Chapter 37: How it all Ended

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"You've been acting really weird, Topher."

Regulus had finally had enough. His best friend had been off about something for the last few weeks and he was determined to find out what. He first noticed something was odd the night he had gotten back from his tryst with Sarah. His fifteen minute rant about the nerve of James Potter had been met with no more than a grunt and a shrug from the usually helpful Topher. After that, he watched as his best friend steadily withdrew from life. He stopped studying, stopped setting times for Quidditch practice, even resigned his Captaincy after two weeks. He could barely keep up his end of a conversation and every time Regulus met the boy's eyes, he saw guilt.

"Are you listening to me?" Regulus asked, quietly as he dropped down onto the end of Topher's bed and pushed aside the boy's half filled trunk.

It was morning. The students were set to leave for their Holiday in a little under an hour and Topher had been making a sad attempt at packing. He glanced at his friend from the tops of his eyes and haphazardly tossed a shirt into the trunk. "Yeah, I'm listening," he muttered as he picked up another shirt and stared down at it with contemplation.

"Are you going to tell me what your deal is? Why are you acting so...weird?" Regulus pushed.

Topher's shoulders raised in a slight shrug and the boy dropped his shirt down onto the bed next him. "I don't know how to tell you," he whispered. He stared down at the floor and started pulling on a loose string at the end of his jumper sleeve.

"Just tell me." Regulus twisted his lips, annoyed with the boy. "Whatever it is, just tell me. We made a promise, remember? No more secrets, no more lies. I've kept up my end, and you...you aren't. You're hiding something, I can tell, okay? Whatever the hell it is, just tell me."

Topher let out a long, ragged breath and turned his head towards Regulus. He met the boy's eyes briefly before turning away again. "Do you know who Theodore Gibbon is?" he asked. He didn't even bother to wait for an answer, he knew very well that the man was a Death Eater and Regulus knew who he was. "He's started arrangements with Elizabeth's father. He wants to marry her when she leaves school."

A shocked and disgusted look flashed across Regulus' face as he heard this. "Gibbon? Are you serious? He's like...thirty something," he said with a violent shudder. "That's really awful, I'm sorry. You should've said something sooner." After a long silence, he continued. "You'll meet someone else."

"I'm not leaving her," Topher snapped, facing Regulus once again. "She isn't marrying that sicko. We...we're leaving. Elizabeth and I, we're leaving. That's what's bothering me, that's what I've been trying to tell you. When you come back from Holiday, I won't be."

"What do you mean by leaving?"

"We're leaving. When we get off the train, we have other arrangements. We're going to leave the city, the...the country. We aren't coming back either." Topher's entire body was shaking as he spoke. His hand stuffed down into his pocket and came back out with his fist closed around something small.

"What about your future?" Regulus asked, his jaw tight with upset. "You can't just walk out on everything. You can't just..." He couldn't continue.

"My future? As what? A Death Eater, no, no. That life was never right for me. You can't sit there and pretend like for one second you believed I would make the same stupid choice as you did," Topher snarled as he climbed to his feet and grabbed the boy's left arm. He flipped it over and pushed back Regulus' sleeve, revealing the boy's mark. "This is wrong." He shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. "You once told me that this was a war and I had to pick a side, well I've done it. I won't follow you, I won't serve that...that..."

Regulus pulled out of his friend's grip and turned his face away. "You're gonna die," he whispered. It wasn't a threat, just a simple statement.

"We're all gonna die! One day, we'll all be six feet under and I'd rather go to an early grave without that thing on my arm than live a long life with it." Topher took long, heavy breaths through his nose and grabbed Regulus' hand into his own. Slowly, he pried the boy's fingers open and laid a small, silver key onto his palm. "I can't sit here and watch you go down anymore."

"What the hell is this?" Regulus asked, waving the key at the other boy.

Topher didn't answer, he didn't need to. He watched as the boy turned the metal over and over in his hand until realization hit him. "This is my brother's?" Regulus asked, looking back up at his friend. "You want me to run off, like you? Like him? Become some blood traitor and abandon my family, I don't think so." He shook his head wildly and grabbed the handle on his trunk. "This is all insane. You'll see that in a few days and you'll come to your senses. We can figure this out after break."

