Assumption // Regulus Black

49

Thalia

I awoke laying on cold tile, a beam of sunlight seeping through the window. Regulus was laying right next to me, one arm draped over my back while the other rested under my head. I admired how peaceful he appeared even despite the fact that he wasn't in his eight-poster double-king bed (or whatever I was sure he slept in.) 

My eyes, though still blurry from sleep, scanned the room. The prefect's bathroom. We had fallen asleep. Panic struck me, as my eyes quickly darted around the room to ensure it was empty. It was, though (on a side-note) I also noticed the bathroom mirror was still shattered.

Regulus was still asleep beside me. A part of me didn't want to wake him up, knowing he needed the sleep. The other-more rational- part of me knew it would be wise to wake him soon before any actual prefects decided to enter the bathroom.

 I slowly sat up, Regulus groaning at the movement. He opened his eyes and looked around as I had. His eyes widened when he realized where we were.

"Shit," he scrambled off the floor, "Shit shit shit. What time is it?" He asked me.

"I dunno," I smirked at how flustered he appeared.

"Don't give me that look," he rolled his eyes. My smirk only grew, and he suppressed a small smile. 

I walked over to the shattered bathroom mirror, and repaired it quickly. Regulus had gone silent, remembering the previous night's events, I assumed. I knew the next 36 hours were going to be hell for him. 

Unfortunately, we didn't exactly have time to comfort each other. After a few soft-spoken remarks, we quickly parted ways to go back our common room as early as possible. 

Regulus

It was difficult to focus the entire day. My thoughts continued to stray towards the endless possible missions that Kreacher could be partaking in. I kept trying to come up with harmless tasks that he could be completing, but managed to conjure maybe five. The rest were hardly harmless. 

I wracked my head for hints. Any key words, any phrases, any sliver of information I had heard from death eaters recently. Nothing.

So, all I could do was wait. 

x x x

48 hours passed. I had eaten an early dinner, so I had time to find an abandoned classroom before summoning Kreacher back. I had asked Thalia not to come, so I was alone as I climbed the steps from the Great Hall.

The castle halls were empty for the most part, as most people were making they way down to dinner now. I climbed three floors and set off looking for a secluded area. After some walking, I arrived at a corridor that looked largely untouched- dust and cobwebs covered the portraits. I walked down the empty corridor until I found an old storage room which I entered.

I took a few breaths, doing my best to calm my rapid-beating heart.

"Kreacher."

I waited, not daring to breathe as I stared at the dark classroom. 

Nothing.

I waited a breath or two.

Still nothing.

The nagging voice in my head told me, he might still be with Voldemort.

I held on to the shred of hope that my internal dialogue possessed, and sat down on the floor, prepared to wait. I decided to give myself an hour of waiting. If Kreacher didn't come in one hour, I knew I would have to accept his fate.