Owl to Padma

[anon_regulus]

Date: April 18th, 2003
Character(s): Regulus Black, Padma Patil
Status: Private
Summary: Regulus lets Padma in on the trouble her sister is in.

Comments

[anon_padma]

The letter dropped from Padma's shaking hands. It didn't matter. She'd read it enough times to know what it said. Disbelief flooded her first, unable to believe the letter, especially its nonchalant manner, and for a long moment, she thought someone was joking with her.

Then she rationalized. No one would ever play this kind of joke. Not even her sister, and certainly not someone she barely knew. that was when the letter had fallen to the ground. She sank down beside it, clutching the kitchen counter with white-knuckled hands. She stared down at the parchment for a long moment, her breathing shallow and harsh. The world seemed to spin a moment, and she shut her eyes. She counted to ten and opened them again.

Padma pulled out her wand and summoned her pen. With a shaky hand, she penned a short answer.

Face-to-face. Now. St Edmunds Road. Flat 2B.

Padma

The owl took the letter and flew off. "Marcus!" Her voice cracked on the word as she buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

[anon_regulus]

The minute he received the owl, he had pulled out his wand and Disapparated from where he stood. A second later, he reappeared on St. Edmund's Road in the middle of the street. He headed towards the right flat, knowing Padma was likely to be worried sick.

He and Sirius had been looking ever since they'd found out Parvati was missing without ever really stopping. After they'd realized they'd start needing to look through the private residence areas of town, they'd split up and promised to owl immediately if they learned anything. After that, he'd owled Padma.

When he reached the right door, he knocked and waited. All the while, he was trying to think of ways to find her, ways that didn't involve stalking through town on the prayer that Parvati might scream at an opportune moment. As it was, however, he hadn't slept and he hadn't eaten much, and he wasn't thinking as well as he used to. He'd just have to keep trying.

[anon_padma]

Padma heard the knock and peeled herself off the floor. She willed her knees to stop trembling and to pull herself together. Now wasn't the time to fall apart. She needed to know what was going on, and she needed to know absolutely right now.

Taking a deep breath, she eased the trembling from her body and let go of the counter. Then she walked away from the kitchen and over to the door. She wiped her eyes carefully on her sleeve, trying to make it look as though she hadn't been crying, but then stopped. Fuck it. What did she care if Regulus knew she was upset? She ran a hand through her hair and opened the door.

"Regulus." She stepped aside to let him in and then shut the door behind him. She turned and leaned against the door, looking him over from head to toe, eyes like ice. "What happened. From the beginning, as I think I already have the gist."

[anon_regulus]

Regulus stepped inside, noting that Padma had been crying. He couldn't blame her. Even if she and Parvati didn't always get along, they were still sisters. And it was all the worse because they didn't know where she was and had no way of helping her until they did

[anon_marcus]

Marcus had been outside, stretching to go running when he saw someone approach the flat he shared with Padma. At first, he thought that the bloke was probably a some type of salesman and he took off on his run, not concerning himself with the man until he was a block away. He then wondered about the look on the man's features, the hurt and anger and turned around, sprinting toward home.

It wasn't that Padma was incapable of defending herself but it was his duty to be there for her, especially when there was a chance she could come to harm. He skidded to a halt in the hallway leading toward their flat, then stalked down the corridor until he saw the man standing in front of his door. Marcus' hands fisted and he was just about to confront him when he noticed Padma speaking to him.

He listened to their conversation in horror for a moment before he walked over and stood next to Padma, putting his arm around her while he said, "My name's Marcus Flint. What can I do to help?"

[anon_padma]

Padma was seriously beginnign to wonder why they hadn't placed a marker on her to begin with. If she was being stalked and harassed and threatened, why hadn't they prepared for the now inevitable. Best case, they hadn't thought of it, which was just stupid. The worst case, which made her blood boil, was that they had been far too proud, thinking that they would be able to protect her.

She shut her eyes and was surprised when arm came around her. She opened her eyes to the sound of his voice, and just sagged into him. For a moment, she relished that he was here, that he could support her. He could handle it, and he would, because he loved her. Padma took strength in that.

Then she thought of her sister, and she looked over at Regulus. He looked just as hurt by this as she did, just as shell-shocked. He did care for her. She reached out and took Regulus' hand. "Are you all right? Really, just tell us what needs to be done, and we'll do it."

[anon_regulus]

Regulus smile weakly at Padma. He appreciated the question, but until Parvati was found, nothing was alright. "I'm fine. I'm worried about her, that's all." Just like they were, he knew. And the only way they'd all feel better was if Parvati were rescued and kept safe.

Looking at both Padma and the man he assumed was Marcus, Regulus said, "All we can really do is look for her, really, and keep looking in places Macnair might frequent. Past that...I'm not sure what else we can do."