Assumption // Regulus Black

6

Thalia

The very first Slugclub meeting approached late September, and I decided to go. I had an excuse to get out of it, but I forced myself to go. 

Ace and I walked down to Slughorn's office together, hypothesizing about what the meeting would hold. We walked into the office and were met with a cheery-looking professor Slughorn along with Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Amanda Davies, Francis Boot, Dean Belbey, and Harold Owens sitting around a circular table. 

"Ms. Lark and Mr. Montgomery, wonderful you two could join us." We both gave small smiles and sat down in two seats between Harold and Dean. We engaged in some awkward conversation with Slughorn as a couple other students entered including Lily Evans and Regulus Black.

In the days following my brief exchange with Regulus, you wouldn't have been able to guess something had happened at all. When I saw him in class the very next day, in fact, he looked calm and collected as usual. He hadn't shown any sign of worry or anxiety when I'd seen him. I did notice when he walked into the room, however, that he tensed up at the sight of his brother. It was pretty obvious they weren't on good terms with one another. Regulus sat down as far away from Sirius as possible, and I continued to observe him, tuning out Slughorn. 

Regulus was a very interesting subject to observe. The boy sat up straight and appeared calm to the naked eye, however, his jaw was locked. His eyes would also flick back and forth between Slughorn and Sirius. They were filled with...what was it? Anger? Yes. Maybe a bit of sadness too. And what was the last thing? Guilt, maybe? I couldn't tell if it was guilt, nervousness, or both. He fidgeted ever so slightly with a black ring on his middle finger. The two brothers were definitely not on good terms. I wondered what had happened between them.

Something else that struck me was that he looked surprisingly tired. I suppose it wasn't a foreign behavior for teens to be sleep-deprived, but it was definitely unusual for Regulus who was an athlete. I ignored this, however, and continued watching his attitude towards his brother. 

After thoroughly studying Regulus, I glanced over at this brother to observe him. Before I could make a single observation however, Sirius made eye contact with me and winked. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the conversation surrounding Halloween. 

"We just heard from Mr. Lupin, so er, Mr. Montgomery," Slughorn said and I looked at Ace. "Any plans for Halloween?" 

Regulus

What the fuck is he doing here?

Though throughout our time at Hogwarts both Sirius and I got invited to Slughorn's group, my brother had stopped going to the club a year ago. So why was it that he was here today?

If I'd known he was planning on coming, I would've come up with an excuse to skip. But I had no choice now. I reluctantly sat down, doing my best to not waste a single glance in Sirius's direction. 

I listened to Slughorn and avoided all eye contact with Sirius, and I was pretty successful for the most part. 

I did, however, feel someone else watching me. 

Something was different about Thalia Lark this year. I hadn't actually figured out why that was, but I knew something had changed. The first difference was the reading, which we've already established. The other change was that she was much quieter and attentive now. She spent more time observing people than actually speaking to them which was a very different behavior from that of last year. For example, I could feel her eyes studying me right now. I knew it was likely because she'd walked in on my little panic attack in the common room a week ago, but I didn't think the moment had stuck with her that much. At least it wouldn't with last year's Thalia. 

She was still quite extroverted in class and around her friends, but she just looked more...observant.

What I had yet to understand was why the sudden change in behavior? Unfortunately, I was too pre-occupied at the moment to answer that question. 

I subconsciously glanced at Sirius, without processing the action. He was looking at me, but instantly averted his eyes before we could make eye contact. 

I wondered if he would care. What would he think of me if I'd told him I was one of them? The emotional part of my brain wished I could open up to him. The more logical part advised against it, reminding me that he was the one to abandon me. It was this fact alone that told me he obviously wouldn't care if I told him about my mark.

I spent the rest of the meeting keeping my eyes trained on our professor, never once looking at my brother.

Thalia

The Slugclub meeting was, as I had expected, the same shit as always. So, I was pretty happy when Slughorn dismissed us. Ace and I got out of the room as quickly as we could and walked down to the dungeons. Ace wanted to wait for Regulus, but when I saw the dark-haired boy purposely taking his time to avoid running into his brother on the way out, I pulled Ace along. The two of us walked down to the dungeons to find the common room empty. 

After saying goodnight, we headed towards the separate stairs to our dormitories. I went upstairs and got ready for bed, taking off my makeup and changing. I then grabbed a book, planning to read in the common room. The activity had become an integrated part of my nighttime routine. While it had really only been a month into the year, I spent almost every night reading. I went through four muggle books in the short time period, and would likely buy more at the next Hogsmeade trip. 

With all due respect to the wizarding world, their books sucked.

I walked out of my dormitory and took the steps down to the common room. When I entered the room, however, it appeared I wasn't the only one with the idea.

Regulus Black was sitting in the far corner of the common room, also reading. We made eye contact as I walked down the steps, but he went back to reading. I took my usual spot on the couch and opened my book.

As I flipped to the page I'd left off, I realized that I hadn't exactly been checking the common room over the past few weeks to see if I was alone. It's not as though it mattered, but I'd always sort of assumed myself to be alone. I wondered if this was a nightly habit for Regulus too. Perhaps that was why he looked so tired.

I began reading, the sounds of the common room surrounding me. Regulus was a quiet reader- I only heard the occasional sound of him flipping a page here and there. He could've easily been partaking in my nighttime common room adventures this whole time, and I wouldn't have noticed.

A part of me wanted to ask him if he was ok after that one night a week ago. Or if he was ok after the meeting tonight with Sirius. But it wasn't exactly the "Slytherin way."

The two of us read in complete silence, just how I liked it. I couldn't actually see him from where I was sitting, as the tall back of my seat obstructed the view, but I knew he was there. I sort of felt his presence.

I read for maybe 45 minutes before closing the book and capping my pen. I silently got up from my seat and walked towards the steps to the dormitory. I glanced behind me once to see Regulus immersed in his book. 

I left him be and continued up the steps. 

A/N: I'm so not used to writing short chapters omg. Like they def flow much better, but it feels so weird for me to edit because I'm always expecting there to be more.