[Chapter Thirteen]

Normally, when Orion was a boy, the summers were filled with him actually stealing time to head outside, enjoy some fresh air, even if it meant doing nothing but just sitting in the grass outside of his childhood home. For the majority of the summer, he noticed that Regulus and Éponine had pretty much spent it inside. There were a couple of outings to Diagon Alley, going to the Malfoy Manor for the wedding, but that was hardly enough for the two to really benefit the warmer days. Already, the weather was taking a turn to return to the colder temperatures, especially at night as they experienced the drop. It meant that summer was coming to an end, which meant that the school term would be starting up shortly. 

The time was becoming limited and Orion wanted the summer between the two to end off on a good note. After all, he had witnessed quite a different attitude develop between the two since the first trip to Diagon Alley. The two were no longer glaring at each other or going out of their way to ignore one another. They weren't going out of their way to be around each other constantly, but if Éponine heard the piano being played, she would venture into the room and sit next to Regulus on the bench, listening to him play while she read one of her books. Regulus had taken it upon himself to actually offer some of his own books for her to read, which the girl seemed plenty thankful for. 

During dinner, it wasn't just Orion and Walburga leading the conversations anymore as the two of them seemed to share in their own conversations. Just the other night the two of them seemed to find something hilarious that made absolutely no sense to the adults but left the teens practically in stitches as they could hardly contain their laughter at the table. Walburga was thrilled to see the interaction between the two, having to pinch herself multiple times a day to ensure herself that what she was witnessing was real and not an illusion of some sort. 

Orion was happy because his family seemed happy once again. Since Sirius' departure from the household, he would admit that things had become quite gloomy around the Grimmauld Place. It was rare that he and his wife shared in a pleasant conversation unless others were around and Regulus had mostly taken to sitting alone in his room. The household had felt empty with Sirius' absence as the boy's personality had always been larger than life itself. However, they knew they had to move on, they simply couldn't dwell on it forever.

Sirius had gone over to the wrong side, he had been influenced by outsiders and unfortunately, he had become a blood-traitor, surrounding himself with those that would only lead him down a troubling path. When the boy had been born, Orion had only hoped and envisioned a wonderful life for his son as he had done with Regulus. He wanted the best for his boys, not because it was a duty, but because Orion loved his children. He and Walburga wanted to have children and they wanted to raise them to be happy.

Unfortunately, since Sirius left, Orion could only see his son travelling down a long and painful road that would end so unfairly for his son. Walburga's brother, Alphard had fought in Sirius' name, claiming that the boy might have been onto something, that the Black family was in need of change and needed to wake up. He condemned Walburga and Orion for what they had driven Sirius to do, they had driven the boy from his home, just how Andromeda had been driven from her home years prior. But Orion could only find himself disagreeing, he and his wife never wanted Sirius to leave, they never wanted to drive him away.

They wanted Sirius to understand that they were trying to protect him, they wanted him to be on the side that was right in their minds. There was a wizard with ideas that matched the families they associated with, he had power nearly like no other, and he was sent on changing the world. He was referred to as Lord Voldemort and his number of followers were growing by the day, he wished to see the change within the wizarding world, restoring back to its former glory. He shared the same views as Salazar Slytherin once did but he wasn't going to back down like Salazar did.

When the other Founders of Hogwarts didn't agree with Salazar, he simply left the school, but the one growing with the title of the Dark Lord was not going to go down without a fight. Many were attracted to his promises, including members of Orion's family, Walburga's family, and the rest of those they associated with. Walburga's niece, Bellatrix and Narcissa's new husband, Lucius Malfoy had taken a keen interest in joining in the ranks with the wizard. They spoke of the power they witnessed the wizard having and it left Orion feeling even more nervous as he fought with Sirius to stay within the family.

