Astronomy

Sixteen: Regulus

    Summer was miserable.
    The days were long and hot, and Reggie couldn't bear to stay home for much longer, so he was incredibly glad to be back on the train headed to school.
    He was sitting with Leo and Eve, and Eve was talking about how her younger sister would be starting her first year. Reggie zoned out and fell asleep before he could hear much more. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, because he was too excited.
    "Regulus... Regulus, wake up." Leo nudged him. "We're here."
He yawned and grabbed his bag. The entire summer he had been waiting for the moment he would be back at school with his friends. He had been so excited to see Leo and Eve, and now he wanted to find James.
    Leo and Eve followed him off of the train, and they made their way to the great hall, like they had done every school year since they first arrived at Hogwarts.
    "I've got to go sit with the Ravenclaws," Eve said. "I'll see you guys later."
    "Same here," Leo nodded towards the Hufflepuff table. "See you later, Regulus."
    Regulus went over the the Slytherin section and sat down. He hadn't really made many friends from his own house yet, which surprised him. He thought he would have made Slytherin friends before any other house, but he didn't really mind. He had a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff friend, and even James, who was a Gryffindor.
    He tried to focus on whatever Dumbledore was saying, but he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. He turned around and a greasy looking boy with dark hair was sneering at him.
    "So you're Blacks' little brother?"
    "Yes, why do you ask?"
    The boy gave him a rude look. "No reason. I'm Severus."
    Reggie shook his hand. "Regulus."
    Severus grimaced in response, and Reggie turned back towards Dumbledore.
    He glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw James, who waved quickly. Reggie waved back and could feel his cheeks turn slightly red.
    James turned to talk to Sirius, and Reggie looked over to the Hufflepuff table, where Leo was staring at him and had raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
    Reggie knew that Leo could tell something was going on, so he looked away quickly. He definitely wasn't ready to talk about whatever was happening.
***
Reggie had gotten through the first week of school, and it had been one hectic blur. He was excited to be back, but he had forgotten how tiresome school could be, so he was glad it was Friday. He and Leo were hanging out outside, walking around campus, when Leo asked him the question that Reggie had been scared he would ask.
    "So, do you have a crush on anyone?"
    "Of course not," he said.
    "Are you sure?"
    Reggie wanted to tell him about James, but he wasn't even sure how he felt about James.
    "Yes, I'm sure." He and Leo turned down the hallway that would eventually lead towards Reggie's common room. "I'm going to go to my dorm," he said. "I'll see you later."
    Leo waved as Reggie went to his common room. Reggie knew that Leo knew something was up, but he didn't feel like talking about it. Instead, he went to his common room and saw Neige, who somehow had escaped his room and was sitting on a chair in the common room.
    "What are you doing out here?"
    Neige meowed and Reggie sighed.
    Reggie sat on the couch, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
    He woke up to someone standing over him. He realized he was sleeping on the couch, and sat up quickly, only to see James standing next to him.
    James laughed. "Good morning!"
    "How did you get in here?"
    A little first year girl standing by the common room entrance laughed. "I let him in!"
"You shouldn't have done that," Reggie said as he got up. "Now he thinks he's allowed in here."
James was busy poking around the common room. "This is so sad," he said. "It's dark and it smells in here."
"It's not dark."
"Well it's not exactly welcoming." James smiled. "Come on Reggie, we've got a lot to do today! We're going to town."
"Right," Reggie said. "Let's go."