“Yes, but what’s new.” he grinned at his brother, but his smile faded when he spoke of leaving the hospital wing. “You should.. stay a little longer, just to be sure.” he said, just because he had read the letters from home and knew he was wanted there when he was out of hospital. 

“I guess you’ve got me there,” he said softly, his tone fond.  Regulus had always been more likely to follow the rules, of the two, though he was certain Sirius was better at not getting caught than he would be. His brother’s suggestion to stay confined to the hospital wing surprised him, and when the initial surprise faded he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. “You’re not telling me something,” he stated, reaching a hand up the run through his hair. “Sirius, what is it? I’d rather know what’s coming.”

Gwen offered the younger boy a soft smile, giving him a nod when he said it would be okay. Though Gwen would have gladly gotten the cat for him, she knew how much people loved their pets, and how much they could make anyone feel better. “That’s very thoughtful of you, I’m sure some people might appreciate that.” While she was sure most people wouldn’t mind, she had gotten sight of a few people who weren’t all that kind. “They really can be, probably even better than humans sometimes.” She joked, though maybe she sort of believed it. Freya was much like an emotional support for her. “If there’s anything else you need, I could get it for you? Or even just give you a little company if you’d like.” Gwen had wanted alone time, but seeing all the people hurt made her heart ache. It was very different honestly, but she wanted to help them. She wanted to help him.

“We’re all stuck here for at least a little bit,” Regulus shrugged, a little sheepish, “The hospital wing will never be pleasant, but it seems unfair to sacrifice the little comfort a few of the others have just so I can have Nyx here.” He chuckled at her comment, adding, “Only sometimes?” It was nice, talking to someone who wasn’t in his family. Sirius and Narcissa had been his most frequent conversation partners since he ended up here. “I’m pretty set, but honestly?” he hesitated, feeling bad asking her to stay. He was certain she had a million other things she’d rather be doing. “I wouldn’t say no to company, if you’re not busy.”

“Good kid,” Corban smirked at the other, pulling a face as he ordered wine. “The music is trash, everyone is boring and people are frustrating.” He groaned, slamming back another shot.

Regulus almost felt like Corban was trying to have a bad time, not that he would ever say that to the other boy. “People are frustrating?” he asked, curious. “Seems like that’s less of an issue with the dance and more of an issue in general.”

cora smiled and went out to the dance floor so they could dance. she let out a quiet laugh as the song changed from something upbeat and easy to dance to song to a very slow and romantic song. “are you sure you still want to dance?” she asked awkwardly. cora didn’t understand romance or doing coupley things so she wasn’t opposed to not dancing, though being a pureblood she was quite used to it. 

Regulus would have preferred a more upbeat song-he liked the fun energy Cora had been bringing into it-but he wasn’t particularly fussed as it changed to something slower. He offered Cora his hand with a sheepish grin, adjusting their position to something more suited to the music. “Honestly,” he confided in her, “I know what I’m doing more when the dancing’s like this.”

orion knew the moment he saw the other who this was. it was his sister’s future husband. while they didn’t know that yet, he certainly did. “regulus black.” he said, looking over the boy. he would make a good husband for cora except for the fact he was protecting a mudblood. “move away from the mudblood.” he seethed. “or i’ll make sure your father doesn’t get the connection to my family.” he laughed, moving to point his wand at the other before he sent a warning shot off to the side, hitting a random student who had been passing by. “i’m not afraid to hurt you especially for protecting one of them. they deserve to die.”

It took Regulus longer than he liked to recognize the man in front of him. Pureblood circles were small, but he hadn’t seen Orion in what felt like ages. He gulped, careful to keep his body between Orion and Hugo. “Orion,” he greeted, the slight shake in his voice showing his fear. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he asked, trying to turn the focus to whatever Orion was hinting at, keep his attention away from Hugo long enough for Hugo to get away. “I didn’t think Father was arranging anything with your family.” The two families didn’t have much interaction, as far as he knew. “Hurting me would probably put an end to whatever you’re father is negotiating with mine,” Regulus reasoned. “Might be seen as an attack on the Black family.” It was a stretch, he knew-once his parents found out he was hurt protecting a Muggleborn they would be livid. There was no way out of this situation that didn’t end with Regulus hurting-at least none he was willing to choose. What Orion dished out to him would be better than whatever he had in store for Hugo.

