Sweater Weather // Regulus Black

chapter six // opening up

  "Can we sit with you?" Marlene questioned with a grin, Mary reciprocating the expression.

  Estella's eyes widened. Were they being serious? She didn't know what to say, so she spat out the first thing that popped into her mind. "But...I—You're Gryffindor's?" She questioned, making the two laugh.

  "We can just sit at your table, if you have friends your normally sit by? Sorry, we just thought you were cool," Mary said with a shrug, making Estella's cheeks turn pink. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to sit with Gryffindor's...It's not like her family had to know.

  "Erm—No problem," She murmured through a small laugh. "You can sit with me and Regulus, I'm sure he won't mind," Estella offered, though she wasn't fully convinced. Regulus tended to be more prejudice, and obedient.

"Regulus?" Marlene questioned. "I don't think I've heard of a Regulus," Mary added.

"R-Regulus Black? He's a fourth year," Estella explained, immediately making both girls' eyes widen. "Oh, Reggie! Sirius has talked our arse's off about his perfect little brother," Marlene snorted.

"Is he?" Mary asked, making Estella's brow furrow. "Is he what?" She questioned. "Is he perfect? Sirius is madly jealous of him, it's pretty funny," Mary clarified with another laugh.

Estella felt her cheeks turn warm as her glance directed towards her shoes. "I don't know, h-he's nice," She stammered, nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"Ohhh, I see," Marlene said with a smirk as he nudged Mary's shoulder, who continued to grin.

"See what?" Estella asked through a nervous laugh as she looked back up at the two girls, who still had those dumb looks on their faces.

"You fancy him, aye?" Marlene questioned, making Estella's cheeks turn even more red. "What?! N-No! No, it's not like that. I mean he's very nice, we-we're similar, you know? He's pretty, too..." Estella trailed, her cheeks only turning more red as she thought about Regulus.

  "But, no. We're—We're just friends, that's all," She finally finished, as she noticed that she hadn't done good at proving her point.

  "Wow. You're a terrible liar," Mary snorted, her and Marlene quickly bursting into a fit of giggles, making Estella even more flustered.

  "Not lying," She sang as the three walked into The Great Hall, and over to a confused Regulus.

  "Hey, Reg," Estella said with a smile as she furiously tried to wipe the blush off her face, Marlene and Mary still laughing.

  "Why are they sitting with us?" He immediately questioned as he eyed the two back and forth, his voice barely above a whisper.

  "They're nice. We got partnered up in potions," Estella said with her oh-so contagious smile, making Regulus's cheeks turn a light pink, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

  "Right. Okay," He murmured as he glanced between Estella, Marlene, and Mary, his eyes primarily focused on Estella.

  "Reggie!" Marlene and Mary beamed in perfect unison. "We're big fans, truly!" Marlene exclaimed, Mary nodding vigorously. "Good friends of Sirius, we are, he talks about you a lot," She added. Regulus's brow furrowed at the comment.

  "He does?" He questioned quietly, the girls nodding  to confirm. "He does, he does. Regulus Black, the perfect pureblood he'll never be!" Marlene wailed, holding a hand to her heart dramatically, making Regulus frown. Estella couldn't help but wince at how insensitive the two girls sounded.

  "I don't—" Regulus started to speak, until Mary cut him off with a yelp.

  Estella looked up to see a smug-looking Severus Snape shove past her. "Mud-Blood," He sneered in his bone-shrilling, yet monotone voice.

  "Same breed as your little girlfriend, Snape! Godrick," Mary yelled back, her face scrunched up in anger as Snape rolled his eyes at the girl.

  "Don't listen to him, Mare," Marlene cooed as she placed a hand on the witch's thigh, rubbing circles into it with her thumb, as Mary leaned her head into Marlene's shoulder.

  "Tell me you're not friends with Snape," Mary sighed, Marlene nodding slowly.

  "No! God, no, we don't like Snape," Estella assured the two girls, though Regulus stayed silent as he ate his dinner.

  Mary sighed as Marlene ran a hand over her tight curls. "Good."

- - -

later that night

"Hey, Ella? C-Can I talk to you?" Regulus asked as he approached Estella in the Slytherin common room after dinner. Estella could feel her cheeks heat up at the nickname—Nobody had ever given her a nickname before.

"What's up, Reg?" She asked with a smile as she closed the book she was reading. Regulus smiled back at the girl as he sat down on the couch next to her.

  "I feel...I don't know," He murmured as his glance directed from Estella's eyes, down to his hands, which were held together tightly in his lap.

  Estella bit her lip, not knowing what to say. It was rare for Regulus to approach her, let alone open up to her. She was confused, to say the least.

  "Y-you can talk to me. We're sort of friends, right?" The witch asked as she sucked in a sharp breath. Much to her surprise, Regulus laughed. He laughed as he looked up to her.

  "I'm pretty sure you're my best friend, Estella," He clarified, making the pair both blush. Estella was glad he felt the same way.

  "I've just felt weird lately. Like...I don't entirely trust my parents anymore. I-I don't know what to do, I feel like I'm...Nevermind," He muttered, making Estella roll her eyes.

  "Go on, finish your sentence," She teased, playfully judging his shoulder to make him smile—Which went away rather quickly.

  "It sounds stupid. I-I'm too dramatic," He denied, nearly causing Estella to snort. "Reg, you're anything but dramatic. Just tell me what's on your mind, I-I won't judge."

  He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and dragging it down his face. Estella couldn't help but swoon as his finger dragged down his lip, until she quickly reminded herself that now was not the time.

  "I feel like I've been living a lie," He breathed after a moment, his voice shaky and strained. Estella's eyes widened as she realized that he was on the verge of tears—She definitely did not know what to do in this situation.

  "I...I understand," She murmured carefully, before hesitantly reaching an arm out to Regulus, which he gladly accepted.

  Eventually the two were just hugging in silence.

  "I just don't know w-who to trust anymore," He whimpered, as Estella held him tighter, still not knowing entirely what she was supposed to do. "You can trust me. You can always trust me," Estella whispered into his hair, placing a delicate kiss on it without thinking.

  He slowly pulled away, smiling at the witch that sat before him, as he reached a delicate hand out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

  "I know I can," He stated, his voice slightly louder than before as he quickly wiped his eyes and straightened his posture.

  "I've never been this close with someone. I-I mean Sirius and I were close as kids, sure, but...This is different," He said with a small smile, his cheeks turning pink.

  Estella grinned as she gazed into Regulus's eyes, finally feeling safe.

  That was it. That was this feeling she couldn't describe. She felt it every time she was near Regulus, every time the two spoke, or interacted. Every time he smiled at her when their paths crossed, every time they sat in silence as they read in the library together. She could finally describe it.

  She felt safe.

- - -

word count : 1281