𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓸𝓫𝓲𝓪 || Regulus Black

5.2 - New Broomstick

The students of Hogwarts were sitting down in the Great Hall, eating their breakfasts, when letters started coming in. Hordes of owls flying above the students, dropping off letters and packages for everyone.

Ophelia watched in anticipation as one snowy owl gently dropped off a nicely wrapped box in front of her.

Regulus looked curiously over at her as she looked at the box, simply admiring the package.

"What are you doing? Open it." Regulus said.

"But it's so pretty." Ophelia said. "I don't want to ruin it."

Regulus chuckled at that statement. He took a bite of his toast, then turned back to the girl.

"That's one of the most Ophelia things I've ever heard you say. Come on, just open it carefully and save the paper."

"How about you open it?" Ophelia slid the box beside her, over to Regulus.

"Fine. Shield your eyes."

He straightened the box adjacent to him, and undid the ribbon tying it all together. He unfolded the crimson wrapping paper, careful to save the paper for Ophelia to keep, and opened the brown box underneath the wrapping.

Inside the box was a small collection of books, tied together in a stack with a piece of twine.

"What's a 'Shakespeare'?" Regulus asked with a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the books.

"He was an old muggle writer. He's written dozens of plays and sonnets that have been adored for centuries." Ophelia said, sliding the present back to her. "We're learning about him in Muggle Studies right now."

Ophelia looked over the collection of books in the stack. There was Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Antony & Cleopatra, Taming Of The Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. They had read Macbeth in her Muggle Studies class last year, and Ophelia started learning more about the life and writing of William Shakespeare. She had told her family all about him over the summer, and they clearly listened.

Alongside the books was a note addressed to her from her parents. In the note, they said they heard how much she liked Shakespeare's work, and decided to get her a gift for the new school year.

She smiled and placed the books, the wrapping paper, and the note back in the box, and put it all underneath her seat to take to her dorm later.

"So your parents bought you some old books?" Regulus asked her.

"Not just any books." Ophelia told him. "William Shakespeare's plays."

"So some old books. Some old books written by a mudblood, no less."

"A muggle. And it doesn't matter who he was, his writing is some of the world's most celebrated from any era."

Barty interjected from across the table, wanting to share his opinion on the matter. "I don't know any of his work, nor do I care, but he's an old mudblood who has been captivating dorks for centuries. I think that's an accomplishment all by itself."

Ophelia rolled her eyes, not even offended by Barty's joke. In fact, she was actually amused, but she couldn't let him know that. She spooned some porridge into her mouth and went back to ignoring the boys.

A few minutes later, Ophelia felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to find Sirius Black standing behind her bench with his hands behind his back, obviously hiding something.

"Sirius." Ophelia greeted him. "What's going on?"

Sirius was clearly excited, and Ophelia had an idea on what he was all giddy about. He brought his hands back from behind him, and held out a brand new broomstick with a bow around it the same deep red colour as the wrapping paper Ophelia had received.

"Look what Euphemia bought me for my last year!" He said, showing her the broomstick with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

"Shut up!" Ophelia gasped, a look of amazement washing over her face. "Did James get one too?"

"Yes, we've got matching ones!"

Ophelia never played Quidditch, but she was an avid fan of the game. And of course with Regulus, James, and Sirius all being on the Hogwarts Quidditch teams, she was excited about everything to do with the game.

She admired the detail of the broom. From the perfectly laid bristles on the brush, to the shiny, black finish of the handle. She would be jealous if she was a Quidditch player, or if she hadn't received a gift from her parents as well.

"I'm not even a player and I envy you right now." Ophelia told Sirius. "I bet you and James will be great with those."

"We'll perform even better if you cheer us on."

"Well, I'll be at the games, of course. But I might be too distracted reading my new Shakespeare collection!" Ophelia beamed, pulling one of the books from the box underneath her seat.

"Did you just get those?" Sirius asked enthusiastically. "I'll have to borrow them when you're done reading. But for now, James and I are going to try out our new broomsticks."

"Good luck!"

Sirius tousled the hair on the top of Ophelia's head before excitedly rushing back to his friends at the Gryffindor table.

Ophelia returned to eating her breakfast, but in a much happier mood than when she started.

"So, you two were friendly." Regulus commented.

"We're friends." Ophelia said calmly. "What's wrong with that?"

"He's a blood traitor."

"Don't talk about him like that."

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Oh please, that's sugarcoating it, Lia. You should hear what the rest of my family says about him."

"I have. I've heard all the stories, I've heard you disrespect him for years. It's honestly baffling to me that he didn't leave earlier."

"Ophelia, trust me. He puts on an innocence act but what he's done to our family is villainous."

"What your family has done to him is villainous, not the other way around. Trust me, I've heard both sides of the story, and you're lucky I'm still your friend at this point."

Regulus sighed, and tilted his head down. He and Ophelia have had these fights a million times before. It was a story all too familiar to them. He knew he had to be careful and apologise, as he knew he could lose Ophelia for good if they kept this up.

"Ophelia, I don't know what he's told you, but please don't listen to him." He said, though it was nothing close to an apology.

"You're telling me not to be swayed by others' opinions? Funny."

"Fine, I'm sorry. He's the best brother I've ever had. Is that what you're looking for?"

"Not the worst apology I've heard from you." Ophelia admitted. "But not good enough. I'm going to take a walk before class and think about it."

Ophelia picked up the box of books from under the table, and left the Great Hall. Regulus knew he messed up, but he wasn't going to admit anything. He just watched her leave and prayed that she would turn around eventually.