Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Four

[Chapter Four]

Sleeping in a home that was not her own and sleeping outside of a bed that was not hers at home or Hogwarts, was enough that Éponine found it difficult to sleep at night. She would remain wide awake while the members of the Black family slept and when her exhausted state finally took over, it felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes when she was being woken up by Kreacher or Walburga. It certainly didn't feel like she was on holiday as she woken so early summer mornings, not to mention, the family didn't really venture outside. They seemed to enjoy staying inside their home or visiting other places that involved them remaining indoors.

It was terrible for Éponine as she knew if she were home then she would be outside with the horses at some point or at least, taking advantage of the rare sunny days to actually read outside. All in all, she found the Black family quite dull with how they spent their time and she was already struggling to stay awake since her sleeping schedule had become a downright mess. 

Every morning, she was to join Walburga, Orion, and Regulus for breakfast at the table, even on the mornings where she didn't find herself so hungry. Her mother had warned her before they left that Éponine was to remain polite and respectful and that meant taking everything that was offered to her. She had to listen to the discussions that Walburga and Orion carried on with since she and Regulus didn't dare initiate conversations with one another. Since the two of them had spoken over the incident with Kreacher, neither one of them had bothered to speak again. 

By the way Walburga watched the interaction between the two, or rather the lack of it, Éponine was sure there was going to be an intervention sooner rather than later. Éponine was dreading the moment where the two would be forced to spend time with each other as it was already awkward enough for her to live under the same roof as him. But she had to remember that it was going to become part of her life soon enough. Once they were married they would be practically stuck under the same roof and it wouldn't be just for the summer. 

It wouldn't involve them sleeping in separate rooms, being monitored by adults, they would find themselves as the adults in the situation with duties to fulfil in the names of their families. They would be expected to produce children and the mere thought of falling pregnant was enough to make Éponine shake in place, like a small dog. She couldn't picture herself as a mother as she still needed her mother to remind her of things just to keep functioning sometimes, not to mention, she couldn't imagine Regulus as a father. The way he carried himself, he didn't seem to carry the hopeful prospects of being a good father. 

Was it too early for a girl to hope that she would not be able to carry?

After dinner one evening, Walburga had an announcement to make, one that she had been dreading, knowing it was to come. She claimed that they would be taking a day trip to Diagon Alley, something that actually sounded pleasant to Éponine as it meant that she would finally be able to venture outside again. However, there was a catch to it as the girl expected there to be. She and Regulus would be keeping each other company for the entire day while Walburga and Orion met up with an old friend. Just as Éponine went to roll her eyes, she stopped herself as she could already hear her mother nagging away in her ear.