Chapter 8
Regulus had always loved thestrals. He had been able to see them since he was young, the running theory his family harboured was that part of his soul had crossed over when he had nearly died at birth. His grandmother had owned a herd and whenever Walburga decided she needed a break from her children, Regulus and Sirius had been sent out to their grandmother’s estate. Melania Black had taught Regulus how to feed them and ride them, she had taught him everything he wanted to know.
At the estate, knowledge had been free in a way Grimmauld Place never allowed and Regulus had absorbed it all. The estate had been a place of stories, of myths, and love that the Black children never found anywhere else. It was a pity Melania had died at the beginning of Regulus’ second year. He had barely been allowed to visit her since starting at Hogwarts and he couldn’t prevent the auctioning of the majority of her herd. There were rumours, however, that a few had escaped into the woods of the property and were unlocatable.
As the other three Slytherins climbed up into the cart, Regulus and Pandora stayed down to pet the thestrals, offering them scraps of the sandwich meat from the trolley lady’s snacks. Evan scolded them for feeding the animals but the two just grinned. The thestrals were silky, their dark velveteen skin stretched thin over prominent ribs. Regulus scratched below the chin of the smallest one, it appeared younger than the rest, its harness too large. At the attention, the thestral’s wings flared slightly in pleasure and it made a trilling noise. Regulus grinned in delight.
The shouts of other students could be heard as they climbed up into the carriage, setting off towards Hogwarts.
…
The Great Hall was noisy, a controlled chaos that despite its familiarity was still overwhelming. Light shone down from the floating candles and the bewitched ceiling showed a mostly clear night. Regulus had always found the ceiling rather odd as, though it looked just the same as the one outside, none of the constellations were familiar. The sorting occurred without a hitch and he and the others ignored it for the most part, occasionally placing bets on hat stalls. Dorcas won every bet she placed and by the end, Regulus was fifteen galleons richer while Barty was staring miserably at the bottom of his near-empty wallet.
“Don’t worry Bartemius, I’ll pay for drinks next time we go out.” Reg bumped shoulders with him.
“You won’t be paying for anything if you call me that again.” The threat was undermined by the sparkle in his eyes.
The platters around them suddenly filled and Regulus looked over, startled to see the final first-year scurrying over to the Gryffindor table. James shuffled over to offer the kid a seat and Regulus felt a wriggling sensation in his abdomen, it was rather warm, and as odd as it was, he found he didn’t mind it all that much. He tore his eyes from the Gryffindors to face his friends once again.
“So Reg, what classes do you have this year?” Pandora asked. She was always trying to coordinate their schedules so they could have classes together. It was scary how often she succeeded. Regulus would have put it down to simple favouritism but not even being teacher’s pet could get you that far so he assumed Pandora was using illegal means. Regardless, he listed off his subjects and what days he had them on and Pandora, who had seemingly materialised a notebook, jotted the information down.
Barty reached for Regulus’ plate, heaping it with an array of foods from the surrounding platters. He knew that if he didn’t Regulus probably wouldn’t eat at all from sheer absentmindedness. The number of times Regulus had forgotten to eat because he was stressed or distracted was concerning but what was more concerning was when he said that it felt weird if he wasn’t hungry. As it was, Regulus was clearly not focused on consuming food. Instead, his eyes were glued to the other side of the Great Hall. To the Gryffindor table, and specifically, to where James Potter sat chatting to one of the first years in his over-friendly confident manner. He seemed so invested in the topic that he hadn’t even noticed the smudge of sauce on his chin and Regulus so badly wanted to walk all the way over there just to wipe it off.
It was just that he found the uncleanliness distracting, or that’s what Regulus told himself. But when Lily Evans reached across the table to do just that, Regulus felt something in his stomach twist. He tore his eyes away, looking down at his filled plate. The conversation continued around him and his friends tried to include him but something felt off now and he found himself longing for silence. There were just too many people around and he was really tired. Regulus stood abruptly, as soon as he finished eating.
