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23 - Leo
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Pain seeped to her skin, and neon blue illuminated the plum-colored mark left on her wrist. Gammaliel cringed, on how she, after all those years, still feared the boy. Her back used the stone wall for leverage as her lips parted whispering old-english, lucky that summer Merlin had taught her rapid healing spell. Though, at that moment she wished she knew magic to modify time as she waited for the guests were queueing to leave the chambers.
Warmth tingled her peach skin, as she felt the pain gradually faded before the plum mark faded to green then back into the shade of her skin. The Irish peered to her wand on the floor, flexible rowan wood and dragon heart strings that especially made for her by Mr. Ollivander — because apparently no other wood was strong enough to chanel her magic, she tried, really, and by her touch she had broken numerous wand split into two, except for Rowan wood — which was a lucky coincidence, considering Rowan tree was the crest of Merlin's family. The witch flicked her wrist and the wand flung back to her pocket before she looked up and stepped out to return to the front door of the Professor's chamber.
"Ah Miss Zygo, I've been wondering where you were, didn't get lost back there didn't you?" joked the Professor, Gemma forced a small smile on her face. She shook her head, Slughorn narrowed his eyes as he paused leaving the front door wide open, "Miss Zygo, are you all right?"
"Yes... yes, I'm all right, Sir." replied the witch as calmly as possible, both of her hands gripping the side of her dress. Her feet briskly stepped forward to the door, "Thank you for inviting me, Professor. Have a good evening."
"My pleasure, Miss Zygo." replied Slughorn.
The girl nodded politely and twisted her body to exit the chamber. The Professor smiled and waved before she heard the door shut magically behind her. Gammaliel sighed, as she waved both of her hands in front of her face fanning her eyes. She looked up in the hope the tears wouldn't burst.
The corridor dimmed with chandelier-lit, there was nothing but voidness that engulfed each being passing the stony path. Though it was logical, the courtyard's clock rang signaling that it was nearing curfew. The Irish witch gathered the saneness left in her, eyes darting from the ceiling down to her shiny mary-jane. Morphine Avery was an ill-mannered git who tainted her heart with the darkness Persephone had. She shouldn't have come to the dinner if only she knew she would see him.
Her whimpers echoed in the castle's stone walls, now that she realized she was completely alone, or at least that was what she thought.
Someone cleared their throat, Gammaliel nearly jumped at the sudden voice. She tore her gaze over her shoulder to find that the Slytherin's prince was leaning against the wall. His raven hair gelled and brushed in soft waves, the chandelier's gleam was illuminating his fine features creating a cast of golden glow. The Slytherin dressed in all-black, fingers fumbled on the edge of his blazer sleeve.
The Ravenclaw caught a mark of cherry red coated his knuckles unsure what happened to him, or if he had those scars before the dinner. He hid the scar once his silver eyes noticed where her attention was. She raised her gaze from his hand to his face, eyes narrowed, "What's wrong with your hand?"
"It's nothing." replied the Slytherin abruptly, if her timbre was like the summer, his was contrary to hers it was winter night. At his attempt to look presentable he hid his hands in the pocket of his trousers.
"What are you doing?"
Regulus blinked for a moment facing the puzzled girl, squeezing the essence of his brain to find an excuse. He cleared his throat, "I think I owe you a proper apology," he began, and the girl looked at him with sardonic eyes, "You showed me what you liked, didn't you? I want to show you something that I like — that's if you are up for it."
"Does our interaction always require owe and offer Reggie?" Gemma turned to face him properly, quirking an eyebrow as the boy rolled his eyes.
Regulus exhaled sharply, stepping forward before tore his attention to the Ravenclaw, lips parted as he collected the proper words. Which lately had been a hard task for him, not only verbally but written too. He recalled the night he wrote her a letter, it was a dreadful process, he read it over and over again, most of his draft tossed to the floor. Kreacher had been wondering what was his master doing with the number of crumpled papers that much.
"And what's with that?" Regulus queried.
"It's kind of strange."
"What seems strange to you is only so because you do not follow my train of thought."
Gemma tore her gaze to the side with a bright smile, and he smirked at the view, "Don't quote Sherlock on me."
Truth was, Regulus didn't want to seem like a fool in front of the Ravenclaw. Yet she succeeded to make his effort grew harder each passing day. He used to take control of his life, but he found himself stood there waiting for her. Like his feet gravitated towards the deity that she was, funny how it was the other way around. Each time she referred him by his first name imaginary bugs were crawling inside the voidness of his chest. It made his soul so twisted, in a way that he couldn't understand why his heart was beating a tad faster and Regulus swore he might lose his sanity one of these days.
