The Promise
How much sorrow can I take?
Blackbird on my shoulder,
And what difference does it make,
When this love is over?
- “Mystery of Love” Sufjan Stevens
Somewhere in Northern Italy…
Regulus was enjoying his evening, really fucking enjoying his evening until his – about to be ex – best friends thought it would be fun to start throwing rocks at his window, well, as the window was wide open to allow ample flow of the cool Italian summer breeze, they were essentially just throwing rocks through his window. Finally fed up with the miniature gravel mountain forming on the worn wooden floor panels of his bedroom, Regulus forced himself up and off the chair he’d been pleasantly reading in all afternoon, and made his way to the window, the floorboards creaking underneath his feet as he did so. Yet all he encountered when he peeked his head out from the wooden frame, was a rather large and circular grey object catapulting towards him.
“AARGGH, Evan. That hit me in the head,” Regulus yelled from the second floor of the house. He would have thought it quite an impressive feat to get a rock that high, if his head wasn’t currently throbbing from the sharp impact.
“Oi, that wasn’t me mate, that was Barty,” yelled back Evan. Barty’s laughter echoed from where he stood behind Evan.
“Well, what do you two idiots want? Make it quick because I was just about to go to bed.”
“Bed? It’s only 7:30 Reg,” exclaimed an incredulous, yet still chuckling Barty.
“We want you to join us down at the bonfire tonight, it's going to be a crazy big party, all the vacationers have arrived,” Regulus could always count on Barty to find the biggest parties in town, he always knew when trouble was stirring, maybe he got that sixth sense from his dad, the sindaco of the village.
Considering the few options he had, to either ignore the boys and finish his book before bed or agree to spend the night out with them, Regulus (reluctantly) decided on the latter. Simply for the fact that he felt as if he’d distanced himself from his friends over the past school term, instead delving into his studies ever since Sirius left. One might call it guilt that made him call out moments later.
“Fine, let me get dressed,”
He would do anything to avoid the thoughts of his betraying older brother that constantly plagued him. It had been causing him grief all year, the way Sirius had just got up and left. Leaving both everything and absolutely nothing behind for Regulus to scramble together. It was an act of complete selfishness, there was no need for him to have acted so foolishly in front of his parents, he should have known better than to go and purposely anger them. Then again, Sirius always was the reckless type. Perhaps Regulus was always destined to be left behind. Abandoned.
God. Maybe Regulus did need to find it in himself to relax a little bit over the summer, enjoy the company of his friends and forget himself in the late nights and lazy days. Going out tonight would do him well, and hopefully there’d be alcohol involved. Besides, who knew who else he might meet tonight.
**
As soon as they arrived, Regulus was all too aware of how reckless this decision was, the open-air dancefloor, located in the outskirts of town, was packed with locals and foreigners alike. People he both knew and didn’t know were dancing around the flames of the bonfire in the centre of the floor. One thing about this place – and Italy as a whole – was that, as a popular destination for holiday makers, there was always an influx of people during the holidays. Evan and Barty knew how to make the most of that and each gave Regulus a cheeky wink before slinking away.
Immediately Regulus wanted to crawl back home, curl up in his room with a sweet cup of tea and the book he’d been meaning to finish all week. This was not a setting he usually felt comfortable in, and all the people he felt comfortable with were currently snatching something to drink or...
Flirting with girls? He added as he spotted Pandora across the makeshift dancefloor flirtatiously grinning up at the dark-haired girl by her shoulder.
God, what he would do for a strong drink right now. Though he was only 16, Regulus had battled so much despair recently that he felt he deserved a little taste, and the numbing effects. As if on cue, the two mischief makers he considered his friends popped up behind him each with two red cups sloshing in their unsteady hands.
“There’s only three of us,” stated Regulus.
“We didn’t know what you wanted Reg, something light,” started Barty, waving his cup in Regulus’s face.
“Or something stronger,” finished Evan with a wicked grin, also holding up his second cup.
Without thinking much on it, Regulus immediately snatched the red cup from Evan’s hand.
Barty just shrugged, “More for me I guess,” then proceeded to down the two drinks in his hands at the same time.
“You aren’t going to be conscious tomorrow at this rate Barty,” Regulus cautioned.
“Why would I want to be?” Questioned Barty, “Father wants me to accompany him to his office tomorrow to ‘learn the ways of the politician’ or something like that.”
Not wanting to dwell too much on the realities of their lives and their internal family issues, Evan suggested that they head to the dancefloor and try and find someone pretty to spend the night with.
“But Evan, I’ve already found one,” sobbed Barty lovingly, as he looked at Regulus with pure adoration in his eyes.
“Oh, shove off you big liar, I’m not dancing, you two go out there and have some fun, I’m only here to get absolutely plastered after the hell of a school term they just put us through.”
“That’s fair, come on Barty, I spy a pair of French blondes over there giggling with Mulciber, we can’t let that runt steal all the fun.”
And with that last comment from Evan, the two boys were off, leaving Regulus to observe the celebrations from the sidelines. More drinks were passed around and as he helped himself, gagging and the bitter taste left in his mouth, he examined the space with watchful eyes. People were dancing, drinking, singing along with the modern pop songs blaring through the speakers. The sun was down, but the place was well lit, colourful fluorescent lights illuminating the space with hues of greens, blues, reds, and purples. There were a few little white iron chairs and tables pushed aside to one corner, no doubt to make enough room for everyone with the grand bonfire toasting anyone standing within 5 meters of it. Regulus decided to occupy one of these chairs, a new drink in hand, and watch the events of the night unfold, he wasn’t much of a party guy, not like Evan and Barty, but the first bonfire of the summer was a pretty big event for the youth in this small town. It signified the beginning of a holiday where nothing mattered and anyone could do anything, party all night, swim lazily through the lakes all day, and de-stress from the realities of the real world.
