Black Rose [Regulus Black]

01 - angry angels & cured headaches

Regulus' eyes flew open, and he groaned slightly. It felt like someone had whacked him with a beater's bat over and over again until his skull had split into two.

"Is this heaven?" he mumbled, looking around. He didn't have the energy to get up.

He heard footsteps coming closer, and turned his head to find the source of the sound, shutting his eyes again as agony pierced his mind. When he opened them again, he saw someone crouching near him.

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Her hair looked like finely spun gold, cascading down her back in light curls. It surrounded her head like a halo, giving her the impression of a divine being. Her facial features weren't prominent, but looked incredibly delicate. And her eyes were the brightest shade of green, reminding him of a peaceful forest.

"Are you an angel?" he mumbled, his eyes half-lidded as he shamelessly stared at her, lifting his hand and trailing his finger down her cheek to see if she was real.

She frowned. The next thing he knew, he heard a resounding 'SMACK!' and his eyes flew shut as he cradled his now-red cheek.

"What was that for?!"

"You were being a creep. You sailed in through my window, which I now have to pay for. You were in such a bad state that I had to help you, and my dinner's now cold and I'm now short of a few pounds. And on top of that, the only gratitude I receive in return is some pathetic flirting?"

Regulus' eyebrows knitted together as he noted her use of the word 'pounds' rather than Galleons. He remembered Sirius saying that pounds were Muggle currency, which meant...

Mudblood.

He instantly shot up, nearly collapsing as his legs buckled. He may have been going against the Dark Lord, but there was absolutely no way he was staying in the presence of a Mudblood.

However, the woman wasn't having any of it. With remarkable strength, she yanked him down. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed. "You aren't even fully healed, you're ruining my hard work and wasting my resources."

He clutched his head in pain, annoyed that he couldn't ask her for a pain-relieving potion. There was no way he was consuming Muggle medicine, he'd heard that they were actually just trackers for the corrupt government to keep an eye on its people.

She placed two fingers on his forehead, and he sighed in relief as a strange tingle ran through his entire body. "What are you doing?" he mumbled, slightly confused. She was a Muggle, but it looked like she was using magic. "Wha-"

"Sleep. You won't remember any of this."

His lids clamped shut.

⚜

When he regained consciousness, he was propped up on a sofa opposite to the girl, who was eying him critically.

"What did you do?" he whispered, noticing that he was no longer in physical pain.

"I gave you medicines, applied some ointment," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"No... you did something. You somehow ordered me to sleep, after miraculously removing the pain from my head, and don't tell me it was some simple massage."

She paled slightly. "You aren't supposed to remember that. I made sure of it."

He slowly began to back away as she stepped forward. "You made sure of it?"

"It's alright, I'll try again." She raised her hand, a ball of red light growing in it, and hurled it at him. He ducked behind the sofa, as she began throwing even more spells at him.

She truly was a madwoman, some sort of malicious demon in human's clothing.

"Stop!" he yelled, pulling his wand out of his pocket, which by some miracle remained intact despite all he'd been through that day. He conjured a shield charm, and all her spells ricocheted off of it, leaving her bewildered.

"You can do it too?" she whispered, staring at him in awe.

"What do you mean, you can do it too?" he asked, growing more and more convinced that he had actually died and this was some sort of punishment for his sins.

"The sorcery..."

"You mean magic?"

"Same thing. So, you can do it too? I'm not the only one?"

"What do you mean you're not the only one. There are hundreds of wizards worldwide, are you delusional?"

She gasped. "There are more of us?"

He stared at her. Did someone Obliviate her? Was she put under the Cruciatus Curse far too many times to the point that she lost her mind? "Yes, there are more of us. Have you not been to Hogwarts?"

"Hog-what?"

"It's a magic school."

She walked up to him, and smacked him upside down the head.

"What was that for?!"

"I was just trying to snap you out of it."

"I'm not joking, there really is a magical school. I'm surprised you weren't admitted into it."

"I don't have parents and I stayed in an orphanage until I turned 18 this year, maybe that's why they couldn't contact me," she informed him, eying him like he was an interesting species of insect she couldn't wait to dissect.

"Every magical student in Britain gets the letter of acceptance when they're eleven, even if you're a mud- Muggle, or have no guardian."

"What's a muggle?"

"Non-magic folk."

"But you just said I have magic?"

"You're muggle-born, your birth parents probably didn't have magic. It happens sometimes."

"Wait, who are you anyways? You just came sailing through a window. What if you're some window cleaner trying to scam me? I want proof that any of this is real, or I will send you right back through that window."

"I'm Regulus Black. What's your name?"

"I'm Alessandra Rosier."