Regulus Makes a Friend
Regulus was running late. He'd slept in and none of the other third year Slytherins had bothered trying to wake him - not even Barty, who hadn't been really speaking a lot to Regulus since the summer. He dashed to get his robes on, still tugging them 'round his shoulders, biting into a chunk of the pistachio fudge Walburga had sent him by owl post - the closest to breakfast he'd get that morning. He shoved his Care of Magical Creatures book into his bag and ran out of the dorms.
"For your stupid class studying ickle bowtruckles and magical chickens are you?" chuckled Evan Rosier, watching Regulus go by. All the Slytherins had taken to mocking Regulus for taking the Care for Magical Creatures class because they'd caught him sitting in the common room pouring over the notes from the class, so fascinated in the stuff he was reading from his book that he'd completely missed the loud shrieking that had been the result of the Marauders turning Rosier into a cockroach. Once it had been apparent that the taunting bothered Regulus, they kept at it, too, laughing loudly at even the stupidest jokes on the topic, as though Regulus Black enjoying Care for Magical Creatures class was the most bloody hilarious thing they'd ever heard.
He didn't have time for it now.
Regulus ran down the corridor and out the door to the grounds, racing along across the grass, sprinting toward the green houses and the stables, where Kettleburn would be conducting the class. A sharp pain went through Regulus's side and he doubled over, trying to catch his breath, his shaggy hair falling in his eyes as he clutched his side. "Oh bloody hell -" he groaned.
It was while he was doubled over when he heard a sound coming from among the tall golde sunflowers that lined the side of the greenhouse walls. He paused and turned, squinting among the thick stalks of the flowers. There was a girl there, sitting on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest, her dirty blonde hair falling over her arm as she cried. She made soft, horribly sad whimpering sounds, her shoulders shivering.
Regulus looked over his shoulder at the stables, at the collection of his classmates on the grounds, taking out their sketchbooks and pencils, whatever creature Kettleburn might be showing them already on display. He wanted to go see what the creature was... he loved that bloody class and hated that it was only held once a week. He'd been looking forward to it - his one time of refuge from the other Slytherin boys whose humors he kept finding less and less funny, and from Snape, whose eyes never seemed to leave Regulus, always scrutinizing him, always trying to figure him out... He didn't want to give up his favorite class for some girl he didn't even know...
But... but she was sad. She was crying.
Crying alone is the worst, Regulus thought.
And so he crept closer to the flowers, ducking between them until he was standing over her, his head grazing the huge leaves that hung from the flowers stems. He lowered himself so he was crouching beside the girl. "Are you alright?" he asked.
She looked up. Her grey eyes had dark shadows beneath them and her cheeks and nose were pinkened. Regulus hadn't realized who she was before - but once their eyes met, he recognized her. It was Maryrose Jenkins, the Hufflepuff girl that had been with James Potter half of the prior term. It had gone around the school's gossip chain, of course, that they'd broken up, but he hadn't realized that she was still so upset about it.
He reached in his robes pocket and withdrew a handkerchief. "Here, you have... goop... on your nose."
Maryrose blushed and took the handkerchief, quickly wiping her nose with it and clutching it in her fist. "I thought you were Sirius Black at first. You must be Regulus, his brother."
Regulus nodded.
"You're in Slytherin."
"Yeah."
Maryrose wiped her nose again.
"Are you alright?" Regulus repeated his original question.
"I suppose I must be," Maryrose said, "I mean, I don't really have a choice but to be alright, do I?" She shrugged. "Just -- be sure never to agree to be work partners with somebody you'reseeing. If you break up, it's a horrible curse ot have to work alongside them the rest of the term." She stared at her knees sadly, shaking her head.
Regulus sat beside her, "I doubt I'll ever have that problem."
"Why's that?"
"Nobody likes me," Regulus laughed. "Not even my friends like me lately. Only my house elf. And I don't reckon we could have house elves as work partners."
Maryrose shook her head, "Probably not."
Regulus hugged his knees, too, mimicking her motion, looking up at the sunlight filtering among the big round heads of the sunflowers high above them, their yellow petals as big as blankets waving in the breeze. He smiled, "It's lovely back here, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Maryrose answered. "It's quiet. Not a lot of people realize how much space there is and there aren't a lot of spiders, really. There's a few salamanders in the stone there - a little family.." she pointed to the crevice she meant, "But they're harmless."
