Invisible String | TVD x WIZARDING WORLD

THE ONE AFTER THE CHAOS

After what felt like three centuries, seven shouting matches, two nearly broken antique mirrors, one Muggle police encounter, and at least one verbal duel over who got the last Chocolate Frog card, the crew finally collapsed around a big circular table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

They were all talking at once.

Kol had ordered ten scoops of different flavours and was mixing them into what looked like a melting rainbow disaster in a glass bowl the size of a small cauldron.

Klaus was halfway through stealing Jeremy's waffle cone when he shouted, "Nutmeg stole it!" pointing at a random cat darting past. Jeremy flipped him off. Klaus smiled.

Caroline was perched on the bench behind Diana, carefully braiding her hair into neat summer plaits, even as she grumbled about the amount of glitter Diana had managed to get in her roots from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Rebekah, sunglasses on and legs elegantly crossed, muttered cooling charms over everyone's cups, though she insisted she was not doing it for them, just herself.

Elijah sat perfectly composed, reading a thick Hogwarts pamphlet labeled "Elective Courses for Curious Minds." He was frowning deeply, as though Muggle Studies had personally offended him.

Damon, naturally, had spiked his sundae with a generous pour from a hip flask and was trying to convince Kol to take a shot every time someone screamed the word "quidditch."

Amidst all this was Regulus Black — shoulders stiff, arms crossed, black coffee untouched in front of him. His expression was distant, as though he was staring into the abyss and the abyss had shouted back in technicolour.

Diana leaned against him, her sundae half-melted, her fingers sticky with caramel and delight. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes sparkling like she had just conquered a small kingdom.

"You okay?" she asked, glancing up.

Regulus didn't answer right away. He blinked, then looked around the table — at the too-loud siblings, the chaos, the clashing personalities, the stubbornness and snark and sugar-fueled glee.

Finally, he said flatly, "How do you even deal with these messes?"

Diana grinned. "You don't. You just embrace the chaos."

And to her surprise — and everyone else's, frankly — Regulus laughed. It wasn't a big laugh. It was soft and brief, like it snuck out before he could trap it back inside. But it was real.

Diana beamed.

They fell into a comfortable lull, the table still buzzing around them, but something softer had settled in their corner of the chaos.

After a few minutes, Diana nudged his arm. "Hey... can I ask you something?"

He arched a brow. "Technically, you just did."

She groaned. "You and Elijah should start a club."

Regulus smirked.

She turned more serious. "About Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat thing. You know... the Houses."

"Ah," he said, sitting up a bit straighter. "Right. That."

"You never really told me what they are," she said, twirling her spoon in what was now soup.

Regulus took a moment. "There are four Houses. Think of them like—well, family isn't quite right. But something close. People you live with, learn with, compete with. Each House values different traits."

He lifted a finger. "Gryffindor. The brave. Courageous, often reckless. They run into danger like it's a sport."

Diana nodded slowly. "Like Klaus."

Regulus didn't even argue. "Exactly."

"Ravenclaw," he continued, raising another finger. "Smart. Creative. Obsessed with knowledge and questions. They think for the sake of thinking."

"Elijah," she said with a grin.

Regulus smiled faintly. "Then Hufflepuff — loyal, kind, just. Hard-working. They take care of others, even when no one's looking."

Diana didn't hesitate. "Caroline."

He hummed. "And lastly... Slytherin. Ambitious, clever, resourceful. They plan. Manipulate, sometimes. But they survive."

Diana tilted her head. "So... Dad?"

Regulus gave her a tired look. "That man would probably have been expelled before the Sorting was over."

She giggled.

He hesitated, then added, "I was in Slytherin."

Diana hesitated, "And the Malfoys?"

He nodded once. "Slytherin, through and through."

She sat back slowly, ice cream forgotten, fingers tightening around her spoon. "I don't wanna be like them." she said quietly.

Regulus looked at her — properly looked. She wasn't saying it out of fear. But because she was questioning everything she thought she was supposed to be.

"Then you're not," he said simply. "The Hat listens. It doesn't just see who you are — it listens to who you want to become."

Diana frowned. "So I could... ask it?"

"Yes," he said. "You can. I didn't. I was too afraid to ask for something different. I thought it'd make my mother hate me."

There was a long pause.

"My brother, Sirius," he added, voice softer now, "he was a Gryffindor. The only one in the Black family. My mother never forgave him for it. But he never regretted it. Not once."

Diana looked around the table. At Caroline humming as she played with her braids. At Damon pretending not to care but making sure no one spilled bourbon on her. At Jeremy and Rebekah bickering like siblings. At Elijah, who already knew the name of every professor.

She turned to Caroline and asked out of nowhere, "Should I be scared of you?"

Caroline blinked. "Depends on what you are asking for, troublemaker."

Diana smiled.

Then looked back at Regulus and said softly, "I'll talk to the Sorting Hat, then."

He met her gaze, something flickering behind his eyes — pride, maybe. A little relief. Hope.

"You do that," he said.