"I'm not coming back, Regulus," Topher insisted.

"Yes! You are." Regulus clenched his fist tightly around the key, the sharp points digging into his hand and making it pulse. "You wouldn't do that. You...you can't do that." He kept his eyes to the floor as he dragged his trunk behind him and walked away from Topher.

The incessant chatter did not cease for a single moment inside the tiny train compartment. Sarah and Della discussed, in agonizing detail, every moment of the latter girl's first date with some Hufflepuff. Regulus was relieved when the date talk died down, only to be once again subjected to the never-ending prattle about the proper way to secure a second date. By the time the train reached the station, Regulus knew far more than he'd have ever liked to about the fine art that was eyeliner application and exactly where to draw the line on developing ab muscles; apparently, it was possible for a guy to be too muscly.

The Slytherin's head was just about to smash against the window in his drowsy state, but he was saved by an unpleasant lurch which tossed him onto the floor instead. Regulus grumbled under his breath and pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the helping hand offered by his girlfriend. He muttered out a thank you and smoothed out his robes.

There was a small gathering waiting to greet Regulus as he stepped onto the platform. Bellatrix was standing with Travers and Rodolphus to one side of her and Will to the other. The woman was in conversation with Will, her hand occasionally laying on the boy's shoulder and her mad, cackled laugh staying to a quiet level. She flipped back her hair and grinned as she spotted Regulus and Sarah approaching. Will's eyes took in Sarah for a fleeting moment before his features twisted in an indistinguishable manner.

"Good to see the two of you together," Bellatrix greeted before flashing Sarah a sly smile.

Sarah smiled back at the woman and nodded, though she didn't speak.

Will took up the slack and gave Regulus a playful shove in the arm, making the still tired boy stumble over into his girlfriend. "Who is that?" he asked, nodding towards Sarah and pulling Regulus to stand back right. Before the other boy had a chance to answer, he was off the subject. "Where's my brother? I told him I'd be meeting him here." He let his eyes wander around the platform, searching each face for Topher. When he was met with failure, he grunted and frowned. "I'm gonna go find him. I'll see you at the party, right?" he asked, smiling back at Regulus. "You can tell me about...this," he added, pointing to Sarah.

Before Sarah had a chance to voice her disapproval with being called this, Will was out of sight in search for his brother. "He's kind of a jerk," the girl hissed, taking Regulus' hand possessively.

"Yeah, he really is," Regulus answered with no hesitation. "More than a jerk, but yeah." He pulled his hand free and threw a grimace towards Travers before smiling at his cousin's husband. "Have a nice trip?" he asked, casually.

A huge smile broke across Rodolphus Lestrange's round face. He gave a hearty laugh and glanced at his wife. "It was productive," he answered, pulling the woman into his arms and wrapping them around her. Bellatrix pushed against the man and slid herself away from him, hissing a quiet, "Not here." This brought another laugh from the thick man and made him roll his eyes. "We should get going, yes?" he asked, looking back towards Travers with a sneer to rival Regulus'.

"Wait," Regulus spat quickly. "I just...I need to talk to someone first." He had just spotted Topher stepping off of the train with Elizabeth. He broke away from the group and hurried over to his friend, reaching him just as Will did. The three boys all exchanged glances, with each other, each one reading differently. Regulus tilted his head and locked his eyes with Topher's. "I just wanted to find out if you'd be at the New Year's party," he said cryptically.

Topher narrowed his eyes and started to speak, but his brother beat him to it. "Of course he will be," Will answered, clapping the younger boy on the back and smirking at Elizabeth.

Another glance was exchanged between Regulus and Topher. The taller boy squeezed Elizabeth's hand and reached out, putting his hand onto Regulus' shoulder. "Goodbye, mate."

Regulus gave a small nod to his friend and raised one eyebrow. "I'll see you at the party," he said without a trace of doubt in his voice. He turned and walked back towards Bellatrix and the others, throwing one last glance back over his shoulder towards his best friend. He didn't realize it would be the last time he ever sat eyes on Topher Mulicber.

A Note From the Author: One of the hardest things I've ever had to write. Topher is, by far, my favorite character and knowing that I'll never write him again really breaks me up inside. So anyways, leave me thoughts if you will. I hope you enjoyed it. :D –Jenna