Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Eighty Nine

"Toast?"
Esme hummed and nodded.
"Butter and jam?"
Esme nodded.
"Eggs?"
Esme hummed and nodded again.

Regulus raised his eyebrow at he watched the exchange over the top of his glass of orange juice. "You've got yourself a right little servant here, don't you, Esme?" He smirked slightly.

Esme didn't respond. Instead, her attention was completely tied to the book that was sat in her hands - Secrets of the Darkest Art.
It was her third time reading the book over and still she couldn't believe a word she was reading.
Regulus too had read the horcrux entry many times (doing his best to avoid reading the other contents of the book) and it had taken him a while to understand the complexity behind the dark magic.
Though, of course, they had told Piper they only had the book to research up on defended against hexes and curses in case they were attacked by Death Eaters.

"Oh, would you put that horrid book away already? I just hate looking at it." Piper grimaced as she caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye as she buttered a stack of toast.

She hummed again.
"Esme." Regulus stated.
This caught the girl's attention and she took a moment to look around before sighing, closing the book, and tucking at away under the table.

The three of them were sat on cushions on the floor around the small coffee table having breakfast together.
They had all been cooped up in the small flat for several months at that point, and the school year at Hogwarts had just come to an end - hiding out together and waiting to hear of any drastic news from Sirius. He would visit at least once a week to update them on what was happening in the Order and steal all of their food.
It was alright for Piper, as she was still working. But Esme and Regulus were starting to feel as if they were losing track of time as they rarely ventured outside, other than to go on a short walk around the hills.

The school year at Hogwarts had just ended and it would now be impossible for Antoinette to cover for Esme at home.
That meant that soon the Death Eaters would know she was missing and the first person they'd check on would be Regulus, who they'd discover was missing too. And that sure wouldn't look good.

"What's up?" Esme asked.
"Breakfast." Piper pushed the plate towards the girl opposite here, "There."
She pursed her lips tightly together the mumbled, "Oh, great. Um, thanks."

Regulus snorted quietly, "You're not hungry, are you?"
"Not... Not really."
"Water?" He offered, pouring a glass out and holding it out to here.
She took it, "Please and thank you."

Esme and Regulus' plan, for the time being, was relatively simple.
They didn't want to involve anyone in the horcrux fiasco as it would only risk their safety. If the Dark Lord found out the locket had been stolen, anyone who knew anything about it would be at risk.
Of course, explaining why they had both left school had been a little more difficult to lie about. Eventually they'd come up with the story that the Dark Lord had required Kreacher for a job the house elf hadn't been allowed to disclose to them and Regulus had feared the house elf was spying on him, so Esme had gone to make sure he was safe and the two of them had fled to safety.
What made it easy to spin was that the lie was not so far removed from the truth.

"Are you really sure you guys don't want to stay here?" Piper asked as she picked up the milk and juice in order to take them back to the kitchen.

Regulus shook his head, "No. It's really best we get to a proper safe house now they'll know for sure we're missing and not just at Hogwarts."
"It's definitely best we leave tonight - don't want to risk leading anyone here." Esme confirmed.