#marlene2

Nell sat there, happily adding jarred and pickled jalapenos to the meal of steak pies in front of her. Jalapenos had their place in everything, she decided long ago. After taking a single bite, she looked up at nearest person and shook her head, “Don’t make that face.”

@marleneisleft

Regulus had been swearing in his head for the past twenty minutes, starting from when he reached inside his back once he returned to his dormitory and made a devastating discovery. The small memory book he carried with him, containing various notes and clippings when it came to Death Eaters and the Dark Lords rising numbers, wasn’t in there. He had searched his room, the drawers, his trunk before retracing his steps in his own mind.

And his blood ran cold. How could he have been so foolish?

He had been in the library with Marlene – not an intentional meet up, but a fairly nice coincidence. She had recommended a book to him, and, as he had been raised to be organised and neat, he had to take everything out of his bag just to rearrange it. He’d left his journal on the table, next to where the Gryffindor was sitting. How unlike him to mess up something so important – the risk of his civil nature shattered in moments if she just opened -

He set off in a matter of seconds, abandoning the rest of his belongings in his room just so he could run faster. Regulus couldn’t care less at all the unusual looks he was getting as he made his way through the corridors and up the stairs to the library. Merlin, why did the stairs have to move? This was wasting time. He didn’t even try to hide the look of panic, the hysteric nature of the usually stereotypically calm Slytherin made people part and move out of his way just that much quicker.

When he reached the library, Marlene was still there. So was his journal. He stood in the doorway briefly for two reasons. In an attempt to calm himself down, in case she hadn’t even seen it and would question him about why he was so concerned about a book. But also, to read her expression. After a few moments, he realised his state was to erratic to get any sort of idea of what she was thinking and he approached the table with as much normality as he could muster.

“Ah, there it is.” He said casually, approaching the table and picking it up. “I must have left it here earlier.” - As if he didn’t know for certain, as if he wasn’t a complete moron for leaving something so incriminating next to someone who was best friends with a Muggleborn and belonged to, possibly, the most ‘prestigious’ house in Hogwarts. “I must keep a better eye on my belongings.”

Regulus made a quick scan of the library. It was reasonably empty, a small mercy. If she had seen, the possibility she might yell in front of a crowd of people was mortifying. It was easy to lie to a few people, but not an entire group. “Thanks for keeping it safe.”