#p:regulus

From time to time, it’s necessary to crave fish and chips. And on the rare occasions, it’s also important to act on the craving. Especially if the chips will be drizzled with salt and vinegar. In need of a last minute book purchase from Diagon Alley, Minerva steps into the shopping centre, determined to avoid as much of the foot traffic as possible. Once her volume rests in her arms and paid for, the woman steps into the Leaky Cauldron with every intention of getting an order of fish and chips to go.

That is until, as she places her order and turns to survey the pub, she spots a student at one of the small single tables off to one side of the room. Minerva has some time before her food comes out--Leaky is notorious at being rather slow to serve food in comparison to the fast pouring drinks at the bar--the professor strides over to where Regulus Black sits and greets him.

“Mr Black, a pleasure to see you here.” With a wave of her hand she inquires, “Care if I join you until my food comes out?”

Eleanor hadn’t been back to Hogwarts in the years since she had graduated. She had never had a reason to. The only child of her parents left her with no younger siblings to attend events such as this for. In a way she grateful for that though. As she felt lost at the graduations ceremony. Having never been one for being around such a  large crowd.

Well. Perhaps she should rephrase that. Having never been one to be the guest in such a  large crowd. Odd. Since she had grown up in the high society of the purebloods one wouldn’t think that the case with her. However most of the large parties she had attended had been at her own home. Her mother training her to play hostess as soon as she could walk and talk. 

No this. This was something else entirely. So much larger than any pureblood event she could have possibly attended. She had no desire to be there. However she would say nothing of the sort to any that asked. She wasn’t even sure why she had come. She supposed that didn’t matter now though. 

Turning down a little used hallway trying to find some peace and quiet from the crows she almost ran right into a boy. A student if she wasn’t mistaken. Taking a closer look at him she though she recognized him from parties of the past. Ah! The Black boy. That’s who he was. “So sorry to disturb you Regulus. I was just looking for some quiet.” She offered him her pureblood girl smile. The one that he mother had taught her when she was just a little girl.

It had stopped raining, finally. The steady downpour that had (thankfully) drowned out the voices of her teachers for most of the afternoon had eased, leaving only a gray sky and a rain-soaked football pitch. Emma had gone back to her dorm for approximately 3 minutes: just enough time to dump her books, change into tracksuit pants, and grab her football boots. 

The pitch was deserted. Whether that was due to the weather, or the fact that the football season hadn’t started yet, Emma didn’t know. What she did know was that she was very happy to be the only one out here. She sat down on one of the benches, not caring about the dampness seeping through her tracksuit. She clapped her boots together to get rid of the mud still caked through the studs from the previous day, and then pulled them on. Back in her third year, she’d gone through a phase of wearing her boots pretty much everywhere. Her Head of House had finally banned her, because her housemates had complained about the mud and grass that she left behind her wherever she walked.They clearly didn’t understand how annoying it was to change in and out of football boots.

It was Slytherin’s final match of the year against Hufflepuff (Sirius likely wouldn’t have attended if it were against Gryffindor as he’d feel too torn on who to root for; he’d want his Alma Mater to win but wouldn’t want his brother to fail). The game was fairly quick; between Regulus’s skill on a broom (dear Merlin) and the Hufflepuff’s Seeker seemingly hungover, the game was in the bag for Slytherin. Sirius could practically hear James in the back of his head, moaning and groaning about their biggest rivals reigning victorious, but for the first time in his life, Sirius was happy for a snake victory (though, admittedly, catching sight of a few of their familiar faces looking a little too pleased was aggravating. Padfoot couldn’t help but give them threatening growls, hoping to wipe that smug look off their faces).

Padfoot made himself plainly visible to Regulus throughout the entire game. He sat amongst the Slytherins and barked obnoxiously every time Regulus flew near. The moment the snitch was caught, the dog darted from the stands, down towards the changing rooms, and waited patiently outside for Regulus to exit. 

It would be the first time since Sirius illegally learned how to become an animagus that he would reveal himself to someone other than his three best mates and Lily. Waiting patiently, Padfoot ignored every single player who exited the changing room to head back to the castle. Some gave him a quick pat on the head while others stared warily (he’d long since realized he took on the form of the bloody grim, but Sirius only found humor in that). 

When the familiar face of his brother appeared at last, another Slytherin walking by his side, Padfoot barked loudly to get his attention and, without waiting for a reaction, darted forward to nudge his hand with his wet nose and a quick lick. He barked again and started to run off, glancing back for Regulus to follow him.

Barty waved his wand lazily in front of him, charming the cup in front of him. It floated haltingly an inch above the table, stuttering around the curves of the figure-eight the blonde boy drew with a flick of his wrist. His childhood home was disgustingly bright this summer morning, as if to mock the tumultuous ire inside of his chest and he scowled at the nearest house-elf until it squeaked and scurried over to close the long curtains covering the great windows. 

