—LIFE HAD CHANGED FOR THE BLACK FAMILY. Whether it was because of Rigel's depression or the fact that they would see their son way less than usual, nobody knew.

Rigel was basically.. ignoring everyone.

Everyone other than Tom, though, who would walk into his room as often as he could without trying to make Rigel annoyed.

Tom had, of course, seen the signs. Like Sirius, he connected the dots together and came out to the same conclusion, but stayed quiet and treated Rigel like normal, which he knew was exactly what Rigel wanted.

So, here they were..

"—don't fucking touch that, Tom Marvolo Riddle." Rigel warned him, glaring at the boy from the top of his book, who was curiously looking at his quill collection.

"How the hell do you know my middle name!?"

"Doesn't matter."

Tom rolled his eyes fondly. "Of course."

Rigel went back to his book in silence.

The older boy glanced at him, brows furrowing in concern. "Ri, I know you don't want me to ask you this, but— how are you feeling? Honestly?"

Rigel froze. "I have no idea what you're talking about—"

"You can trust me." Tom whispered, sitting down next to him.

"You don't understand— I can't." He shot back, putting his book away and standing up. "I cannot trust you! I just can't—!"

Rigel immediately stopped when Tom's face fell, but he still tried smiling, making Rigel even more confused. "Why-.. why don't you hate me like everyone else?" asked Rigel finally.

If he were to be honest, that question has been bothering him everytime Tom tried having a pleasant conversation with him.

And merlin he wanted the answer. He wanted the answer so badly.

"What's there to hate?" questioned Tom, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Everything!.. Gosh, I'm a monster."

Tom's lips parted, looking extremely offended for some reason. "Monster?!" He repeated unbelievably. "Having problems doesn't make you a monster, Rigel! Heck, it makes you unbelievably strong and I believe in you."

Feeling his eyes tear up, Rigel looked away, trying to focus on something else, knowing he was on the verge of sobbing.

Ever since Rigel could remember, he bottled all of his feelings down. Now, however, it was all starting to come back up again.

"Rigel... you can trust me." Tom repeated. "I won't judge you for anything."

"I don't need you." snarled Rigel, immediately regretting what he said. "I'm.. sorry, I didn't mean that—"

"So, you're admitting you need me?" teased Tom with a stupid grin.

"No!" denied Rigel immediately. "I didn't mean that!"

Tom's grin didn't leave his face, making Rigel roll his eyes.

A few minutes passed by in silence with both of them in thought.

Tom stood up, and just before he walked out of the door, he made eye contact with Rigel, giving him a soft smile as he left some stuff nearby, knowing he needed it.

Rigel watched as the door shut and walked over to the table.

Of course.

A few parchments, a quill, and an ink bottle.

••

When Rigel was finally done with his writing, he burnt all the papers up, but for the first time ever, it didn't relax him.

With a bit of difficulty, he walked over to his bed and laid in it, not bothering to stop the tears that started to fall.

"Bubba?" asked 3-year-old Cierra, who had just walked in with a teddy bear clutched tightly in her hands, looking scared.

Rigel stood up, and wiped his tears. "What are you doing here, Cierra?"

Cierra immediately relaxed and skipped over to him, being the energetic toddler she was. "Scawy. Bubba help me."

He frowned in thought. 'She must've had a nightmare', Rigel thought.

He picked her up, earning a small giggle from the girl, and tucked her in his bed. "Better?"

Cierra nodded with a huge smile, which vanished when she noticed his eyes that were filled with unshed tears. "Bubba cwy?"

"No, sweetheart." He shook his head, laying down next to her and pulling her in his arms.

The little girl put her hands on his cheeks as if she were wiping his tears, making Rigel's heart melt. "No more!" She exclaimed happily with a little clap.

"Yeah, darling." nodded Rigel. "No more crying. Now, I believe it's time to sleep."

His lips quirked upwards for the first time in days when she snuggled up next to him and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Cierra." He whispered, softly kissing her head.

••

The next day, Rigel finally walked into the kitchen in days, making Remus and Sirius stop talking and look at him in concern and pity.

"How are you feeling—?"

"I'm fine." Rigel immediately cut Remus off. "Honestly, just because I have a stupid mental illness doesn't mean you've got to treat me any different."

"I was just trying to make sure, Ri." said Remus, trying to not show the hurt he felt. After all, this Rigel had... changed, and it wasn't Rigel's fault. It was his depression's fault.

"Well, don't." said Rigel, ignoring Tom, who had just walked in, and walked over to the other side of the kitchen.

"What are you looking for, Ri?" asked Sirius as he stood up and walked over to him, wanting to help.

"Nothing." His son immediately said and pulled out a bottle of pills.

Antidepressants.

Not feeling like himself lately, Rigel stopped denying the fact that he was now... different, and just went along with it, needing all the help he could get.

Finally using the antidepressants for its worth was new. It was small, but it was still a start.

Remus and Sirius shared a look as their son walked out of the room with it. "It's still a start." Sirius said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah." nodded Remus.

••

"You should sit down for a few hours after taking the pills, Ri." said Tom as he walked into the library, where Rigel was looking for boos.

"Pardon?"

"It makes you drowsy and dizzy."

Rigel frowned in suspicion. "How— how do you know that?"

"I might or might not have bought a book on it to understand you better in order you don't feel alone." Tom shrugged as if it was nothing.

Rigel's lips parted in shock.

It was the first time ever he felt... not so alone anymore.

"You... you went to the muggle world.. for a book about it.. so you could understand what I'm going through?"

"Yeah."

"That's... very thoughtful of you." Rigel said, still in shock.

Tom's lips quirked upwards. "C'mon, Rigel. How many times do I have to repeat myself? You're not alone."

The boy stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

"Rigel? Are you alright?"

Rigel snapped out of his shock and nodded. "...Thank you. You don't know—" he cleared his throat, trying not to show the happiness he felt "—you don't know how much that means to me."