𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓸𝓫𝓲𝓪 || Regulus Black

7.9 - The Letter

When she finished with Hogwarts — for the year, and forever — Ophelia had left in a horrified and frantic rush. She had sat alone and scared on the Hogwarts Express. She had barely said goodbye to any of her friends, and the one goodbye she did have was, well, not the goodbye they would have expected, to say the least.

Over the past few days since graduating, of course Ophelia had been bombarded with questions from her family; everything from 'how was your school year?' to 'what are you going to do with your life?'. 

She just wanted everything to stop, so she did what she could to avoid it all; she did what she's always done when she wanted things to stop. Ophelia Potter had locked herself away in her lonely bedroom with Dusty. 

'Just like old times.' She had told herself. She was right in the idea that sulking in her room over one of the few boys in her life was not a scenario unfamiliar to her, but it was different this time.

Over the years, she had closed herself off and locked herself up for trivial, insignificant things that just seemed petty in comparison to her current situation. 

Her best friend for her entire academic life had been lying to her for nearly two years, she had left school as quickly as she could without as much as an embrace for her other friends, and she now had no one by her side during the constant, looming threat of a zenith point to this magical war. 

As she tried to cope with all of the current stress in her life, Ophelia tried to read a story that has been relieving her worries since she first read it in her fifth year of school — Romeo & Juliet. She read it as much as she could because of how much comfort it brought her. And not even just the story, but the memories and sentiments that came with it. 

Her parents had bought her this copy when she went off to her fifth year at Hogwarts. It reminded her of Sirius and how happy he was to see her receive it. It reminded her of Barty's taunts and teases that he sent her way whenever he saw her reading, even though before this point, Ophelia would have sworn that she hated that. It reminded her of Pandora and the interest she shared with Ophelia when it came to both magical and muggle tales. 

Finally, maybe the most prevalent thought that came with the story, it reminded her of Regulus Black. She would picture herself living through the story with him. She remembered him at school teasing her when she would read muggle stories. She remembered how she used to beg Regulus to read muggle stories with him, no matter how many times he insisted he was only interested in books written by magical folk. She thought about the few times he would finally give in and let her read her favourite stories to him. 

Ophelia couldn't stop thinking about Regulus. 

Nothing was helping to soothe her pain or ease her mind. There was nothing that she could do to stop all the thoughts, worries, and regrets that wouldn't let her feel a drop of peace. 

She had tried to sleep her thoughts away. Her hopes were that she could drown her anguish in her subconscious while she smothered herself with her blanket, but it often had the opposite effect. 

Her fears had caught up to her in every aspect of her life, as they relentlessly and viciously attacked her dreams — or more accurately, her nightmares. 

With nothing left to do in order to block out the misery, she had decided to do exactly that. She would do nothing. 

She laid motionless on the dressing of her bed, hoping that her mind would take direction from her body and stop pestering her. It wasn't seeming like it was working, but it wouldn't hurt to keep trying. 

She had been laying in bed, wide awake for an hour — an amount of time she could only guess as it all blended together in her mind — when there was a peculiar sound coming from outside her window. 

It was a small precking sound, that of a carrier owl delivering a letter addressed to her. It was a sound she recognized quite clearly, but wasn't sure if she cared about until she lifted her head and looked at the window. 

She saw the owl contrasting the dark night sky, and knew immediately who was sending it. The owl was one she had seen every summer, every winter break for the last seven years. It belonged to Regulus. 

Urgently, she stood up and rushed over to the window, quickly opening it and taking the letter from the bird. She made sure to thank the creature before it flew away, but she did so while she sped to her desk to find a blade to open the parchment. 

At the edge of her desk, she found her letter opener and carefully slashed past the Black family seal that was keeping the letter closed. 

She felt the urgency and panic surge as she looked at whatever Regulus had to tell her at this late hour.

My dearest Ophelia, 

I need to tell you that I am absolutely sorry that you had to find out about the dark mark the way you did on that night back in my dormitory. I never meant for you to find out in a manner as jarring as that, and I completely understand your reaction when you saw it. 

I tried to explain everything before you could leave me for the last time, but it was no use. You rightfully left before hearing anything I had to say, so I will tell you now. 

I am the heir to the Black family's traditional, pureblood, Slytherin line. I have always been told that it is my duty to follow in the exact footsteps as my ancestors. I joined the death eaters because I could not afford to refuse. 

I am not a follower of the Dark Lord. That is the reason I am sending you this letter now. 

I have discovered that he has split his soul into Horcruxes, and I will be the one to stand in the way of his plan. I have stolen a Horcrux, and I intend to destroy it. I plan to leave as soon as possible, so you should take this letter as my last goodbye. I face death in hopes of bringing down the Dark Lord. 

I need to remind you once again that I am so sorry for all the pain I have caused over the years while you gifted me nothing but positivity. I hope you can find it in your beautiful heart to forgive me. You are, by far, the best person I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I will adore you always. 

Regulus Arcturus Black

Millions of thoughts raced through Ophelia's head as she read the letter with streams of tears escaping from her eyes. When she reached his signature, she dropped the letter on the floor, attempting to process everything she had just read. 

"Oh Merlin." She said through broken sobs. "He's going to kill himself."