AS I LAY DYING ¹ | regulus black , wtm

please, you're all i have left

eden and james winced at the sight. the colour that used to feel warm to them as james supported his hogwarts house dressed in the maroon of gryffindor, now covered his best friend's hands and his crying son, tainting them as it took all his body's warmth away and left him cold and blue on the ground just a floor below them.

"you're okay. you're okay." she mumbled to harry as she swayed him back and forth, although it sounded like she was conversing and attempting to soothe herself more than anything.

and there they stood, a godmother and her son standing in the broken home with the bodies of their family lying lifeless on the ground beneath them.

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NOVEMBER 5TH, 1981

birds chirped as the sun rose on the screen in a stunning array of oranges, pinks and yellows that blessed the morning sky.

despite the tragic atmosphere of the hall, the beautiful scenery brought a smile to everyone's face. eden subtly nudged james with her elbow as he rolled his eyes playfully in recognition.

the camera panned down towards an emotional scene. clusters of people gathered around, all sporting black clothing that differed with the brilliantly coloured sunrise, their faces all carried a depth of sorrow, whether it be a faint frown or full-blown sobbing.

the camera angle itself and showed an exquisite casket opened with the body of james lying peacefully inside, his once bloodstained body was now cleaned and dressed in appropriate apparel.

james felt his heart swell at the amount of people that came to his funeral. james hadn't always believed he mattered to many people. sure, he was close to his best friends and family but, although it was a bleak scene, he was pleased to know he'd influenced so many people's lives for the better and they were sad to see him pass.

eden had dreaded this day. all she wanted to do was scream and beg for him to come back, to not leave her.

regulus watched eden, concerned. he knew how much this was hurting her, to watch her best friend not only die but watch herself and the people around her mourn the loss, it was breaking her.

eden saw the look her future husband was giving her and smiled hesitantly, "i'm okay." she whispered to him, attempting to sound reassuring but even she didn't convince herself.

regulus knew it was a lie, of course he did, but he also didn't understand how to help her. he felt helpless. these movies had brought nothing but despair to eden and all he wanted to do was put an end to her suffering. but he couldn't.

these films were crucial, their offsprings went back in time to change the things shown so that this pain that eden and everyone else were feeling didn't have to transpire in their future.

these movies were to provide them all the life they deserved, so for now regulus merely tugged her into his arms and held her close, providing any comfort she would need.

she didn't know if she could do this if she could live in a world where james was dead. every day without him by her side, her best friend, the boy she loves, her person.

she couldn't do it. she couldn't be the mother that harry required, she couldn't be the friend that james was to everyone, she couldn't give the life that harry would yearn for when he grew up because she wasn't his parent. she wasn't james and she certainly wasn't lily.