#ty for the ask bby <3 im sniffling bc of allergies nothing else

[veryinnovative]

i cannot stop thinking about it what do you think would be the individual reactions of the core four at reg’s alt ending death after That scene…………

i think when it comes to alternate/original ending tt, that, unlike james, sirius, etc, the core four have been mourning regulus long before that. you know anticipatory grief? mentally preparing yourself long before it happens because your gut feeling always reminds you of the inevitable? that even during the years reg was alive, and happier moments were interspersed between, it never took away from the fact they knew he was not supposed to linger around any further. i think after the breakdown of them all laughing, this silence just settles? dreadful and heavy and suffocating and dorcas buries her face in barty's shoulder not only for comfort but it's the jacket regulus used to wear nd they both know that the smell of him will be the first thing to fade away

barty's just awfully silent. he's staring into space because his other half is buried in the ground and evan knows that despite having a spot in barty's heart that is shaped after him, there is nothing he can do that could possibly fill the gap regulus left.

pandora is the one desperately latching onto memories, filling the quiet, talking about all of regulus' tidbits (to keep herself together but also because she doesn't want luna to forget him).

i think what's really particular is that for a long time they talk in the present tense. 'he really likes those specific brands' or 'you know how he always gets cold at night?' 'that is regulus' scarf. don't touch it' [like he is still there. like things still belong to him. there's regulus' partially eaten breakfast covered with tinfoil tucked in the corner of barty's fridge weeks later. his toothbrush will always remain in that cup.]

and then one day, months later if not a year, when the initial sadness is gone but grief still haunts her like regulus' ghost, dorcas is sprawled on marlene couch after she returns from a trip to France with tons of corner store snacks, and lifts up a bag of biscuits going 'oh, regulus loved these.'

then, of course, it hits her like a trainwreck, and dorcas breaks down crying once she realizes regulus is really gone