Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Fifty-Eight

[Chapter Fifty-Eight]

"I don't need you to explain anything to me!" Regulus snapped in Éponine's direction. "I know why Sirius left! He left because he didn't want to follow the rules, he didn't like having to listen to anyone besides himself and at the Potters, he can do anything he wants. That's why he left, don't let him fool you-"

"The only fool here is you, Regulus."

It wasn't her intention to call Regulus any names, but she didn't like the way he had practically yelled at her either. She knew he would be upset, the topic of Sirius was a sensitive one, but she hoped she could get Regulus to open his eyes.

"What did you-"

"Sirius left because he didn't believe in acting like prejudice git," Éponine replied calmly. "Maybe he doesn't like following the rules. Maybe he enjoys being wildly immature and maybe the Potters let him get away with those behaviors. Fine, but he wasn't wrong to leave a home that abused and manipulated him."

"My parents did no such thing, they didn't abuse him. My mother never laid a finger on him, nor did my father-"

"Abuse is not only physical, Regulus, but emotional and mental as well. They hurt Sirius in a way that not even the Cruciatus Curse can touch. Don't you remember when he was sorted into Gryffindor, don't you remember how your parents treated him? I do. They told him that he didn't fight hard enough to get into Slytherin, that he was too weak-minded. They shamed him for being in the same house that housed "blood-traitors and muggleborns." Do you remember that?"

Regulus looked away from her, shaking his head. He felt sick to his stomach as Éponine continued on, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her to be quiet either.

"Then Sirius went out and made friends, but they told him he made the wrong sort of friends. Even though his friends supported and cared for him, because they weren't of the right blood, they weren't good enough. Your parents gave him the ultimatum, either hate a group of people that had done nothing wrong to him or face humiliation and belittlement at home. Wouldn't that be reason enough to leave?"

"You've met his so called friends, do you really think they're the right sort?"

"Your parents never met them and deemed them the wrong sort. All because of their blood. They had no idea if they were good or bad people, they only based it on the fact that they weren't purebloods or because they were considered blood-traitors. Maybe James Potter isn't the type I would hang around with based on personalities, but he opened up his home to Sirius, does that sound like the wrong sort to you?"

Once again, Regulus shook his head as if he was trying to dismiss any point she brought up. "Éponine," he said quietly, "where is all this coming from? This isn't you-"

"This is me, Regulus, "Éponine said, " trust me, I've been thinking about this for a while now."

"Then why are you saying all of it now?"

"Well, I tried to bring it up to you before, remember? I tried asking you if you thought there might be truth to what Sirius was telling you."

"Sirius blamed you for everything-"

"Yes, and he was wrong about that, but I was still part of the problem. I didn't think muggle-borns didn't have a place in our school. I was ignorant enough to make the comparison that the discrimination they faced was no different than the petty bullying I faced over my acne, when they are nowhere near each other. I wasn't the master manipulator that he made me out to be, but I wasn't doing anything to stop the discrimination in the school either. And as a prefect, we're supposed to set examples for the other students. What kind of example was I setting? What kind of example are you setting right now?"