sink or swim - r.a.b

𐙚 chap. 10 -- christmas break pt. 2

After the whole ordeal of the first day of Christmas break was over with, the next week felt almost dull. It wasn't as if it wasn't enjoyable to be home with the boys -- that of which had stopped nagging you about Regulus. The four of you played Quidditch or more attempted it. James was the only one in the group other than Sirius that actually had any talent in comparison to you other three. The only problem was that Sirius wasn't there.

You felt almost guilty to not tell the boys about the invitation to the Black family ball. you seriously contemplated it from time to time. Especially telling Remus. He was quite the trusty bloke, and you doubted that he would want to pressure you into going even though you had already decided to. Speaking of which, you and your mother were going to go out to buy you a dress because you'd been through the entire expanse of her closet, and none of them quite suited you the way you wished them to.

She'd already told the boys that she was going to run a few errands, and Happy would be there to supervise them as if they weren't all nearing sixteen. When she'd told them that, you mentally rolled your eyes. You asked her to come as if that wasn't already the plan, and the boys all looked at you questioningly.

"What?" You had asked.
"You never want to go run errands with mum," James replied. "you think they're boring. Watch, the second you come back you're going to be complaining to me how boring they are, and I'm just going to say 'I told you so'."

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You left them to go get ready after that, and that leads us to now. You were with your mother in Diagon Alley, looking for dresses to wear to a silly ball as if you were a princess. The idea would've been laughable to you just a few months ago. You'd hated Regulus for something he likely had no idea about. It wasn't his fault that the sleep you had been getting was dreadful and scaresome.

The two of you roamed the streets, peaking in little shops and boutiques as you passed by, but so far you had no luck. Your mother also did in fact have to run errands, so your search was delayed. After what felt like hours of dragging your feet through the snowy expanse of Diagon Alley, and most -- if not all -- of it's sub-streets, you finally found a dress shop. You walked inside the warm building, and the lady behind the counter greeted you kindly. You returned the sentiment, and continued into the store.

You were immediately drawn to the dress section. there were more plain dresses, and then there were ball gowns, you practically gaped at the selection before you were pulled out of your ogling by your mother. "Don't you think this one's cute?" She asked. "It's quite darling if i do say so myself." She was holding up a pink dress with bows along it, not even printed or stitched into the fabric either. You gave her a look that said: 'really?', and she let out a laugh. "I'm only teasing dear."

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After what must've been an eternity in that shop, you finally emerged with a dress. It was beautiful. [if you have a dress in mind, just pretend I'm describing it, but the story will go along with the following dress!!] It flowed down your frame perfectly it wasn't too flashy, nor was it too plain. It was a light blue -- almost hinting at purple. The sleeves were long, and flowed like the rest of the dress. It was airy, but trapped heat in when it was cold out. 'Thank the gods we're magical.' You though to yourself. You completely adored the dress.

When you arrived at home, you had to put on a bored façade if you were going to pull this off with the boys. you really didn't want them nagging about where you went because you couldn't keep a secret under interrogation for the life of you. You walked through the door, prepared to complain about your wonderful time, but you saw the boys huddled around something in the living room, passing it around. You figured they'd found this year's attic fascination.

Every year they went up to the attic, and dug through the rubbish to find a random object. You peaked over James' shoulder. "Been digging in the attic?" You asked. He froze.
"Oh, [Y/N]. You're.. home." He cast a look at Remus, who made a move to stick the object under his book. You grabbed the object without a fight. Remus had a look on his face that you couldn't quite place.
"Fat chance," You mumbled under your breath. James started yelling at Remus. Peter was lost in the mix. You grabbed your bag, and the object which you found to be a piece of parchment, and ventured up toward your room.

The boys, surprisingly, didn't follow you. You sat the bag down at the end of your bed, and inspected the parchment further. It was an envelope. Upon that envelope, was the same wax seal and emblem as the one in your bedside drawer. You furrowed your brows, and turned it over to see who it was addressed to. [Y/N] Potter. It didn't have a signature on the outside, but the writing looked like Regulus'.

You opened it up tentively, and it was infact Regulus' handwriting. His neat script extended down the page.

[Y/N],

I've just been told the invitation list for my family's ball, and you're on it? Did you receive an invitation? If so, I'd like it if you came, but it's okay if you don't want to. Winter break feels like it's dragging on for far too long, and I could use some sensible company.

Yours, Regulus A. Black

[A/N]
______
we meet again after twenty days..
no but seriously sorry for the
inconsistent updates life is
crazy right now.