DANICA || REGULUS BLACK

III - retriever

 Taking one look in the mirror, Danica relished her reflection. With a few final touches, she sprayed on her favourite perfume and combed through her dark hair, pinning the left section up with a jeweled hairpin. Her right hand's pointer finger was adorned with the Lestrange family crest ring.

It was early in the morning, everyone was asleep. She looked behind her shoulder where Narcissa was wrapped around in a makeshift cocoon of bedsheets, slightly snoring. Danica did not remember her best friend coming back, and due to all of her clothes being carelessly thrown around the carpet, she assumed that she arrived deep into the night.

The shorter arrow on their wall clock pointed at number 6, so there was still a whole hour left before she had to wake Narcissa up. Taking that as a good enough reason to leave, Danica quietly walked out of their shared dorm, gently shutting the door close.

The halls of the Slytherin dorms leading towards the common room were grim as ever. The candles on the walls were extinguished and due to the crisp cool air that chilled the tip of her fingers, Danica assumed that the fire in the fireplace had been put down.

While Hogwarts was definitely her true home, she couldn't brush off the uneasiness due to the dungeon's similarity to her estate. The wallpaper was a similar shade of dark green with intricate silver snake designs etched onto it, but slightly more worn. She took long careful steps, trying not to wake anyone up, but her luck had different plans.

Her entrance into the common room was loudly announced by a singular shrill creak of a piece of floorboard under her shoe. She instantly stopped in her tracks, inwardly cringing at the thought of accidentally waking somebody up. Danica swore she heard the sound echo several times over, tauntingly making sure to reach every corner, before finally dissipating.

But even that was seemingly not enough.

"Careful, Lestrange, you might wake the basilisk from its slumber with such a racket."

Regulus Black, who had been lying on one of the common room's sofas, holding a book, spoke in faux concern. His dark eyes locked onto Danica, and a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips and his gaze held a glint of amusement as he watched her reaction. He closed his book with a deliberate slowness, emphasizing the silence that followed, broken only by Danica scoffing.

"Well, Black," she retorted with a biting tone, "if the basilisk does wake up, I'm sure it would feel right at home in this snake-infested dungeon of yours. After all, it's practically a family reunion down here."

"I suppose you're right. We Slytherins do have a knack for making the most of our surroundings, even if they do remind us of home." He paused, then added, "But don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for any stray basilisks. Wouldn't want you to feel too nostalgic."

Danica couldn't help but feel her blood simmer with irritation at Regulus's smug response. She secretly hoped that their banter from the previous night was some fever dream, but evidently, it appeared to be true. It felt so strange to call each other by their last names.

But she didn't let herself brood on it for too long and proudly straightened her back.

"Your concern is truly touching, Black," she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But don't flatter yourself. I've spent enough time in this dungeon to know my way around, unlike certain people who might still get lost in their own home."

When Regulus only rolled his eyes in response and opened his book again, Danica took that as her victory and finally relaxed, sat down on one of the armchairs. She made sure it was the one furthest away from him.

She didn't plan on staying there initially, but being way too proud for her own good, she felt that leaving would be a sign of defeat. In a way, this was her petty way of putting her foot down. He didn't seem to protest or mind it, however, it only added to her annoyance.