[ 1 ] EXPLODE ( r. black ! )

thirteen || pride, envy, disbelief

"You know," Regulus spoke first to break the conemtplation surrounding them. "Your Dorm wasn't how I imagined it would be."

"How so?"

"It's not as clean as I expected." The boy said blankly which caught her off guard and sparked a laugh she didn't realise she still had for that day. Even if she wasn't ready to admit it, it was beginning to seem like that was a recurring effect that Regulus Black had on her. Still, she wasn't about to start calling him her light in dark times, that was a bit much for less than two days of kind-of-real real friendship.

At the laugh, the boy who walked in line with her stopped at the arch to smile down at her as she bowed her head. Between everybody else, it was a good job she did or else she would've seen that genuine smile that held a thousand words which had the ability to melt even her seemingly stone heart. With every passing second, though, Regulus became more of a human to her than she ever imagined possible and she didn't know. For once, she didn't know – how could she face the fact that maybe she'd been wrong?

At the very least, before a smirk-replacing-smile could destroy the last awful image of him for her, she'd have to hear a that he was wrong first. About her, about Voldemort, about everything they'd ever argued about. Though, she knew that last one could be a bit of a stretch to gain.

Instead of hearing the announcement of wrongs, she heard herself announce her disbelief on how somebody could be as strong as Kelsie. "I just don't know how she found it in herself to walk past all those people after her heart-breaking. What she thought of is something I can't even begin to think of."

"'The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living,' Marcus Tullius Cicero, paraphrased by Andromeda Black at her last family meal." Regulus replied, barely audible but Eleanor was listening closely to his every word.

"I'll admit I agree with the quote but I still don't know how she did it. If another person I loved left me..."

Mouth open, Regulus started but never truly began. Instead the sound of blunt heels on the stone floor filled the sound his voice was going to. In sync, both moved off the opposite walls they lent on and stood side-by-side to face the woman walking up to them. Blonde hair and beautiful, Narcissa Black stood with the signature smirk of their family. At first when they met there was a sense of solidarity between the two girls until they diverged onto different paths and glares became the only thing they shared.

"I would like to see Kelsie." Narcissa demanded with the tone of their family as well. Unlike usual, apparently, when she brought out the Black superiority in some way or form, she got no response and a scowl formed. "Again, I would like to see Kelsie Selwyn."

Shrugging, Eleanor acted bored while she played with her nails (which, admittedly, did remind her to venture with Pandora to get a new set done by Muggle's over the winter). "You can demand as many times as you like, Narcissa, it won't happen."

With a roll of her eyes at the girl she'd deemed inferior the moment it was announced she believed all lives were equal and worth something, Narcissa turned to her young cousin. Oh, her young, obedient, role model Black of a cousin who refused to look her in the eyes. Instead, his eyes were focused with pride on Eleanor's dancing hand that was performing on the wand that stuck out of her pocket, prepared.

"Now, Eleanor, I would really hate to have to forcefully move you. For all you are dreadfully annoying and frustrating for any normal Slytherin to be around, you get along with your life without causing us too much hassle. Wouldn't it be a shame to stop doing that so close to your final year?"