"I just want to make it up to you." his low voice echoed in the corridor, and the girl stood woodenly at his strange gesture. Hades had no feeling didn't he then what was this? Guilt? Remorse?
Gemma scrunched her face, "Right now?"
"No, when King Arthur resurrected."
Gammaliel rolled her eyes this time but nodded to his request. He beckoned her to follow him, as the two prefects were climbing up the marbled stairs hearing their steps echoed in the night.
***
Out of all the things in the grand castle that could be Regulus Black's favorite things to do, he couldn't be more obvious that much like his brother, he loved stargazing in the Astronomy tower. The Irish had seen him there a couple times while she was trying out her midnight wings. The younger Black would be doing his star charts or kept his eyes to the sky in silence.
His mahogany scent lingered on her senses as he led her to grip on the steel railings at the edges of the tower, and fresh air greeted her lungs better at that height. It was empty at the time, Regulus was so in love with the stars he knew when the tower was vacant.
Lights were dimmed in the circle room, allowing the real show stopper to take the attention, to shine. The Irish shot her button nose up, and her vision was filled with dotting stars, scattered in the black canvas. Primary hues of blue, white and red emitted in amid of voidness that was the galaxy. Gemma's eyes widened to treasure the surreal view. Wishing she could recall all — all of that at the back of her mind while her eyes mirrored them, full of wonder.
"Why am I not surprised that you like them?" she mused, carmine lips twitched into a flaunting smirk.
"Pathetic, you think?" inquired the grey-eyed boy with a distant smile, she shook her head in denial. He inhaled sharply, "Maybe because my dormitory is in the dungeon, it's pretty fascinating to see the sky up close — I was named after a star, in case you haven't notice. It's a family thing."
Zygo hummed to the chilly rhythm of the night and cricket and frogs sang, while dainty flickering fairies were dancing in the symphony. "Curious." she began her attention was on something else, but she gazed to the vast dark forest, "They do know that astronomy, is one thing that our world and muggle had in common don't they?"
"It is a tradition," he breathed out, faint steams escaped his mouth in nebulous stream, "The Heirs of Black shall be named after stars. It's something we do for centuries, brings good omens they all said." he finished off. He extended his gaze, skimming for the brightest star that evening.
But the Irish raised her finger, pointing away to an illuminating star above, "There." she began, "That's Polaris isn't it?" she guessed, eyes widened when she received a nod from Black
"The north star, easiest to spot on when you get lost, it always leads you back."
Midnight air penetrated her skin, deep to her marrow, and she felt her shoulder sag. The hair on her nape rose, allowing shiver rolled down to her spine. But the Ravenclaw was eager for more of the eternal stars that were hung high side by side with the lucent crescent moon, as if they were staring back to the pair curious eyes of her own.
Black chewed the inner of his cheek, he pondered for a second before impulsively took off his blazer. The Merlin heir stopped shivering once her peach skin was coated with a delicate material, and she tore her gaze to meet his face. He was placing it loosely on her shoulder, his breath fused with her perfume, a fresh note of ocean and peony. He could make out the constellation in the sky, yet there was a galaxy in her eyes that he couldn't map out.
"You're cold." he stated, before cussing inside his mind, it was Sherlock obvious that she was cold. He then stepped back as if the floor burned, tearing his gaze away to the black canvas. He batted eyes from canis major and unknown stars in the east to calm his heart for goodness sake.
"Thanks." her voice was soft, and she peered down, when the view was up above for the sake of hiding her cherry cheeks and bickering heartbeat. She discerned a comforting sensation that wasn't coming from his blazer coating her body, but more of the gesture that sparked an explosion in her chest.
Regulus couldn't tear his gaze to her, afraid that he couldn't stop staring. Aunt Druella always told him that it wasn't polite to stare, but how he could stop if under the million stars that evening she was the most radiant of them all.
Black accidentally brushed his knuckles to coarse fabric that made him had to bit back his wince — one thing for sure he did not regret one bit for what he did earlier — he was one good observant, and tip-off from Evan, he noted that Avery's only heir was not in good term with the Merlins, something about an incident.
