Love, Life, And Lies- Regulus Black

.corruption.

.few things are so constant as the hatred of the corrupt towards the honest, and the fear of the wicked towards the sincere.

I hadn't been back to the library not wanting to risk the wrath of Madam Pince again. It was for the best though because I had gotten caught up on the mounds of homework that I had let pile up during my search for traces of The Dark Lord.

Before too long, Halloween has snuck up on me. The day had always been a difficult one for me. I had so many bad memories connected to it that it always felt hard to breathe until November 1st.

I woke that morning with an anxious feeling in my heart. It was always the same feeling that I got before something terrible happened.

The terrible events of the day manifested themselves at breakfast that morning. I had gone down to the common room to find Regulus asleep on the couch. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. His facial features looked so serene. But dark bags under his eyes betrayed his reality. The reality in which no happiness, nor serenity existed. An awful feeling of guilt bubbled in my stomach, and I turned to leave, not being able to handle being so close to him, when a book laid across his chest caught my eye. The cover appeared to be very worn, and the pages were all bent. I took the book and made to place it on the mahogany table by the green-flamed fireplace but the words on the inner cover of the book caught my eye.

Property of Sirius Orion Black

It was an old journal. One that Sirius must have left at Grimmauld Place the night he ran away. I knew he would be rather angry to find it in the hands of his brother. I felt my heart sink, and hurridly left the common room, attempting to push the Black brothers far from my mind. The pain I felt surrounding them was too fresh, too personal.

I made my way up from the dungeon and through the isolated hallways until I reached the entrance hall. The ceiling was a harsh stormy grey. The cloud almost black in some places, and lightning cracked across the sky illuminating the hall in a terrifying sort of white light.

The anxious feeling that I had earlier returned with more force this time when I saw Professor McGonagall rush into the hall, her face pulled back into a grimace. I let myself focus on her facial expression, and I could tell that she had just been given terrible news. Her features looked unsettled. There had likely been another death, and from the way she was acting it must have been a relation to a student.

Halfway down the table, I caught the gaze of a pair of stormy grey eyes that matched the sky. I cast my eyes downward not ready to face him after the events from a few days prior. The owls swooped down sending a murmur amongst the other students that were starting to file in.

The haughty black owl that my parent's owned swooped in with a letter addressed to Evan and me. Another owl delivered a letter that bore the Black Family Crest. A final owl, my own handsome gray one delivered my copy of The Daily Prophet.

Evan walked in surrounded by his Death Eater friends. Mulciber shot me a flirty smile when he caught my eye, his hands still bandaged from the unfortunate tumble he took into the fire. I rolled my eyes at him; the boy was never discouraged even after I shoved him into a fireplace. Mulciber plopped gracelessly down on the bench opposite of me. Avery, and Snape following suit, Evan slid in next to me.

"Evan, I received a letter from Mother and Father this morning," I said, my voice careful, for I didn't know what kind of a mood he was going to be in today.

"Well, did you open it?" He asked, his voice almost condescending. I wasn't five years old. I had to take a calming breath to keep from replying to a comment equally as condescending.

"No, actually I was waiting for you," I replied putting on a sickly-sweet smile.

"Well go on then." He said not even paying much attention, instead loading up his plate with bacon and eggs. I ripped open the seal and pulled out the letter within. I scanned the contents before reading it aloud, an icy feeling of dread gripped my insides.