* MIND LIKE A DIAMOND.

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

“I’ll stay for as long as you need me to,” Regulus assured her, stroking her hair gently. He pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and breathing a soft sigh, before softly humming an old song Sirius used to sing to him when he’d have nightmares as a kid. It always soothed him, and he hoped it would for her too.

maddie releases a content sigh,    hopes that despite her words that maybe he won’t leave,    that perhaps she won’t have to wake up in the midst of a night terror alone again.    with the covers thrown over them and regulus so close,   maddie finally feels safe,    warmth flooding her cold bones and she yawns,   beginning to drift off,    finally.    “i love you.”   she mumbles,   softly,   eyes still closed,    as she dozes off.

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

“There’s always going to be violence, Maddie,” Regulus said softly, but he sighed and brought her hands to his lips to kiss the back of them. “But okay, I won’t … I won’t talk about vengeance or justice or any of that. I’ll be here. I’m here, I promise.” He looked up at her, hesitating before moving to lay in the bed next to her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her in close to him. “I’m here.”

maddie sighs,   content,    finally feels safe and secure and of course she’d known that inside the castle walls she was protected,   but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was in danger,    couldn’t push away the nightmares no matter how hard she tried.    now,   though,   she felt better. safe.    “will you stay here a bit longer    ??    just until i fall asleep.”

[madeveela]

REMUS:

                       she's  so  eager  to  touch  him,  something  that  was  alien  to  him  considering  his  condition.  people  were  definitely  more  accepting  of  werewolves  now,  but  there  was  still  some  stigma  around  and  he  sadly  still  saw  some  of  it  happen.  he  knew  that  maddie  could  relate  to  him  in  that  way        –       veelas  were  even  more  targeted  because  they  were  so  much  rarer.  he  finds  he  doesn’t  hesitate  now  when  he’s  reaching  for  her,  curling  his  arms  around  her  carefully  and  tugging  her  closer.  she  wants  to  feel  grounded  and  for  some  reason,  he  was  giving  that  to  her.                  ❝    that’s  strange.  i  feel  that  way  about  you.      ❞      

“oh,     hush.    you flatter me.”    maddie says quietly with a soft little smile      --   she feels like an idiot,     really,    knows she should be embarrassed that some soft,    shy boy is making her turn into some gooey mess but then again,    maddie finds that she doesn’t really care.    all that matters is that she can hear the drum of remus’s heartbeat in her ear,    can smell his scent and feel him close to her.     “you think your friends would come looking for you if i just     ...    kept you here   ??”   maddie jokes      --    mostly.     

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

Regulus looked down at her hands, turning his in order to take them in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. “This … isn’t right. I’m supposed to be comforting you,” he said with a small, sad smile, looking up at her after a moment. “You’re too golden-hearted, Maddie.” He moved his hand up to brush his thumb against her cheekbone gently. “I’ll make whoever did this pay for hurting you.”

“no.”    maddie says firmly,   giving a small shake of her head.    “i appreciate the thought and i know you’re just trying to protect me,    but     ...     it’s not worth it.   the violence and more violence and    ...    it’s fine.    we’re fine and safe right now and that’s what matters.   let’s just be here,    okay   ??   that’s what i need right now.   i need you and i here.     that’s all.”

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

“I was safe. I was looking for you and-and Sirius,” Regulus admitted softly, guilt settling in his chest as he realized he’d failed to help or save either of them. He held her more tightly for a moment before pushing her back in order to take her face in his hands, brushing her hair back from her face before stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t find you in time.”

“i’m glad that you were looking for sirius.”   maddie says,    smiling though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.     it’s hard to feel okay,    she knew to expect it but it’s still so frustrating.    “and i’m sure he’d be happy to know that,    too.    but regulus,”    maddie reaches up,    laying her hands over his.     “it’s not your fault.    we were in the wrong place at the wrong time,    okay    ??   and we’re okay.   we’re safe and we’re here and we’ll recover.”

