Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Fifty

[Chapter Fifty]

The rest of the Christmas holidays remained relatively quiet and awkward inside the Grimmauld Place. Despite Victor surviving and recovering in St Mungo's, enough that he could go home, it didn't fix the obvious strain that had been suddenly placed on the families. It was clear that Heloise wanted some sort of justice for her husband's condition, even if it was at her own daughter's expense, but there was nothing to prove that Éponine had done anything. Regulus was a witness and he stood firm that his girlfriend didn't raise even a finger at her father.

And while Heloise called for Éponine to be punished for being disrespectful, Orion and Walburga didn't allow it. Under their household, it was their rules and they agreed with their son that Éponine had done nothing wrong. Instead, it was Walburga who finally spoke up, condemning her friend for being a bad mother and being neglectful towards her own daughter. Orion told the couple that they were not welcomed in his household if they were only going to cause trouble for  Éponine.

At first, Regulus had to admit that he was frightened by his parents threatening the Rosiers. He believed that at any point, Heloise and Victor would tell Éponine to collect her things and take her home. They would call off the marriage arrangement and that would be the end of that. However, it seemed they didn't even have the nerve to do that. They simply left Éponine at the Grimmauld Place and he wasn't sure if it hurt Éponine even more or if she was relieved.

Since the incident, she had hardly spoken and when she did, it only resulted in her apologising for causing a scene and her crying until he managed to get her to calm down. Regulus wasn't sure what he could say to convince her that it wasn't her fault. He still blamed himself for inviting the Rosiers in the first place, thinking that it would have made her happy. But finally, he just stopped himself from bringing it up, thinking if he just distracted Éponine it would make things better.

The morning that they were due to return to the Platform to catch the Hogwarts Express, Regulus heard the sound of the grand piano being played downstairs. He figured it was his father playing by the sound of it. Thinking he could ask Orion for some advice, he quickly made his way inside, only to find Éponine sitting on the bench, playing to herself.

She didn't even seem to notice his presence as she continued on playing and Regulus walked over and sat beside her. She still had yet to acknowledge him, although he was sure by then that she knew he was right there. So to gain her attention, he slowly reached up a finger and pressed a random key as she was playing. He could see her flinch at the sound of the off-key, but she didn't stop playing until he did it again.

Éponine was doing her best to ignore his attempts but it didn't last very long because as he slammed his hands onto the keys, she started to giggle. Within seconds, he was playing like a madman on the piano until they heard Walburga yell from the stairs about the noise. They tried to cover up their laughter but within seconds, it was over. Their laughs could be heard throughout the home, not that anyone was complaining.