[Chapter Fifty-Eight]

"I don't need you to explain anything to me!" Regulus snapped in Éponine's direction. "I know why Sirius left! He left because he didn't want to follow the rules, he didn't like having to listen to anyone besides himself and at the Potters, he can do anything he wants. That's why he left, don't let him fool you-"

"The only fool here is you, Regulus."

It wasn't her intention to call Regulus any names, but she didn't like the way he had practically yelled at her either. She knew he would be upset, the topic of Sirius was a sensitive one, but she hoped she could get Regulus to open his eyes.

"What did you-"

"Sirius left because he didn't believe in acting like prejudice git," Éponine replied calmly. "Maybe he doesn't like following the rules. Maybe he enjoys being wildly immature and maybe the Potters let him get away with those behaviors. Fine, but he wasn't wrong to leave a home that abused and manipulated him."

"My parents did no such thing, they didn't abuse him. My mother never laid a finger on him, nor did my father-"

"Abuse is not only physical, Regulus, but emotional and mental as well. They hurt Sirius in a way that not even the Cruciatus Curse can touch. Don't you remember when he was sorted into Gryffindor, don't you remember how your parents treated him? I do. They told him that he didn't fight hard enough to get into Slytherin, that he was too weak-minded. They shamed him for being in the same house that housed "blood-traitors and muggleborns." Do you remember that?"

Regulus looked away from her, shaking his head. He felt sick to his stomach as Éponine continued on, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her to be quiet either.

"Then Sirius went out and made friends, but they told him he made the wrong sort of friends. Even though his friends supported and cared for him, because they weren't of the right blood, they weren't good enough. Your parents gave him the ultimatum, either hate a group of people that had done nothing wrong to him or face humiliation and belittlement at home. Wouldn't that be reason enough to leave?"

"You've met his so called friends, do you really think they're the right sort?"

"Your parents never met them and deemed them the wrong sort. All because of their blood. They had no idea if they were good or bad people, they only based it on the fact that they weren't purebloods or because they were considered blood-traitors. Maybe James Potter isn't the type I would hang around with based on personalities, but he opened up his home to Sirius, does that sound like the wrong sort to you?"

Once again, Regulus shook his head as if he was trying to dismiss any point she brought up. "Éponine," he said quietly, "where is all this coming from? This isn't you-"

"This is me, Regulus, "Éponine said, " trust me, I've been thinking about this for a while now."

"Then why are you saying all of it now?"

"Well, I tried to bring it up to you before, remember? I tried asking you if you thought there might be truth to what Sirius was telling you."

"Sirius blamed you for everything-"

"Yes, and he was wrong about that, but I was still part of the problem. I didn't think muggle-borns didn't have a place in our school. I was ignorant enough to make the comparison that the discrimination they faced was no different than the petty bullying I faced over my acne, when they are nowhere near each other. I wasn't the master manipulator that he made me out to be, but I wasn't doing anything to stop the discrimination in the school either. And as a prefect, we're supposed to set examples for the other students. What kind of example was I setting? What kind of example are you setting right now?"

"The right one!"

Éponine sighed, she had hoped that it would be an easy conversation between the two of them, but she was met with the same struggle that Sirius had more than likely faced before.

"I know this is difficult for you to process right now," she said, " and maybe there was some truth to what our parents have taught us over the years. We can't forget the witch trials and hunts, I know. But, we can't blame an innocent group of people either. When is the last time a muggle-born has tried to hurt you? When was the last time muggles have launched a hunt on magic? It hasn't happened in our lifetime, it hasn't happened for centuries. But in the last several decades, there have been attacks on muggle-borns and muggles. First it was Grindelwald and now...the Dark Lord...you heard what happened, what's happening now..."

In a desperate attempt to reach him, Éponine quickly grabbed one of his hands. She took it as a good sign that he didn't snatch it back right away, but he didn't look at her either. Éponine felt as though Regulus was slipping through her grasp,she was losing him.

"Please try to understand, I'm not trying to hurt you. Sirius wasn't trying to hurt you either. But what our families are doing is wrong. They may think they're teaching us the right things, but they're not. They're just repeating what their parents told them and so on and so forth. Don't you want that freedom to make friends with the people who you want and not the people that your parents consider worthy? Don't you want to make your own decisions?"

