People Are Strange (?)
“You don’t have to follow me around.”
“How else will I find a plausible reason to beat Mulciber up?”
Regulus glanced at Barty out of the corner of his eye. The feral-like boy has been prowling behind Regulus for the last couple of days. The way that Barty would sneer at any of the other Slytherins who dared to look at Regulus funny was like having a guard dog. Regulus couldn’t fathom why someone would willingly stay around him, let alone protect him. Sirius had been the one who had protected him, yet even he chose others over him. Some days Regulus couldn’t even stand to be around himself, so how could others?
“I’m sure you could catch him hexing some other first year.” Regulus mumbled.
The school day had barely ended, Regulus felt mentally exhausted, he wanted nothing more than to lay in the sun and relax. Preferably alone. Regulus had always felt drawn to the sun, it was like the only thing that could boost his spirits. Over the last few days, he’s been missing the last bit of sunlight narrowly. Something would always come up that stops him from being outside. Within minutes after the last class of the day had ended, Barty had found Regulus. If Regulus hadn’t seen what he’s seen in his eleven years of living, he’d think that Barry’s tendency to always find him is freaky.
Barty quickened his pace to match Regulus’. His arms are behind his head in a casual motion. “But, none of the other first years are as entertaining as you.”
Regulus couldn’t help the scoff that fell from his lips. Entertaining? Barty must see him as some kind of joke. Regulus knows he isn’t funny, he knows he definitely isn’t entertaining. He certainly wasn’t funny enough for Sirius to hang out with him.
Sirius has been stuck in his head for days, ever since he confronted Regulus in the closet, accusing him as if he’s the one hanging around people who their mother wouldn’t approve of.
The two boys treaded out of the castle. Regulus never said where they were going, and Barty never bothered to ask. As they made their way along the edge of the lake, Regulus hears whistling coming from the tree he usually relaxes at. He doesn’t mean to bring Barty here, but no matter what he does, Regulus can’t quite shake Barty.
Rounding the curve of the lake, they walk to the tree. Pandora Rosier sits prettily at the edge of the water. She’s crouched with her chin to her knees, staring at something in the dirt.
“Hello, Regulus. Hello, Bartemius.” Her voice is light like a breeze. She doesn’t look towards the pair. Instead, her gaze stays fixtated on whatever is in the dirt. Barty’s face sours at the use of his full same. He glances at Regulus, it looks like he’s about to say something against Pandora, but Regulus glares at the boy in a way that says ‘Shut up’.
He didn’t realize that Pandora knew Barty, guessing from Barty’s face, he didn’t think she knew him either.
Regulus nods simply at the girl. Although, he is still weary about the Rosier twins, Pandora seems oddly comforting in a way that makes him want to put his guard down. It’s unnerving. At first, he had assumed she was using some kind of spell on him. After countless nights in the library, searching for a reasonable answer, Regulus chalked it up to it just being a Pandora thing.
“I heard your brother whistling, where is he?” Regulus asked the blonde girl as he settled at the trunk of the tree. Barty naturally leaned against the tree beside him. Regulus rolled his eyes at how the boy always seemed to gravitate towards him.
Pandora hummed. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. Evan explained that Pandora had a habit of getting lost in her thoughts. He never elaborated, but Regulus knew it went deeper than just her thoughts.
The tree rustled, within a blink of an eye, Evan was standing in front of the two boys. His eyes landed on Regulus first, “Hello, Regulus.”
Evan’s body almost spasmed at the sight of Barty.
“You!”
“You?”
He swiped his blonde hair out of his eyes, staring down Barty. The latter crossed his arms at the sight of Evan. Suddenly, Regulus felt as though he was intruding on something. He shifted in his spot.
“You didn’t say you were bringing Crouch.” Evan glared at Regulus, his nostrils flaring. Regulus furrowed his brows. How did he get pulled into this?
“Technically, I didn’t want to bring anyone here.” His grey eyes flickered to everyone around the tree. “You lot just showed up here… he just happened to follow.” He jutted his pale thumb towards Barty.
Evan threw his arms up and turned away before pivoting back towards Barty with a glare.
“You didn’t tell me that you’re friends with Rosier.” Barty said, gently smacking his hand on Regulus’ shoulder. He went rigid against the contact, Barty immediately withdrew his hand.
“I’m not friends with anyone.” He sneered. The contact had clearly irritated him. Regulus didn’t care if his words stung anyone, he couldn’t care less about their feelings. He doesn’t want to be touched.
His words didn’t seem to phase anyone. As a young child, he had nothing but his words to protect himself. He learned to sharpen his tongue, using his words as a sword against any relationship. Barty merely yawned, and took interest in the leaves above them. It was strange. Like, no matter what Regulus says to repel them, they all stayed. He found it rather disturbing.
