Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Forty-One

[Chapter Forty-One]

With Christmas up and coming, Regulus had to admit, he found himself slightly confused by Éponine's demeanour, especially since she didn't express any happiness at the idea of the holiday. In fact, as the days grew closer, she seemed to be falling into the depths of despair as seemingly nothing was bringing a smile to her face. From the silly antics of Avery and Mulciber to Regulus playfully allowing a golden snitch to flutter around her in the Common Room, Éponine just looked miserable. He began to grow worried after he asked her what was wrong and she replied with a simple "nothing." Obviously, there had to be something bothering her, even Avery and Mulciber had picked up on it.

That one afternoon, when Éponine had practically silently requested a hug from Mulciber, had been a clear sign that she was in need but was refusing to ask for any sort of help. Regulus had even gone so far as to reiterate to her one evening that she could tell him anything and for a moment, she remained quiet. It appeared as though a part of her was willing to cave in, yet that part was being held back from doing so as she merely nodded her head and replied: "I know."

In a desperate attempt to get to the bottom of it all, Regulus approached Emmarentia, hoping that the girl would have some insight as she was considered to be Éponine's best friend outside of the boys.  The two still weren't exactly fond of one another, both of them holding slight grudges for taking away what the other wanted initially with Éponine and Éponine's first kiss. But at least the two could come together during such a moment when it meant actually helping the one person they mutually cared about.

"Well, yes," Emmarentia answered, one afternoon after Slughorn's class, " something is definitely wrong."

Éponine had remained behind an extra few minutes to speak with the Potion's professor about how she could improve her potion-making as it seemed to be relatively mediocre in comparison to the other students in class. Regulus had told her not to worry as it appeared that her potion-making was just fine, but she insisted upon it. However, it did give him a clear opportunity to speak with Emmarentia without Éponine trying to brush off anything claiming she was fine.

"Well, do you know what it is? Do you know what's wrong?" he asked, slightly annoyed that Emmarentia didn't give him more of a specific answer. He could see the smile playing across Emmarentia's lips as she appeared all too pleased to hold the information that he didn't have.

"It could be multiple things," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, " but if I were to guess, I would assume it's been the way you've been treating her since you've two started dating."

Regulus came to a halt in the corridor with a bewildered look as Emmarentia glanced over her shoulder. The way he had been treating Éponine? What was that supposed to mean? Since the time they had reconciled their past differences over the summer, Regulus would have liked to think that he had been treating Éponine with kindness and respect. And that certainly hadn't changed since they shared the few kisses in private.