Black Stag

Family

TW: Waterboarding

Except for the few times someone had said something particularly orthodox and Sirius' knuckles would whiten around his cutlery, the supper had gone on without incident. However, toward the end of their dinner, as they were enjoying ginger poached pears, someone just had to bring up Labour's victory, and Sirius supposedly rolled his eyes at the family's disdain for this-- Regulus hadn't actually seen him roll his eyes. In fact, he'd assumed he hadn't at all. He was aware that his parents had kept a stern eye on Sirius the entire meal and were probably grabbing for reasons to punish his behavior.

Regulus had taken it upon himself to drown out the shouts coming from his father's office by playing the piano. It seemed to draw a lot of people to fix their eyes on the melodic tunes rather than the yelling.

Sirius had taught Regulus to play, and he was far more skilled than Regulus had ever been, despite never having had the opportunity to play in front of an audience, as Regulus had on countless occasions, as his mother would watch with a soft smile and his father would applaud him after his fingers stopped gliding over the keys. He had loved it, though, and was grateful to Sirius for taking the time to teach him. He raised his face to the moonlight to shimmer in its silver glimmer and disregarded the ogling eyes around the glossy, black grand piano. It gave him some serenity and composure as the tune played a conversation that predates words, the tones reaching his chest.

In the guest room, Narcissa and her fiancé, Lucius, whom Regulus despised, were spending the night. He didn't have a justification for his dislike; he was perfectly amiable, especially to Regulus; he just didn't like the way his hair sat or the way his eyes were perpetually narrowed. He attributes it to his conviction that his cousin deserves better.

"If you need anything, ring the bell and someone will come to sort it." Regulus smiled at them as Narcissa placed her suitcase on the bed and Lucius sat at the desk scribbling notes.

"Oh, no bother, I know my way around, I can get anything I need myself." Narcissa smiled back, "We have important news, don't we, Lucky?"

He grunted something in agreement and then tapped his pen gently against the piece of paper.

"In a few months, we'll be married! It's about time, I say." She whispered the last part to him, exuberant and somewhat red-lipped from the wine she'd allowed herself to devour for the evening. "How exciting! You're the first one we've told."

Regulus grinned at her; she'd been writing him letters for years about her ideal wedding and what she'd wanted to have, and he thought the same about it being long overdue. She deserved to finally have her dream wedding. "That's incredible! Personally, think I should be the flower girl." He bowed and laughed a little, as he imagined himself carrying a bouquet of flowers to her wedding.

"You can be the best man. Can't he, Lucky?" He looked up, nodded once, and then turned his nose back down, "Sorry about him. He's been really busy with work. I was thinking about having you as my maid of honour, but I'm not sure how it would go over, so I'm sticking with Bella for that one." She giggled and motioned for them to have a seat on the bed. She drew her knees under her chin, and it suddenly made her look very childlike.

"All right, then, what are your plans?" Regulus asked as he sat next to her, his head resting on her shoulder.

They'd talked at length about all of her plans, including who would get which wedding label and which flowers she wanted (and in which size and colour too). She had mentioned Andromeda once, briefly, stating that she was unhappy she wasn't invited to her wedding since she could have gotten some great ideas from her, but she swiftly brushed the matter aside after Regulus gave her a gentle look. Regulus had always hoped that what had occurred to her and Andromeda would never happen to him and his brother, but as the days passed, he couldn't help but notice parallels in their relationships.