Chapter 1 - Gone is our Childhood

                                    

                                          

The trio sat there for a bit longer than they should have.
The entire fate of the war had been sticking out from its spot in the sand.
No one made an effort to leave, they just stared out along the horizon. 
Sand filled every crack and crevice and Regulus could still taste the salt on his tongue. 
They all stared at the locket for quite some time. 
Regulus didn't know what happened to Ivan and Claudette, but if it was anything like Regulus' experience- they were mourning the piece of themselves they'd given to obtain the piece of metal. 
They didn't talk about it and maybe they never would. 
It had become clear from early on that what happened in that cave, stayed in that cave. 
They could almost pretend it had never happened- if they weren't littered in wounds of such a sickening purple color. 
None of them were bleeding, as Regulus had triple-checked Ivan was fine, but it was definitely a kind of dark magic none of them were knowledgeable in. 
Claudette was still itching like crazy- mumbling curses under her breath. 
She had been the first to stand from her spot- the first to break eye contact with the locket. 
By then the sun had begun to set and the sand was being carried by the soft ocean breeze. 
In that moment, they had nothing to lose. 
No one thought about what going home meant. They didn't think about the follow through with their plan. 
All they thought about was the sun setting and the sand beneath their feet. 
Right there on the shore there was no war- there was no Voldemort, no death eaters. 
So much had happened to them in the last few months and something told Regulus there were harder times to be had. 
The waves calmly washed up onto the sand, before receding back into the ocean. 
"What did you do, Regulus?" Ivan piped up, breaking the unspoken silence. 
Regulus was a little surprised to say the least. 
"You cut us out", Ivan spat, his voice filled with anger, "Don't ever do that again." 
His tone was harsh, but not in a way that said he was angry- in a way that said he was afraid.
"We die- we die together, you hear me?" Ivan exclaimed. 
Regulus looked to Claudette who wore a similar expression. 
He had only wanted to protect them- he thought he was doing the right thing- 
"Say it, Regulus", Ivan spat, "Say you understand." 
"Okay." Regulus muttered, his voice slightly wavering. 
He didn't even have time to think before he was wrapped in a tight hug. 
Ivan was a lot stronger than he looked and his grip was intense. 
Regulus didn't care. At the slightest show of affection he cracked. 
He hugged Ivan back just as hard. 
Claudette joined into the hug not long after. 
Why did this always happen to them? 
Why couldn't they just be normal kids? 
For a moment, wrapped in Ivan and Claudette's arms, Regulus pictured a world where they were happy and unbothered by war and death. 
"We should go." Claudette muttered as they broke apart. 
Regulus snatched the locket from the sand. 
The piece of jewelry made him sick and the sooner they destroyed it, the better Regulus would be. 
Regulus should have prefaced them having no idea how to get back, as being the number one problem. 
Or even where back was.
He honestly wasn't sure how long they'd been gone- hours, days, a week?
Regulus was sure it hadn't been too awfully long, otherwise James would have ripped up everything from here to France looking for him.
He was also sure James was extremely worried- since Regulus left him with only a shitty goodbye while the boy was barely sober enough to stand on two feet. 
Regulus would feel bad about it later, but right then he had bigger problems.
"How do you suppose we get back?" Ivan asked the question on everyone's mind. 
The trio had left behind the soft sand for solid ground. 
"We should find out where we are and then figure it out from there." Regulus suggested. 
It was maybe a five minute walk into town, less if Ivan hadn't been dragging his feet. 
The amount of stares the three of them attracted was immaculate. 
Conveniently, there was a kiosk in town that allowed the trio to get ahold of a map. 
Regulus added a little magic to the map, causing it to draw a line from them to their destination. 
"Should be like 20 minutes away." Regulus explained. 
"Yeah, 20 minutes if we were flying maybe", Ivan scoffed, "It's like an hour by foot."
"Might as well get on it then." Claudette jeered, patting Ivan on the shoulder with a smile. 
Ivan groaned, "Was almost dying not enough of a work out for you two?" 
"Do you have any better ideas?" Regulus asked. 
"Well no-" Ivan started. 
"Then keep up." Regulus jeered. 
The walk didn't end up being twenty minutes, to which Ivan whined about, but rather it had barely pushed an hour. 
Then of course they had to add in the time it took to sneak back into the firehouse. 
It wasn't awfully late, in fact Regulus wouldn't have been surprised if everyone had just slept the majority of the day or laid in bed with a hangover. 
Regulus walked Ivan and Claudette to their room, deciding they needed to rest before they did anything else. 
They probably should've first gotten some medical attention, but Regulus never said they were a smart bunch. 
Opening the door to the room James had been in, Regulus was enveloped in a hug. 
It was gentle and sweet, but tucked into James' chest Regulus could feel the boy shaking.
When James pulled away he grabbed Regulus' face in his hands, scanning his face. 
"I hate you," He spat, "Godric, I hate you so fucking much, Regulus Black." 
James' words were harsh, but the way he looked at Regulus- like he was the sun that nothing could live without- said something different entirely. 
James' lips smashed into Regulus' with such an impact, he stumbled back.
Regulus had been through so much shit in the last twenty-four hours, that being with James was almost like a breath of fresh air. 
"Hope you're prepared to spend the rest of your life reminding me of that." Regulus chuckled smugly.