Anyone opposing Lord Voldemort had found themselves at a suffering end, Orion didn't want that for his son, but Sirius couldn't see the error of his ways. Orion didn't have a choice but to let Sirius go because he couldn't fight his son any longer. Not when he had to take care of Regulus as well. Alphard made it a point that he would be there for Sirius, since no one else in the family was willing, leaving Walburga with no choice but to disown her brother shortly after disowning her own son. They had duties as parents to protect Regulus to make sure he lived a happy life. 

They already felt like they had failed one, they couldn't do the same with the other. But it seemed they were actually doing a good job because Regulus did seem happy. Unlike Sirius, Regulus seemed to have finally taken a liking to Éponine's company. Orion could only hope that it would last, after all, once the two teens headed off to the school, the adults wouldn't be there to interfere, it would be completely up to them to continue developing their relationship on their own. He had faith in the two that they could do it, they were getting along well enough, he just hoped that all the progress in the summer wouldn't go to waste. 

The evening before Orion proposed that they go out for a day trip, just to the countryside so they could enjoy the fresh air before the summer was over. Regulus saw it as a perfect opportunity to teach Éponine how to fly a broom properly while the girl thought it would be great to find a nice shady tree and read. Obviously, there was going to have to be some sort of compromise made, but that was doable. But before the day could get started, the Black household was in for a surprise that very morning, shortly after Éponine woke up and made her way downstairs for breakfast. 

The two teens were enjoying a breakfast of soft boiled eggs that Kreacher had provided for them while Orion and Walburga were enjoying their tea in another room. It was quiet between the two, but they seemed content in each other's company as they focused on eating rather than talking. However, the silence was interrupted at one point when Orion and Walburga came in minutes later, both of them wearing smiles. For a moment, Éponine found herself nervous, even though she should have seen nothing wrong with people smiling at her. But too many times she had been tricked by a smile that left the girl wary. 

Suddenly, Orion held out two envelopes, handing the first one over to his son. Regulus had a bit of runny egg yolk dripping down the corner of his mouth that brought Éponine to smile and hold back a chuckle. He didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't seem to care as he was too focused on the envelope in hand. Éponine wasn't given much time to focus on his reaction either as Orion handed over hers as well. It was a letter from Hogwarts, the wax seal with the school crest enclosed the back. 

"Our supply list for the upcoming term?" She guessed out loud as she ripped open the top seconds after Regulus did. She expected to find the lists of supplies and books that she would need for the term but as she pulled out the letter, Éponine became still.

Several seconds passed and neither one of the teens had any sort of reaction except silence and staring at the letter. Regulus seemed to be reading his over and over, a smile developing on his face that displayed pride, while Éponine was quite the opposite. Her eyes read over the letter addressed to her, over and over, but she was looking at it as if she was trying to determine if it was a mistake or not. She looked on the envelope, clearly addressed in her name as was the letter itself. 

As she had pulled out the letter, there was a clinking sound as something fell out onto the wooden table and it only reassured her further, that what she was reading was correct.

 Éponine had made Prefect for the Slytherin house and so had Regulus. 

The green and silver of her house colours, the large P in the centre, and the word Prefect was clearly carved in smoothly, leaving her fingertips to graze over it. It had to be some sort of mistake, she kept telling herself. No one in their right mind would put her in such a position of power among her peers, it was practically mocking her abilities. It made sense in her mind that Regulus had been given the position, he was well-liked, well respected among his peers, and the students actually knew who he was. Éponine could already hear the laughter she would receive for even attempting to reprimand a fellow student, whether they were older or younger than her. 

Her appetite was suddenly gone, the colour of her face was draining during what was supposed to be a moment of pride and glory. It meant that she had a chance at becoming Head Girl possibly, but that was the last thing Éponine wanted. It was bad enough that people didn't seem to care for her presence, given the ability to dock points from fellow Slytherins and even assign detentions for poor behaviour, it was just a situation asking for people to hate her even more if that was possible.

"Éponine, what's wrong? You don't look very happy, dear."

