Silent Riot | Regulus Black

FOUR

Gemma woke to sunlight streaming through her window. The clock on the wall opposite her showed it was only 4:30. She cursed as she pulled the blinds shut, but now that she'd woken up, she couldn't go back to sleep. She got out of bed, threw on a hoodie and a pair of leggings and left the dorm- as usual, not bothering to make her bed.

As she left the castle and started jogging, the frigid September air biting at any exposed skin, she headed for the Black Lake. At this time, she had often seen the Giant Squid basking in the early rays, or one of the merpeople singing and brushing their hair.

Today, however, there was another person there- none other than Regulus Black. He wasn't doing anything, just sitting there on the large rock, watching the lapping waves.

'You're up early,' she said, approaching him. He looked up at her, startled.

'So are you,' he noted. 'Why is that?'

'Forgot to close my curtain,' she explained. 'Thought I'd go for a run.'

'Oh.' He turned away from her, and stared at the dark water. Gemma studied him, and for the first time she noticed a real sadness in his expression- a faraway look of longing and hope.

'I'm going back inside now though,' she said softly. 'It's quite cold. Are you coming?'

'No,' he said. 'Stay for a bit, will you? It's such a nice place.' Gemma hesitated for a minute, but then climbed up onto the rock and sat down next to him. They remained silent for a few minutes, with only the sound of the waves, their cheeks and noses going pink from the cold. Then, he turned to her.

'Tell me about yourself,' he said quietly. 'Anything. Anything you think is interesting.' She thought for a moment before answering.

'When I first came to Hogwarts, Iz teased me so much about my Irish accent that I stopped talking in it,' she said. 'I mimicked the way everyone else spoke, and eventually it became habit.'

'I can't imagine you with an accent,' Regulus said thoughtfully. She shrugged in response.

'Neither can I,' she said, almost inaudibly. 'Not anymore.'

'My middle name is Arcturus,' he said.

'That so?'

'When I was younger I always wanted it to be my first name. I forced Sirius to only ever call me that.' Gemma smiled at that.

'I don't have any siblings. I always wanted one though.'

'I lost the one I had. I don't even know how to talk to him now.'

'My favourite colour is red, because I feel like it represents me.'

'I love the sound of leaves rustling, like trees in the wind.'

'I like Potions and Arithmancy best because they don't require magic.'

'I used to always want to get a tattoo. Now it's my worst fear.'

'My lucky number is 7, because I got my broomstick on July 7th.'

'I'm scared. And I'm so, so tired of always being scared.' Gemma fell silent. She wanted to ask why, why he was scared. But she didn't. Instead, she stood.

'Come on,' she said, holding out her hand. 'It's time to go back inside now.' He took her hand, and she pulled him up.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

Iz was ranting to Gemma about her latest issue- Ludo Bagman. They were in Divination, and Trelawny was explaining what the work was. It was difficult, but Gemma was somehow managing to listen, despite Iz's angry whispers.