Stars In The Sky
Frantic, Regulus searched all over his room for his poem. “What’s going on?” Evan asked.
“Have you seen a piece of paper lying around? A paper with my handwriting on it?” Regulus asked, trying his best to keep his voice calm and steady. But how could he? His poem was missing. The very poem that revealed his inner thoughts and the poem that he put a lot of effort into. Regulus had been working on the poem for days.
Evan shook his head. “Maybe Barty has seen it? You can ask him later when he comes back,” the blonde boy said.
Regulus wanted to tear the room apart in his search for his poem. He stopped pacing up and down the room and sat down on his bed and tried to recall his steps. It’s not in my books. It’s not here. So where could it possibly be? Regulus asked himself. Then it clicked.
“Fuck,” he muttered when he realised his poem might have dropped during his ‘argument’ with Sirius hours before. But if it dropped there, Sirius and his Marauders might have picked it up… James’ pretty face flashed in Regulus’ mind. Regulus scowled and waved his embarrassing thoughts about James’ face away.
If James had his poem, Regulus was going to off himself.
Regulus grabbed his pillow and covered his face with it, momentarily contemplating if he should suffocate himself to death. The Gryffindor boy strutted into his mind. Regulus recalled how James called his name as he was leaving. James’ voice had left goosebumps on Regulus’ skin and left the Slytherin’s heart beating so fast, Regulus thought his heart might explode. Despite him wanting to stop and look back at James, Regulus did not.
Instead, he had kept walking forward.
Even now as Regulus laid on his bed, James’ beautiful hazel eyes, his soft looking lips and his stupid glasses kept reappearing in his mind. I’m cursed, Regulus thought. This is a curse.
***
James wondered if he should ask Regulus for poetry lessons. The Slytherin’s poem was safely placed inside an envelope because James feared if he accidentally damages the poem, Regulus might have his head. “What are you doing?” Remus asked when he saw James leaving the Gryffindor common room. Moony was reading his book while sitting in the same chair he always sat in.
Peter told James once that Remus might have gotten attached to the chair. “Need to go get something,” James said unconvincingly. Thankfully Remus did not question him further and let him go.
Sirius and Peter were in the library with the Valkyries which left James the freedom to look for his best friend’s brother. As James wandered aimlessly through the corridors, he came across Regulus’ blonde friend, Pandora Rosier.
Pandora was wearing her Ravenclaw scarf and held her textbooks in her arms. She walked gracefully like a swan and smiled like an angel.
“Hello James,” Pandora greeted with a grin. James returned the gesture.
“Hi Pandora. It’s nice to see you,” James said.
“Regulus is at the Astronomy tower. Here, you might want to borrow my scarf. It’s a little windy up there,” Pandora took off her Ravenclaw scarf and wrapped it around James’ neck. James raised his eyebrow in confusion.
“H-how.. How did you know I was looking for Regulus?” James asked, confusion etched on his face.
“I had a hunch,” Pandora said mysteriously. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck, James.” The blonde girl winked at the Gryffindor and left while humming a tune under her breath.
James watched as Pandora walked away. He looked down at the blue scarf around his neck. Pandora puzzled James but despite the weird fact that she knew things she wasn’t told of, James liked her. Regulus is at the Astronomy tower, Pandora’s words echoed in his head.
Dismissing his questions about Pandora, James left for the Astronomy tower.
Pandora was right about two things. Firstly, she was right about the wind. Gusts of wind played with James’ hair and made it even messier which James did not know was possible. Secondly, she was right about Regulus being there.
James was still ascending the stairs to the tower but he could see Regulus standing at the edge of the tower, looking up at the constellations above with a dreamy look on his face. When James reached the top, he found himself being bathed in the serene glow of the night sky.
Regulus’ profile was illuminated by the moonlight and James’ breath quickened at the sight of Regulus. Gathering his courage, James took a step forward. “Hi,” James said. Regulus turned around and his gaze hardened when he met James’ eyes.
“You. What are you doing here, Potter?” Regulus scowled.
James almost winced at Regulus’ harsh tone. “Nice to see you too, Black,” James said.
“What are you doing here?” Regulus repeated his question.
“Well, I-” James searched for words. But how could he speak properly when his crush was standing there in front of him, looking so pretty that James might faint? “Um…” he stammered.
Regulus’ eyes fell to James’ scarf and his eyes narrowed. “Got yourself a Ravenclaw girlfriend, Potter?” Regulus said with a smug grin that hid an upset heart.
James looked down at the scarf. “Oh, the scarf. No it’s not my girlfriend,” James started to say, then he realised that it sounded like he had a girlfriend but the scarf wasn’t hers. He immediately corrected himself, “W-what I mean is that, I don’t have a girlfriend. This scarf actually belongs to Pandora.”
