Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Fifty-Two

[Chapter Fifty-Two]

Emmarentia wasn't sure what she had anticipated Éponine's answer to be when she pressured her enough to answer, but it was safe to say she wasn't expecting to learn that there was a muggle-born residing in the Slytherin house. If anything, it was incredibly rare, if not, impossible for a muggle-born to be sorted into their house. After all, wasn't it Salazar Slytherin himself who had been against the idea of muggle-borns attending Hogwarts in the first place? But it wasn't like Éponine was one to joke about serious matters and clearly, the secret itself was taking its toll on her mental state.

"A muggle-born in Slytherin," Emmerentia repeated, " how is that possible? I thought Salazar himself would rise from his grave to stop anything like that from happening? Are you sure, Éponine? I mean, anyone could just lie-"

"It's not a lie!"Éponine snapped in her direction. "I know it's true. I don't know how it happened other than the Sorting Hat making the decision, but does it really matter? It's already happen."

"Alright, so who is it?"

Remembering a time where Éponine wouldn't even dare to look one of her peers in the eye, it was damn near bone-chilling to witness her glare at that moment. She stood up from her bed and walked over to where Emmarentia stood and her presence was enough to make the other girl take a step back.

"Why should I tell you who it is?" Éponine questioned her with a hiss. " You've never given me a good reason to trust you."

Emmerentia's jaw dropped at the harshness to Éponine's tone. "Épi, we used to be friends! I still want to be your friend! Have you forgotten how much I wanted to help you-"

Her words were cut off by a sharp laugh as Éponine walked away from her, looking borderline hysterical as she began to pace the length of the room.

"You wanted to help me," she said, " oh yes, I remember how much you wanted to help me, Emmarentia. You wanted to help me with every intention that it would work out to your benefit. I think I finally figured it out. I always wondered why you wanted to suddenly help me grow my confidence, I mean, why wait until recently. The same year that my acne cleared away, you found that I wasn't bad to look at. And you knew that Regulus and I weren't happy to spend time around each other initially. You wanted to build up my confidence, while building yourself up in my eyes..."

"Éponine, that's not true-"

"Yes, it is, Emmarentia, stop lying to me. You developed feelings for me and you hoped the more time I spent with you that I would develop feelings for you. And while I will be thankful for you helping me find my spine, you openly attempted to sabotage my relationship with Regulus several times, and by then, you were only sorry that you were caught. So, really, why should I trust someone like you? You only look out for yourself, so I can't bring myself to tell you who it is. I can't tell anyone."

Nearly on the verge of crying, Emmarentia quickly straightened her posture and swallowed the lump in her throat. She would give no one the satisfaction of seeing her cry, not even someone she considered to be her closest friend. Instead, she took a deep breath and approached Éponine again.

"Alright, fine. You're right, I've been a shit friend, alright?" she admitted. "You're right that I find you attracted and I thought for a while that maybe there was a bit of hope for me, but I know there isn't now. But you think it's hard being arranged to marry someone? At least you and Regulus get along now, you two will probably live happily ever after, making your families proud. But me? I'm just going to be stuck. Either I disappoint everyone by ending up with a woman like I want to, or I live a sad and pitiful life attached to a man I don't love and will never feel any attraction to."