Chapter 6
Regulus said goodnight to everyone and then went to his room. It was as empty as his room at Grimmauld Place. Regulus began to unpack his trunk. He put some of his pictures of Pandora, Dorcas, Evan, and Barty up and smiled. His mother would’ve burned the walls if she could see, but that had never stopped Sirius. Then again, Regulus had to be the perfect son so that Sirius could be free to be part of the Potter family. If Regulus failed they would drag Sirius back to be the Black Heir. Regulus couldn’t let that happen.
Regulus pulled on a green jumper and sat on the bed. He transfigured the sheets to be green and smiled. An owl knocked on the window and Regulus startled. He opened the window and took the letter from the bird. It was a letter from Pandora. He could tell immediately from her handwriting.
Reg,
I know you are unable to write back during the summer, but I wanted to fill you in. Dorcas tells me she’ll be spending a week with Marlene McKinnon during the summer. Remember when Dorcas told us they kissed at the New Year’s party once the winter holiday ended? They’ve gotten very close since the potions project. Not to mention that ever since then Lily and I have done a lot of studying together. I actually received a letter from her right before I started writing to you. I do hope that this letter makes it to you and doesn’t end up in Walburga’s hands. To be safe, I’ll charm it so that only you can read the true contents.
Oh Regulus, Evan keeps whining about missing Barty and it’s only been a day. I don’t know how I’ll make it through the summer at Rosier Manor if he keeps acting like this. If only Barty’s father wasn’t an arse, then at least Evan could write him during the summer.
I will miss our correspondence this summer, Reg. Remember to keep your journal for me like you do every holiday.
Much Love, Pandora Rosier
Regulus smiled at the letter. He actually could write back, at least for the first half of the summer. He quickly grabbed a quill and moved to sit at the desk in the room.
Dearest Pandora,
For the first half of the summer I am with my Aunt Dorea, so I can actually write back. I hope Dorcas and Marlene will be happy. Merlin knows that they are likely to end up on opposite sides of this war the Dark Lord intends to start. I wouldn’t be surprised if my father’s big plans for the summer end up having to do with him.
Speaking of Lily Evans, you won’t believe where Aunt Dorea has taken me for the first half of the summer. Potter Manor. Sirius will apparently be staying with Remus Lupin for the entirety of my stay here. James Potter is extremely frustrating. He and his family are so welcoming that it unnerves me at times. Aunt Dorea apparently almost married Charlus Potter in secret. James told me that Charlus died mysteriously and I wouldn’t be surprised if my father had a hand in his mysterious death. James also told me that Remus Lupin and my brother are in fact dating, like we suspected. The Potters also have their very own quidditch pitch on their grounds. Luckily, James has stopped calling me ‘Baby Black’, but unfortunately has started calling me ‘Reggie’ like Sirius used to. Those two are both eerily similar and extremely different.
I will also charm my letter to only reveal its true contents to you. Evan reading this letter could spell disaster. These things with Barty and Evan truly are distressing. Do keep me updated. I wish there was a way we could help them to keep in contact, like two way journals. I’ll look into the charm work while I’m staying with the Potters. Stay safe this summer, Pandora. I have a bad feeling for things to come.
With care, Regulus Black
Regulus gave the letter to the owl and then closed the window.
Regulus laid down on his bed and sighed. He truly couldn’t believe that he was in Potter Manor, sleeping in the room right next to James Potter. He could hear some sort of muggle music coming from James’s room.
For a moment, Regulus let himself imagine a different life, a life where he had run away instead of Sirius. Regulus imagined himself walking into James’s room.
“Reggie? You ok?” Imaginary James asked when Regulus walked into the room.
Regulus didn’t answer. In this world, Lily and James never started dating, so Regulus didn’t feel bad when he kissed Imaginary James. Imaginary James would kiss him back. The pressure of Imaginary James’s lips against Regulus’s made his cheeks heat up. He could smell the spices, the musk, and the broomstick polish scents that clung to Imaginary James.
Imaginary James backed Regulus up to the wall, they were still kissing. The strange muggle music was still playing in the background. “Don’t go wasting your emotion, lay all your love on me” the music cooed.
Imaginary James had his hands under Regulus’s jumper-
Regulus heard a knock on the door. Regulus cleared his throat, smoothed out his jumper, and then opened the door. Euphemia Potter smiled when the door opened.
“Ah Regulus, I’m glad you’re still awake. I wanted to let you know that if there’s anything you want for your room, you can ask Treacle and she’ll help you.”
Regulus smiled, “Thank you, Effie. You’ve been very kind.”
“Of course, you’re always welcome here. You always have been.”
She smiled kindly at Regulus and then turned and walked away. Regulus shut the door and leaned against it. He tapped his lips absentmindedly, thinking of James.
“There’s no such thing as bad thoughts,” He muttered to himself. It was something Pandora said frequently. He focused again on the faint music coming from James’s room.
“Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight.”
Regulus had spent the past week at Potter Manor either with James, Fleamont, or Dorea. He didn’t end up spending much time with Euphemia. She was always helping out at St. Mungos. James spent every morning at the quidditch pitch. Regulus really did think James could easily go pro. He was the best chaser Regulus had ever seen.
He had exchanged multiple letters with Pandora. He was the happiest he’d been on a holiday in a long time. Maybe the happiest he’d ever been. He was responding to a letter from Pandora when someone knocked on the door.
Regulus opened it to see James standing there in his quidditch kit, “Hello James.”
“Reggie, come fly with me. It’ll be fun,” James suggested. His face was flushed, probably from being outdoors in the summer heat.
“Let me grab my kit and I’ll meet you at the pitch?”
James grinned, “Oh just grab it and change at the locker room we have down there!”
Regulus grabbed his quidditch kit and then James pulled him out of the room and towards the pitch. Regulus laughed. James was so eager that it was endearing. James brought Regulus into the locker room and Regulus pulled off his shirt to change. He paused and looked at James.
“You’re staring, Potter.”
James laughed, “We’re back to Potter now, are we?”
Regulus shrugged and pulled on his kit, “You just gonna stare at me the whole time or are we going to actually do something?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Here’s an extra broom,” James stuttered out. Regulus felt his cheeks heat up as he took the broom from James.
He grinned, “Thanks, James.”
Regulus could’ve sworn that the flush on James’s face wasn’t just from the heat.