𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 || 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 46

"Don't worry, you won't," I assured her, already steering her to where Marlene was.

Dorcas sent me an alarmed look. "You're introducing me to her now?"

"When else?"

"When I've had time to prepare! Oh god, she's right there. What do I say? How do I act? What do I-"

"Marlene, hi," I said when we arrived in front of the blonde girl. My hand rested comfortingly on Dorcas's shoulder and I gave it a little squeeze. "This is Dorcas, she's my friend."

Marlene brightened and she held out her hand for Dorcas to shake. "Nice to meet to you Dorcas."

Dorcas gave a hesitant smile and shook Marlene's hand, seemingly shocked that she was actually touching Marlene McKinnon. I smiled when Marlene started talking about Wizards Chess, a topic Dorcas was very passionate about, and knew they'd be fine.

I left them for the drinks table, the real reason I'd agreed tonight. If I was forced to endure a party, I might as well do it while getting drunk.

And that is exactly what I did.

I danced, I drank, I talked to friends, I drank, I ate, and I drank. The alcohol was supposed to make me feel better, and while I did feel lighter and airier than usual, I fiddled with the necklace on my neck that he gave me for Christmas, unable to take it off, and as my fingers brushed my initials my thoughts strayed to him.

Regulus Black. The forbidden topic.

I tried thinking about other things, like how cute Sirius and Remus were cuddled up on the couch right now, or how exciting it was to see Marlene and Dorcas still talking to one another, or the way Lily had started looking at James almost as much as he looked at her, yet all of these things suddenly weighed me down instead of making me feel happy like they normally did.

Because they all had their person, and I missed mine.

Making a decision, I left the party, going completely unnoticed as I walked through the halls of Hogwarts, only stumbling a little bit. I was a woman on a mission and nothing if not determined. I slowed down when I got to the seventh floor, hoping against hope that the door would be there.

I turned the corner apprehensively and broke out into a smile when I found the door waiting for me. I didn't know what was different, why it was showing, but I was glad it was there. I opened the door, expecting to find it empty, but instead Regulus was there.

Oh.

That's why it was there; because he was there.

Regulus's eyes widened when he saw me, and I could only imagine mine were doing the same. What was he doing here? Did he miss me too? I knew that I was the one who broke up with him, but so far he'd seemed so unaffected around people, like nothing bad had happened while I was sobbing my eyes out every hour or so, but he was here. Did that mean he was hurting as much as me?

"Regulus," I breathed, taking a step towards the boy.

He took one back in response and I recoiled back, remembering we were no longer together and allowed to touch one another. The reminder hurt. Everything hurt.

"Why are you here?" Regulus asked, his voice harsh.

I blinked, unused to the cruel tone after all this time. "Because I miss you."

Regulus scoffed. "You're the one who broke up with me, remember?"

I frowned. "That doesn't mean I don't miss you. I broke up with you because you being engaged was hurting me too much, and you refused to try and do something about it so we broke up."

"Try and do something about it? Seriously? Why would you say something... are you drunk?"

The sudden question caught me off guard. "Yes."

"So that's why you said it," Regulus mumbled, "because you don't have a filter."

"I miss you Regulus," I said, taking a step forward. "Do you- do you miss me too?"

Regulus looked at me, his expression unreadable, before he took a step forward as well and grasped onto one of my hands.

"Everyday," he rasped. "I miss you everyday."

Tears pricked my eyes as I surged forward, tightly wrapping my arms around Regulus's neck. I missed him so much. Maybe I had been overreacting and being with him while he was engaged to Selena Rowle wasn't so bad. Maybe we could get through this without Regulus having to confront his parents. Maybe we still had a chance.

"We should get together again," I said, my voice muffled from where my head was pressed against Regulus's shoulder.

Regulus let out a painful sigh. "You're drunk."

I pulled back. "So?"

Regulus smiled and shook his head, pulling me back into the embrace instead of answering. I didn't mind one bit.

"I smelt you in my Amortentia," I confessed.

I felt Regulus go stiff against me and pulled back to look at him. He just stared at me, throat bobbing, before he gently stroked my cheek with his hand. I buried myself back into his embraced and sighed in contentment. After a while though, I started to get tired and leaned more of my weight against Regulus.

"Tired?" he asked in a whisper.

I nodded my head, "but I don't want to leave."

Regulus had already pulled away and stared at me with an undecipherable expression. "That's okay, we can go to sleep here."

I brightened, and we laid down on the pillows together, covering ourselves with a blanket. I smiled as I placed my head into the crook of Regulus's neck, my hands pressed against his chest as his arms wrapped around me.

I fell asleep with Regulus and woke up alone, all traces of the boy gone.

I guess I deserved that.

A/N:

okay that one actually hurt.

like the end. rip to u guys ig.

listening to Lana Del Ray rn because she is a goddess 😌