Black Rose [Regulus Black]

06 - gut feelings & eureka moments

Walburga looked exactly like her son.

They shared the same dark hair, grey eyes, judgmental air and aristocratic attitude. However, while Regulus' eyes were filled with warmth, Alessandra could see nothing behind Walburga's.

It was terrifying how a human could show no emotions yet convey so much at the same time - shock, curiosity, suspicion and a burning hatred that did nothing to freeze the ice in her eyes.

The three of them were currently in a stare-down with each other. Actually, it was Walburga eying Alessandra haughtily and Alessandra refusing to break eye contact with her while Regulus awkwardly sat in the middle.

Regulus cleared his throat, wanting to dissipate the tension, yet the women's stare off didn't break. "Mother, this is Alessandra-"

"-Rosier, I know," the dark-haired woman interrupted. "You're not supposed to be here."

"I'm not supposed to be here?" Alessandra repeated. "Do you know what happened?"

Walburga paid no heed to Alessandra, her eyes flicking over to Regulus. "Regulus, how did you find her?"

When Alessandra was young and she and her friends at the orphanage had found an abandoned treehouse to play with, her gut instinct told her that something bad was going to happen, and it did. Only hours later, the treehouse collapse. It was simple incidents like these that had taught her to rely on her intuition.

And now, every molecule in her body was screaming at her to not let Walburga Black know. There was just something off about the woman, although she would never voice her opinion to Reg. Alessandra didn't know why, but she had this strange feeling that Walburga finding out about her was not going to end well.

Regulus, on the other hand, trusted his mother whole-heartedly. His mother had always been supportive of him, although she could be a bit harsh occasionally. She'd been there for him from the day he was born, and they only had each other now. Therefore, despite the pleading look in Alessandra's eyes, the vigorous head-shaking and the desperate kicks under the table directed towards him, he still made the decision to tell his mother.

Only in return for some information, of course.

"I will tell you, but Mother, how do you know her?"

Neither of them missed the way her grip tightened on the table, and they both leaned forward in anticipation, waiting to see what she had to say.

"A few years ago, when you both were two years old, your father and I were looking for potential suitors for alliances."

Understanding dawned in Regulus' eyes, but Alessandra remained clueless.

"The Rosier family seemed like an appropriate option, and Pyrrhus was only too happy to arrange a union between our youngest son and his only daughter."

Then it clicked. The youngest son was Regulus and the only daughter was...her.

Numb. That's how she felt. They'd arranged for her to get married to someone without even consulting her when she'd only just started walking?

Regulus seemed somewhat unfazed though. He was surprised, but she suspected it was because of the newfound connection between them and not because it had been arranged years ago.

"You, on the other hand," Walburga addressed Alessandra, "weren't as...magic-oriented as the pureblood community would've liked you to be. Most children display accidental magic from a young age, at least by the time they're eight. You didn't show any signs of magic, and were declared a Squib."

Squibs...Alessandra had read about it in a book Regulus had given her. They were people with magical heritage but no magical ability.

But I can do magic...