When Avery showed up with a satisfied smirk and Gammaliel wasn't showing up, Regulus was able to put two and two together, and predicted what was happening. He made a good use of Rosier's another tip of disillusionment charms and greeted the 7th year with a fist up his eyes.
"We have one thing in common. My mum liked the stars, I would say she's obsessed. My brother and I were named after her favorites stars." The heiress broke off the silence. Her azure eyes darted to the ravenous sky where she was met with thousands of twinkling stars. "Gammaliel was from two words, you see, Gamma and Leonis."
Regulus's body inclined to the railings and he grasped at it trying to mask away the excitement that unfurled in his head, like small fireworks. He had no idea what did she mean, but the boy had refused to appear clueless in front of her. "Oh," he cleared his throat. "I think I've heard of that."
"Two small stars in Leo constellation she loved it, it was a double star. One's dying without the other one; Gamma-Leonis. It might look like one with naked eyes, but if you use telescope there are two of them. Second brightest stars in the constellation."
"Because the brightest star in Leo is Regulus," the boy cut her off, Gemma nodded while he hid a scant grin, "I didn't know that."
"Mhm." Gemma hummed, "What's scary about a double star is that. The distance between two stars is unstable, they could collide at some point, and then they explode, pretty self-destructive."
Yet why did it fits her being so perfectly? Gemma bit her lip at the scary similarity. Regulus narrowed his eyes at her suddenly low timbre, then he broke off with, "Your mother, what was she likes?"
"Oh? Is that correct that Regulus Black wanted to hear more of me, no?"
Regulus's cheeks were burned as if the sun was scorching in the night, he stammered, " I — only if you are comfortable with it — I can share mine too."
Brows furrowed at his respond, since when Hades was willing to share his deep dark secret. He might blurt out about the souls he beheaded to her. She examined him from one maybe too many stolen glances. Despite he was shadowed in his parent's doctrine, Gemma could see the lost star was keeping his saneness at best. The perfect son of Noble House of Black was by her side, not as the stern, saint-like boy that Orion and Walburga show-off like a trophy. But as the gentle soul that evolved to live and loved the realm of the death, for he knew darkness better than anyone. But he was far from demonic being, no he was — Sirius would say an idiot, Gemma would choose naive.
Naive, and young, that's what he was. And this part of him was caged inside Hades that he needed Persephone to unravel it. She let Hades knew that mortal feeling was mundane even to the gods. By her side he could feel tranquility. What surprised her the most, was that he did not, not even once, blamed her for Sirius's reckless runaway, or brought up the book. Instead, he took out a patent of understanding, that Sirius's mishap was all his selfishness. Although, Regulus's compliance and Slytherin's stubbornness for value made the whole brotherly calamity even worse.
"So we exchange secrets, Black?" Gemma queried, she shook her head, "Why does every interaction with you have to cost a price. Aren't we friends? Do I still have to climb your stairs of acquaintance?"
"I suppose not an acquaintance." Regulus mused, he sighed softly, hands pressing the cold railings.
"I was teasing, not many beings know about me." the girl paused, her eyes flew back to Regulus, "But I would like for you to know me."
The Slytherin inhaled deeply and peony fragrance lingered on his senses, her carmine lips parted as she went on, "Alpha always said she looked like me. Hair, detailed freckles, but my Nana always said I have my mother's eyes." she frowned, her thoughts was on something else while she gazed at the sky.
The Irish devoured the bittersweet memory in her head and Regulus watched her figure from the side. He often wished he mastered legilimency to peer in her chaotic mind, he held himself back to ask her about her eyes what in Salazar's name was that. The Slytherin examined the pair of sapphire eyes that had been haunting his dreamland.
"Then she had such lovely eyes." Regulus' voice echoed, and he looked away once he realized what he just said. The girl blinked in disbelief.
"Pardon?"
"You have unfairly lovely eyes, Gammaliel."
Black breathed in as cold fused inside his lungs and grew magically down to his feet, unable to face her again. Persephone stared away to Aphrodite, who was sitting on the moon, and blamed her for the weakened limbs, carmine cheeks, and unfaded smile only from the words he uttered.
The two brightest stars of Leo were next to each other. Under Leo's mane, sanguine filled the space between them. While war loomed outside the skyline border there was nothing certain, but there was one that felt certain for Hades. In this lifetime or another, his path would always collide with hers, since they came from the same nebula.
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Author's note:
I like this chapter tbh
I was writing this listening
to Adam levine's Lost star
and I got the feels :')