selenophile || remus lupin

chapter forty six

"Reg, come here," whispered Ophelia in a panic.

"Phee?" said a six-year-old Regulus, rubbing his eyes after just waking up.

"I'm here. Come to me," she whispered. The boy walked over to his sister and she enveloped him in her arms. Sixteen-year-old Ophelia picked up six-year-old Regulus and walked quickly to the door and out of Regulus' bedroom.

"What's going on?" Regulus asked. There was so much noise. Too much noise.

"Nothing's going on. We just have to be quiet. Really really quiet," she whispered.

There was a bang. And another. And another.

Ophelia ran down the stairs quietly, making sure that she stepped over the steps that creaked.

A scream. Sirius. Sirius' scream.

Ophelia closed her eyes for a moment, trying to block out the noise of her twin crying out for help.

"Sirius-" yelped Regulus in fear, but Ophelia quickly put her hand over his mouth.

"Quiet, remember? You need to be silent, okay?" she whispered gently, trying to stay as calm as she could for the sake of the poor boy that she was holding.

She ran into the library at number twelve Grimmauld Place. She turned to the right and hid behind the furthest bookshelf.

Another scream. Lily. Lily's scream.

She heard a voice shouting slurs repeatedly.

"Whatever you hear, promise me that you won't say any of those words," she whispered to Regulus, a chance to save a little bit of his innocence.

"I promise," he whispered.

Bangs were coming from all over the house, the noise was overwhelming. She held onto Regulus tighter as he curled up in her lap.

"What's going on, Phee?" he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know Reg. I don't know."

The siblings heard a pair of harsh, angry footsteps, stomping on the marble floor that was the entrance to the library.

"Ophelia, Ophelia, Ophelia," hissed a voice. It sounded cold and cruel and sent shivers down her spine.

"I know you're in here, dear girl. There's no need to hide. I won't hurt you. That's a promise."

Ophelia gripped Regulus tighter as the footsteps got closer to where they hid.

"And I believe there's another little one in here as well? Regulus, is it?" said the voice.

A man stepped into the space where the two were hidden.

"Ah. Found you," the man smiled cruelly.

Ophelia recognized this man. He had been at her house once, many times really, but after a while, he started to become unrecognizable until she wasn't sure if it was the same man or not.

He was younger than when she usually saw him at her house. Younger than the first time she saw him. He had to have been almost as old as she was, maybe a little bit older. His dark brown hair curled over one of his eyes, his dark eyes pierced through the girl like he was reading every thought she had ever had. He was wearing a dark suit and wore an evil smile.