[madeveela]

REMUS:

                    she’s  obviously  startled  from  being  woken  so  abruptly,  and  he  mentally  berates  himself  for  being  so  insensitive       –       he  could  have  been  calmer,  definitely,  she  needs  to  know  that  everything  is  alright.  he  watches  her  face,  not  noticing  that  she’s  reaching  for  his  hand  until  he  feels  her  fingers  curling  through  his  own,  and  wastes  no  time  in  shuffling  closer  until  he  can  climb  into  her  bed.  he  tugs  her  hand  close  to  his  chest,  covering  it  with  his  other  hand  too.   she  feels  cold.                ❝   you’re  safe,  maddie.  you  can  rest  if  you  need  to,  i’m  going  to  wait  here.     ❞      

remus often      --       no,   always thinks too much,    is too hard on himself and maddie can see the gears turning in his head.    she wishes she could silence them,    help him as he helps her but merlin,    she just had to go and get herself hurt.    there’s a resounding empty echo in her heart,    a coldness coursing through her veins when she involuntarily recalls what’s happened and she turns so she can nestle closer to him,    curl her arms around him and burrow her face in his shirt,   take in a deep breath.    his scent calms her,   the drum of his heart    --    erratic,   it makes her smile    --    and she releases a sigh.    “thank you.    you always save me.”     she says quietly.

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

Regulus sat down on the edge of her bed when she tugged him, wrapping his arms around her as she hugged him. He buried his face in her neck, rubbing her back gently as he held her. “I’m here. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay,” he said softly, able to feel how quickly her heart was pounding. He continued to rub her back, wishing he could take away all her fear and pain just through touch.

she feels safer,    like she’s finally able to let down her walls and not pretend to be so strong.   maddie takes in a shuddering breath,    fingers grasping regulus’s shirt,   taking in his scent and reminding herself that she’s okay,   that she’s safe.    it’s hard to forget how cold she was,    how hopeless and alone she felt.    she can still feel it.    “you were safe,    right     ??    they didn’t get you    ??”    she’s unsure,    can barely recall the events right before it happened.

[madeveela]

MAREK:

marek hears some of the requests, recognizing the feeling all too well of wanting to be able to sleep without nightmares. it reminded him briefly that he’d need to get some more soon as his current bottle only had enough for maybe a week’s worth of sleep left. “it’s what my mom would have done” he didn’t have too many memories of the woman as she’d died when he was young, but there were things here and there he remembered, like watching her stop to help comfort a man that had been hit by a car as they waited for help to arrive, or the final memory he had of her trying to comfort him at the hospital after the fire. 

“your mom seems like a good woman.”    maddie responds quietly.     marek seems to be deep in thought,    perhaps upset and it’s unsurprising considering the circumstances.    she breaks off half of the chocolate bar and offers it to him with a little smile.    “i won’t take no for an answer.   unless you’re allergic.”

[madeveela]

MAREK:

 “I can bring you some later” he gives her a smile, knowing that eventually he’s going to have to leave. “What I can, yeah” he leaned a little against the wall on his side. “luckily most of the physical injuries were minor, but sometimes those don’t mean much anyways” he bit his lip, knowing all too well from personal experience.

“that’s     ...      that’s a good point.”      maddie says quietly,      her gaze wandering to the other students in the room;      some in hospital beds from the attack,     some visiting,   and others arriving to quietly ask for something to help them sleep and fight off the nightmares.    maddie turns back to marek.    “it’s kind of you to help.”    she offers.

[madeveela]

REMUS:

                     ❝   maddie   !    it’s  okay,  you’re  safe,  you’re  in  the  hospital  wing…   it’s,  um.  it’s  remus,  i–i  just  needed  to  see  that  you  were  alright…   ❞              he  hadn’t  meant  to  startle  her,  rushing  out  of  his  chair  at  her  bedside  and  stopping  himself  just  before  launching  himself  at  her      –     she  probably  wanted  some  space  after  her  ordeal.  he  wasn’t  even  sure  if  he  should  visit  her  ( they’d  been  on  a  few  dates,  and  shared  a  few  kisses,  but  perhaps  he  was  too  eager,   looking  for  things  that  weren’t  there )  but  he  simply  couldn’t  stay  away  knowing  that  she  was  injured.   

maddie is still panting some,    eyes wide and wild and suddenly they land on remus’s face        --        sweet,      kind remus who’s so good,      too good for her,    really        --       and her chest swells with emotion.     quietly,     she reaches for remus’s hand,       tugging him closer to her quietly.        “come here.”    she says,      shifting over some on her bed.      her chest aches and she wants to be close to someone.     “please.     please,    just         ...     sit here.    with me.”

