EastMeadow

“Regulus! How were they? Did they arrive ok? Oh you weren’t your usual you were you?” Andromeda tripped over her words the second Regulus stepped into the drawing room.

“Oh well let me tell you my dear Andy! That he is just a ball of sunshine that Lawyer!” Regulus bit out through his clenched teeth.

Andromeda sighed with a roll of her eyes “Oh Reggie you can’t possibly dislike him alread..”

“Yes I absolutely can and I absolutely will! He is rude and he is unmannered, he didn’t say a word to me the whole encounter he just stared at me as if I was some kind of animal , didn’t even bother to say hello! How can someone like that be expected to become a Lord?!” Regulus’s voice was raising with every word.

“Oh, but is he pretty to look at? Now that is the question!” Marlene stated to announce her presence leaning on the door frame.

“Oh come on Marlene you know our Reggie is awfully picky. I don’t think he has ever thought anyone was pretty enough for his attention.” Sirius laughed as he slipped past her into the room.

“I don’t know why you two are finding this so bloody amusing!! This is going to affect us both Sirius, why aren’t you being more serious about this?!”

“I-”

“If you say ‘I am Sirius’ I will quite literally scream!!” Regulus blurted out.

“Oh my he really has gotten under your skin.” Sirius said the laughter remaining in his voice.
“But Reggie you know as well as me that this can’t be changed, so really I would argue that you are taking this too seriously” he added as he threw himself onto the couch.

“Ok- Regulus please tell me they accepted the dinner invitation at least?” Andromeda said the tiredness evident in her voice.

“Yes Andy they accepted your invitation you can stop worrying” “Well the Mother did and I presume the lawyer won’t turn down a free dinner” Regulus added with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh ok well at least there is that.” Andy said before turning to Marlene.

“Marlene dear will you be staying for dinner or will you be returning home today?”

“Oh well I suppose I better stay! I wouldn’t want to miss what seems to be looking like a very tense dinner between our Reggie and the lawyer.” she said with a giggle to Sirius.

“You can all bugger off! You’ll see when you meet him I can assure you he will be quite intolerable.”

“You rang for me My Lady” McGonagall interrupted making her way into the dining room.

“Yes McGonagall, we are expecting both Mr Potter and his Mother for dinner tonight as well as Marlene who will be here for one more evening. Would you please pass that on to the cook?” Andy said with a smile.

“Of course My Lady, Will his Lordship be back in time for dinner as well?”

“Yes we are hoping he will, We will be eating around 8 if that suits?”

“I will pass it on, Thank you My Lady” McGonagall said as she left to the kitchens.

“What was the Mother like then? Like Mother like son or?” Sirius laughed returning his attention to Regulus.

“She seemed alright enough, I guess” Regulus replied as he shoved Sirius’s legs out of the way to make room on the couch.

“Oh wow she must be an angel to get that sort of praise off you” Marlene teased.

“Oh shut it! Now that you’ve finally returned the horses I will be going for a ride” Regulus sniped before leaving in what could only be described as a signature dramatic Black brother exit.

It was six o’clock before Regulus returned drenched and cold from the rain he and his horse had been caught up in.
He was handing his horse Aurora off to the stable boy when he heard Sirius’s voice shouting across the stable, “Regulus!! Where the bloody hell have you been?! Andy is proper freaking out you were meant to be getting dressed by now!”

“We have plenty of time” Regulus muttered as Sirius arrived beside him. “And besides I doubt we need to be too dressed up, do lawyers even wear dinner jackets?” Regulus added with a laugh.

“Oh Regulus don’t be such a snob. I know you can’t really believe half the things you say about this Lawyer, I mean how bad can he actually be?”

Eight O’clock was approaching much too fast for Regulus’s liking. He really did hate these types of dinners, having to dress up and play nice with people you would barely recognize walking down the street. It was all so fake, so pointless.

Sirius on the other hand shined in these circumstances. He could meet someone at eight o’clock for dinner and leave two hours later as their new best friend. It was ludicrously unfair that Regulus’s ended up with absolutely none of the social skills.

It was half seven and Sirius was lounging on Regulus’s bedroom armchair as Regulus continued to try and fail in properly tying his dinner bow tie.

“Reggie please just come here and let me do it for you! It is stressing me out, it’s as if every time you try it looks less like a bow tie” Sirius whined yet again.

“Ugh stupid, ludicrous, ridiculous thing!” Regulus snapped as he threw the tie across to his brother “Go on have a try if you want to so badly”

“Reg” Sirius looked at his brother through the mirror with the look, the look that was reserved for Regulus, the look that had been used in the toughest of times, when they had still lived in Grimauld Manor, when Regulus could only sleep with the lights on and his brother in the twin bed beside him, the look that spoke the words without ever having to actually talk “It’s ok, It’s going to be ok.”

“How about I stay up here, fake a fever or something. No one would even question it. I mean maybe Andy would but the guests certainly would not.” Regulus said a plea in his voice.

“Regulus come on now. Please just do this…for Andy if nothing else” Sirius started as he turned Regulus around to fix the bow tie. “This is hard for her too, do you think this is what she pictured for her and Teds home? To go to strangers?”

Regulus did not even bother to answer, he knew all of this of course he did, he also knew that he could whine and whine but in 20 minutes time he would be standing in the foyer ready to greet the guests.

He could wear Sirius down eventually, convince his brother to let him hide himself away, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Reggie loved his Aunt, and love comes with strings such as participating in situations you in no way want to participate in. Love was a tiresome business, he really was ever so glad he could count the people he loved on one hand.

“There you go, all tied. Blimey 22 years old and still struggles with basic skills like neckties, I worry for you Reggie I truly do” Sirius tutted with a grin.

“Ha ha” Regulus replied dryly, and as he stood jolted his elbow backwards into his brothers stomach before practically running to the bedroom door a smile so very clear in his voice as he said “Oh do make haste Sirius the guests of honour will be here soon”
“Fucking prick” Sirius wheezed the wind completely evaporated from his stomach.

“BOYS I SEE THEM I SEE THEM THEYRE DRIVING THROUGH THE GATES” Marlene’s screech rang through the halls as the two brothers made their way down the staircase to the entrance hall.

“God almighty pipe down Marls, do you have to be so loud?” Reggie announced as he and Sirius took their places behind Andromeda and Ted as they always did when greeting guests.

“Shut it Reg” Marlene snapped followed by her sticking out her tongue.

But just before Regulus could turn around to face the front doors Marlene took her place behind him and gave his arm a comforting squeeze. “It’ll be ok Reg, you got this.” And Regulus would be too embarrassed to admit this to anyone but it brought such a feeling of comfort to him he could feel his mouth betray him with a smile.

That smile however lasted all of 2 seconds when it was interrupted by McGonagall walking towards the door and opening it to the much anticipated guests.