"Euphemia Potter" - @into-the-jeggyverse - 543 words
@abductedhiko
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When Regulus moved in with the Potters, he spent most of his time hidden in his room. He feared that if he said one wrong thing, they would throw him out. Any small slip-up was worthy of punishment in his parents’ eyes. They were obligated to let him stay, especially after Sirius had run away and Regulus was the only heir. People would start asking questions if both of the brothers were disowned. Regardless, Regulus had followed Sirius, as he always would.
Currently, Regulus was curled up in his bed reading, still trying to make himself small, even in his own room. The only place that Regulus had ever felt was his was his dorm at Hogwarts, which he shared with Evan and Barty. He would never tell them, but it was the place he felt most comfortable. Now, in this room, he worried he took up too much space. He tucked himself into the corners of rooms, not wanting to invade these people’s lives. But he felt he had done so already.
There was a soft knock on his door. “Come in,” Regulus said.
Euphemia opened the door carefully, looking around the room for a moment. Regulus hadn’t really unpacked or decorated. This all felt too good to be true, as though at any moment they were going to laugh in his face and send him right back home.
“Hi, sweetheart. I just wanted to check on you. We’ve barely heard from you.” Euphemia sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Oh, um. Sorry,” Regulus mumbled.
“No need to apologise,” Euphemia said with a smile, so kind that Regulus almost felt pained by it. “James and Sirius are a little worried, is all.” Regulus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at this, but didn’t say anything in response.
“We’re all very happy that you’re here, cariño” she continued. “Sirius spoke so much of you before you arrived. Always so nervous about you being in that house. He might not say as much, but he is so proud of you. We all are.”
Regulus didn’t feel that he had done anything to be proud of. He had continued to live with his mother and father for over a year after his brother left. Did that not mean he sympathised with them? Did his reluctance to leave not make him just like them? Unwilling to voice his thoughts, he once again did not reply.
“James talks about you just as much as Sirius,” Euphemia informed him, a playful glint in her eye. “Every time he calls us he has something new to tell us about you.”
“He- What?”
“You really believe that my son doesn’t reciprocate your feelings?” She near-giggled at this, as though the thought of James not liking Regulus was not even a possibility.
“I don’t- He doesn’t-”
Euphemia held up her hands in surrender, standing up from the bed. Regulus continued to try to defend himself from these absurd allegations, but Euphemia just fixed him with another sickeningly warm smile, so similar, if not identical, to James’s. Regulus calmed slightly, looking down at his book to avoid her knowing eyes.
“Tell me if you need anything, corazón.” Euphemia closed the door, leaving Regulus still stunned.
That night, Regulus started to unpack.