Several students were already leaving as the meal drew to an end and he told his friends he would see them later. Regulus stalked down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, prepared to hex anyone who got in his way, detentions be damned. He made it out the main doors before someone tried to stop him. He heard James calling out to him and the heavy footfalls of him rushing to catch up as he followed Regulus from the hall.
“Regulus! Reg, wait up.” He probably could have continued walking, pretending not to hear him but James Potter always made him pause so there was no hiding the fact James had caught his attention. He stuttered to a halt but didn’t turn, waiting for James to reach him before he began to walk again, at a slower pace this time. James was slightly panting as he slowed to match Regulus' pace. Shooting him a grin,
“You’re rather fast you know?” James’ voice was amused.
“What do you want Potter?”
“I’ve told you, call me James.” Regulus rolled his eyes. “Anyways, I wanted to ask you some things about what happened that day at Borgin and Burkes.”
Regulus allowed his feet to speed up, he did not want to have this conversation. But he supposed he’d avoided it long enough. That’s why didn’t try harder to escape the all-encompassing presence of James Potter. How Lily had withheld from his irresistible charm was a miracle in Regulus’ mind.
“Firstly, why was your mother so mad, and does it have something to do with why you ran away? I’m assuming there was a specific event that triggered the escape other than the fact that household is horrible because otherwise, you would have left earlier.” Regulus tensed, for all the fun people made of James for being a bit dumb, he was incredibly observant.
“Yes. My mother is rather upset over how I left that night. Let’s just say I did something she disagreed with, but it was irreversible.” He answered vaguely. James nodded before continuing,
“Okay, next question, who is Estella?”
Shit. Regulus was wrong. He can’t handle this. He isn’t ready to talk about this. Fuck. He had to get out.
Regulus was struggling for breath as his speed walk turned into a quick trot and then a full-out run as he fled the questions. He couldn’t do this. Regulus could hear James rushing to catch up with him before he disappeared. He felt James’ warm grip close over his wrist and spin him. He raised his other arm to scrub away the hot tears that seared his cheeks.
“Shit, I’m sorry Regulus. If you don’t want to talk about it that it’s okay. I know Sirius struggled at first too. I know that there are still some things he hasn’t told me even now.”
Regulus snatched his hand back.
“Piss off Potter.” He hissed, “Leave me alone. Just because I live in your house doesn’t mean I want to talk to you.”
James flinched but Regulus was too busy trying to escape the conversation to notice. He turned, putting on a burst of speed that slightly shocked James, and dashed down an empty hallway. James tried to follow him but once he reached the turn, Regulus was nowhere to be found.
It was at this point that the other three Slytherins and Pandora caught up. Pandora reached up to poke his cheek with a giggle,
“Look how lost he looks. Like a puppy.” The others snickered,
“What’s up with you Potter?” Evan asked, his tone snarky.
“I- Well, just- Reg just ran away from me.” His tone sounded unsure, rather shocked. His jaw remained slightly open as he stared where Regulus had been moments ago.
“Ahh. Well, I think your mates are looking for ya.” He replied.
The four of them walked off, leaving James standing there. He heard Barty pitch his voice in a mocking tone,
“He isn’t gay.” They burst into peals of laughter and James was shaken from his stupor. He headed back into the Great Hall to meet up with the other three marauders so they could head to the Gryffindor common room together. When he got there, Sirius was poking Remus’ side and he had a carrot stick in either side of his mouth like fangs which he then pretended to try and sink into Remus's throat. Poor Peter was sat there trying to ignore the blatantly obvious flirting occurring next to him.
“Your brother just ran away from me. I feel so offended.” He interrupted Sirius making a fool of himself.
“Don’t take it personally mate, he’s like that. If he feels cornered he tends to go for flight over fight.” Sirius turned to him with a knowing look. “Come on Prongs. We have a start of the year prank to get started on.”
“I should hope you aren’t aiming for detentions already Mister Black.” McGonagall’s voice caused Sirius to whip around. Her face was stern but the glimmer of amusement in her eye gave her away.
“Wouldn’t dream of it Professor.” He replied without pause.