Mixed Tape: Regulus' Story

Chapter 2: The Gambler

Dear Reggie,

I'm glad to hear from you, I was going to miss our conversations. As you suspected, I have been eating a multitude of pies: apple pie, shepherd's pie, breakfast pie (my mother has invented her own version of it). I have also been reading, I just finished Dune and I quite enjoyed it. You should read it, then we can have heated debates about the motives of each character within the political context of their world.

My little cousins are staying with us for a few weeks as their parents are away on a work trip and the house is... hectic to say the least. I have to share a room with a nine year-old and I can't quite believe that I was that small at one point. I know we're still young, but I feel like I've grown up far too much over the past few years. We used to be nine, isn't that strange? I think I'm glad to be older now, but the problem is that it's much harder to be good at things. When I was nine, I'd read a whole book in a day and everyone would congratulate me for being so intelligent. Now, it's just normal for me. I'm not special anymore (I also talk a lot, if you haven't noticed already. My mother says I have no filter, but I hardly see the fault in that). I quite liked being special, but I'll get over it I suppose.

I'm also glad that you've decided to talk to me, mostly because I like talking to you, but anger is a strange thing. In all the books I've read, people who are angry go and kick things and break them, but I don't think I'm like that. When I'm angry I just feel like I'm boiling. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's sort of like making tea except instead of taking off the kettle when it begins to whistle, you leave it on the burner until all the water's gone.

I do also want to know what happened, but I understand not wanting to write it out. Maybe we could meet up during the summer and talk about it? I'm going to a concert next week with a few others and perhaps you'd like to join us? It's a local band, but they make good music to be angry to so I think you'd enjoy it.

I look forward to your response,

Pandora

P. S. You apologise far too much. If you say something then there isn't really any point in apologising for it because it's already happened and you haven't done anything wrong in the first place.

Sirius was up and about by the next day which made me feel a bit better. He kept complaining about having to wear his shirt because it hurt and then he tried to go get his broom because he was bored and I was already past my point of patience.

"You are not going flying until you're healed," I told him sternly. "And you are not walking around shirtless because that will definitely get mother and father angry again."

He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, but spent the rest of the day up in his room doing... whatever it was that he did in his free time, he didn't really tell me those things anymore.

Our parents didn't talk to us much, but that was fine by me. I knew they'd call us down for a family meal at some point, but it would probably be best if everyone got some time to cool down before that. Sirius was hard to read and I couldn't tell if he was about to explode at any given moment. My parents were even harder to read, but they were always about to explode so it would really depend on Sirius and I.

I sat at my desk in my overly Slytherin room and pulled out another piece of parchment to respond to Pandora. I'd been reckless the night before and writing had almost come easily, but it was much harder now that my mind was clearer. She had listened though and that was more than most people did for me.

Dear Pandora,

You may laugh at me for this, but I haven't actually heard of Dune. Who's it by? My parents only keep old magical books so I'm guessing Dune is neither old nor magical? If you bring it back to school, then I will certainly read it. I'm sure you have loads to tell me about the motives of each character within the political context of their world.