＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚
Rune flicked the pen between her fingers as she read through her final answer for her History of Magic O.W.L. A smirk settled on her face at the pride in what she knew was a textbook perfect answer.
Since the start of exams, she had reached the peak of her academic motivation. Exams for eleven of her twelve subjects were completed and she knew with confidence that there was not a single question yet that she battled with.
Granted, she punished herself with only an hour's a night and allowed herself a maximum of 30 minutes a day for showering, grooming and eating. The rest of the 22 and a half hours of the day were devoted to studying.
She reckoned that not even Merlin himself could have produced answers as perfectly as she had.
Rune closed her answer sheet and looked forward to the left where Regulus Black sat leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.
She narrowed her eyes at the back of him as she engaged in her usual hourly cursing of his name and honor and lineage and pretty much everything that could possibly be traced to him.
As if he sensed her gaze on him, he looked over his shoulder slightly until he met her eyes. He read her expression and he must have been pleased with the anger he found, because he nodded his head to her in greeting and offered her a mocking smile.
She ran her finger over her brow pretending to neaten it, but really using it as an excuse to stick up her middle finger at him.
He obviously noted it, because his stupid smile grew before he turned to the front again.
Rune curled her fingers in fury. One more exam and one more Quidditch match.
That is all that was left and then she could have a two-month break from the whole lot of them.
"30 minutes to go," croaked Professor Flitwick.
Rune stifled a yawn as she lowered her head to the desk and closed her eyes. Her burn out was already settling in.
45 minutes later, once her exam was handed in and the rest of the students went to rest and reset before their Astronomy Practical at midnight, Rune lugged herself up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower.
When she entered Professor Bagshaw's classroom, she saw that she was in the midst of teaching the third year Slytherin's.
"Assignments are on the table," said Professor Bagshaw, without looking up. "You can find yours and take it. I've recorded the marks already."
Rune tried to draw as little attention to herself as possible as she skidded to the front of the classroom and found the stack of assignments.
She flipped through them until she found her name and pulled hers out. She was about to leave with it, when she returned to the pile and sifted through until she landed on 'Regulus Black'.
Her mistake had been silly. While she was recording her sightings, she'd accidentally miscalled a constellation and star and it had costed her that one mark.
She learnt from her mistake, but she knew it was always beneficial to learn from the mistakes of your enemy as well.
Except, as she pulled out his assignments, she gasped loudly.
"Something wrong, Miss Westwood?"
Rune could barely look up to her professor as her eyes struggled to believe the circled 100 in the corner of his assignment.
"Miss Westwood?"
Rune turned Regulus' assignment to Professor Bagshaw. "Was this always his mark?"
Professor Bagshaw looked at the assignment and beamed. "Oh yes. That is the best Astronomy assignment I've ever received. It's the first full marks recorded here at Hogwarts for it."
Rune looked back at the assignment with a frown. Why had he lied to her that he'd gotten lower and suffered through the ordeal of complimenting her?
"Regulus asked me to bring down his assignment for him. Am I allowed to take it?"
"Yes, just sign next to his name as well."
Rune nodded and signed for both hers and his and then as her chest was doing backflips, she hurried down the staircase of the tower and marched to his dorm.
She had passed his dormmates cramming in the common room, so she had no qualms about bursting into his room and marching up to his bed where he was reclining on it with an arm over his head.
He didn't even open his eyes as he said, "Back so quickly, Rune? Has your resolve to hate me melted away that fast?"
She placed the assignment on his chest and waited for him to move and look at it.
"What's that? Love note?"
She tapped the paper on his chest, trying to push him to view it but since he wanted to infuriate her, he remained as he was.
Rune bit down on her lip before poking his chest and causing him to jerk up whether he wanted to or not.
"What?" he bit out, frowning at her.
She pointed at the assignment.
He picked it up and looked at it and even though she was watching him closely, nothing in his expression changed.
She had thought she had finally broken through his walls enough to gauge his expressions, but Regulus was cold as ice, and it was clear that he had never let her see any emotion except what he wanted her to see.
"What?" he repeated, looking up at her.
She had said she didn't want to speak to him ever again and no matter how much she wanted to know what the deal with the assignment was, she was not going to go back on it.
So, she folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow questioningly as if to ask him 'what?'.
"I'm brilliant, now at least you can attest to it too."
She rolled her eyes and exaggerated her raised eyebrows.
"Why did I lie to you?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Open your mouth and ask me."
Rune tapped her foot on the ground to assert her defiance. He ran his eyes over her from top to bottom until he dragged it back up and shrugged.
'What does that mean?!' she wanted to scream.
Before she could offer him anymore encrypted expressions, he lowered himself back down on his bed and shut his eyes.
"Unless you're here to lay with me, you can excuse yourself."
"Wait, that was sarcasm." He opened one eye and looked at her. "I forgot you like me and might take it literally. I just mean leave."
'I hate you!' she shouted internally. 'I hate you and your stupid smirk and your stupid everything and how cruel and horrible and disgusting you are!'
She threw one final grimace at him before grabbing both the assignments and marching out of the door.
She had gone to him wanting clarity but all he did was confuse her more. All he ever did was confuse her.
And as she reached her own room, she came to the realization that perhaps it was her turn to confuse him.
While what he said to her before O.W.L's still stung, the assignment planted a small seed of doubt in her mind.
She looked around her room and as her eyes caught sight of the various serpentine trinkets lying around, she grinned at yet another one of her brilliant plans.
***
Their Astronomy exam officially ended at 3am on Friday morning. The fifth years all crashed and slept until lunch time and some of them even slept through lunch.
Not Rune though.
She had been up since sunrise and waited pristinely at the entrance of The Great Hall until her eyes landed on her target.
Regulus and Rabastan were both dragging their legs out of the hall.
She strutted towards them causing both of them to stop dead in their tracks and stare at her.
Rune completely ignored Regulus and spoke to Rabastan. "I need to talk to you."
She didn't wait to hear his response, as she turned around and walked towards the courtyard. She knew that he would follow her.
At the courtyard, she caught sight of Tina sitting and waiting at the bench and she immediately perked up at the sight of Rune (and probably Rabastan) walking towards her.
Rune stopped just short of her and motioned for Rabastan to seat himself on the couch.
As both Rabastan and Tina looked up at her, she skipped over the pleasantries and said, "Do you two want my forgiveness?"
They glanced at each other questioningly before both of them nodded.
Rune clapped her hands. "Brilliant. All I need is a tiny bit of help and all will be forgiven and forgotten. Are you up for it?"
"Up for what?" asked Rabastan.
Rune shook her head. "First you have to agree and then I give you the conditions."
Again, Rabastan and Tina glanced sideways at each other. They seemed to reach a telepathic unanimous decision because they both chorused, "I agree" at the same time.
So, with a grin, Rune started explaining her plan to them and despite the way both of their faces crumpled in concern, she knew she was a mastermind.
Regulus had been the one to call it a game. If he knew anything about her, he should have known that she would rather die than lose to him without a fight.