Cursive Conundrums

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Regulus didn't want to admit it, but as soon as James walked out the door, everything seemed to hit him with a heavier weight.

Until then, he had James to focus his attention on.

Put on a smile, for James.

Don't let him see the hurt.

Don't let on how scared he truly was.

Without James, Regulus had to face himself. He didn't have James to be strong for anymore, he was alone.

Effie and Monty helped.

They sat with him during meals, eating upstairs in his room until he was well enough to get up and down the stairs.

They played chess and exploding snap—Effie even tried to teach him how to knit.

After a week, Regulus started feeling like this could be his home.

Maybe, just maybe, one day he wouldn't feel like a visitor, maybe he could belong in the Potter family.

He hoped it wasn't wishful thinking.

"Monty?" Regulus shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he moved his pawn.

"Yes?" He looked at the boy across from him, "is something on your mind Regulus?"

"It may be nothing..." Regulus started quickly, "but when I came face to face with—well, with him. He spoke about Horcruxes."

Monty's glass dropped and shattered on the ground.

Dread filled Regulus's chest, "I don't know what they are, I couldn't find anything in James's textbooks, but it seemed significant."

"Did he say anything else?" Monty breathed.

"Yes—" Regulus said, "there's five of them."

"Five?" Monty gasped, "Merlin almighty."

He stood and began to pace, raking his fingers through his silver hair. It reminded Regulus thoroughly of James and in the moment he could've mistaken Fleamont Potter as an older version of his own Potter. He supposed, in an odd way, that was the case.

"A horcrux is an object of terribly dark magic," Monty said, "to my understanding, it is essentially splitting your soul and placing the fragments into an object. To do so you must take the life of another, as long as one has a horcrux, they are essentially immortal. It is the most terrible magic a wizard can preform."

"Immortal?" Regulus coughed, "like he can't be killed?"

"As long as the horcruxes are intact, no." Monty said, "they ground his body here on earth, no matter how disfigured his physical being may become."

Regulus was stunned.

"I'll have to speak to Dumbledore," Monty said, "forgive me Regulus, I must go."

Regulus nodded as he watched him leave, their chess match abandoned.

Monty didn't return in time for dinner and Effie declared that she had no intention of cooking.

"Go on and put a cloak on Darling Boy," she said, "I think a trip out of this house will do you wonders."

She swept him through a door he had yet to see.

"The garage," she explained, twirling keys in her hand, "have you ever been in a car before?"

Regulus nodded.

"Sirius and Monty fixed this one up for me last summer," she explained, walking over to a cherry red car, "it's a 1940 Bentley—Mark Five."

Regulus looked at her blankly.