Black Rose [Regulus Black]

"Kreacher!" Regulus called out, darting forward and grabbing his mother's wrist to check for a pulse. The house-elf appeared with a 'pop', making Alessandra let out a shriek of surprise.

"Master?" The elf exclaimed incredulously, unable to believe that Regulus was actually alive.

"Master?" Alessandra muttered, confused. Was this what all pureblood dinners were like? Was fainting some strange form of greeting done by party hosts to greet their guests?

Was she supposed to faint as well to show her appreciation?

God, this is too confusing. Why can't there just be a book on how to be a witch?

The elf then disappeared and Regulus slowly stood up with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Well?" she questioned, slightly nervous. "Is she..."

"No," he reassured her. "Just unconscious."

Kreacher re-appeared with a basket full of tiny vials filled with clear liquids, and Regulus began administering them to his mother.

"Do you need any help?" she offered, noticing his hands shaking.

He shook his head, so she waited until the elf disappeared with the mother. "Regulus, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just startled." He ran his hands through his hair, distressed. Fidgeting was looked down on in pureblood society, but he couldn't help himself.

"Why'd she faint?" She asked, curious yet not wanting to pressure him.

He closed his eyes and made his way to a room down the hall, gesturing for her to follow him. Swinging open the door to what she presumed was a kitchen, he made a beeline for a cupboard right above the sink, bringing out a bottle of whiskey.

"Would you like some?" He brought out two glasses without even waiting for the answer.

She'd never actually consumed alcohol before, but had heard wonderful things about it so she obliged.

He slid the glass over to her, and she tentatively took a sip, goosebumps rising on her skin as warmth began to pleasantly engulf her, making her feel lighter.

"It's happened quite a few times before," he said, after downing the entire glass and pouring himself some more. "It usually happens when she gets extremely shocked. There are instances when she gets extremely sick for a long period of time and has headaches. It's a normal occurrence at this point."

She didn't know what to say. She'd never had parents, and never had the need for parents, so she couldn't relate. But clearly, it had affected him a lot, so she reached out and gently patted his arm, causing him to jump a little because of the shock. "Have you taken her to a hospital?"

"We did, a few years ago. They just ran a few scans and gave us a few potions. It's been a few years, and I'm starting to think that the potions don't hold off her...episodes, but instead just heal her whenever she has them."

She wanted to ask him what he meant by episodes, but he clearly had a lot on his mind and she didn't want to make it worse than it already was.

"Don't think too much of it, I'm sure you've tried your hardest." She usually wasn't the 'encouraging' type, but the words just spilled out of her mouth without her control.

Don't think too much of it? His mother fucking fainted and you told him not to think about it?!

"Well, at least one good thing came out of it. We now know she knows who you are."

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that? She didn't even say anything."

"But she fainted at the sight of you, which means she clearly knew who you were."

"Or perhaps it was because of my stunning beauty, I am one of the most alluring women to walk this Earth." She struck a magnificent pose, tossing her hair back, and Regulus snorted.

"Yeah, right."

That stung a little, she wasn't going to lie.

"It's nothing personal," he continued. "You just happened to throw a few plates at my face the first time we met."

"You also happened to barge into my house through the window, uninvited."

"Then I suppose it's fitting that I give you a tour of my house in return," he countered smoothly, and stood up, surprisingly sturdy for someone who'd emptied half a bottle of alcohol.

"You know, in Muggle society, the man usually takes out the woman for a drink before introducing her to his family."

"In pureblood society, the man sleeps with the woman before taking her out for a drink."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, shocked.

"You'll understand eventually."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Try anything and you'll lose the ability to have children, I mean it."

"Merlin, no!" he exclaimed. "I'm surprised you'd even think that. Besides, it's not like we intend to...be together, or something like that."

"Yeah," she laughed it off, although it felt like her heart was shriveling up inside of her. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, he had no interest in staying, he'd made it clear from the very beginning.

"This is the dining room," he announced as he turned down to a hallway. There was a long table with chairs surrounding it. A dresser was stacked against the wall, and she instantly made a beeline for it, interested in its contents.

"Is that...actual gold?" she asked, pointing to a stash of cutlery.

"Yes," he replied nonchalantly. "Mother had an entire collection of utensils custom-made, they're all imported from some exotic place I don't remember the name of."

I must not steal. I must not steal. I must not steal.

"Don't even think about it, she will go ballistic and kill you."

Her eyes widened and she slowly turned to face him. "You can read my mind?"

"With a little bit of difficulty, yes." He strolled past the dining room and began to climb the flight of stairs, with her following him.

"How?"

"Legilimency."

"Huh?"

"Mind-reading."

"Like...telepathy? Except it's only one-sided."

He didn't know what that was either. "I...think so? What is this 'tele' thing you're on about, it's been there in every magic-related word."

"I'm not sure, but I think it means that it can reach far, without any sort of physical contact between two points.  Like the telephone, it- OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?!" she yelled, pointing at the heads mounted on the wall.

"Elf heads," he said casually, as though it wasn't a big deal he kind of had corpses hanging on the walls of his house.

"Why do they look so real..." she whispered, touching the ear of one of the figures.

"That's because they actually are."

She instantly drew her hand back as though it had been burnt. "What the hell? Why do you have actual elf heads hanging on your wall, Regulus?"

"It's tradition."

"It's tradition to brutally murder those poor, helpless creatures?" she asked, feeling slightly sick due to the alcohol and the fact that she'd actually touched a dead creature's head.

"I didn't decide the tradition, it was set thousands of years ago, my ancestors decided that if the house-elf wasn't up to their standards, they'd go up on the wall." He raised his hands in self-defense.

"So you mean to tell me that you'd follow through with the tradition if that poor house-elf wasn't up to your standards?"

If looks could kill, forget Regulus, the entire house would be six feet under.

He gulped slightly, choosing his next words very carefully. "Of course not. Just because my ancestors chose to uphold it, doesn't mean I would. I would never kill Kreacher."

Her gaze didn't falter even a little, and he decided to get them out of there as soon as possible. He cleared his throat and placed his hand on her back, steering her past the display. "Let's go ahead."

She had no problem with that at all.

"This is the drawing room."

The drawing room was easily one of the most marvelous rooms she'd ever seen. It was as big as her entire apartment, with decorations that probably cost thrice her rent. There was a large fireplace with a large portrait of the family hanging over it. There were glass cabinets on each side of the fireplace, filled with precious artifacts.

On the wall opposite to the fireplace was a large tapestry which expanded across the walls. It had a green background, with white tendrils running across the entire surface. As she neared it, she realised it was a family tree.

She saw named dating all the way back from the 1800s, which she found impressive. Her eyes trailed over all the names, recognizing the recent ones like Orion and Walburga Black, who were married and were Regulus' parents...and also cousins? Below their union line were two figures, one intact and the other ruined.

"Who's Sirius?" she asked, running her finger over a scorch mark next to Regulus' name.

He stiffened. "My brother."

"Why is his name burnt off?"

"He ran away to his friend's house four years ago."

She frowned, a mixture of confusion, surprise and dislike bubbling up inside her. What kind of person left his own brother to deal with their sick mother, just so they could live at their friend's house? This Sirius person was clearly a questionable character.

Thankfully, she was spared the awkwardness of having to reply to him as the house-elf appeared in front of them, making her gasp and place a hand over her chest in shock.

"Mistress is awake."