the darkest side

maddie sighs,   content,    finally feels safe and secure and of course she’d known that inside the castle walls she was protected,   but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was in danger,    couldn’t push away the nightmares no matter how hard she tried.    now,   though,   she felt better. safe.    “will you stay here a bit longer    ??    just until i fall asleep.”

“I’ll stay for as long as you need me to,” Regulus assured her, stroking her hair gently. He pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and breathing a soft sigh, before softly humming an old song Sirius used to sing to him when he’d have nightmares as a kid. It always soothed him, and he hoped it would for her too.

“no.”    maddie says firmly,   giving a small shake of her head.    “i appreciate the thought and i know you’re just trying to protect me,    but     …     it’s not worth it.   the violence and more violence and    …    it’s fine.    we’re fine and safe right now and that’s what matters.   let’s just be here,    okay   ??   that’s what i need right now.   i need you and i here.     that’s all.”

“There’s always going to be violence, Maddie,” Regulus said softly, but he sighed and brought her hands to his lips to kiss the back of them. “But okay, I won’t . . . I won’t talk about vengeance or justice or any of that. I’ll be here. I’m here, I promise.” He looked up at her, hesitating before moving to lay in the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her in close to him. “I’m here.”

                           sirius  stares  at  the  chocolate  in  regulus’  hand  for  a  long  while  before  they  reach  out  a  hand  to  take  it  from  him.  he  thinks  he  remembers  remus’  rambling  on  about  something  like  that       –       chocolate  making  dementor  encounters  a  little  more  manageable       –       so  they  unwrap  it  silently  and  take  a  quick  bite.  they  immediately  do  feel  better,  warmth  spreading  to  their  toes  and  fingers,  the  tip  of  their  nose.                 ❝     well,  you  pay  better  attention  than  me  in  defense  against  the  dark  arts  classes,  that’s  for  sure.     ❞                they  watch  regulus’  face,  surprised  at  the  genuine  concern  there,  and  shrug  their  shoulder  casually.                  ❝     i’m  fine.  just   ..    need  the  rest.  they’ll  probably  let  me  off  some  assignments  now,  so    …     score   !      ❞  

Regulus released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when Sirius finally took the chocolate from him. He sat back in his seat, wondering if he could get away with, well, getting away, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move. He nodded slowly as Sirius spoke. The words were light-hearted and casual, but Regulus knew his sibling. Despite having different mothers, they grew up together. For a long time, Sirius had been all Regulus really had in the world.

“I’m . . . I’m glad you’re okay,” he said softly, staring at his hands in his lap. “I mean, I know you’re not okay but . . . you’re still alive. I’m . . . I’m glad for that.”

“i’m glad that you were looking for sirius.”   maddie says,    smiling though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.     it’s hard to feel okay,    she knew to expect it but it’s still so frustrating.    “and i’m sure he’d be happy to know that,    too.    but regulus,”    maddie reaches up,    laying her hands over his.     “it’s not your fault.    we were in the wrong place at the wrong time,    okay    ??   and we’re okay.   we’re safe and we’re here and we’ll recover.”

Regulus looked down at her hands, turning his in order to take them in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. “This . . . isn’t right. I’m supposed to be comforting you,” he said with a small, sad smile, looking up at her after a moment. “You’re too golden-hearted, Maddie.” He moved his hand up to brush his thumb against her cheekbone gently. “I’ll make whoever did this pay for hurting you.”

she feels safer,    like she’s finally able to let down her walls and not pretend to be so strong.   maddie takes in a shuddering breath,    fingers grasping regulus’s shirt,   taking in his scent and reminding herself that she’s okay,   that she’s safe.    it’s hard to forget how cold she was,    how hopeless and alone she felt.    she can still feel it.    “you were safe,    right     ??    they didn’t get you    ??”    she’s unsure,    can barely recall the events right before it happened.

“I was safe. I was looking for you and-and Sirius,” Regulus admitted softly, guilt settling in his chest as he realized he’d failed to help or save either of them. He held her more tightly for a moment before pushing her back in order to take her face in his hands, brushing her hair back from her face before stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t find you in time.”

