Black Rose [Regulus Black]

24 - nightly phantoms & attacked families

The second time the (not-so) new hire miraculously set his sleeve on fire, Alessandra didn't even bat an eyelash. She merely stared off into space and absent-mindedly ladled compote onto an array of pastries.

Even getting the promotion she'd wanted for centuries wasn't enough to quell the state of absolute misery she'd been in. Of course, she was elated that she finally got to prepare meals instead of serving them to people, but she could not stop worrying about everything.

What if his mother had found out about Regulus' meeting with Sirius and his friends? What if Regulus was dead now because the Death Eaters had discovered his betrayal? Worse, what if Regulus had gotten married to Cressida Greengrass?

She was only snapped out of her reverie when she felt a scorching heat swipe past her elbow, and she whirled around to see the new recruit screaming his head off.

"FIRE!"

It took her a moment to comprehend what was going on as her mind had been completely muddled for the past week, and when she did, she helplessly looked around for a fire extinguisher before she realized that she was a witch and she had magic.

And so, the next five minutes were spent in extinguishing the fires and listening to the manager scream her lungs off as she fired him.

How the fuck did this idiot even get recruited? Unbelievable.

She swallowed back her annoyance and dawdled back to her station, where she continued her boring task of preparing the dessert for that evening. Her mind wandered off to all that was happening — the case of her unknown father, in which she still hadn't figured out whether she actually wanted to find him; Regulus' family, all of whom seem messed up in one way or the other; the war that was going on behind the scenes, with people dying by the minute while she tried to help Regulus find the horcruxes; Regulus himself, whose emotions she simply could not dissect; his betrothal, which she knew wasn't a pressing matter but still weighed on her mind.

And for a split-second, she felt absolutely exhausted. She felt so bogged down and dizzy and tired, so much so that she wanted to take a nap on the kitchen floor. She was actually considering it and would have probably gone through with it if her gaze hadn't snapped up to see Regulus Black standing in front of the window once again, clad in all-black and looking like a phantom of the night.

She took an involuntary step back, startled to see him there, and her heart nearly beat its way out her chest because of the unsettling way he was looking at her. She wanted to go out and see if it wasn't just an illusion, but she still had a job to do.

Those damned pastries.

She bustled about the kitchen with a newfound fervor as she quickly finished all the tasks she'd been assigned, all while feeling a burning gaze leveled upon her.

It felt like an eternity by the time she'd thrown the door to the restaurant open and ran out into the rain, looking for the familiar dark-haired boy. Upon noticing him, she barreled straight into his arms, so glad that he seemed unharmed.

"You're alive."

She felt his lips curve up against her forehead. "That I am."

"God, Reg, I'm so sorry about the whole thing with Sirius, I didn't think it'd backfire so spectacularly," she breathed, pulling away from him and scanning his figure to check if there was any physical evidence of him being harmed.

"I know," he murmured. "I get why you did it, and it's not your fault. You only wanted what's best."

"I still feel so bad. I just hoped that... I don't know, that he'd be able to help you, I guess?"