Seeing him talk to someone about his cat, Hugo left the hospital to try and locate where his cat was. It wasn’t easy but he finally figured out that it was with Flo’s cousin, and he borrowed the cat from her to take to Hugo. When he finally made his way back, the visitor had left. “Hey, I brought you Nyx.” he told the other, smiling nervously. “I mean, I heard you ask someone so, I thought maybe I could – I mean, not like its anything to what you did for me but – anyway. She’s adorable.”

“Oh, thank you!” Regulus exclaimed, reaching to take Nyx from Hugo. The cat-never one to like behind held-mewled unhappily until Regulus set her down on his lap. She walked down his legs, settling on his shins after a moment’s kneading. He hadn’t actually expected anyone to bring her, but the familiar weight of her curled up on him was comforting. “You don’t have to-you don’t have to do anything for me, really,” he insisted, a bit uncomfortable. He didn’t really know Hugo all that well, but he still did his best to protect the other boy during the attack. “She’s a good cat-I’ve been missing her, honestly.”

Elise was bound to end up doing the simple tasks; make sure the students had enough to drink, to eat, and were comfortable. It would not have been something her parents would have been proud of, but it didn’t matter; helping others made her feel like she was doing at least something to level out on the bad deeds she had done when she was under the curse. And it was exactly what she was doing as a boy next to her spoke up. “Probably. Unless you can tell her it’s an emotional support cat.” She reasoned with a shrug. “Although, it’s probably not what I should be telling you. I should be offering tea instead.”

“I guess that would be a loophole,” Regulus admitted. He didn’t know if Nyx would enjoy spending time in the Hospital Wing-probably not, as crowded as it was-but he missed her, and having her around would provide a sense of normalcy for him. “But if you’re offering tea, that would be great, actually,” he said with a small smile.

“Balance is key,” She grinned. “Well, at least that’s one out of however many students.” Celia shook her head. “Are you enjoying yourself so far?”

“I am, yeah,” Regulus said with a smile. “It’s been a pretty good night.” And it had. He was bouncing between acquaintances and friends, happy to be surrounded by so many people. “Despite finding it boring, are you having an okay time?”

Gwen had finally decided she sulked enough, she had to go and help out in the Hospital wing. There were so many people and they needed as much help as they could get, if it got too much for her she could just ask to leave or take a break. Madame Pomfrey however almost didn’t let her help, wanting her to just relax and take time to herself. After a moment of arguing with the other, they let her come in and help out. She’d been grabbing some water for another student near Regulus when she heard him speak up. Sitting the water down, she turned to him. “I don’t think she’d get too upset, if you’re really wanting them.” She shrugged, offering him a smile. “I think she understands that you’d want your cat right now.” Gwen understood that, she loved having Freya when she was upset or hurt, it was comforting. “I could see if there’s anyone who could go grab them? If you’d like.”

Regulus offered Gwen a smile, “No, it’s okay,” he said with his best attempted at a shrug, the motion limited by both the position he was arranged in and the sharp pain that followed any sudden movement. “She can be a bit loud and I wouldn’t want her to disturb anyone else,” he explained, “Even though I think her company would help pass the time a bit better. Cats can be surprisingly good conversationalist,” he joked weakly.

Narcissa had taken up shifts to sit beside each other her three cousins, despite Sirius’s whining when she was by his side. Honestly, she’d suffer a thousand years of whining to ensure he didn’t harm himself again. But now, as she sat by Regulus, gently playing with his hair as a gently silence fell over them, his question brought out her first smile since things had fallen apart. A small chuckle left her lips, and she shook her head, looking down lovingly at her younger cousin. “No, dove. You’ll see your cat when you get out, alright?” Her tone was much softer with Regulus than likely anyone else in her life; she did have a soft spot for her sweetest cousin. “I’m sorry I can’t provide more entertainment, Reg, but you’ll be out before you know it.”