It was actually a surreal feeling to be back in his parents’ home, like moving through a foggy dream. He hadn’t been back since the summer before his 6th year, and he knew if his father was home, the wait would have been extended even longer than just those past months. But it was important today, that he be here. He;d even asked his mother to keep the visit quiet from family and friends, and to make sure he wouldn’t be interrupted. 

He was on a mission.

Liebster Regulus,

Ohne mich wärst du vermutlich schon längst aus dem Land geflüchtet um dem zweiköpfigen Drachen zu entkommen. Was du da ohne mich machen würdest, will ich mir gar nicht ausmalen – deswegen bin ich froh, dass ich da bin um dir wenigstens ein bisschen zu helfen. Ich kann dich nur zu gut verstehen. Die beiden sind anstrengend. Noch anstrengender sind sie, wenn man ihnen mal nicht für ein paar Stunden Entfliehen kann. Ich habe höchsten Respekt vor dir, dafür, dass du noch nicht aus vollster Verzweiflung zu Peter geflüchtet bist.  

Es freut mich zu lesen, dass deine Haare schon fast wieder ihren alten Zustand erhalten haben. Gold-blonde Haare passen nun wirklich nicht zu jemanden wie dir. Ich gestehe, so seltsam es mir erscheint, so gerne hätte ich es jedoch schon gerne mal gesehen. Es gibt nicht zufällig ein Foto davon? Ich würde auch versprechen nicht zu lachen, solltest du dich als so gütig erweisen und es mir zu zeigen. Wieso werde ich das Gefühl nicht los, dass die Streiche, die du auf keinen Fall erwähnen willst, Streiche waren, die auf deine Kosten gingen? Werde ich den beiden etwa eine besonders lange Standpauke halten müssen? Abgesehen davon, weiß ich natürlich zur genüge, was du meinst. Ich habe genug Dinge gesehen, die die beiden fabriziert haben, die ich verdrängen will. Vermutlich würde es sogar für ein Buch reichen – aber das würde die beiden wohl nur zu mehr motivieren.

Auch wenn du bisher einiges verpasst hast – glaub mir, das holen wir nach sobald ich da bin. Du bekommst noch ein paar Ruhige Tage bevor das Schuljahr startet. Versprochen. Vor allem an Büchern soll es dir nicht mangeln, denn ich habe zwei Bücher während unserem Urlaubs gefunden, die dir vielleicht gefallen könnten. Irgendwie muss ich es ja wieder gut machen, dass ich dich alleine mit den beiden Quatschköpfen alleine gelassen habe. Bitte sag mir, dass es bisher nur ein Gedanke war, den James ausgesprochen hat und er nicht wirklich plant Lily Pralinen zu schenken die wie er aussehen...das wird ganz sicher nicht gut ankommen.

Schon bald sehen wir uns wieder. Ich kann es kaum erwarten. Du musst nur noch ein paar Tage aushalten – also bleib stark.

Lieber Regulus, Hiermit verspreche ich dir, sobald es mir gut geht, den rettenden Prinzen zu spielen um dich aus den gefährlichen (und albernen) Klauen des zweiköpfigen Drachens zu erretten. Ich hoffe deiner Eule geht es soweit gut und hoffe umso mehr, dass ich dich, wenn ich komme, wieder mit schwarzen Haaren antreffen werde. Goldene Haare kann ich mir bei keinem von euch wirklich vorstellen... Ich verstehe was du durch machst, aber mach dir wegen ihrer Abschlüsse keine Sorgen. Sirius mogelt sich schon irgendwie durch, hat er bisher doch auch immer geschafft und James hat doch nur so viel Zeit um Streiche zu spielen, weil er tatsächlich etwas im Köpfchen hat und deswegen nicht großartig lernen muss. Ich werde nicht zulassen, dass sie eine Ehrenrunde drehen müssen. Das kann und will ich dir wirklich nicht zumuten. Meine letzten Wochen waren angenehm ruhig. Naja, angenehm für meine Eltern. Ich finde es nach wie vor merkwürdig, wie ruhig es ohne euch alle ist. Kein bellendes Lachen, kein gekicher, keine Explosionen oder James der aufgebracht ins Zimmer stürmt und zum hundertsten mal versichert, dass Lily ihn diesmal wirklich angelächelt hat. Die letzten beiden Wochen waren meine Eltern und ich in Dover, direkt am Meer. Ich habe mal wieder unterschätzt wie viel ich in meiner Freizeit lese und natürlich zu wenige Bücher dabei gehabt...Seit letzter Woche sind wir wieder zuhause. Jetzt muss ich nur noch den Vollmond absitzen und dann stehe ich schon im Wohnzimmer der Potters und sorge für ein bisschen Ordnung. Dir zuliebe. Ein Camping Trip klingt absolut nach den beiden...aber wirklich nicht nach dir. Ich hoffe du trägst kein Trauma davon. Ich bin mir sicher ich will nicht alle Details hören, aber teilst du mir wenigstens ein paar mit? So hätte ich wenigstens etwas Unterhaltung. Grüß James und Sirius von mir. Wir sehen uns schon bald wieder, also Kopf hoch.