Regulus finally took the time to peel his gaze away from the new Prefect badge that came to rest in his hand and looked over in Éponine's direction. His mother had been the first to note that the girl didn't seem happy and when Regulus saw how sickly pale the girl was, he instantly became alarmed. Éponine looked as though the letter had delivered terrible news, along the lines as if there were a family death or something of the sort. But in her hand, he could see her holding her own Prefect's badge as well. When she glanced up, Éponine swallowed before forcing a smile on her face, a show for the adults.

"O-oh, no, that's not it, I-I-I...it just took me by surprise, that's all," she replied, " I would have never suspected that I would be chosen for such a position. I figured it had to be a mistake or something-"

Walburga let out a laugh, drowning out the rest of Éponine's words. "Oh, don't be silly, Éponine! It is certainly not a mistake, it's perfect! Regulus has received one as well, that just shows that its destiny, isn't it?" 

Éponine didn't respond verbally but kept the smile on her face as she nodded her head. Regulus watched as the girl slid the badge back into the envelope and tucked it away so that she didn't have to look at it anymore. He glanced down at his badge and suddenly, the elated feeling had vanished. For some reason, he thought that she would share in a similar reaction, that she would find happiness. After all, the prefect position was one that demanded respect and one that he felt would empower Éponine. No one really dared to taunt a prefect since they could easily deliver a detention or dock points, wouldn't that help her place her feet down against those that had done her wrong?

He was sure during all the times that he had witnessed Avery and Mulciber bother her, that she wanted nothing more but to serve them a cold plate of justice or revenge. This was her chance to do so, but she didn't seem happy about it at all, leaving Regulus plenty confused. 

Shortly after, she claimed that she wasn't hungry, leaving Kreacher to clear her place at the table, although before the house-elf could, Regulus noted that she had hardly eaten anything.  He watched as she left the area, heading up to her room to get ready for the day, while he was left to finish his meal. It left him feeling annoyed that her mood had changed so drastically, it had been one of the mornings where she had walked in with a smile on her face. She had greeted him first with a "good morning" and everything seemed to be going well. But it only took just the slightest thing to ruin her mood and Regulus wasn't sure if he was bothered by her or the situation. 

Once he finished up with his breakfast, he decided to head up to her room and ask f she was alright. He was certain that if he didn't that his mother was going to force him to do so anyway and Regulus wanted to do it on his own terms. Making his way up the stairs and walking towards the room, he saw that her bedroom door was open. Craning his neck, he peeked into her room to see Éponine sitting on her bed, dressed with a book in her lap. She seemed ready to leave, just patiently waiting in her room until she was called upon.

Her gaze was focused on the floor, a blank stare as if her mind was wandering somewhere far, far away. 

"Most people would be happy to get the Prefect position, not depressed," he called out to her, bringing her head to snap up. 

"I'm not most people," she replied quietly, " and most people aren't me."

"It's an honour to get the position, you know? It's not like anyone is selected at random. You're chosen based on how qualified they think you are for the position."

"What they think of me and what I think of myself are two totally different things,"Éponine told him. "No one knows me better than myself. They have their reasons for why they chose me and I have my reasons why I didn't want to be chosen."

"Oh really? And what are they?" Regulus asked, leaning against the frame of the door and folding his arms. "Just curious."

Éponine looked at him, her eyes practically begging him not to drag the conversation out any further. She just wanted to leave it at the idea that she wasn't happy about it without having to give a reason. But it looked like Regulus wasn't going to give her much of an option as he looked ready to stand in the doorway all day until she gave her reasons. It really was simple, at least, it was in her head as to why she wasn't qualified.

"I'm not good enough," she said. "That's it. No one in our house respects, I'm sure the majority of them don't even know my name. Hell, I'm pretty sure that the other girls besides Emmarentia in my dorm room don't even know my name and I'm sure they don't want to learn it. I've managed to squeak by over the years. My grades in most classes are average, nothing to brag about. People don't look up to me in the Slytherin house, they look down at me. I am inferior...I'm nothing to our peers. It's a waste of a position to give me this badge."