Evan seems to still be hooked on whatever was between him and Barty. Evan pointed his finger at the boy next to him. “You keep leaving your dirty socks around the room. Salazar! If I find another sock on my side of the room I’m going to hurt you.”
His usual porcelain, pale skin was now turning red. His cheeks were like red roses blossoming with rage. Regulus moved his gaze from Evan and glanced up at Barty. His face was unbothered, almost amused even. It was like he wanted to get Evan riled up.
“Are you sure those are mine? They could very well be our mysterious roommate’s.” The brown haired boy smirked, knowing full well that those socks were his own.
Everything about the boy’s appearances clashed. From Evan’s almost white-blonde hair to Barty’s messy uniform. Regulus didn’t want to know why they were constantly butting heads, they could argue all they want. Just not around him.
He tried his best to tune out the bickering, but to no avail, he huffed and walked away. Pandora was no longer staring at the dirt, her eyes were now locked on the horizon. Regulus wanted nothing more than to lay in the grass patch nearby, but he felt himself walking towards Pandora before he could even realize it. She was far enough away from Barty and Evan that the bickering didn’t bother her.
Soon enough, Regulus found himself sat beside Pandora. He doesn’t know why he does it. It just feels right. His mother would have an absolute fit knowing that he was sitting directly on the ground. For some reason, Regulus is able to easily wave away his mother from his thoughts. It wasn’t something that he could usually do.
Pandora turns her head to look at Regulus, she smiles. The cloudy look in her eyes is gone, probably going back to the mysterious depths of her mind.
If it were anyone else, Regulus wouldn’t have bothered to ask what they were up to. He wouldn’t even have bothered to go up to them. But this is Pandora. Everything was different with Pandora.
“What are you doing?” He looks into her blue eyes. They’re the color of the sky on a cold day, lighter than it would be on hot summer’s day. He wonders what goes on in that head of hers.
“The beetles are hiding in the sand. Did you know they represent good luck?” She said it as if answered his question. Pandora turned her gaze back to the horizon. A small smile danced on her lips. “Other people think they’re carriers of new opportunities.”
Regulus nodded slowly. He wasn’t sure if he was missing something. He felt awkward as he let a wave of silence pass through them.
“Well… What do you think?” Regulus stumbled over his response. He was never good at keeping conversations going. Usually he would throw a snarky comment or two and the person would walk away. Regulus didn’t want to be snarky with Pandora.
Pandora let the sandy dirt fall through her fingers. “I think it takes a certain kind of person to understand the beetle’s message. The future is always changing.” She glances at Regulus. “You just have to be the type of person who wants to seize the opportunities presented.”
Regulus didn’t quite understand her. The way she glanced at him felt like she knew something he didn’t. It almost made him want to shudder. Almost.
He stared at her strangely. Trying to pick apart what she meant. Maybe he was thinking too much into it, but something urged him on. Regulus opened his mouth to question the girl, but snapped it shut as Barty and Evan settled down on either side of them.
“What are you two talking about?” Barty asks. He doesn’t waste anytime as he starts digging through the sand the moment his butt is seated.
Regulus watches Pandora. She hums again, as if there were no cruel things in the world. “Beetles.” She says simply.
“Oh. I had a pet beetle once.” Barty tilts his head, no doubt reminiscing about his pet beetle.
Evan raises an eyebrow at him, seeming genuinely interested despite their irritation at each other just moments earlier. “Really?”
“Yeah, his name was Arnold.”
“What happened to him?”
“He flew away.” Barty shrugged with a frown.
“Oh.”
Regulus stared at the lake in front of them. He contemplates how he even got there. If you were to tell Regulus a month ago that he was going to be spending his days sitting at lake, listening to a bunch of idiots blubber about a pet beetle, he’d hex you in your face.
Pandora begins fiddling with the grass around them. “Regulus?”
Regulus blinks his mind out of his thoughts. “Yes, Pandora?”
She smiles brightly at him. He wouldn’t realize why until later that night, for now he looks at her with a confused look. As the afternoon goes on, the four of them fall into a comfortable chatter. It’s mostly Evan and Barty carrying the conversation. Pandora usually chimes in along with Regulus throwing his opinion in occasionally. At one point, Barty even started chasing a squirrel. He doesn’t even realize it’s almost dinner time until Evan says something about it.
His brows furrow. There’s no way time had passed so quickly. He looked up at the horizon to see the sun setting.
Barty was up before the rest of them. He didn’t bother to dust himself off. Regulus assumed he liked how it added to his ‘scrappy’ look.
“Can you lot hurry? We need to get there before the good rolls are gone!”
Evan helps Pandora up from the ground. Regulus casts a silent charm to remove any dirt from his trousers. Evan looks surprisingly at him, yet does not acknowledge it beyond a glance. Instead, he sighs at Barty. “The elves make plenty of rolls for everyone.”
“Yeah, but there are good rolls and there are bad rolls. I bet you’ve been stuck eating the bad rolls without realizing it.”
