Secret lovers - Regulus Black / short story

C h a p t e r T w o

Regulus woke up first, next to his sweet Julie, still sleeping under the sheets. He could feel her naked body against his, he did't want to leave. If only he could stay like this all day. But the watch on the nightstand showed 7 o'clock, he had to return to the Slytherin quarters. He moved slowly and dressed then gave to the most beautiful girl a kiss on the forehead. She grabbed his hand, waking up, asking why he was leaving.

"It's already seven darling, you know I have to go..." He kindly smiled at her and kissed her hand. She didn't want to let go of him.

"Stay a bit longer Reggie..." She gave him her best puppy eyes even though she knew he really had to go before everyone else wakes up.

"We can meet in the forest after lunch, and again tonight if you want." She gets out of bed and stands up, keeping the sheet around her so as not to reveal her bare chest. She gets closer to him, looking in his blue-grey eyes, still holding his hand. He puts his free hand on her cheek.

"You know we can't see each other like this too much. But the forest sounds good." She let go of his hand and kisses him. Regulus rubs his thumb on her cheek then smiles, walking to the door.

"You know I've seen you naked, you don't need to keep the sheet on." He states looking back, a hand on the door handle.

"It's not the same, it feels more embarrassing like that. Now go before I trap you here!" She laughs and sits on the bed, biting her lip while he walks out the room. She loses her smile when the door closes and sighs. She doesn't know if she'll handle the entire year like this.

On the other side of the wall, the door fades away as Regulus walks out, and he comes upon his brother, looking for something.

"Ah! Little brother! You're awake already? Have you seen Julianna by any chance?" Regulus keeps a straight face as he answers he hasn't seen her since the party. "She didn't come back to the common room yesterday, it's not the first time but James asked me to help him look as we woke up before everyone. He thought she might be sneaking around."

"Sorry Sirius, I don't know where she is, but I can help you look. I came from that part of the hallway and haven't seen her so we can look somewhere else and gain time."

"Thank you Reg. And how are you up so early?"

"Why do you have scratches on your face?" They both stay quiet as they walk side to side, one looking around, searching for his best friend's sister, the other pretending to do the same, glad he wasn't caught coming out of the Room of Requirements.

-

"Julianna! Finally! Where have you been all night?" James yells at her as she enters the Gryffindor's common room.

"Out." She answers, going straight up to her room to change and avoid her questioning brother. Julia's roommates don't ask anything, they're not friends, they only sleep in the same room and they were glad she wasn't there. They had the night to talk and gossip without reservation. She slowly get dressed, taking her time so James would get bored and leave for breakfast without waiting for her. She was right, when she came downstairs, everyone was gone. She joined them in the great hall to eat breakfast but sat far away from the marauders, praying they wouldn't see her. Praying wasn't the right thing to do in the moment, Remus spotted her as she started eating her toast. James walked to her and sat beside her, one leg on each side of the bench.

"So? Are you going to answer me?"

"I already did."

"Out, is not an answer. I was worried."

"You were worried? Is it the first time you've caught me out of the common room for a night?"

"No, but last night was a party, and a lot of things can happen at a party, I thought something happened to you or you went out with a boy."

"I don't have to tell you anything James, you're not my dad."

"You're such a brat Julia. Fine don't tell me, I won't be worried for you again. If something happens to you, don't come cry on my shoulders."

"Remember what I said last night? I don't need rescuing James. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate your help. But if I need it, I'll come to you not the opposite."

"Alright. I'm sorry for being a jerk."

"I'm used to it, don't worry." Julia winks at him and he rolls his eyes, going back to his friends.

"Come sit with us Little Potter!" Screams Sirius to her, scaring everyone around.

"Jeez, you don't need to shout, I'm right here!" She gets up with her plate and goes sit between Remus and Peter. "What's up?"

"Ploting our next prank." Smiles Sirius proud of them. "Wanna help?"

"This is a school Sirius, not a playground."

"Exactly!"

"By Merlin's beard... I have to study, I don't have time to be five years old."

"She's got a point guys, this is our last year before NEWTs, we should go easy on jokes." Remus is the most rationate of the group, he's kind of the dad, foot on the ground, wise person who knows when to stop. Not like James and Sirius, they never know when to stop. Peter is in-between. Likes to be fun and do stupid things but not too much.

"Since when did you become a mood killer Moony?" Sirius is shocked, usually Remus goes along with them happily but he's been different since he became Prefect. "Because it's our last year before exams we should have more fun. You'll regret it if you study too hard."

"I'm just saying we should be careful. Plus, the Dark Lord is out there recruiting, we need to defend ourselves and for that, we need to study."

"You're already amazing in Defense class, but you don't have to follow us into this if you don't want to." States Sirius.

"Be reasonable Remus, don't let them drag you down, I know you're smarter than these idiots." Says Julia trying to convince Lupin not to be stupid. But her words mean nothing next to Sirius. The two of them have been flirting for a while now, Remus is definitely in love but Sirius is too focus on himself to even realise. He likes Remus more than a friend but he doesn't understand that Remus is flirting back.

"No they're right, let's have fun!" The wearwolf smiles at Sirius who smiles back and they continue to talk until it's time to go to their first class. Julianna joins Regulus for Charms class with Professor Flitwick. They sit beside each other in every class they have in common, it's not suspicious considering the fact that they're known as best friends since 4th year.

The days go by, always the same, the two lovebirds meet in the forest after lunch once in a while, not too much but enough to be content. They don't spend many nights in the Room of Requirements, James paying more attention to her than ever. She doesn't want him to find out, that would be a terrible thing. If Regulus and Julianna decided not to tell everyone, it was mostly because of her brother's hate towards the Black family. Regulus living with them by choice makes him hard to appreciate for the elder Potter.