That of course only lasted until the beginning of the next term when everyone was a year older, everything becoming a little more serious. This was essentially one of Regulus’s last moments of freedom. Only sixteen years old and yet about to enter the years of schooling that actually counted, before he’ll be thrust into the real world where there’ll be absolutely no escape, he’ll be forced to take up the family legacy, must uphold the Black family tradition, and continue their famous vineyard business.
For generations, his father’s line had prospered immensely from their vineyards, mass producing wine for the entire country. As an old money family, there were values, beliefs, and traditions that must be upheld, and since Sirius’s abrupt and rude departure, those duties now befell onto Regulus. He’d always hate his older brother for that, running from his duties like a coward.
But he was interrupted by the handsome stranger that sat himself down next to Regulus, his foreign voice alone was enough to pierce through Regulus’s despairing thoughts of the future.
“Hello there, and what’s your excuse for not joining in on the festivities?”
The strong British accent made Regulus pause for a moment, because turning to see the face of the boy who’d just spoken had him star struck. Though the dark flashing lights were obscuring is vision, the boy next to him was undoubtedly pretty, attractively so, he wore a loose light blue button down, the top unbuttoned to show off his chest, and a large ruby red rock hanging from his neck. He had an overgrown head of fluffy curls, and the widest smile on his face, a smile so dazzling it made him only more beautiful, and made Regulus splutter out the words.
“I -- Um, My friends, they – they're... I don’t dance.”
“DON’T DANCE?” Exclaimed the beautiful boy incredulously.
Gods, that face. Those eyes. That smile. It had Regulus’s cold heart practically melting.
Melting?
Regulus doesn’t melt for anybody! So, this boy must just be figment of Regulus’s lustful imagination.
“What’s your name?” ordered Regulus as he concluded that there must have been some hallucinogenic in his drink.
“James, James Potter. And what’s your name, Mr. I Don’t Dance.”
Great, another nickname to add to the list of things he despises.
“Regulus, Regulus Black,” he said with the pride of having a family name almost everyone in the country respected.
But with James Potter’s nonchalant response to the name, and his funny expressions, and strange accent, Regulus had to ask the question, even if he already knew the answer.
“Where are you from James Potter?”
“James, it’s just James,” clarified James Potter, “And I’m from London!”
Of course! of course he was from London. He’d never personally known anyone from that concrete jungle, but many of his father’s work colleagues came from the hustle and bustle of that always loud and busy city. It seemed impossible, at least to Regulus, that those bleak and dull streets could turn out a boy with eyes so full of joy. Yet here was the evidence, right in front of him.
Now that evidence had taken ownership of his hands and was dragging him towards the centre of the bonfire madness, as the crowd was singing along to the song now playing through the speakers.
Love my way, it’s a new road
I follow where my mind goes
Love my way, it’s a new road
I follow where my mind goes
“Come on, everyone dances,” pleaded James as Regulus struggled to get his hands free from the surprisingly tight grip.
“Everyone except me,” stated Regulus finally freeing his hands, and recoiling slightly at the sharp cold that embraced them as James stepped back. Like he himself was the only warmth in the world. Like he was the sun.
“Fine, then let me show you how it’s done,” called James, now in the centre of the dancefloor.
Before Regulus could protest, James was throwing his hands up and moving his feet in the most ridiculous moves Regulus had ever seen. He must have purposely been doing it for Regulus’s entertainment, as there was no way in hell that anyone would consider those moves cool in anyway.
And here Regulus thought he’d found the coolest person to ever exist, never mind, he’d only found the stupidest.
Whilst James was busy making a fool of himself on the dance floor, Regulus got up to grab another drink, not wanting all the attention on him if Potter happened to move his way.
Whist on the hunt for a drink, he stumbled upon Pandora and the girl from earlier still flirting by the makeshift bar.
“Hey Pandora, what brings you here?” he asked, filling his cup. To the brim.
“I could ask that exact same question to you Regulus, I never see you at these kinds of things. Did Evan and Barty finally convince you?” was Pandora’s response.
But before he could reply, Regulus felt the presence (before he heard the presence) of James Potter behind him.
“There you are Regulus, you missed my epic dancefloor dash, it’s a famous move of mine,”
Regulus had grabbed his drink and they moved back to the outskirts of the party. Throwing a last glance at Pandora, who’d gone back to laughing wit the girl in front of her.
“Sorry James, I had more important things on my mind,” Regulus replied without remorse.
“Like another drink?” asked James.
“Precisely,” replied Regulus. As he said so, a rather large pint of alcoholic liquid was passed into his hands by Evan who had snuck up on them.
“Took a break from the festivities to give you two this wonderful creation, we call it... The ‘Bartylicious Party Drink’. If you’re going to party with us Reggie, you better do it right.”
He winked at both Regulus and James before strutting off to where his partner in crime sat with the two blonde twins from earlier.
“Tell me more about yourself, James,” asked Regulus, now with two drinks in his hands. He passed one James and cringed at the first sip he took of Evan and Barty’s devious creation.
James replied, “We’re only here for the summer, mum, dad, and I. Dad got offered a summer research job, he’s an archaeology professor, teaches me all this cool stuff about the ancient world. We decided to make it our holiday. But I’m assuming you live here Regulus, with that marvellous accent.”
Regulus had never heard of his accent being marvellous but oh, did like hearing it. Especially from the mouth of James Potter.
“You’d be correct in your assumption James; I know everything there is to know about this place.” He replied, proudly.
“Then show me.”
“What?”
“Show me Regulus. I’ve never been here before; I’d love an experienced tour-guide to show me all the wonders of a place like this.”
“Okay.”
“Promise?” asked James, they were so close now, Regulus found it hard to breath.
“I Promise.”