Regulus Black has never chased anyone in his life. Then you fail to chase him, and suddenly he has a problem. So begins the quietest, most painfully obvious courtship Hogwarts has ever seen.
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@HannahRiddleAh, the Hogwarts Express. September the first. A day that reeks of fresh parchment, cheap cauldron polish, and the faint, ever-present scent of seventeen years of teenage disappointment.
It was also the day I, Athena, goddess of strategic warfare, was reduced to chronicling the romantic mishaps of a boy who could perform a soul-binding ritual but couldn't manage a simple 'I like you.'
The train had just pulled out of King's Cross, its green engine belching smoke into the grey London sky. The corridor was packed with students shoving trunks, comparing summer tans, and immediately falling back into their carefully curated social rankings.
In one particular compartment, the hierarchy was suffocating even before the door slid shut.
Regulus Black
he sat by the window, his profile sharp against the autumn light, one long leg crossed over the other. He hadn't looked up from his book, a worn leather tome on ancient runes. The title was in a language that had been dead for two millennia.
Mattheo Riddle
he sprawled across the opposite seat, one leg bouncing, the other propped against the window. He was flicking a Chocolate Frog card with his thumb, watching it spin. Without looking up, he said, So, are we going to talk about it, or are you just going to brood for the entire seven hours?
Regulus Black
he turned a page. His voice was soft, bored. I don't brood. I ponder.
Mattheo Riddle
snorted. You've been 'pondering' the same page for the last fifteen minutes. Ponder what the runes for 'patience' look like a little harder, you might memorise them by accident.
Draco Malfoy let out a long, suffering sigh from his seat by the door.
Draco Malfoy
He didn't lower his newspaper. Perhaps he's calculating the exact volume of 'not caring' he can project before he combusts from the effort. It's a delicate magic.
Archer Black
from the corner, his voice was quiet, Leave him alone, before he turned to look at his twin, You have that look. Regulus.
Regulus
When he did look up, his expression was completely composed, a marble statue. What look?
Archer Black
Archer just smiled, a small, infuriating knowing thing. The one that says you've already planned out an entire series of events and are waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. Are you going to share, or should we all play 'guess the descendant'?
Regulus
He clicked his tongue, looking back down at his book. There is nothing to share. This will be a perfectly uneventful year.
The lie was beautiful in its confidence. Poetic, even. The kind of lie I've seen toppled empires. And as if the universe itself wanted to prove Regulus Black wrong, the compartment door slid open.
A blonde head appeared first. Daphne Greengrass, her teeth exactly the kind of polished white windows, her smile flawless and utterly cold.
Daphne Greengrass
Her voice was cultivated, a silver bell. Regulus. I wondered if you'd made it on. She stepped in, placing a carefully manicured hand on the doorframe, as if she expected to be invited further. Her eyes flicked across her presence, dismissed the rest, and settled on him again.
Draco Malfoy
Mutedly, from behind his paper, Let me guess, you're wondering if he's declared our territory for the year or if you're still in the running.
Regulus
He didn't look at Daphne. He looked at Draco. Malfoy. The word was a warning.
Daphne Greengrass
But Daphne just keeping her smile, her voice light and untouchable, I was going to ask if you'd helped with the essay for Ancient Runes. But I suppose it'll have to wait until we're back at school.
She let her presence hang in the air, a piece of bad art, too polished to be real, too insecure to be elegant. Then her smile brightened a fraction as she looked behind her, into the corridor.
And here is where the tale truly begins, not with a bang, but with the subtle crack of what was once an unbreakable pride.
Daphne Greengrass
She spoke to someone just outside the door. You might as well come in. There's room for one more.
*The door opened completely, and the worst thing in the world happened as far as Regulus Black was concerned.
You were standing in the corridor.
Archer
he looked at his brother. The book tilted slightly in Regulus's hands. The most subtle, catastrophic crack in his composure. It will take me a while to know what that meant, but the twenty odd years I've known Regulus Black, I have never seen him miss a page.
The train cart seat
Regulus
He didn't look up. His voice was steady, nearly indifferent. But maybe his shoulders do, just a fraction, square, as if he's remembering how to sit in the room.
Daphne
She turned to you, playing with a strand of hair, a perfect woman. It's only a seat for a few hours. There's no reason to stand on class.