The four of them make their way back up to the castle. The setting sun makes Barty’s tanned skin appear as if it were glowing. The others with their pale skin look almost washed out compared to the Italian boy. Evan and Barty are immersed in a debate about dinner rolls of all things. Regulus pays no mind to them. He finds his gaze following Pandora’s. She’s watching a murder of crows in the distance. He doesn’t see the interest that she does.
Regulus could let his mind wander with these people, and not be afraid that he’d be pulled under by his thoughts. It’s like each and every one of them has a silent understanding. Although they haven’t known each other long, Evan and Barty seem to always know when Regulus needed to be pulled to shore.
In that moment, Regulus realized that his mother did not plague his thoughts more than once this entire time. That must’ve been an all-time record. For a second, It was like a breath of fresh air. He finally felt separate from his mother. Like his entire existence didn’t revolve around her and the House of Black. Regulus could feel her claws loosening around his neck as allowed his lungs fill with the late October air. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought the twitch in his lips was a small smile.
A loud group of boys pulled Regulus from his relieving thoughts. His eyes dart to the group that ruined his peace.
It took all but a second before he felt the air knocked out of him, with his mother’s claws tighter than ever around his throat. Sirius.
Sirius.
Sirius.
Sirius.
His brother was about to stumble into the castle. Sirius’ arms were around a blonde who looked vaguely familiar and the boy with round glasses. They were laughing hysterically as a very annoyed Remus Lupin talked animatedly beside them. Regulus would’ve thought the handsome boy was lecturing them if—
Handsome?
Remus Lupin. Handsome.
Regulus’ thoughts were spiraling. He bounced between pain from Sirius and a fluttering feeling from Lupin. Oh Merlin, help him now.
Evan stopped bickering with Barty, noticing Regulus sudden rigidity. Barty’s gaze soon followed suit. “Are you alright, mate?” Barty asks, furrowing his brows in what might’ve been concern. Regulus had been so carefree today. Well, as carefree as Regulus Black can be. To see him flip like a switch was alarming.
Evan didn’t bother to ask what was wrong as he immediately began scanning the area. His eyes fell upon Sirius and his friends. He scoffed. Of course, the loud bigot had to set Regulus off.
“Fine. I’m fine.” Regulus muttered out. He shoved his head down. It was strange, seeing how timid Regulus became so quickly. It was like watching him put on a mask. Barty was slower to catch on than the twins. He whipped his head around, looking for what might’ve caught Regulus off guard. As they approached closer to the Gryffindor boys, Evan nudged his arm, getting him to stop spinning his head.
Pandora, having long snapped out of her trance, looped her arm through Regulus’. If it were any other person, Regulus would’ve cringed at the contact. She looped her other arm through Evan’s. Barty raised his arm, teasing Evan to follow the pattern and interlock arms. The blonde boy looked unimpressed as he ignored Barty’s attempt.
Pandora guided the boys towards Sirius’ group. For a moment, Regulus panics. He isn’t sure what Pandora intends to do. If it has anything to do with Sirius, he isn’t above bolting away from his new found acquaintances.
Acquaintances.
Regulus never had any friends aside from Sirius growing up. But, looking back, Sirius was probably forced to befriend him, seeing as though they are brothers and such. Regulus supposes that doesn’t count. Acquaintances sounds right…ish.
Pandora maneuvers the boys into the castle. As they pass Sirius, for the first time in Regulus’ life, he dares look up. He finally dares to willingly make eye contact. Although, the moment his eyes meets his brother’s steely grey eyes, he instantly regrets it. His stomach feels nauseous and unfortunately it’s not because of Lupin. Yet, there’s a trickle of something else. He isn’t quite sure what it is exactly, but it slowly subdues the nausea. Little by little, Regulus found himself walking with his head held high again.
Sirius’ laughter immediately stops at the sight of Regulus. The older boy falters in his step, clutching onto the boys next to him to gain balance.
Pandora keeps their pace steady enough that they’re able to leave Sirius’ group in the dust without making it obvious. It was like the four of them had an unspoken agreement. They power walk through the corridors with the most unbothered expression they could muster.
If Regulus Black had caved in and glanced back, he just might’ve caught a glimpse of a boy with around glasses, staring him down with an enchanted look.
But, he doesn’t. Regulus’ gaze is fixated in front of him. He doesn’t stop the grin that spreads across his face this time.
Pandora glances at him with an endearing smile. “See, that wasn’t so hard. Wasn’t it?”
Regulus bites back his grin. “It’s still… very complicated.”
“That’s just life. It’s always complicated, but you can’t let ‘complicated’ control you.” Evan chimes in. Barty watches as the blonde boy speaks. He feels allured in a way he’s never felt before. Did Evan always say captivating things like this? Barty had a feeling that Evan Rosier was going to make a very interesting friend.