Skies & Stars | S.B. |

Chapter Twenty |

 "While you're very endearing when you're mumbling to yourself, I'm worried that you have gone completely mental, an absolute nutter."

 This comment earned Regulus a scowl and a playful shove to the shoulder. He offered Mid a sheepish grin and scooped in another mouthful of potatoes, though not before Midnight saw a genuine look of concern flash in his eyes. Leave it to Regulus to mask his sympathy with sarcasm, compliment and insult her at the same time, all while lifting her spirits. It was times like these that Midnight desperately wanted to reveal her abilities. Reg was her favorite person in the Wizarding World. The one she could trust with anything, possibly even the one thing she had been instructed never to disclose.

 Midnight opened her mouth to speak, yet thought better of it and closed it again. Noticing the grim look that had settled over her features, Regulus poked Mid in the side and the girl squirmed. As the two friends fell into their routine of taunting one another, the turmoil that weighed heavy on Midnight's chest began to dissolve. It was only when Mid caught sight of a certain blonde fifth year moving from the end of their house table to where she and Regulus sat, that Midnight shrugged Reg's arm off her shoulder where it had been resting lazily.

 "Allura's coming over here."

 She whispered. Regulus stilled, dropping his spoon onto the table with a clang. Their housemates sitting closest to him glared, as did Midnight. Regulus furrowed his brows at her words and asked,

 "Are you certain?"

 "Yeah, pretty certain!"

 Midnight shot him a pointed look. Reg gave a quick glance in Allura's direction to see that his crush was indeed making her way over to them. Promptly, he began to run his fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth down his curls. Midnight noted that while Regulus had many infatuations prior to Allura McKinnon, he had never reacted like a teenage girl with any of them.

 "How's my hair?"

 He asked. Did boys even care about that sort of thing? Mid stared at him blankly and shrugged.

 "Curly."

 Regulus huffed in irritation at her response. What did he want from her? He was a Black for Merlin's sake! Of course his hair looked good.

 "You know it looks amazing, it always does! Perfect messy hair, annoying cocky attitu-"

 "Shh! Shh!"

 Regulus cut her off, shushing her and swatting at her hands as she tried to offer assistance with his curls. Allura was now much closer and he did not want to risk her hearing his nutter best friend go on another rant about the Black charm. As Allura came to a halt next to them, Regulus pretended not to notice her presence. Unbelievable, Midnight thought.

 "Hi Reg."

 Came Allura's soothing voice. The blonde glimpsed at Midnight and the mess of potatoes that she had made, a confused yet intrigued look in her eyes. Turning her attention back to Regulus, she tucked a long straight lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. Not only was she blatantly flirting with him, she was also calling him Reg, which seemed very intimate to Midnight for some reason. Regulus proceeded to say something to Allura in French, which Midnight did not understand. Allura laughed and replied in French as well. Midnight narrowed her eyes at the two younger housemates, unaware that Regulus could now speak more than one language.

 "I was hoping we could discuss our upcoming Care of Magical Creatures project."

 Allura said, finally speaking a language that Midnight could understand. The older girl busied herself with cleaning the table, not wanting to be viewed as ill-mannered by the house-elves. They had always been good to her, bringing extra blankets to the Slytherin dungeons when the weather got cooler, offering her and Remus warm cider when they would pass by the kitchens during Prefect patrols.