like brothers to me.

But the summer had changed everything. Sirius had run away from home last year, tearing a gaping hole in his family. It was the catalyst for the events of this summer. Sirius had always been an anchor for Regulus. Someone who drew their parents attention away from him. But with Sirius gone, all eyes and all of the familial obligations fell firmly onto Regulus. To my utter horror, it had ended with him joining the Dark Lord.

The betrayal had crushed me. Regulus knew I wanted nothing to do with the Dark Lord. Up until a few months ago, I was sure he felt the same way. But things had changed.

Regulus especially had changed over the summer. He had become more aloof, more cold. And he had avoided me like the plague. It seemed that our years of friendship had gone up in flames almost overnight.

My heart ached thinking about the companionship I had with him. A companionship that was lost. Something inside me snapped. The summer had been the darkest on record in the Rosier household and that darkness had taken root in my soul.

"We were friends Black." I spat anger taking hold of my heart. It was his fault. If he hadn't left, none of this would have happened.

I knew deep down that to think such things was ridiculous. But I had to place the blame somewhere. And because I was already mad at Sirius for leaving us, he was an easy target.

Really I knew that I actually envied him. He had gotten out of this horrible darkness. It was something I didn't think I ever would have the courage to do. But in leaving, he left me and Regulus behind. He had been one of the only people that I had ever been able to talk to about my fears. For they were the very same as his own. But he had abandoned me to a fate that I could not escape, and that hurt me deeply. He saw an opportunity and he left without an explanation.