[madeveela]

MAREK:

“yeah” he nodded “i’m okay. don’t worry about me” he reached into his pocket pulling out a chocolate bar “here that should help some with things” he said handing it to her. that was one of the first things he’d learned as he was training to be an auror. chocolate could help with dementor attacks. “i could always make you some hot chocolate if you prefer that”

maddie takes the chocolate bar,  nodding in thanks and bites off a small piece,   unable to stop her mind from wandering back to the attack.   she shudders,   eyes focusing on marek again.   she loves hot chocolate,   but she’s unsure she wants to be alone.   “no,   this is perfect.   thank you.   have you been taking care of people  ??”

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

Regulus rushed into the hospital wing when he heard who’d been hurt. There’d been so much chaos during the event, he’d lost sight of Maddie and Sirius, and now, standing in the doorway, he hesitated, not sure which bed to run to. In the end, he made his way over to Maddie, not sure if Sirius would even want to see him.

“Maddie, Maddie, it’s me. I’m here,” Regulus assured her, taking her hand quickly when she sat up.

maddie’s eyes are wide,   and for a moment she doesn’t recognize regulus,   his voice or his face,   in the midst of her panic.   slowly the haze lessens and she recognizes him,   realizes where she is by the sheets over her legs and the smell of medicinal potions.   heart still pounding,   maddie tugs on his hand,   waits until he sits and he’s on her level and she throws her arms around him wordlessly.

[madeveela]

MAREK:

“hey hey, it’s okay” Marek turned hearing the movement in the bed to see Maddie suddenly up in a seated position. “you’re okay. you’re in the hospital wing. you’re safe” he said wanting to assure her that she was okay. 

maddie’s hearts racing and at first she doesn’t recognize marek,   and then she does a double take and she’s visibly able to relax.   she releases a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding,   slowly settling back into her pillows.   “oh.  i   ... i remember now.”   she doesn’t want to remember, really.   she wonders if it’d be better to still be panicked but somehow naive.   “are you okay   ??   you weren’t hurt,   were you  ??”

[madeveela]

maddie doesn’t quite remember where she is at first,   or what transpired.   she remembers going near the woods,   remembers darkness,   feeling hopeless   ...   suddenly she springs up in the hospital wing bed with a gasp,   heart racing as she looks around wildly for a familiar face.    /    ( @newagestarters​ )

[madeveela]

PADRAIC:

padraic held up a finger after she took the drink and thanked him for it, pulling a device from his pocket. it was one he found to be easier to use at things like this, when carrying a notepad and pen didn’t seem convenient. You’re Welcome a voice came from the device 

maddie listens to the device,     her curiosity about the stranger growing.    though she doesn’t want to poke and prod,     she wonders if perhaps he’s unable to speak    --    or unable to hear,    maybe     ??    “i’m sorry,     i don’t mean to be insensitive but      ...    what is the device for   ??”

[madeveela]

RABASTAN:

Rabastan smirked as he looked up at the decorations, then leaned slightly closer to whisper “I am tempted to change them now. Just to mess with them a little bit.”

maddie considers that maybe this isn’t a good idea,    she’s unsure what will happen if they’re caught,     but she still smiles some,   amused with the idea.   “well      ...     that would be funny.    i say do it.      there’s so many people here.    there’s no way anyone realizes it way you.”

[madeveela]

REGULUS:

Regulus couldn’t help but laugh nervously, as she took his wrist to pull him onto the dance floor. “Ah, you know I can’t dance, Maddie,” he said in light protest. He couldn’t pull away from her, though. He’d never pull away from her.

So he let her pull him into the throng of students, glancing around and trying not to flinch each time someone bumped against him. He moved closer to Maddie almost on instinct, looking back at her with a slight grimace. “I’ll give you two minutes,” he said.

“it’s okay.”   maddie says;    she doesn’t mind the time limit,    doesn’t mind the other people.    none of that matters.    all she cares about is spending time with him.   she gently tugs regulus further until they’re on the edge of the dance floor where the crowd’s thinned out to nearly nothing and the music’s a little quieter.

“i like how you dance.”   maddie says,   bumping his hip with hers with a small smile.   “c’mon.   i’ve only got a minute left   !!”