Rabbits and Rattlesnakes [Regulus Black/OC/Tom Riddle ]

Chapter 8

I don't really remember those first few weeks of our sixth year. My mind was solely focused on Regulus and what he had told me. I had a decision to make. I found myself constantly drifting off into the memory of us on the bed, of how he'd fully removed his shirt and showed me the tattoo as proof. He had been so afraid. I'd always smile remembering how small his voice became, and how funny I found it. But, there had been a reason he had told me and that's why I had to make up my mind. It could be any day he'd have to leave Hogwarts, and he seemed increasingly sure that once he fully joined the death eaters he wouldn't be returning again. I understood the fight, but I'd never considered Voldemort's army as a career choice. I knew my worth from a young age, but more importantly I knew my talents. I could have done anything, I could have been so many things, but there had always a morbid curiosity that lived deep in my gut. It thrived off the knowledge that I knew I'd be good at it. I didn't need love or hate to hurt someone, I just needed to be bored enough. And after all the work I'd put in with Regulus, it just seemed a pity to throw it all away.

He stood still when I told him, blinking as he processed.

"I thought you'd be happy?" I whispered, fluttering my eyelids slightly in a bid to look too adorable for him to ignore. I knew his reservations, but I also knew that I'd decided so couldn't be bothered to go through a pointless argument. His narrowing eyes were hard to distinguish in the dark, but the tension in his cheekbones caught strikingly in the moonlight.

"Eloise-" He tried to look away from me, but my hands quickly placed themselves on either side of his face, bringing his eyes back to mine.

"Regulus, I'd really think by now you'd know there is no use in trying to stop me." I grinned, but his expression stayed stoney. He slowly lowered his lips to mine, at first leaving a small cold peck but quickly his hands found the back of my neck and my waist, keeping me still as his tongue entered my mouth. I melted into him, relieved that I'd won once again.

"I wasn't going to try fight you. I'm not a good enough person." He whispered into my mouth, his eyes looking down at me as his hand stroked the back on my neck. "I don't know what I'd have done if you said no." He lowered his forehead onto mine, just like he had the first night we kissed. "But now you've said yes I'm terrified." I stroked his cheek, smiling as I looked up to see his beautiful face framed by the branches of our favourite tree.

"You don't need to be afraid for me Regulus." He laughed faintly.

"You have no idea what you're walking in to."

"You said something similar after our first kiss." I grabbed his wrist, lifting his shirt to reveal the dark mark. I lifted it to my mouth, my tongue slowly licking it from bottom to top before kissing it. I allowed my tongue to swirl over his veins, my lips pressing against his skin. I lifted my head to meet his open-mouthed gaze.

"So I'll tell you again to save your breath." I pulled the sleeve back down and placed his hand back by his side. "You don't have to worry about me."