𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 || 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐋𝐔𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊

XIII - truce

Swallowing her pride, she decided to be the bigger person."Regulus," she uttered. "Would you mind fetching the ingredients with me?"

His shoulders stiffened for a moment before he slowly faced her, almost in shame. "Right... we'll run out of the good ingredients.", he said quietly, still seated.

"Right..." Danica tried catching his eyes, unsuccessfully. "So, we should probably go."

Curtly nodding, he stood up and walked to the large wooden cabinet, not sparing her a glance.

Her head hurt too much to even bother being offended by his attitude or to bring up the party. Hoping to finish the project as soon as possible, she walked up beside him in silence with her textbook in hand.

"3 drops of Stardust essence.", she read from the textbook.

"Here.", Regulus held up the small vessel of essence to show her before placing it into his small basket. "I've already got the moondrops.", he gestured towards the neatly selected ingredients.

"Great." Danica nodded a little awkwardly. "Then we just need some dragonfly berries.", she read from the list and Regulus placed the items in the basket. "Oh, and here's the ghost orchid petal-"

She reached for the shelf in front of her but her voice halted when his cold hand brushed against hers, reaching for the same ingredient. The touch was fleeting but enough to send a jolt through them.

"Sorry." Danica instinctively recoiled, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I'm sorry," Regulus muttered in tandem, both of them quickly pulling their hands back as if burned.

"Right, uh, next is... Lunar Nectar. We need one cup," she said, trying to regain composure while avoiding eye contact. Regulus silently retrieved the nectar, adding it to the growing collection in the basket.

The dimly lit potion laboratory seemed to shrink in on itself as Danica and Regulus moved about. Shelves lined with dusty vials and jars loomed overhead, their contents contributing to the room's peculiar scent—a mix of dried herbs, ancient parchment, and the faint residue of previous magical concoctions.

In the background, a few of their classmates diligently worked on their own potion projects, the clinking of glass and the occasionally mumbled incantation adding to the subdued atmosphere.

The remainder of the ingredients were gathered in strained silence.

"We've been neglecting our prefect duties," Danica finally broke the stillness.

After a few more moments of silence, she was going to repeat herself, thinking he was purposely ignoring her, until the air around him shifted.

Regulus, still avoiding direct eye contact, nodded slightly. "Yeah, we have," he admitted, his tone measured.

"Just pointing it out. I'm surprised Slughorn hasn't taken us down yet from our Prefect positions.", she turned slightly to face him. The shelves lined with dusty vials and jars loomed overhead, casting shadows on their faces.

"We," he paused, carefully considering his words, "we should schedule patrols together soon. It's been a while." His gaze, once averted, now met hers directly, the distance between their faces seemingly nonexistent. Danica caught off guard, looked up with surprise, the sudden proximity causing a subtle flush to color her cheeks.

"Let's meet today at 9, at the common room entrance," he continued, maintaining eye contact. Danica managed a nod.

"Noted," she replied, and they both nodded in agreement before retreating to their desks.