Lost My Place

Lonnie chuckled with her cheeks getting warmer. “Thanks, I guess. I used to be the Captain of the Sword Fighting in Auradon but since is already taken here and I love martial arts, due to Baba and Mom, I decided to take a chance. Especially because you have to be careful these days” she said smiling.

Regulus listened with interest, having gained a curiosity for the worlds outside of his own.  “If you don’t mind my asking, what was Auradon like?  I can’t say we had much sword fighting in my own world anymore, but magic was something my family and I relied on more often than not when it came to fighting.  I don’t trust magic not to somehow fail here, so I want to be prepared with other means of defense...just in case.”

Bellatrix snarled as she stepped closer to him. “Doing what, Regulus?” She reached for her wand, pointing it at him. “Careful. Do not overstep, cousin dear. You sound far too much like a traitor.”

Regulus’ wand was in his hand in a moment, studying her warily before he responded.  “Maybe I am one cousin.  I don’t think our family was on the right side.”

@that-nico-diangelo​ (or anyone)

“You’re being quick at defending! Are you training at home? Because you’re getting better!” Lonnie said proud of her student.

Regulus smiled softly, giving her a nod.  “I’ve been trying to improve.  Though I’d still attribute most of that to my teacher.”  

Bellatrix was almost about to reply when Regulus spoke once more. “Did you say you’re not dead here? You weren’t dead at home either.” She pointed out as she crossed her arms over herself. She made sure not to show any emotion but even she was a little interested at the mention of Salazar. “Careful, Regulus. You’re sounding a lot like Andromeda right now.”

“I was, when I came here.  Died alone in a cave, doing something I should’ve done long before.”  Regulus held her gaze, wanting her to see the truth of it.  He was likely about to get shunned, but he was finding he didn’t care anymore.  “And so I might be.  She’s here as well.  We had a good conversation a few weeks ago.  I can’t really say I disagree with Andromeda on too much anymore.”

Her jaw clenched and eyes narrowed at the other’s words. “He’s here?” Bellatrix let out a huff. “Of course he is. Anything to make this hell worse, of course.” Her brow raised this time and a soft scoff left her. “I’m sorry did you say that it’s alright here? Are you serious?”

Three sentences in and he saw this wasn’t gonna go well, Regulus just straightening a little.  “He is.”  He waited, her noise and disapproval clear enough for him to know he likely wasn’t going to get out of this conversation unscathed.  “I did.  For starters, I’m not dead here.  And for other benefits, there are lots of interesting people here.  The actual Salazar Slytherin is here Bellatrix. This place is amazing.  I...well, to be frank I wouldn’t go home even if I had a choice.”

.｡.:*☆ “And you will always be my brother, okay? Speaking of it, I have heard Andromeda is here, too. Maybe go and talk to her? She might be happy to see you again, Reg.”

He shruggged his shoulders, and then smiled a little at the question. “I do eat, yes. Not cooking myself, usually, but they do have these things called microwaves here, and I am often guest in one of the diners.” It was better than the food in Azkaban, that much was for sure. Not to mention, he had a reason to eat again to stay alive. “And this TV thing is fun. Obviously Muggles do watch a lot of movies, all the time.”

Regulus smiled a little, reassured again that Sirius didn’t want to toss him away.  “Yeah, maybe...we’ll see.  Truth be told, I’m nervous about pretty much any member of the family but you.  But we’ll see.”  

Listening to Sirius, he nodded, smiling softly. “Good.  As long as you’re eating something.  Just...making sure you’re taking care of yourself.”  He offered the other a quick smile before nodding. “Yes!  TV is pretty great.  Have you been to the movie theatre yet?”

Blinking at Regulus in confusion, he fixed up his hair without really noticing the motion. “Is that possible?” Back in the time he was from, people didn’t even talk about liking their own gender, let alone both. Robin was the only person he knew who was open about anything different from the norm. “You like both?” It gave him hope, unexpectedly.

Regulus hadn’t even focused on the hair till Steve played with it, completely distracted just by how much there was before refocusing on the topic.  “Of course!  It wasn’t something that was...smiled upon in my world, but I’ve very much always been attracted to boys and girls.”  He blushed a little, unused to talking about it, much less being so forward, but he almost felt it necessary to be honest with the other man.  “I only suggested it because, well, I’ve not heard of anyone having feelings like..you do looking at me without there being some sort of attraction.  But I could just be assuming or misreading it as well, so, I don’t mean to overstep..”

