Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Forty

[Chapter Forty]

Éponine couldn't understand the delay on her parents' behalf when it came to giving a simple response to the letters she had sent. In fact, the last letter she had sent a few weeks prior had gone unanswered, leaving her frustrated and disappointed. Before the time of the summer spent with Regulus, Éponine would have considered herself to be very close with both of her parents. She obviously shared her disagreements with them, mostly with the topic of who she was to marry in her life and the way they wouldn't stick up for her a lot of the time.  But other than that, she got along great with them, she enjoyed being home, working with the horses, sitting in their company on the weekends when it was just the three of them.

But since the start of the summer, after they dropped her off at the Grimmauld Place, it was almost as if they had forgotten that they actually had a child. They simply brushed her off, maybe a letter here or there, but it was like they were distancing themselves from her and Éponine couldn't understand why. She wasn't asking much for letters, simply as the time had gone on, she was curious as to what the plans for the Christmas holiday were. Yet, it was as if they couldn't be bothered to write her back.

Perhaps even if her father was busy with managing the horses and the land, it didn't mean that her mother couldn't write something down. It left Éponine with a worried mind, thinking they were avoiding her letters for a reason. However, she wasn't going to give up so easily because while she did come to enjoy her time at the Grimmauld Place, she didn't want to spend all of her Christmas holidays there.

It wasn't anything against Regulus, Orion, or Walburga, but she wanted to be home, her home. She wanted to sleep in her own bed, she wanted to walk around her home with the comfort of knowing where everything was and not feeling the need to ask for permission. And maybe if the conditions permitted it or if the indoor ring was able to be put to use, she would be able to get some riding in. She did miss the horses quite a bit as they had never bothered her.

Standing in the Owlery that morning, it was beyond freezing at the top of the West Tower as she gripped another letter in hand to send off. It would be her final attempt and if her parents didn't respond, she was just going to come to terms that she more than likely was not going home for Christmas.

She walked carefully to avoid the straw that was covered in owl droppings along with the regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles that littered the floor. It wasn't the nicest smelling place in the castle, but Éponine knew she couldn't complain much, after all, it wasn't like she was the one expected to remain there. Searching through the student owls that were all over, she found one of the school owls, designated by the band on their legs that were branded with the Hogwarts crest.

Hesitant to hand the letter over, Éponine stood for a moment longer, wondering if she was just wasting her time again by sending the letter. And even if they did respond, she could only assume what they were going to tell her and it was what she feared. They were going to make her go to the Grimmauld Place, simply because she had to "get used to it." She would marry into the Black family and that's where she would more than likely spend her Christmases for the rest of her life.