Chapter 3
Walking into the Slytherin common room was more of a relief than Regulus had expected.
After the unexpected, Gryffindor-filled potions class, the comfortable quiet atmosphere of the dungeon put Regulus at ease, allowing him to put the interaction with Potter out of his head.
"There he is," Regulus heard Barty drawl. The boy was sitting on one of the two, black leather couches in the center of the room. The other was occupied by Evan Rosier, who was lying sideways and playing a casual game of wizards' chess against himself.
"How was the first day, potion-master?" Evan called with a grin.
Regulus gave a short laugh as he sat down beside Barty. "At least I didn't blow anything up." He directed a knowing glance back at Evan, who cringed as he visibly remembered when he'd incorrectly brewed a strengthening solution, resulting in an explosion inside his cauldron.
That comment earned a hum of agreement from Pandora, who was seated on the floor, head bent over a scrap of parchment as she scribbled down what Regulus assumed was late homework. Her textbooks and other supplies littered the coffee table.
"Bold words from someone who claims they're 'creating spells'," Evan shot back as he muttered a move to the chess board lying on the table beside him, resulting in a black piece moving slightly to the right.
"I'm not claiming anything. I got bloody close last night and that's why I didn't finish this ridiculous Charms essay." Pandora flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder as she continued writing.
"Well, as you can see, we've been quite busy here," Barty mused with a sarcastic grin.
Regulus scoffed as he leaned back on the couch, taking a deep breath as Barty leaned forward.
"Y'know Ev, I could play against you."
Evan didn't take his eyes off the chess board as another piece moved, a playful smile curling his lips. "Like I said, Crouch. You're not exactly competition to me."
Pandora chuckled from her place on the floor and glanced up from her work for a moment, eyeing the black and white pieces. "Black will lose," she commented lucidly. Almost a second later, a white knight moved from its square and approached a black pawn, destroying it in a second. Evan scoffed at the motion and Pandora grinned triumphantly before looking back down at her parchment.
"You lot are boring," Barty spat and Regulus couldn't help his laugh.
The peace he'd found with his friends had become a comfort Regulus didn't know he needed. And would certainly never admit aloud. He let himself smile as he watched Evan and Barty begin to bicker over how exciting wizards' chess could be, Pandora cutting in every so often to humble Barty or calm Evan. If Regulus had to endure an annoying potions class (and partner) for the entire year, as long as he returned to this spot, he could manage.
"Regulus."
The voice stopped the chatter from his friends. Regulus knew that voice.
Dorcas.
He straightened, suddenly finding one of Pandora's textbooks on the table far more interesting than the brown-haired girl standing beside the couch, and pointedly ignored her.
"Ah, if it isn't the house traitor." Barty's smile carried to his voice as he looked up at her. "Do you need something?"
Dorcas glanced quickly at Barty before returning her attention to Regulus. "Can we please talk? I sent you letters this summer, but-"
"He got them," Pandora's attention didn't leave her work as she spoke. The silence that now settled around the group was not the type of peaceful silence in which Regulus relished. But he wouldn't entertain her. A conversation was out of the question.
Dorcas hesitated a moment, clearly unsure of how to continue, when Barty chimed in, "Don't you have a common room to be returning to?"
Regulus glanced up at Dorcas, who was now smiling irritatedly back at Barty, her eyes burning.
"Crouch. I don't recall speaking to you."
"And I don't recall receiving any letters of apology for your actions last year. Or is it just Regulus who gets the honor?"
Dorcas blinked in response, her smile slightly faltering as Barty's grin disappeared. "I was your friend too," he added, sinisterly, though Regulus swore he could hear the hurt in those words.
"I didn't know you cared so much," Dorcas began again. "Should I leave the letters on your bed, or Evans'?"
Evan looked up from the chess board and shot her an unimpressed look that nearly matched Barty's disappointed one.
"Well if we're going to talk about who's shagging who-" Barty started.
"Enough," Regulus managed to say over the sudden pounding in his chest. He turned his head slightly towards Dorcas as he continued, "Just get out of here. Now."
She paused, her eyes traveling over the group sitting in front of her. The friends she'd turned her back on. But despite her new friends in Gryffindor tower, Dorcas hadn't softened just yet.
"You know what they're saying about you, don't you?" Dorcas' gaze slid to meet Pandora's, the latter's a cold, steel gray. "They don't want anything to do with you. With a traitor." Her eyes darted to the navy and silver tie Pandora wore beneath her sweater. Despite being a Ravenclaw, Pandora had found her true friends in the Slytherin house, and being Evan's sister allowed her to spend most of her free time with them in their common room. She was quiet enough that no one else seemed to mind.
But Pandora didn't even flinch as she replied, "Takes one to know one."
Dorcas pressed her lips together as she glanced once more at Regulus, then turned and disappeared towards the girls' dormitories.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Barty let out a laugh. "She's lost it," he said, folding his arms behind his head.
Evan nodded in approval as he looked down at Pandora, who simply tossed her hair back behind her and continued writing. Regulus audibly agreed with Barty before loosening the tie around his neck.
Had their fallout with Dorcas happened that quickly? They'd all met when they were 11, had all been sorted into Slytherin (save for Pandora who was in Ravenclaw and didn't properly meet the others until their 5th year), and were practically inseparable until last term. Until Dorcas decided Marlene McKinnon wasn't all that bad, and maybe her friends weren't either. She'd started hanging out with them more frequently and began distancing herself from Regulus and the others until one night, Barty snapped. Before she left for another one of their stupid Gryffindor parties, Barty unleashed months' worth of anger and confusion upon her, and when she didn't seem to understand what she'd done wrong, Regulus turned his back on her too. It wasn't a difficult decision for Evan and Pandora to make either; they'd seen how her behavior hurt their friends and made a choice.
But their exclusion hadn't stopped Dorcas from writing to Regulus all summer. Apology letters, mostly. He'd read the first two and then opted for throwing any others away. The fact that only Regulus received said letters said enough about who Dorcas really cared for. Barty's verbal assault must've burnt that bridge in a second.
Regulus pulled himself out of his thoughts and returned to the common room, just as Pandora completed her essay and was now begging Evan to let her try and beat him in chess. Barty was insisting the two should pair up against the blonde boy, who was now laughing as his sister repeatedly declined his friend's offer. Regulus' breathing steadied.
These were the only people he needed.