She studied him for a moment, a brief flash of a smile his way. “Regulus. Well, isn’t this a surprise.” Bellatrix closed her book as she crossed her legs. She was none the wiser about his betrayal of The Dark Lord so she was… Relatively pleased to see him. “Rather you than Sirius, I must admit. How long have you been in this hole they call Limbo?”

Oh, She definitely didn’t know what he’d done, Regulus not really wanting to broach that subject.  Bellatrix could be fearsome, and he wasn’t in any particular mood to deal with it today.  “Sirius is here too, which isn’t entirely terrible.”  He nodded solemnly before responding.  “A few months or so.  It’s been alright. And you?”

Pushing his hand through his hair, Steve sighed. “No, she’s my ex. I really liked her, more than I liked anyone.” Those feelings weren’t there anymore, but he knew they’d been real. “She kind of broke my heart. But before that, I used to feel stupid around her, and now I feel stupid around you. Shit, this is ridiculous.”

Regulus’ confused expression turned to one of slight amusement, the other’s confession absolutely adorable.  Who was he kidding, Steve was adorable, and the thought alone made him sigh a little.  Forcing himself to focus, he responded rather easily.  “I...hope I’m not being too direct, but have you considered you...may be into both men and women?  I’m attracted to both myself, though I know it can be a strange concept...”

@thejames-potter​ ( bellatrix for anyone )

Bellatrix let out a huff as the other’s shadow covered her book. It wasn’t usual for her to be reading, true, but she was trying to find a way back home. “Can I help you?” She growled as she looked up at them.

Regulus had spotted her and walked over without thinking, wanting to be certain of who it was.  Bellatrix was someone he would likely want to avoid, but certainty was necessary.  “No.  Just ensuring my eyes didn’t deceive me cousin.  Wasn’t expecting you.”  

He chuckled. “Let’s try this racing game, it looks like it’ll be interesting and trust me, I am no better than you. We should have had these back home, I would have been fine being stuck at home.”

“Sounds good to me!”  Regulus chuckled before quirking an eyebrow at him “You had to stay at home?”

“You are going to raise my ego and trust me, none of the founders would want that. I’ve been told my ego is bigger than the castle itself.” He chuckled softly before giving him a soft smile. “Is that so? Well, if that is the case I might just keep my clothes and let the people of this town love me for myself.” He chuckled. “I’ve never met a huge super fan before, I like you.”

“Sorry, sorry.  I’ll try to cool it.  And I’ll likely freak out with them too.  You’re just...well, you founded my house after all.  Your reputation is a bit dark, and our house tends to be more, evil, than others, but I’m still a proud Slytherin.” He nodded, glad the other was friendlier than Regulus would’ve guessed the man to be.  “You should.  And I...well, I’ve learned about you since I was very young.  It’s not every day you get to meet a legend.”

“You are lying.” She told him, shaking his head. “How did that even happen?”

“Not sure.  I’m not lying though.  I was dead before I woke up here, so, lots of illogical things are happening.”

Molly nodded and offered a small smile. “I’ve heard about you both. Sirius more so but that’s because his… So-called ‘traitorous’ ways were spoken about more. Though, in a family like your’s… I can imagine how it was hard for you to not pull away from them, dear.” She sighed softly. “That’s one thing I am thankful for. I just wish my family would be here too. I’m Molly Weasley, by the way.”

“Well, and you were on the right side of the war.  Sirius was much, much more active than I was.  I’m sure I was more legendary after I died.  That was likely spun creatively I’m sure.”  Regulus shrugged a little and looked down, though he looked back at her when she introduced herself.  “It really is nice to meet you Molly. And maybe some of them will show up?  This place is certainly strange.” 

“People were tortured or killed for not answering the ‘all-mighty call’ from You-Know-Who.” Molly mused with a wave of her hand. “Making the wrong choice… Probably wasn’t an actual choice for you. May I ask your name? Something seems… Familiar about you.” Molly bit down on her inner lip to stop it trembling. “Thank you. They were far too young to die. My brothers… They were my everything.”

“Regulus Black.  You might now my brother Sirius.  He tended to make better choices.”  Regulus nodded before studying the woman, wishing her brothers had come to this place rather than former monsters like himself.  “It sounds like they were extraordinary.  That war was too bloody too long...but. Thankfully it’s not happening here.”

Ambrose chuckled. “I can’t say no to that. Which game did you want to try next”

“The real question is which one do you want to see me fail epically at next?”