"I have been making my own decisions-"

"No, you haven't. You think you've been making your own decisions, but really, you've been following what your parents have said all along. You couldn't stand me before the summer and yet, you were planning on going through with marrying me when the time came, right? See? That's not making your own decision. You wouldn't even let yourself become a professional quidditch player because your parents didn't consider it to be a good enough profession. They want you to think you have free will, Regulus, but you're under their control."

Suddenly, Regulus tore his hand away from her hold and moved towards the door of his dorm. He was fully prepared to tell her to get out and go  somewhere else, because he couldn't look at her without feeling angry. But it wasn't so much anger, but hurt. It was the same sense of betrayal that he felt, the day Sirius left home.

Éponine frantically tried to think of what to say or what to do. She wasn't sure why she believed it would be so easy to convince Regulus. If Sirius, who was his own flesh and blood, someone Regulus had adored and looked up to for most of his childhood, couldn't convince him, why would she be able to? She hoped that maybe because they had become so close over the last several months that there was something there that he would be willing to listen, but maybe she was wrong.

"I know you've questioned it too," Éponine sighed, " you've must have questioned your own beliefs at one point. Thinking about Sirius, did you ever wonder if he was right? Sirius isn't the only one that decided to run away, think about Andromeda or Cedrella, he wasn't the first and neither were they. And maybe, maybe I'm not the only one who's been questioning things. I've been talking to Emmarentia..."

"And now I know something is wrong with you," Regulus huffed, "you know what kind of person Emmarentia is and you've been talking to her again. You want to talk about manipulation, she is a manipulator-"

"I know she is, but she's a victim too. I think she's made it very clear this year that she's attracted to women, but do you think for a second that our social group is going to allow her to marry a woman? Do you think they would allow Avery and Mulciber to be together? You know the answer to that. They're not going to be able to be happy because they're going to be married off to someone they don't love just to keep the lines pure. They won't get to make that decision. So yes, I've spoken to Emmarentia and we spoke about being there for each other in case things didn't go well. She is willing to be there for me. I'm hoping that you would be able to be there for me, so I can be there for you."

As Regulus bit the inside of his cheek, he didn't respond as he looked over at the empty beds that belonged to his best friends. However, it seemed Éponine was done talking to him as she walked passed him out of the dorm. He had no choice but to follow, unsure of what he was going to say but knowing he couldn't let the conversation end there.

When Éponine reached the Common Room, she was beyond thankful to see Emmarentia and in her company was Avery and Mulciber. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Regulus had followed her.

"Emma," she called out, " tell him, tell him what we were talking about last night. Remember? Tell him how we would all support each other."

All eyes fell on Emmarentia, while Avery and Mulciber looked confused, Éponine looked desperate and Regulus was watching her intently.

"Emma, tell him-"

Emmarentia looked around the Common Room before looking at Regulus. "Éponine and I were talking last night before she ended up getting sick. She seemed upset and while I was trying to comfort her, she told me that she wanted to become a blood-traitor. That she thinks we're all wrong and she wants to watch everyone who follows Toujour Pur burn."

Éponine's lips parted in shock, not believing that Emmarentia had turned on her so quickly.

"She thinks muggle-borns have a place among us."

"Emmarentia, what are you...you said-"

"I'm sorry, Éponine," Emmarentia said briefly looking at her before looking at the floor, " I can't support a blood traitor."

Silence was cast over them as Éponine looked around the entire room. She looked at Emmarentia, but she only continued to stare at the floor to avoid eye contact. She looked at Avery and Mulciber, but they were looking at Regulus, trying to figure out what was going on and what he was going to say. And when she finally looked at Regulus, all she could see was the cold look in his eyes.

Suddenly, anger surged through her entire body, thinking about everything that had happened before that moment. Emmarentia swore that Éponine could confide in her, that she would be the support if they decided to break away, and she had only set up Éponine for failure in the long run.

"You're a fucking coward," she said approaching Emmarentia and as soon as the other girl looked up, Éponine smacked her across the face. "I will never make the mistake of feeling sorry for you again."

As Emmarentia cupped the side of her face in shock and pain, Éponine looked back at Regulus once more, only to watch as he started walking back towards the boys' dormitory, nothing left to say to her.