                           the  magical  sedatives  were  definitely  doing  their  job,  sirius  was  having  a  dreamless  sleep,  only  stirring  when  they  sense  somebody  sat  down  beside  them.  they  blink  their  eyes  open,  and  they  expect  to  see  james,  or  remus,  perhaps  andie  or  marlene,  but  the  face  looking  back  at  them  is  similar  to  their  own.  they  sit  up  in  a  hurry,  regretting  it  instantly  when  they  feel  dizzy.                 ❝   what–what  do  you  want  ?   ❞     

Regulus flinched at the tone of Sirius’s voice. “N-Nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “I just . . . I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He bit his lip, glancing around the infirmary, but neither Bellatrix nor Narcissa were in visual range, so he was safe . . . for now. He turned back to Sirius, biting his lip. “Um, here.” He reached into his robes, pulling out a small wrapped piece of chocolate. “I . . . hear this can help.” He held it out to Sirius, looking at the chocolate rather than his sibling.

maddie’s eyes are wide,   and for a moment she doesn’t recognize regulus,   his voice or his face,   in the midst of her panic.   slowly the haze lessens and she recognizes him,   realizes where she is by the sheets over her legs and the smell of medicinal potions.   heart still pounding,   maddie tugs on his hand,   waits until he sits and he’s on her level and she throws her arms around him wordlessly.

Regulus sat down on the edge of her bed when she tugged him, wrapping his arms around her as she hugged him. He buried his face in her neck, rubbing her back gently as he held her. “I’m here. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay,” he said softly, able to feel how quickly her heart was pounding. He continued to rub her back, wishing he could take away all her fear and pain just through touch.

Will looked up from his phone as he was sat at one of the common room tables. His work was splayed out in front of him, the work he should have been doing, but Twitter had distracted him. 

“No..” he trained off before his face furrowed into a confused frown. “Why?” he asked a little firmer. “What’s gone on?” he asked setting his phone down and leaning back in his chair. He wasn’t unreasonable, he wasn’t about to scream at Regulus, there may be some upset but that purely depended on how the news was delivered. Will took the sport incredibly serious but he valued his team above all, they were family. He made sure that he earned their respect and his word would be taken but he still considered them all friends at heart.

“Oh. Uh, she said she was going to talk to you,” Regulus said, chewing on his lip and wondering if he could get out of this somehow. “But if she hasn’t, I guess it’s not as big of a deal as she made it out to be so . . . that’s it, I guess.” He moved to stand again, hoping Will would let him go without questioning it, but somehow doubting that would happen.

maddie doesn’t quite remember where she is at first,   or what transpired.   she remembers going near the woods,   remembers darkness,   feeling hopeless   …   suddenly she springs up in the hospital wing bed with a gasp,   heart racing as she looks around wildly for a familiar face.    /    ( @newagestarters​ )

Regulus rushed into the hospital wing when he heard who’d been hurt. There’d been so much chaos during the event, he’d lost sight of Maddie and Sirius, and now, standing in the doorway, he hesitated, not sure which bed to run to. In the end, he made his way over to Maddie, not sure if Sirius would even want to see him.

“Maddie, Maddie, it’s me. I’m here,” Regulus assured her, taking her hand quickly when she sat up.

Regulus didn’t want to be here, but he had to know how far in the shit he was with the over-extended practice. Will was so strict with their schedule and Regulus had definitely fucked up.

maddie gazes towards the other students,    giggling and having fun,    and then back to regulus.    of course there are others that she’d like to see,   perhaps mingle with,   but certainly not knowing that regulus was by himself,   stood against a wall and watching.   maddie smiles,   standing in front of regulus so she can curl her fingers around his wrists and lead him towards the dance floor.   “come on.   if i’m going,   you’re coming with me.”

Regulus couldn’t help but laugh nervously, as she took his wrist to pull him onto the dance floor. “Ah, you know I can’t dance, Maddie,” he said in light protest. He couldn’t pull away from her, though. He’d never pull away from her.

So he let her pull him into the throng of students, glancing around and trying not to flinch each time someone bumped against him. He moved closer to Maddie almost on instinct, looking back at her with a slight grimace. “I’ll give you two minutes,” he said.

“You could if you wanted. But just take this as an idea.” She comes closer to him. Her voice then turns cold. “There are others capable. Much, much worse than I am. I want you to take that pain in. If you know what’s best for you, you’d not make the same mistake again.” 

Regulus didn’t think anyone could be worse than Bellatrix, but he wasn’t going to argue her on it. “Right. Thanks for the advice,” he said, still sarcastic. He really didn’t have any sense of self-preservation anymore, did he? At least she hadn’t hexed him again. He reached up to touch the puffy side of his face gently. Ow.

lana’s frustrated,   of course,    but it’s not his fault that the captain didn’t plan correctly,    and she won’t yell at an innocent team member.   “it’s not your fault,   but i’ll have a word with your captain later.   it’s irresponsible to not plan accordingly.”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, you don’t have to do that. We’re usually on time,” Regulus said quickly, grimacing inwardly. Technically, he’d been in charge of practice today, and Will would kill him if he found out that he’d let practice run over. The guy was a stickler for all things Quidditch, including scheduling the practice times. This was Regulus’s mistake, but he didn’t want Lana to know that.

“I’ll get everyone to the showers, sorry again about that,” he said, starting to back away from her.