For once, Regulus didn't look like he was prepared for a ready response as he simply stood there. Eventually, his arms slowly fell back down to his sides as he straightened himself to stand taller. 

"Do you honestly believe that?" He finally asked.

"Yes, I do," Éponine said, " I really do, Regulus."

She raised a brow as he shook his head and took to entering the room so that he could take the open spot next to her on the bed.

"Look, I know what I did was wrong over the years and I know Avery and Mulciber were terrible but-"

"You think Avery and Mulciber were the only ones to point and make fun of me?" She questioned him. "Do you think you were the first to laugh? No, other people have done the same thing and I don't think a simple prefect badge is going to stop anyone."

"You're right," Regulus said, bringing her to look over at him again before he continued, " the badge isn't going to stop anyone, but you are. Maybe you felt like you didn't have the power before, but that badge is something to back up whatever you say. Once you say something with that badge attached to your robes, people will have to listen. They're going to learn who you are very quickly."

"I don't want people to hate me," she whispered, " I don't want to abuse the fact that I have a badge."

"Then don't," Regulus shrugged, " but it's not abusing your position when you assert yourself and demand respect. Even without the badge, you should do that. Think of it now as the badge being a crutch, it's going to help you until you get to where you need to be or rather where you want to be."

Suddenly, Regulus jumped up to his feet and stood before her. "You know what you should do, just to get your point across. When we get to school, you should give me a detention."

"Why would I do that?"

"To show that no one gets away with anything, that you have a zero-tolerance policy."

"But you didn't do anything," she pointed out.

"They don't have to know that, we'll make something up."

"Regulus, people are going to hate me if I do something like that. People like you and if I get you in trouble, they're just going to hate me even more. You're the Seeker for the Quidditch team, you're the best player on the team, you're a member of the Black family, you're...you're what people want to be. "

"Éponine, you're making it sound like I'm some sort of god here."

"That's how people view you. That's...that's how I view you."

Once again, Regulus was left speechless after Éponine admitted such a thing. She seemed to realise it too as her face became red and she quickly made sure to hide her face behind her curtain of hair. It was almost chilling to hear her say such a thing, a god was something he never thought he would be compared to and yet there she was making the comparison. That's how she saw him and it left her feeling unworthy in so many ways. 

But they were making progress, she had been happy and he was actually learning things about her. He didn't want that to end when it came time to starting up school again. He thought the idea of them both becoming prefects had been perfect as it gave them an excuse to spend more time together, even when they were supposed to be tending to other things. He had already informed Avery and Mulciber back at the Malfoy wedding that Éponine was completely off limits to any sort of ridicule and that they better not dare to even try. 

In fact, he claimed that he wouldn't be taking part in such behaviour anymore, mainly because it bothered Éponine and he had to make an effort to build a relationship with her. After all, his father was right, he wasn't going to end up marrying Avery or Mulciber. It was Éponine, who would become his wife and his father told him that there had be an effort from both sides. The two had to be willing to try and make the other happy in order to eventually share in a happy marriage. 

Things had definitely gotten off to a rocky start between them, things had not been perfect and there was still plenty of work to be done. But Regulus found himself wanting to do what it took in order to make things work. He was more than happy with his life, there were a few things he wished he could change, like having his brother back, but that wasn't going to happen. With everything else though, he was content, growing up in a loving home with loving parents and everyone always supporting him in everything that he did.

Éponine didn't have that, but he wanted to give that to her. He wanted her to experience that happiness. 

"Well, if you see me as a god, that makes you a goddess, right?" Regulus asked her, watching as Éponine's eyes became wide at the mere suggestion.

 He could see that she was preparing to shake her head, but he continued before she could. "It's time that people start seeing you as such then and don't worry, they will."