Regulus frowned. “Pandora? Pandora Rosier? My Pandora?”
James’ heart sank all the way to titanic. “Your- Your Pandora? You’re together?”
Regulus laughed. Genuinely laughed . James thought it was the most beautiful thing he heard. “Pan and I aren’t together. She’s like the sister I never had.”
“Oh,” James mentally heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I mean- That’s- That’s nice.”
Regulus regained his cold personality. “If you aren’t here for anything purposeful, I suggest you leave.”
James’ shoulders slumped. Then he decided he should just return Regulus’ property to him. “You dropped this.” James took out the envelope that contained Regulus’ poem. “I wanted to return it to you.”
With hesitance, Regulus took the envelope out of James’ hand and opened it. His eyes widened and James saw a sparkle of happiness in those black eyes of Regulus. “My poem,” Regulus muttered as he scanned his paper for any defects. He looked up at James who was watching him with anticipation.
“What do you want in return?” Regulus asked. His face was no longer lighted up with happiness.
“Nothing,” James said. “I don’t need anything in return.”
“Really?” said Regulus, clearly not satisfied with James’ answer. “Usually when you Gryffindors do something nice, you’d expect something in return.”
James frowned. Is this what all Slytherins think of Gryffindors? “No, we don’t. We do things out of kindness.”
Regulus scoffed. “Right.”
Then it occurred to James that he did want something from Regulus. James bit his lower lip as he cursed himself for not remembering it earlier. “Actually… There is something I want,” James said cautiously.
“What do you want?” Regulus said monotonously, as if this conversation was boring him.
“Your poetry is lovely,” James said, as he tried to think of how to phrase his question.
Regulus rolled his eyes and James’ heart plummeted. “If I wanted compliments, I would have just asked a Hufflepuff,” said Regulus. “Spit it out or leave, Potter.”
“I want you to teach me poetry,” James blurted out. His words immediately caused Regulus to quieten. James took this opportunity of silence to continue with his explanation. “I’ve wanted to write poems for a while now. In fact, I’ve written quite a few but none of which are good. And then I saw your poetry. Sorry for invading your privacy by the way. As I was saying, your poem is beautiful, Regulus.” James thought he saw Regulus’ gaze soften for a fleeting moment. “I haven’t told anyone of my interest in poems. Not even Remus, Sirius and Peter.”
Regulus looked saddened when he heard his brother’s name. “Why not?” he asked.
James felt embarrassed to admit this to his crush. “Because I’m afraid they’ll think my poems are horrible.”
Regulus arched an eyebrow. “Why would they think that? They’re Gryffindors. Gryffindors don’t hurt their friends’ feelings.”
“I know. I know they won’t tell me straight up that my poem is bad but they’re my best friends. If they think it’s not good, I’ll be able to tell if they think so.”
“So?”
“So I want you to teach me.”
Regulus did not answer. Instead, he looked away and shifted his attention back to the starry night sky. James slowly and cautiously walked over to Regulus’ side and joined him in stargazing. They stood in silence for a while. The silence was not uncomfortable in any sort. It was peaceful and James liked it. Secretly, Regulus did too. “The stars look like a thousand diamonds,” James muttered.
Regulus grunted in response. “I’m named after a star,” Regulus suddenly said. He did not know why he revealed this information to James but he did not regret it. “Regulus is the brightest star in the Leo constellation.”
“That’s beautiful,” James whispered as he admired Regulus. “I wish I was named after a star.”
Regulus held back a chuckle. He looked down at his hands that held his poem. “Here at the Astronomy tower. 10.30 p.m. Not a minute late, am I clear?” Regulus suddenly said to James.
James tilted his head. “What?”
“For your poetry lessons. I won’t repeat myself a second time,” Regulus’ heart did a flip flop when a grin tugged at James’ lips. “Now leave before I change my mind.”
James almost jumped up and down from happiness. Yes! I did it! James thought happily. “You’re the best, Reggie,” James exclaimed.
Regulus felt his cheeks turn pink when James called him Reggie. He covered his cheeks immediately with his cold hands. “Leave. Your voice is hurting my brain,” he said. That isn’t true. I quite like your voice .
James chuckled. “Goodnight, Regulus. I’ll see you here tomorrow,” James said. He resisted the urge to hug Regulus because he was certain that if he were to do so, Regulus would chop off his fingers.
As James walked towards the staircase, he looked over his shoulder at the Slytherin boy who had already gone back to stargazing. James’ lips curled up into a smile. Then, he went back to the Gryffindor common room with as happy as a lark.
James wished for the next day to arrive quickly for he wanted to see his Regulus again.