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"Give it back, Regulus!" whisper yelled Rune as she tried her utmost best to pull the last box of liquorice wands from him.
"I got it first," he retaliated, holding it high above his head.
He was far too tall for her to be able to reach it, but she still gripped his shirt and tried to get up as high as she could to grab it. "I saw it first. Give it back!"
"Give it back, Regulus," sighed Rabastan, apologizing to the trolley lady and the other students who were waiting to buy things.
"What do you mean give it back?" asked Regulus, as he pushed Rune off of him. "It's mine."
Rune gasped loudly. "I'm a girl! You can't push me!"
Regulus looked down at her and shrugged, "It's the 20th century. I'll push who I want."
Rabastan heaved a breath before standing up and grabbing the wands out of Regulus' hand.
"How much is it?" he asked the trolley lady.
"2 sickles," answered the trolley lady.
Rabastan handed her 5 and took the box of wands with him back to his seat in the cabin.
He made no eye contact with either Regulus or Rune as he ripped the box open and took a bite out of all 3 wands in the box.
"Look at what you did," muttered Rune as she shoved Regulus with her shoulder.
She turned back to the trolley and whined in sadness when she found that it was already gone.
When she looked back at Regulus, he shrugged. "Should have just taken something else. Then maybe you could have had a snack."
"Should have just punched your stupid face!" she spat out angrily at him before spinning on her heel and marching off to sit as far away from him as the train would allow her.
When Hogwarts Express reached platform nine and three quarters, Rune was immediately joined by Evan.
"Hiya, Rune," he greeted before throwing a box at her.
Rune caught it and looked down to see what it was just as he said, "Reg found me inside. He said to give it to you."
Her eyes scanned the platform until they looked with Regulus', and he lifted his hand and waved at her mockingly.
"Oh, I see my dad, let's go!"
As Rune turned to follow behind Evan, she put the box of liquorice wands inside her bag and motioned for Rolo to start moving.
***
Rune was having the best week of her life at The Rosier Estate.
The house-elf, Hattie, seemed to have blessed hands because every dish eaten was better than the one before.
Mr. Rosier and Evan had taken her on outings to different parts of England and Scotland during the days, showing her monuments of wizarding history and the Rosier family. She'd even gone to a Winged Horses game for the first time in her life.
Her favorite part of the Estate was the library by far. It was paralleled only by Hogwarts Library. She had never seen so many novels and encyclopedias and biographies in one place. It was her very own Christmas miracle to even be in it.
During the hours when Evan would disappear unannounced, she'd spend her time in the library. Mr. Rosier even had Hattie come up every hour with refreshments.
If she could have chosen, she would have asked Mr. Rosier to employ her, and she'd spend the rest of her life dusting the bookshelves.
The day before Christmas, Rune set out with the Rosier family for robe shopping.
The Christmas Ball was set to be hosted by The Nobel House of Black.
Rune had asked if she could sit it out and remain at the Estate, but her answer wasn't the one she wanted.
She was loitering outside the changerooms when a rack filled with designer dress robes was wheeled up to her.
"Mr. Rosier says to pick one," said a shopping assistant.
"Oh no no. Not for me."
The assistant gave her a once over before turning and walking away. Just as Rune breathed a sigh of relief, the assistant returned with Mr. Rosier in tow.
"What's the matter?" he asked, looking at the rack. "Are none of them to your liking?"
"No, they're quite lovely. I just don't need anything. I have a dress."
"You must get one," insisted Mr. Rosier. "I insist."
"You've already been so kind to me," tried Rune desperately. "I don't—"
"Just try on a few," interjected Mr. Rosier. He turned to the assistant and whispered something and then as he began to walk away, the assistant gently shoved Rune into the changerooms.
The assistant handed dresses to Rune one at a time and before long, she'd tried on almost every one of the exquisite, expensive pieces of cloth. Each one was gaudier and more detailed than the one before. And every one of them earned a dissatisfied grunt from the assistant before she handed another one to Rune.
As Rune stepped out of the changerooms again, she felt the air get knocked out of her lungs when she found Evan standing next to Regulus Black.
"Have you found one yet?" asked Evan, but he might as well have not spoken because she didn't hear him.
Regulus was staring at her.
Not just staring, admiring.
The dress was powdery blue and had ruffled sleeves. There was lace detailing all over the bodice and its flaring skirt. It was exactly the kind of dress she'd wear to go running through a field of dandelions.
She liked it best from all she'd tried on, but the way he was looking at her subconsciously made her like it even more.
Regulus continued to stare at her as Evan asked, "You like this one then?"
"I don't really need a dress," mumbled Rune. "Please tell your dad for me."
"Nonsense. We always buy from here. He gets special prices; just pick one."
"I have a dress."
"Pick another one."
"Evan!" she exclaimed, but he waved a hand at her dismissively as he dropped down onto the couch and stretched his feet over the coffee table. The assistant immediately ran out of the changerooms.
Rune turned back to Regulus and when she found him still staring at her, she grabbed the curtains and used it as a shield to cover herself.
"Do you mind?" she scowled.
"What?" asked Regulus, slightly dazed.
"You're staring at me!" she exclaimed.
"I've never seen anything quite so atrocious as you in this dress," he said, with an infuriating smirk. "It's boggling my mind."
"Never had access to a mirror before, have you?" she snapped. "Stand in front of one and you'll see something worse!"
"I have to say," commented Evan. "Regulus has got to be lying. I just know he likes the dress."
"You don't have to say anything because you don't know anything, Rosier," bit back Regulus.
As Evan's mouth spread into a lazy grin, the assistant arrived with three cups of piping hot coffee.
When she saw Rune, she gasped happily. "I believe this is the one."
"No." Rune held out her hand. "I don't like it. I'll take another."
"Are you sure?" asked the assistant unsurely. "This one looks beautiful on you. It's a perfect fit."
"I don't like it."
Once another dress was handed to Rune, she made sure to sneer at Regulus before flinging the curtains shut.
At the end of the shopping experience, she was coerced into buying one, so she settled with choosing the cheapest option of the lot. It was by no means cheap but there was a significant difference in the hundred's column of the price when compared to the others. It was a plain corset-style white dress with puffer sleeves.
It would do.
The Rosier's had urgent business to attend to on Christmas Eve and after a rushed dinner of turkey, roast lamb, potpie, grilled vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and trifle, the father and son were off.
Rune settled into one of the comfortable sofas in the library as she started the novel The Shining by Stephen King. It was a horror masterpiece and she'd grown so engrossed in it that Hattie had to physically force her out of the library at 3am to retire to bed.
Just as Rune changed into pajamas and made her way to bed, she caught sight of a large white box laying in the center of it.
It was plain and had no note attached.
She shook it first and when it made no noise, she carefully opened the lid.
As soon as she did, she figured out exactly who it was from.
Her hands involuntarily dug into the box, and she lifted up the same blue dress she tried on earlier that day in the shop.
She could picture Regulus so clearly.
His smug smirk, his overconfident eyes, the condescending manner in which he would have asked the assistant to bring out the dress, the snark as he paid for it from his own vault, probably providing a hefty tip just because he could.
It angered her more than she could have thought possible.
She did not want the dress and she especially did not want it from him.
She shoved the dress back into the box it came out from and once it was packed away, she shoved it into the cupboards.
Rune decided that when she saw Mr. Rosier again, she would ask him to return it.