Chapter 5
Regulus quite enjoyed spending his weekends in the library.
Most students tended to avoid the dim space, its aura reminding them of the studies they were putting off or upcoming exams they hadn't yet started studying for. But Regulus preferred it that way. It left the large desks open for he and Pandora to utilize, sprawling their books out so their work appeared to have no end in sight. Regulus wasn't vaguely religious, but if heaven was real, he hoped it'd be as calming as this.
Barty and Evan were off getting in some early Quidditch practice before the season started up and the pitch was only available when the teams had reserved time. They were both attempting to impress the new captain, Lucinda Talkalot, and apparently needed to use all their spare time for practicing.
Regulus himself didn't mind. He often found himself alone with Pandora, the two of them studying quietly together in the library until all hours.
This day was no different. The library was almost entirely empty, save for a few Ravenclaw first years who'd found isolated spots by the windows. Regulus and Pandora sat at one of the wide, oak tables in the center of the room, both completing homework Regulus was sure the other students hadn't deigned to touch.
Regulus was silently reviewing the key components of Wolfsbane potion Slughorn had assigned the class to study when a grunt of frustration from Pandora made him look up.
She was staring angrily at her Astronomy chart, her eyes darting from one of Jupiter's moons to the other. "I shouldn't have taken advanced Astronomy..." she mused, more to herself than to the boy across from her.
Regulus offered her a small grin. "If you hadn't, I wouldn't have even considered taking advanced Potions."
Pandora met her friends' eyes and rolled hers, though a smile curved her lips. It was true, what Regulus had said. McGonagall had approached them both in the corridor that first day, informing them of their talents in the respective classes and gave them both the opportunity for advanced education in the subjects. Regulus had practically laughed in her face at the news, but Pandora accepted her new course assignment without a second thought.
Which she apparently was now regretting.
Regulus glanced at her chart, narrowing his eyes slightly as he noted one of the moons was incorrectly labeled. He pointed to it and said gently, "That one right there is Callisto. You're mixing it up with Ganymede, which is the largest."
Pandora was silent a moment for exhaling loudly. "Ugh, that's right. Which means I've messed up my orientation of this entire thing." She dropped her quill onto the desk, letting it roll for a second before it slowed to a stop. "You're so good at this, Regulus. How come you couldn't have taken this with me?"
Her last words were practically a whine that made Regulus nearly laugh. "You know I'm rubbish at Astronomy."
"You're only rubbish at your own charts. You fix mine all the time!"
Regulus shrugged and looked down at his own homework. "It's kind of a required topic in our family...but Sirius and I vowed to mess up our charts on purpose to spite our mother." He couldn't help but grin at the memory, though quickly willed it away. He never spoke about Sirius. Since he fled, he didn't even consider Sirius to be his brother anymore. He supposed this Astronomy vow was the only thing that still tied them together.
Pandora must've realized Regulus didn't want to talk about his family anymore, because she quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of...how is potions going for you?"
Well, Regulus wasn't sure if that was a better topic.
He shrugged again and avoided her gaze. "Alright."
"You've been alright sitting next to James Potter?"
Regulus' head snapped up and he found Pandora staring at him with a knowing smirk.
"Who told you about that?"
"I heard McKinnon going on about the class in the girl's loo. She mentioned Potter had to share a cauldron with you."
Had to. Regulus rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not excited about it. But I can handle it just fine."
Pandora hummed in response and looked off in the distance, as she often did when she was thinking hard about something. Regulus went back to his reading. He hadn't thought about the strange note-passing between him and Potter since it happened a few days ago. Not that there was much to think about. After he'd admitted the killing curse would be the first way he'd get rid of the older boy, Slughorn had dismissed the class, and he'd grabbed his things and immediately stood to leave. He'd heard Potter chuckle.
"Harsh, Reg," he'd said after him, and Regulus had shot him a proud glance over his shoulder, but that had been it.
"Remind me what this moon is?" Pandora's question brought Regulus back to reality as she adjusted her chart so he could read it clearly.
He closed his potions textbook and began looking over her work, pushing all thoughts of James Potter out of his head.