Sun & Sea ― Regulus Black

12. . .build a legacy that will

CHAPTER TWELVE
BUILD A LEGACY THAT WILL

   THEY STOOD AT THE TOP OF THE ASTRONOMY TOWER. He held a nervous smile, one filled with fear but also bravery. The girl looked ready, prepared even, for she held such a sure and determined look in her eyes the boy had to believe in her. "You dropped the note on her pillow?" The slightly pale boy looked, a caring tone in his eyes as he looked at the brunette girl as if she were the only one that would ever exist in his eyes.

   Wren nodded. Because even if she and Regulus were to survive this journey, they wouldn't be going back to Hogwarts. It'd be too dangerous with Voldemort or the Death Eaters on their coat tails, but neither looked too afraid of that. Hogwarts, or anywhere really, had never been a home to the two, not really. But, Severine Prime had always been a home for Wren Stonem, so she hoped that her letter would explain everything until it would be safe enough to see the girl again.

   If she'd ever see her again.

   "You ready, Ghost Boy?" The emerald eyed girl asked, as Regulus gave a hesitant nod. The house elf, Kreacher came over to the pair, his eyes slightly watering at the sight of the two, before grabbing both their hands and apparating towards a place that had unknowingly haunted them since the moment they bled themselves dry for a better life.

   The ocean was beautiful. The waves crashing against the harsh rocks in a rhythimic beat, as if Mother Nature with all her chaos even had order. Wren wondered if this would be her last chance at seeing the ocean, but willed that thought away as the three made their way towards the end of the harsh, slippery rocks. Suddenly, the Stonem felt a hand in her own, instantly feeling the comforting squeeze of Regulus Black. She sent him a small smile, willing herself to be brave for him. For the boy who had always seen the good in her even when she couldn't see it in herself.

   Slowly, they dipped themselves into the icy water, gasps emitting from their closed up throats, but still no one dared to speak. It was almost as if staying quiet made the situation less real, less dire. Wren tried to think comforting thoughts as she willed herself to move through the ocean, willed herself to keep going. She thought of his smile, her laugh, butterflies tickling her arms. . .her father's comforting hugs. The girl thought of all those nights spent awake with her bestfriend. . .no her sister. She thought of the garden that Regulus and her spent most of their nights at.

   She thought of being in his arm's, and finally feeling safe. And soon enough, the girl was at the entrance of the cave, her arms immediately wrapping around Regulus's waist for a sense of home, for an anchor. The boy gently stroked her soaked hair, his moon dust eyes trapping away any tears from being let out. "We're almost to the stars, My Star," Regulus whispered, kissing the crown of her head as Kreacher led them to a small boat. Wren nodded, but no flames or fire licked at her skin, only fear.

   Wren Stonem was afraid.

   The cave was dark, and clearly webbed and birthed from decaying souls and unnourished flowers bloomed by blood. She wondered how deep the dark waters below her went, and if lost souls died down there too. The girl tried pushing away the thoughts of her fate, not daring to look into the reflections in the water, too scared of what she'll see. And eventually, they made it to a large rock smelling of metallic. Of blood. The group got out, still staying in their own silence, the presence of eachother more of a comfort then any words could provide. And then, she saw it, the bowl. And as the girl walked to it with trepidation drowning her lungs instead of igniting it, she knew what she had to do.

   Walking up to the shell filled with a dark, venomous liquid, just in front of Regulus who was helping Kreacher out of the boat, his legs too small to make the jump from the dangerous waters to the lonely rock, she felt small. As if, she wasn't even an idea in the Game of Life, just a liability, a loss in the thousands. Wren grabbed the cup in her shaking hands, her eyes never leaving the frame of Regulus's. She never dared to keep her eyes off him, because as he turned and looked at her with wide eyes, she was already taking her first sip. Already feeling the poison go down her throat and capture her lungs in a death trap. The boy let out an anguished cry, a cry so painful that it felt as if the waves could almost stop crashing, as if the world was finally being split in two just by the power of his scream perfumed with guilt.

   "No!" Regulus sobbed, his lanky frame running over the the girl who was already crashing to her knees, the cup still in her palms as she kept a distant look in her eyes.

  "Daddy, where are we going?" The young Wren Stonem asked, her chirpy voice quickly changing  when she saw the heartbroken look in her father's eyes. It was the first time she ever saw him look so sad, and the young girl found herself promising to show him a field filled with butterflies whenever they got back from wherever they were heading. She turned her small head, giving her mother a confused smile as she sent her a distasteful look. Her mother had been turning a bit cold recently, and she had no idea why.

    They had been meeting with some people, but Wren had thought that it was for a suprise birthday party for her. However, on her birthday just last week it was only her and her father sitting on her bed with a cupcake and one candle in her hands. She promised she wouldn't be disappointed by this, she still got a cupcake.

And then, they were apparating to a beach, the isolated beach they visited a bunch for family vacations. They hadn't been on a vacation in a while, and Wren told herself to remind her parents that they should go on a family trip soon, or, the girl excitedly thought, maybe this was their family trip!

   People were in the distance, the same people who had been visiting the house since January. Her father didn't seem to like them very much. Suddenly, the older man turned to his daughter, taking her in his arms. "Listen to me, Little Dove, do you remember what I always remind you?" He asked, and Wren almost rolled her eyes at the thought of him thinking she forgot the words he always seemed to remind her.

   "We're made of fire, we'll always persevere," the girl mumbled under her breath, before her father finished the quote, "and if we don't, we build a legacy that will." Wren smiled, tucking a strand of her father's hair behind his ear before she was suddenly pulled away from him by a strange man. And then all her nerves started to ricochet inside her small frame, and then she watched as her father fell to his knees in front of a man, a spiteful look in his eyes.

    And then everything clicked. And as the girl began to fight, tears starting to well up in her eyes, a green light flashed and not only did her father fall to the floor, but she did as well. And as Wren Stonem slowly closed her eyes, she promised that she'd never let anything extenguish her fire again, that she'd persevere.

    Or she'd build a legacy that would.

    Wren Stonem was on her last sip, her eyes and throat and whole body shaking and burning as she let out anguished sobs. Regulus was holding her ghostly frame, caressing her cheek as he slowly poured the last of the drink into her mouth, whispering desperate apologies as he handed the locket off to Kreacher, before putting the replica where the real one once rested. But Regulus Black wasn't leaving without Wren Stonem, and Wren Stonem was not letting herself lose this fight. Not after she was finally getting the life she deserved. So with her last sip, she used every single fiber she had left to push through, to get past the pain and the horror and all the ghosts that haunted her.

   And Wren Stonem and Regulus Black finally left, weak and tattered but together. But, they hadn't realized that Wren Stonem hadn't truly won her fight.

   She'd just won the first battle.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
i'm so sorry for this chapter and the next one.