drowning! → regulus black

library.

It isn't her fault that Slughorn is making her attend tutoring sessions, so why is it Laura that's suffering the worst from it? She can't even tell Marlene, Alice, Lily, or Mary, for fear of them finding humor in her predicament, so she has no one to turn to.

What an awful, twisted way for Laura to have to spend her weekend. She has to go around and lie to her friends, all while simultaneously juggling her studies, and now tutoring sessions.

Gripping a quill, Laura roughly scrawls more notes onto her parchment to no avail. Never had she ever thought she would loathe music, of all things, as she did now. A revolting taste burns her tongue as she bites down on it hard, and she realizes it's blood.

This only sends Laura into deeper temperamental disarray. The temptation to let out an undignified shriek settles far inside of her chest, and she distracts herself by looking up from her parchment and meeting eyes with Dirk Cresswell. He throws her a small smile, and she has to fight herself from giving him a mean glare in return. 

Laura is still mad at him for shirking his duties during the train ride, and he's been trying to make up to her all week. He waves at her, not noticing how the smile she's plastered on her face is starting to grimace slightly. To make matters worse, he then decides to walk over to Laura's table with his books.

Cresswell sits down across from her, and she has to bite back an aggravated groan. "Lovely day today, isn't it?" He chirps, spreading his things haphazardly in front of him. 

Laura eyes his books with poorly-hidden distaste. "Quite." If Cresswell notices Laura's teeth grit, he doesn't say anything. He steeples his hands in front of him and stares at Laura, who is growing slightly uncomfortable. "Did you need something, Cresswell?"

Cresswell shakes his head. "Nah, you just looked lonely." The awkward silence after he says this only leads to more staring. 

Laura can feel her anger slowly diminishing into discomfort, and she hastily gathers her things and stands from the table, shooting Cresswell a strained smile. "I think I'm done with my work now, so, urm," She struggles to find a way to properly escape his unrelenting gaze. "Have a pleasant day."

Laura's hip rams into the side of the table as she quickly takes her leave, ignoring Cresswell's furrowed eyebrows as he watches her go. If there was one thing Laura was good at, it was slipping from situations that weren't in her best interest. 

It's a shame that this time, however, it only leads to an even more uncomfortable one.

Laura slams right into Black's chest, and it's much to her aggravation that she realizes it's not the first time her escape plans have resulted in her face being rammed into his front.

Just as he did on the train, Black shoves her away harshly. This time, Laura doesn't budge as she glares at him furiously. "Why do you always need to be in my way? Just this once, I'd like to be able to walk in peace without you being there," She gripes. "Now, move."

"I go to this school, Lovegood," Black responds sneeringly. "Are you suggesting that I simply cease to walk the halls?"

"Yes." Black still hasn't moved out of Laura's way, and her patience has just about worn out for the day.

"Right, that makes perfect sense. I should just skip all of my classes and reside in my dorm all day, and resort to consuming only dust mites." Black leers down at Laura. "You are aware that would mean you'd still fail Potions, aren't you?"

Laura rolls her eyes. "I don't need you to get good grades, Black. I do fine enough without having to deal with you and your self-righteous bullshite," She snaps back, though she takes a furtive step back from Black when she realizes that her hand is still on his chest from her efforts to steady herself.

Black leans down towards Laura with a smug grin. "Well, that doesn't seem quite right now, does it? Last time I checked, Slughorn said you were in dire need of an excellent scholar such as myself to tutor you because you still can't write a simple essay. You spend far too much time whoring around instead of studying."

Laura's eyes narrow, and Black only grins even wider in return. "I just came out of the library, Black. You're supposed to be an 'excellent scholar,' aren't you? Put two and two together." She replies, an angry scowl beginning to form on her lips.

"Well, how do I know that you weren't snogging in there—"

"Bye, Laura! Thanks for the wonderful chat!" Cresswell exclaims as he walks right in between her and Black, and it seems that Black's grin has somehow grown even bigger, which Laura hadn't thought possible until now.

As soon as Cresswell disappears around the corner, the loud guffaw that comes from Black makes Laura jolt. She turns back toward him frustratedly. "It was incredibly one-sided— he was the only one talking, not me," She defends.

Regulus cocks an eyebrow. "And why weren't you talking? Was your mouth too full of d—"

"Merlin, fuck off!" Laura exasperates, sending Black an exhaustedly annoyed look. "Do you ever stop being an intolerable prat?" 

Black looks down at her with a jaunting expression. "No, I don't think I do. It's quite stimulating, and I'd hate to pass up the opportunity to get you all riled up," He responds, reaching out to muss Laura's hair condescendingly.

Laura swats his hand away. "First thing tomorrow, you're going to go to Slughorn and tell him that there's been some type of mistake and that you'd rather choke yourself than tutor me."

"And who are you to tell me what to do, slut?" Black tilts his head down slightly, breath fanning Laura's face. "Why don't you just go give Slughorn a good blow? It seems to be the only thing you're good for."

Laura's hand goes to slap Black for a third attempt since Friday, but this time Black seems to be ready for it and catches her hand easily. The condescending smirk stays on his lips as he tightens his grip on Laura's wrist and she grimaces in pain. "Now, as much as I love a good slapping, let's not make a habit of it, Lovegood," He tuts. "Save it for Slughorn."

Laura lets out an outraged scoff. "Oh, fuck you!"

Black lets go of Laura's hand and grins. "Mm, language. Now, why don't you run along and go give the old chap a visit? I'm sure he'll do just about anything for some good head."

Laura sends Black a cold scowl. "I'd rather hang myself than listen to you." She whips around and storms away from him.

"Be my guest," Black retorts from behind Laura. She shoots him a harsh glare as she turns into the next hallway, letting out an outraged sound when she hears his chuckle echo down the hall.