Antlia was sitting in the library in her hidden nook when she felt someone on the other side of her wards. She hurriedly pushed her book into her bag and pulled the curtain open with a sigh. The curtain had been spelled to not open for anyone other than Antlia.

"Who is-" Antlia's words trailed off when she caught sight of the boy standing with a sheepish grin in front of her. Three stalks of dried blue larkspur were clasped tightly in Sirius' hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize," Sirius said slowly. He wasn't sure how Lia would react to him being there.

Antlia sighed again, taking in the flowers and apologetic expression of the boy. "You brought dried larkspurs? How'd you even find those? I didn't know they grew on the school grounds."

"James helped me convince Sprout to teach us how to speed up the growing process." Sirius ran a hand through his jet-black hair, carefully maneuvering his other hand so the delicate flowers wouldn't get crushed.

So that's what you were talking to her about on Monday. Antlia recalled Cynthia taking her nose out of her book to remark upon the fact that the normal noise and clatter the came from Sirius and his friends wasn't there. When Antlia looked for Sirius, she had seen him talking to Professor Sprout with Potter.

"And I bought the seeds the last time that I went into Hogsmeade, so it was relatively easy to grow them." Sirius continued with his explanation. "Once they grew, Remus told me a spell to dry them because I know that you like to keep the flowers for longer." He was looking at Antlia with puppy dog eyes. I can never resist forgiving you when you make those eyes.

Lia reached out a slim hand to gently take the flowers from Sirius. She ran a finger down the delicate texture of the petals, her facial expression softening. "You did all of that just to apologize to me?" My heart feels like it's pounding out of my chest. How do you do this to me?

"I wasn't a very good friend to you." Sirius sat down next to Lia on the cushioned window seat. They were pressed shoulder to shoulder. "I was also a jerk in Transfiguration."

"I heard that you got yet another detention from McGonagall for that." Antlia smiled softly at the boy sitting next to her.

"I did. I have now reached and broken the record for most detentions given to a single person." Sirius' proud grin made Lia pull the curtain closed and laugh loudly. The soundproofed curtain disguised the sound, preventing anyone from knowing that the pair was there.

"Why are you so proud of that?" Antlia said through her laughter, pulling her green and silver tie looser around her throat. "I'm surprised Potter doesn't have more."

"Merlin!" Sirius said. "Imagine James getting more detentions. That's impossible." Sirius lost his grin for a few moments before it came back smaller.

Lia noticed this and nudged his shoulder with hers. "Is everything alright with you?" Why did you lose your beautiful smile?

"I'm worried about Regulus. I just left him in that house, the one that I had to escape from. I even left you." Tears began to leak from Sirius' dark eyes. They traced down his sharp cheekbones, leaving paths of wetness on his fair skin. "He probably thinks that I hate him. He probably hates me."

Everyone leaves something or someone behind eventually. It's the way that life works. Whether you leave of your own accord, out of necessity, or because of death. Everyone leaves at some point.

"Oh, Siri." Lia shook her head sadly and offered Sirius a tissue. I know how much you hate crying. "He doesn't hate you."

"How do you know? How can you know for sure?" Sirius took the offered tissue and wiped his eyes with it, drying away his tears.

Antlia thought back to her first dinner at the Black house without Sirius.

Antlia walked into the entrance of the Black family house slowly. Her heavy green dress clung tightly to her delicate frame, weighing her body down. It echoed the way her mind felt whenever she stepped into this place. Teely had braided Antlia's brown hair into an intricate circle on her head upon the direction of her father, adding to the weight that Antlia felt. Antlia was always going to be weighed down, pulled down to the bottom of the water.

Her father was clad in a similar manner, a dark green dress robes shot with silver thread and styled hair. The Pureblood dinners required a certain level of preparation and elegance, and this occasion was no exception.

Antlia was greeted by Walburga Black as always. "Run along to Regulus' room. Sirius' room isn't available." Antlia remembered being puzzled by this statement but obeying anyway.

Antlia had walked up the stairs quickly, excited to see Sirius after a long break. He hadn't been at the last meeting, but his mother said that he was sick. Regulus has looked uncomfortable at this.

Hearing silence coming from Regulus' room, Antlia frowned. There was normally the hints of a quiet, strained conversation between the two brothers.

Antlia gradually pushed open the door, wincing when it gave out a loud squeak. The open door revealed a solitary boy pouring over a book of dark magic. "Regulus? Where's Sirius?"

Regulus closed the book and looked past Antlia towards the open door. "Sirius is gone." He mumbled, not looking Antlia in the eyes. "Close the door."

Antlia closed the door behind her and sat on the bed next to Regulus. "What do you mean that Sirius is gone? Where is he?"

"He just left." Regulus laughed bitterly. "He came back from school to get his things. Then he just left. Said something about going to Potter's house." Regulus began to cry, tears dripping down his face. "He left me all alone."

"Regulus, I'm here. I won't leave." Antlia pushed herself off of the bed when she heard a knock at the door. Antlia opened it to reveal Nova Nightingale, Regulus' best friend. "Regulus, Nova is here."

"Let her in," Regulus told Antlia, who did just that.

Nova rushed to Regulus, running a hand up and down his back. She was comforting him without saying a single word. Nova was a girl of few words as her voice was charged with power.

Salty tears were still pouring down Regulus' face. "I'm glad that he got out. This house was killing him, slowly draining all the life from him. He would have died if he had stayed." Regulus was shaking by now.

Antlia pulled a curtain out of her purse and hung it on the door. The sheet of fabric had been charmed with Muffliato, a spell that Antlia had learned from Severus Snape at Hogwarts. It would prevent any of the adults in the downstairs rooms to hear Regulus crying. Nova was hugging Regulus, her body turned towards his and pressed against him.

"I hate him. I hate him!" Regulus cried out, rocking back and forth in Nova's arms. He cried for a few more minutes before appearing to calm down. "No, I don't hate him. I could never hate him. Antlia, will you tell him that for me if he ever asks?" Antlia nodded.

Antlia remembered how Regulus had dried his face and the trio had descended to the bottom floor for a dinner that was delicious but felt like she was eating poison. Antlia remembered how Bellatrix had poked fun at her sister, the now Narcissa Malfoy. Antlia remembered how everyone stayed silent when Nova looked like she wanted to kill Bellatrix with her voice. Antlia remembered how the silence had been suffocating.

Antlia smiled sadly at Sirius when she pulled herself out of the memory. "I just know, Sirius. I just know. He doesn't hate you."

"I believe you." Sirius sniffled. "Is he okay?"

Antlia pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head. "He's not okay. But then again, none of us are okay. We are all forcing ourselves into a mold to fit in. It suffocates us. The mold is slowly killing us. Eventually, everyone will die. Everyone will eventually go up in flames. Everyone will go down at some point. Everyone will turn into ash and dust and leave only bare-bones behind."

Author's Note:

I hope that you all like this chapter! I know that's it's shorter than usual, but I hit a good stopping point! If you want to know more about Nova, she will be featured in my upcoming Regulus fic, Game of Survival. Thank you for reading!

- Nicole