𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚 || 𝘳.𝘢.𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

090. feeling nostalgic

"I'm not letting you fail." Maria says and he turns to her, sighing as he looks down at her.

"I think that's inevitable, Ria." Regulus says, laughing slightly. "I'm a mess."

"Yeah, me too." Maria says, looking back out over the fields in the distance. "I haven't been up here in ages."

"I've been up here every night for two months." Regulus chuckles slightly, at himself more than anything. No matter how much he denies it, Maria has made him soft. He doesn't care though, anyone could call him anything if he just got her back.

"It makes me feel. . .I don't know."  Maria sighs, breathing out some smoke. "What's the word?"

"Nostalgic?"

"Yeah! Yeah. . ." Maria says, blinking. Thinking about it, some of the best and worst things happened to her on this tower. This is where Regulus had impulsively kissed her after the Christmas holidays in sixth year. This is where they had cried together about him marrying Rebecca Barnes. "Regulus. . ?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to marry Rebecca?" Maria mutters.

"Fuck no." Regulus laughs slightly and Maria smiles reluctantly. "That crazy prick almost killed us—and like half of her own house."

"Because of me." Maria laughs and Regulus smiles as her eyes chuckle slightly. "You should've heard her, 'you stole my Regulus'." Maria mimics a high pitched voice, punching Regulus' chest lightly.

"Oh shit—really?"

"Yeah." Maria chuckles before looking at him. "Go back to your lessons Regulus." He sighs, groaning slightly before looking at her and shaking his head with a small sigh.

"Fuck sake." Regulus whispers. "Fine. Okay, I will."

"You promise?" Maria whispers and Regulus nods, scratching his jaw. "Pinky?" He stares at her for a second before sighing and locking his pinky finger with hers. When he does, she catches a glimpse of the tattoo she'd given him on his inner wrist and sighs.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." He whispers, squeezing her pinky in his for a second before letting go. Maria looks at him through her lashes, Regulus taking the cigarette from between her lips and inhaling some of the chemicals before handing it back to her.

"I should go. I have some stuff to revise in muggle studies." She offers him a tight lipped smile and he stares at her for a second before snapping out of it and nodding quickly.

"Oh yeah, of course." The tousle haired boy watch's her walk down the stairs before cursing himself and leaning on the railing, sighing deeply as he grips it.

Walking down the stairs Maria shakes her head to herself, hurrying through the halls and into the library, greying Madam Pince who merely tells her to shush making her roll her eyes and she sits out at one of the seats at a desk, pulling out some books before beginning to take notes.

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"You look terrible." Mary McDonald says with a grimace when Maria approaches her in the three broomsticks and the younger girl sighs. "I'm sorry. That's insensitive. How are you?"

"I feel way too crappy and my head hurts." Maria grumbles, hugging Mary tightly and the curly haired girl laughs softly into Maria's shoulder.

"It's called heartbreak, Mar. We all go through it eventually." Mary sighs, kissing the girl in the cheek before the two of them sit down and order some butter-beers.

Rosmerta comes over to say hello to Mary and to speak to Maria. The blonde woman sighs, rambling about how when she was sixteen she broke up with her first boyfriend over butter-beer.

"But, honey, if you need me to break anyones back, I've got you." Rosmerta smiles, winking and Maria smiles gratefully as the blonde woman squeezes her shoulder, setting the butter-beer on the table before strolling away.

"So, do you think you and Regulus will sort this out?" Mary asks and Maria huffs, sipping her butter-beer.

"I don't know, Mary." The Potter says, chewing on her chapped lips, like because she hasn't felt his lips on hers in so long they've become ruined as well as the rest of her. "I mean. . .he told me the poison wasn't the reason he had sex with her. . .and he wasn't drunk. Maybe he did it impulsively because of our fight—I don't know what to do."

Mary sighs, squeezing Maria's hand gently across the table. She knows for a fact that they won't last long without each other, whether they recklessly sleep with each other or angrily admit that they can't live with the other not in their life.

"Give it some time—think. You're killing yourself with these N.E.W.T's, Mari." Mary says softly and Maria sighs, rubbing her forehead gently.

"I miss him." Maria whispers, as though if she spoke any louder her voice would break and she would burst into tears.

"I know." The older girl smiles sympathetically.

"I didn't mean to yell at him." Maria sniffles, resting her face on her hand in a way that her hand covers her mouth. "I just saw her kiss him and he didn't push away for a while so I just assumed—fuck I'm so stupid."

"No—honey, you're not stupid." Mary says, moving some hair out of Maria's face. "I would've ripped both of their heads off—if anything you were very mature about the whole thing. You've been through things like this before with him, you'll both pull through." 

Meanwhile, Regulus lies in his dormitory, throwing a tennis ball up at the ceiling and catching it when it falls back down, in his other hand, a copy of  'Romeo and Juliet' There's a knock on his door and he frowns, sitting up and hoping to see Maria stood outside but when he opens the door he sighs and rolls his eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing, Reg?"

"How did you even get in here?" Regulus scoffs, sitting back on his bed.

"Being besties with Minnie has its perks sometimes." Sirius states, examining a sock on top of one of the dresser and Regulus gets up and snatched it from him. "I actually came here with Mary but she's gone to Hogsmead with Maria and I figured it was 'girl talk'. So I decided to see if Minnie would let me visit my dear brother."

"You're so weird." Regulus states, staring at Sirius blankly and the older brother shrugs his shoulders, sitting on Regulus' bed. "You here to tell me I fucked up because trust me, Sirius, I know."

"I considered it. But. . .since I hate it every time you and Maria get into something like this I came to give you some advice."

"Advice?" Regulus chuckles, leaning back against his headboard and opening 'Romeo and Juliet' where he had left of a few moments ago. "From you? No."

"Okay I get it." Sirius scoffs. "I never took you to be the sort that enjoys Shakespeare."

"I don't." Regulus shakes his head and Sirius frowns at his brother. "Maria used to make me read it to her like every day." Sirius makes an 'ah' sound of understanding before sighing exasperatedly.

"If you miss her so much go and get her." Sirius rolls his eyes slightly and Regulus stares at him incredulously.

"If only it was that simple." The tousle haired boy says. "I know you're not one for anything serious like me and Maria. But, Sirius, you can't really give advice about something you don't understand."

"Alright, I get that." Sirius mumbles, only wanting to help the pair find their way back to each other. "I just think you're both seriously immature. I mean, she shouted at you for kissing a girl so you went and fucked the same girl—and now you're being a little bitch about it even though you are practically sober. And Maria's just stupid for not hearing you out when you tried to explain the situation — before you had sex with that girl of course. You really did deserve the part after that."

"What am I supposed to do?" Regulus groans loudly.

"You have to figure that out for yourself."

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