"I like salamanders," Regulus said. "They're nifty little creatures. Did you know if one's tail broke off, it could regrow it?"
"Yeah, that's pretty brilliant, isn't it?"
Regulus nodded eagerly. "Wish I could regrow stuff that broke off me."
Maryrose laughed.
Regulus looked over at her, "You probably could do it, though, couldn't you? You're a Metamorphmagus, aren't you?"
Maryrose nodded, "Yeah, I am. I dunno if I could regrow a limb or anything, though. I've never had to try."
"But you can change your hair and eyes and all, yeah?"
"Yeah," she said. "Well... I used to."
"Used to?"
"I have to be happy to do it, I reckon. I haven't been able to since James and I --" she stopped mid-sentence and turned her face away.
Regulus said, "Well, then, this is your natural colour then? I think it's really pretty." It was plain, but he was trying to cheer her up and honestly Maryrose's face would've been pretty with any shade of hair at all in the entire world.
She blushed, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They sat quietly for a few moments. She turned the handkerchief over in her hands a few times, staring at the monogram - the Black family crest and beneath that, his initials - R. A. B. "What does the A stand for?" she asked.
"Arcturus," he answered. "Dreadful, isn't it?"
Maryrose giggled. "Well. My middle name is Anne. Maryrose Anne Jenkins. So plain. I don't even get a hyphen."
"It isn't plain. I love the name Maryrose. It's like having two names in one. You could go by Mary or by Rose or by Maryrose. Somebody could say it real fast and you could be M'rose. It's a great name."
"Do people call you Reg?"
"Only if they want me to hex them," he answered frankly.
She laughed.
"My brother calls me Reg. Or he used to, when he bothered to call me anything. But it's been quite some time since we've spoken." Regulus looked quite sad about it and he picked at the eyelet on the laces of his trainers.
"Why?"
Regulus said, "Because he's a Gryffindor. A blood traitor." But even as he said it, the words sounded hollow. "I guess," he added.
"That's a stupid reason not to speak to your brother," Maryrose said.
Regulus shrugged. "I guess when we first stopped talking it was a better reason than it is now. Well, maybe not a better reason, really, but better in my head. My family in general sort of stopped talking to him. He - he didn't belong anymore. Mum disowned him, blasted him right off the wall. I mean, I was a kid then."
"You're a kid now," Maryrose said.
"I'm not. I'm not that much younger than you. Not really," he said. "How old are you? What year were you born?"
"1960," she replied. "I'm fifteen."
"And see, I'm fourteen myself. I was born in 1961. That's only a year's difference."
Maryrose smiled, "I suppose. But you're a third year."
Regulus shrugged. He looked at his toes, "Still not a kid," he replied.
"You do seem to act older than a lot of the boys even in fifth year," Maryrose ceeded.
"See?" Regulus said. "Anyway, Sirius wouldn't talk to me now, even if I would talk to him. Dunno if we ever will again. And that's fine. It's not a big deal. It's - it's the way things are, I reckon."
"I'd be heartbroken without my sister," Maryrose said. "Pandy and I are really close."
"You're lucky."
She nodded.
Regulus stared at her for a long moment and there was something about the way he looked at her that made her heart ache again and she turned away and swept the handkerchief over her eyes again. "I'll have this washed and returned to you," she promised, indicating the handkerchief.
"Don't worry 'bout it," he answered.
She started to get up.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to class."
"Oh."
Maryrose crawled out from under the sunflowers and stood on the grounds a moment before him. He stared up at her through the thick stalks. "Thanks, Regulus Black, for making me forget my problems for a wee bit."
"Anytime," he promised.
Maryrose smiled, and she turned and ran off across the grounds towards the entrance to the green houses, still clutching Regulus's handkerchief in her fist.
He leaned against the cool stone wall of the school and closed his eyes, breathing the smell of the sunflowers. Suddenly he felt something on his hand and he looked down and saw one of the salamanders had come out of hiding and crawled onto his skin, it's little feet tickling him. He smiled down at it, and thought about Maryrose and her pretty hair.