Forget-Me-Not → Regulus Black

How could it possibly get worse... I spoke too soon

Aurelia wouldn't say she got upset easily. Heck, Snape almost killed her — and even though she had been annoying she wasn't mean. Not really, anyways.

But when Aurelia went into the Great Hall and saw Snape with bright neon pink hair she felt temporarily joyful; if only for a few seconds. It meant that he actually used the shampoo; her plan had worked, and Snape was too embarrassed to make a scene in fear of having people make fun of him.

It was sad, yes, but it was deserved. The least that Aurelia could have done.

James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus were all sitting at the Gryffindor table, looking at her expectantly. Aurelia gratefully took a seat next to them, listening to their conversation with rapt attention, until all of a sudden the topic drifted off to her.

"How are you?" Sirius was saying worriedly. He had only been paying attention to her — even James' constant rambling didn't occupy his attention.

Aurelia gave a shake of her head, but Sirius was having none of it. "Really, how are you?"

James, Peter, and Remus were looking at her too, taking in her gloomy mood and her tense demeanor. 

"I'm fine," said Aurelia. "Other than the fact last time I saw you I almost died, nothing could be better."

"I'll kill him," James said darkly. "I'll kill Snape. How dare he—"

"Enough." Aurelia got out of her seat. "I'm not particularly happy with him at the moment, but what do you expect from someone like him? It was bound to happen; Snape isn't a good person, he seems like he would fit the part on trying to kill someone simply because they got on his nerves." Aurelia sighed, wringing her hands together. "I'm going to find Marlene, she said she wanted to talk to me." Before they could respond, she swiftly exited the Great Hall. 

Marlene wasn't as hard to find as she thought it would be. She was standing in an empty hall, her hands shaking in anticipation. "You were in the Hospital Wing for a while," she mentioned. "I tried to ask Dumbledore why but he wouldn't give me any information. Are you alright?"

"Fine," Aurelia smiled. "So, what do you need to talk about?"

"Oh, yes!" Aurelia watched as Marlene searched her rucksack and pulled out a letter. She handed it to Aurelia. "I was going to give this a while ago, but I didn't expect you'd be gone for so long." Once she saw the confused look on Aurelia's face she coughed nervously. "It's from Regulus, in case you were wondering."

"Regulus?" It was a question, but there was a clear harshness to her word. 

Regulus was the only one who knew about her dad being a Muggle, but Rosier and Mulciber knew; didn't they? 

He must have been the one who told them.

Aurelia felt nauseous as she stared down at the letter and the thoughts of her dad occupied her mind. All of the lying, all of the secrets, everything had been for nothing. 

And as she looked at Marlene's concerned face — how her dad too was a Muggle — and how he too was endangered for something that was out of his control, she felt the need to wrap her arms around her and tell her anything and everything. 

But she didn't.

Maybe because she was embarrassed, or maybe because she was ashamed of herself.

Stupid Aurelia. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Aurelia thanked her and left; her invasive and self-deprecating thoughts not leaving her head.

Once she got to the dorm she made no move to read the letter. She simply stared at it, until her eyes grew tired from not blinking for so long.

How bad could it be? How could it possibly be worse—

But when she opened it, every muscle in her body seemed to still and she suddenly regretted ever having thought that this was the worse it could get. Because Regulus Arcturus Black was a Death Eater.

And she didn't know what to do with this information.