speak now | regulus black

3

dynasty — rina sawayama

"the pain in my vein is hereditary."

♡

The twenty-eighth came way too quickly. Sofia woke up unbelievably sore from Quidditch practice, but she dragged herself out of bed at 8 o'clock because it was Vanya's birthday, and if her plan for sneaking out of the castle was to work, she had to get an early start.

She quickly dressed in Muggle clothes, quietly as not to wake her sleeping dormmates and headed to the boys' dormitory.

She braced herself before stepping into the Seventh Year boys dormitory, praying it wouldn't be too disgusting. It was.

She headed to Sirius's bed and opened his curtains before poking him. "Time to wake up."

She gave him a shake and Sirius groaned in response. Sofia sighed and shook him harder. "It's go-time, come on!"

Sirius groaned dramatically, clearly awake now, but didn't open his eyes. "In a minute, woman."

Sofia took her friend's arm and pulled him so he'd sit upright. The covers rolled off his body, he was shirtless. Sofia looked away. "If you're not in the common room in five minutes I'll hex you."

Then she left without another word.

Sirius took ten minutes, which was the time Sofia had hope he'd make when she said five minutes.

It was before 8:00 AM on a Saturday, so reasonably, there were very few people already down for breakfast in the Great Hall. Only three teachers, one of them being Coach.

It was essential to be seen by at least a few teachers before leaving, otherwise, suspicions might arise before dinner.

They ate in silence, Sirius clearly wishing he were still asleep.

Once they finished and stepped out of the Great Hall, Sirius pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said with a tap of his wand.

Sofia's eyes raked over the map as the ink appeared on the parchment. She examined the route to the secret passage, it seemed like the coast was clear.

"Keep it out just in case," Sofia said.

They set off towards the fourth floor.

The familiar large, gold-brimmed mirror came into view and Sofia could almost breathe a sigh of relief. She looked at her reflection for a moment, she had not done a good job at covering the circles under her eyes. "I look dead."

Sirius took a long look at her. "You look perfect."

Sofia tensed, her hands still pulling at her skin. It's not like he had never complimented her appearance before, they were friends, and once he'd gotten over the never-saying-anything-nice-to-a-girl stage of puberty, he would throw compliments her way occasionally. But that was a new one. It made her feel... weird. Not just what he said, but the way he said it. It made her feel awkward. "Um... thanks?"

Sirius rolled his eyes playfully. "It's not like Vanya cares what you look like anyway, he's your brother he'll always think you're ugly, let's go."

Sofia relaxed. Awkwardness dissolved. There was her friend.

♡

Sofia halted outside the apartment building. "Why is he here already? I specifically told him we didn't need any help setting up, and he should come at three."