Chapter 5
The first few days of Regulus’s first year passed in a blur. The classes were easy, he had been homeschooled since he was six. By his second charms class, where he earned twenty points for performing a silence charm that he had learned three years ago, Regulus figured he could scrape by the school year without studying once. Defense Against the Dark Arts was almost laughable. The first day the professor, a nervous looking frail man whose name Regulus couldn't remember, warned them in a trembling voice about Legilemens, the dark spell used to invade others' minds, forcing them to reveal memories, emotions or secrets. Regulus stared out the window the entire lesson, humming quietly under his breath to block out the professor's words.
Between classes, homework, and chaotic mealtimes, Regulus had hardly had a moment to think since he boarded the train. It was the endless voices from the Slytherin common room, or the infuriatingly loud snoring coming from his dorm mate Barty Crouch, or the constant pressure slowly building behind his head that led him to wake up an hour before sunrise Friday morning and quietly slip out of the room. Both of his dorm mates were sound asleep, sprawled wide mouthed across their beds. Regulus resisted the urge to use the silencing charm on Barty. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the two boys yet, they were both very obviously descended from pure-blood families, and seemed to like Regulus more when they realized they had heard the name Black before. Barty refused to talk about his father, and in return didn't ask Regulus about his family, which he appreciated. The other boy, Evan Rosier, was huge even at eleven and had a ferocious temper and a dirty sense of humor. He was incredibly tone deaf, Regulus noticed, but undeniably fearless. Regulus watched him down five living flobberworms on a dare, without a moment of hesitation. Now, the boy had an impressively long trail of drool hanging from his mouth as he slept peacefully.
Regulus crept down the stairs and past the common room, where a few drunk seventh years were talking in hushed downs while slouched on each other's laps. They didn't pay him much notice as he slipped past them, the dark green light filtering in through the windows hid him nicely in its shadow. He pushed open the door, wincing as it slammed shut behind him and became an impenetrable wall once again. Filch, the middle aged but already somehow graying caretaker, was probably doing rounds right now. He and his weird cat Ms. Norris seemed to always be lurking right around the corner. Regulus wondered briefly what the punishment was for sneaking out before breakfast. There wasn't a specified rule that McGonagall had mentioned. Regulus had a shockingly good memory when he focused, and he had clung on to every word the assistant headmistress had said the first day. Besides, he thought dryly. He had already earned about fifty points this week stunning the teachers with elementary charms. It could hurt to take a few off.
The halls were eerily silent as he climbed up the many flights of stairs out of the dungeon, and crept into the great hall. The sun was breaking ever so slightly over the mountains rising in the distance, and the faint orange rays bathed the entrance hall in a ghostly light. Regulus realized, standing alone in the midst of the huge hall, that he didn't really know where he planned to go. A draft of fresh air brushed past him, the slightly crisp air carrying the smell of dewy grass and morning. Regulus inhaled sharply, turning to see a window to the east barely cracked open, letting bursts of morning air into the room. Looking past the window, Regulus saw two tall goalposts rising in the distance, outlined strikingly against the rising sun and casting long shadows on the freshly cut grass. He grinned. Regulus knew exactly how to clear his head.