He sighed, his cousin’s hand playing with his hair relaxing him slightly. It felt nice, comforting, to have her nearby. “You’re right, unsurprisingly,” he said with a small smile. “I’m sure Nyx would hate it here, anyway.” Regulus didn’t particularly care for it himself-he was sure the energy across the entire school was rather depressing, but being stuck in the hospital wing, everyone around him injured and in pain? Well, it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable way to spend his time. “Still got at least another four days,” he said glumly, “and that’s if everything goes smoothly.” He paused for a moment, voice going quiet, “You don’t need to provide any entertainment. Really, Narcissa, you visiting just means a lot.” He was certain his parents’ displeasure with him had spread to his aunt and uncle, and therefor to his cousins by now. There was no way Narcissa didn’t know how foolish he had been, between their family and the gossip around the school.

the moment cora’s brother had told her that he’d hurt regulus she felt furious. not because her and the boy were close but because of the words her brother had said and the fact that it was a fellow slytherin and someone who was her year. after things had settled down, cora made her way to the hospital wing to check on him. she had a cut on her cheek and some bruises but she wasn’t as bad as most. she’d been lucky. her brother could have done more damage and he had to other people, but he’d let her off easy.  “probably but i am willing to risk that. i’m so sorry you got hurt. h-how are you feeling?” she asked.

“I’m not sure I’m willing to risk Pomfrey’s wrath on anyone just to get Nyx in here,” he told her, offering her a small smile, “But I appreciate that you were willing.”  He had wondered about Cora, if she had been alright. He hadn’t left his own encounter with her brother unscathed, and he felt relief at seeing that she-for the most part-seemed okay. “It happens,” he said with a shrug, uncomfortable really talking about what had happened. Regulus had done what he thought was right, and this was the consequences of it. Still, he wouldn’t change what he had done. “I’m alright-nothing too major, just slow to heal. You holding up okay?” he asked, concern evident in his voice. He couldn’t imagine that it was easy to be the sibling of one of the people responsible for the attack.

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I want to be bored to death,” She mused, shaking her head. “But yes, I’m off duty. Though, with half the students at this school, it rarely feels like I am.”

“I guess there’s always a balance,” he offered with a chuckle. “Well, I can’t vouch for the rest of the students, but I at least promise to be on my best behavior tonight.”

The letters from home had arrived already for his brother, but he was weak and healing, he didn’t want him worrying about their parents now. And so he had simply neglected to mention it to him. “I don’t care, I can sneak your cat in if she has a problem.” he said when he asked about his cat. “How are you feeling? You need anything?” 

“You’re gonna get in trouble if you try and you know it,” he said, offering his brother the brightest smile he could muster. He didn’t have much longer in the hospital wing, but he had reached his limit early on in his time here. “I’m okay, Sirius, really,” Regulus insisted. “I just want to get the all clear to leave already.”

Atalia had wreaked havoc at the dance, masked and charmed so no one would know it was her, but after all was said and done she had to blend in. And when Madam Pomfrey had asked her to help the other healing students to help out, she couldn’t say no, she she’d gone in and worked where needed, eventually coming across Regulus. “Do you know how many germs cats have? You’d be hard pressed to get Madame Pomfrey to agree to that here.”

Regulus sighed, throwing his head back onto his pillow, wincing at the sharp stab of pain that followed the movement. “You’re right,” he agreed glumly. “I just-there’s just so many times I can count the stones in the wall before I lose it.” He knew the backlash from his parents was coming, and at this point he was desperate for anything to keep his mind off of it. 

Regulus felt restless, and had since he first woke up in the hospital wing. He was certain that a letter from his parents would be coming the second he was out of here, that an inevitable summons home for what his parents perceived to be a disgraceful choice would soon arrive. He couldn’t bring himself to regret his actions, though. For once he had acted on his gut, followed his heart, and he couldn’t fault himself for that. But Merlin, was waiting the worst. “Do you think Madame Pomfrey would get upset if I had someone bring my cat to me?” he asked the person closest to him.

“I’m always charitable! My kisses are worth millions of galleons!” Emory laughed, wiping at his mouth before linking arms with Regulus. “’ave I told you ‘ow ‘andsome you look tonight, darling? Perhaps we shall find somebody for you to dance with, yes?” 

“Wow, that’s expensive,” Regulus teased Emory with a grin. “You’re well out of my budget, it seems. Maybe one day.” He flushed at Emory’s compliement, “You haven’t, but thank you, Emory,” he said warmly. “You look good, too.” Not that Emory ever looked anything but good, but that was besides the point. “You know, I actually did do some dancing while you were occupied.”