Regulus POV
“Reggie!” A voice rings out as I enter the Library, despite the fact that I hate that name I feel my lips curl upwards.
“You’re lucky you’re my friend Dora,” I sigh as I sit down next to my best friend in the world. Being next to her was like being in an impenetrable bubble of peace.
“I don’t know why you don’t just tell me you love me,” she smiles and pushes my arm, “we both know you do.”
“I’m a Black, Dora, we don’t love people.”
“Oh so you don't love James?” She smirks, teasing me and my face heats up.
“Of course I don’t,” I stutter out, “why would you say that?”
“Because he’s your boyfriend?” She smiles innocently but her eyes shine brightly.
“Oh shove off, I know you know,” I roll my eyes and pull out my school books.
“Oh I know,” the way she says it implies that she’s not talking about the fakeness of our relationship.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” she hums, “so history?’
Pandora knows something, I don’t know what she knows but she’s hiding something. Pandora has a wonderful sense of the future, she’ll predict something and it will always come true. It's kind of freaky. I could ask but she won’t answer, she never tells the person who’s involved their future.
“Yeah,” I sigh, opening the book, “history.”
We work silently side by side. That’s the great thing about Pandora she was easy to work with and get along with, she didn’t talk unless you wanted to. Well, she did but only about things she was interested in, like chasing fairies. She always lived in her own world, never bothering to care about the darkness that surrounded most of us. She was a great listener though, midnight tea sessions in the kitchen were a staple in our friendship.
“Are you coming Reg?” She asks and I realize she has packed all her stuff up, “it's time for dinner.”
“Oh yes,” I packed up hastily, not even realizing that we had been studying for two hours, “of course.”
I finish packing up and she loops her arm in mine to walk to the great hall. Another great thing about Pandora? She doesn’t make me uncomfortable when she touches me. It did at first and I would jerk away but she was gentle and soft and she wouldn’t harm a fly. She eased my fears and allowed me to go through life able to breathe.
Once we enter the great hall I expect her to drift away to the Ravenclaw table to sit with the rest of her classmates but she sticks by my side and we join Evan and Barty at the table.
“Evan,” I nod shortly, “Barty.”
“Oh come on, Reg, you seriously can’t still be mad at us,” Barty complains.
“Yeah what would your boyfriend say if he saw you frowning,” Evan throws his arm over my shoulder and I deepen my frown but I can’t help lifting my eyes to look at the Gryffindor table but James isn’t there, in fact, none of the marauders are there.
“Oh Merlin he is smitten,” Bartys laugh pulls me from my thoughts.
“No I’m not,” I push EVan off me and grab a roll, not really hungry but needing something other than James’ absence to focus on.
“Leave him alone guys,” Pandora's voice drifts through my thoughts, “he’ll talk to us when he’s ready.”
I send a small grateful smile to Pandora before my eyes flick back over to the table on the opposite end of the hall. Normally it’s occupied by the four most annoying boys in the school, well maybe not Petigrew, he seems tame enough. Perhaps they’re planning a prank but then my eyes land on a certain redhead.
Her eyes are puffy and she's not really eating, she's just pushing her food around her plate. Her dark haired friend is rubbing her back and whispering in her ear but she seems to not even be hearing it.
I think about what I know about her. She's a muggleborn, perhaps something happened at home? But no most people would probably leave if it was something major. She’s friends with Severous but when I look over he’s not even paying attention to Lily, he’s laughing with his friends. I know for a fact that if they were fighting he would be staring her down. Then I remember Slughorn's class.
“As I recall earlier, Evans.”
James. I don’t know why he snapped at her, he was in love with her but I guess even the best romances have issues. Still, he snapped at her for me, because of me. Which reminded me, I had detention with James. Perhaps I could ask him why he missed dinner then.
But I couldn’t because he’s not there and I’m sure he’s fine but there's something in me who is fearing that there is something very wrong. And that part wins as my feet move towards the doorway to the Gryffindor common room.