❝The monsters were never
under my bed.
Because the monsters
were inside my head.
I fear no monsters,
for no monsters I see.
Because all this time
the monster has been me.❞
[MARAUDERS ERA]
[METANOIA SERIES B2]
[COVER: -VOIDLEGENDS]
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— chapter nineteen — ON LOST TIME
—
IT WAS NIGHT. It was a late night and she was there sitting across from him and he was real. This wasn't a figment of her imagination, it wasn't a dream. At least, she hoped it wasn't. If it was, she would call her mind cruel for letting her see him right there with a glowing face, looking happier than he had ever looked in his life. She had to imagine she looked almost the same, a sparkle dancing in her eyes as well. Because they were there and they were free and there was no turning back to those cold times which harbored darkness in them.
But he was there, and that was enough. He was there and he was amazing and his hair had recently been cut but he still looked like the same person and he skin seemed to be tanner, like it had more life and he was wearing a short-sleeve shirt even though it was February and the weather was the same old cold shit it played every day. He must've been somewhere nice, she concluded. And they were happy, they were there in the Hog's Head with barely anyone else and they were happy. She hoped no one really noticed them, no one really looked, because if they did they would see the ghost of Regulus Black – or they would think that.
No, Regulus Black was very much alive and he was sitting in front of his sister with a drink in his hand as he glanced around the old pub. No students came in there, it was deemed shady and only a place for bad business, but that was the exact opposite for those two. They were there to talk and rejoice in the knowledge that they were both alive and well. That was enough.
"How've you been?" she found herself asking before correcting herself with a better question, "Where have you been?"
"Everywhere beautiful, Mel. I have to tell you. I was in Romania for a bit, at a dragon caring farm and it was amazing. There was a woman there who was just so kind and welcoming," Regulus smiled, "She runs the place with her husband. Wish I could've stayed there longer but the Prophet ran the story and when I saw her reading it, I knew I'd have to leave."
Remelda nodded and took a bite from her salad, grimacing slightly at the taste. She never really did like salads, but didn't trust any of the meat products the Hog's Head sold. You don't know where the meat came from. "Sounds wonderful."
"It was," he nodded, "Then I took a plane – a muggle plane – and went to Hawaii. It was so beautiful, and the water was so clear and the weather so warm...and no one knew who I was. Gave myself the name Rick, might go back there after this."
"A muggle plane? How'd you think of that one?" Remelda mused, opting to sip at her drink instead of attempting the salad again.
