𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 || 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 51

Tuesday 20th April, 1977

I started spending time at the café I thought I spotted Regulus in. It was stupid. I obviously hadn't seen Regulus there, yet I was still drawn to the place, and I found I quite liked it.

It was slightly small, but in a cosy way. Green wallpaper lined the walls, a forest painted on them, as well as lines of fairy lights hung throughout it making it seem like there were fireflies in the forest. It was something I thought Regulus would be interested in.

They also served the best coffee ever. I wasn't even joking; the coffee was better than Hogwarts coffee and my fathers combined. It was one of the best things I'd ever tasted, and sometimes I told myself that's why I kept going back, not because of someone I'd imagined seeing there. Regulus loved coffee though, so I wouldn't have been surprised if he continued to go to the Muggle café to have some of their heavenly caffeine.

Yesterday I had gone to the café alone, spending my time ordering coffee and reading books. Today though, the marauders accompanied on my journey to the café, causing chaos and strife as they went.

When we arrived I managed to convince James and Remus to have some of my coffee, but Peter and Sirius were all against the drink, claiming coffee tasted like dirt and was just a path towards other addictions. (In reality they were both just still children and hadn't acquired the adult taste of loving coffee, but I let them believe their lies).

We all stayed there for a while, a comfortable air between us as we joked and teased one another. James and Sirius eventually got bored though and managed to convince me to accompany the four boys to Diagonally. I wasn't sure I was going to agree, a part of me wanting to stay at the café just in case Regulus arrived, but as soon as I had the thought I knew I had to leave. Clinging onto the hope I'd see Regulus would do me no good when I was trying to move on from him.

When we got to Diagonally, I followed the boys to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, the best place to get a frozen treat, and we all went to order our food. The line was long, though, and I found myself getting bored as I waited in queue.

"Hey, order my ice cream for me, will you?" I asked James.

Before he could protest, I ruffled his hair and was gone, touring the streets of Diagonally to pass the time. I walked along the cobbled streets, staring at my shoes as I went. My mind kept straying to the café, a stupid part of me wondering whether Regulus was there right now. He wasn't. I knew he wouldn't be, yet I couldn't stop myself from wondering. Hoping.

I looked up from my shoes when I bumped into someone, mumbling a harried apology. Instead of moving on the person grabbed my wrist and I let out a startled gasp. I stared up at the person, a woman in her late fifties with greying hair and rotten teeth. She was wearing tattered clothing, and the hand gripping my wrist was covered in black smudge. I wasn't sure what it was, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Look where you're walking deary," the woman warned, baring her teeth at me. "There are some bad sorts in these parts."

With that she cackled and let go of my wrist, continuing her walk down the street. I clutched my wrist, rubbing it gently as I looked around at the suddenly unfamiliar shops. There were stores selling poisonous candles, shrunken heads, giant spiders, human-looking fingernails, and other creepy things.

I was in Knockturn Alley.

I looked around, wondering how I could get back to my friends. Had I just walked straight the whole time, or had I made a turn or two? I wasn't sure, and I was hesitant to make a decision on where to go and possibly get even more lost.

Could I ask someone for help? Looking around and the people who spotted the streets, I wasn't so sure. None of them seemed friendly, and quite a few were leering at me. I didn't want to go over to them, which meant I was in this alone.