𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 ⎼⎼ 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤

ii. dylan's

Mairead needed more food. So she tossed on some jeans, an orange tank top, and grabbed her purse while walking out of the house. Her pink sandals flopped behind her as she got in the topless car, turning the keys and putting on her sunglasses. She backed out slowly, making sure that nobody was out taking a walk on the dirt road, like Misses O'Connor. But then Mairead thought it wouldn't be a total shame if Misses O'Connor got hit on accident. Less yelling. She gave a smirk that nobody saw, and turned to drive past Regulus' house. She kept her speed slow, in case Misses O'Connor caught her driving too fast. She got to Regulus' driveway where she saw him sat out in the grass with a plastic chair, reading a thick, ancient book.

"Hey, Regulus!" She waved. He looked up at her, then shut the book abruptly. "I'm headed into town, need anything?" He blinked once, twice. Nobody had ever offered to get him things out of pure kindness before.

"Erm, I...I have a whole list." He stuttered. Mairead just smiled at him.

"Then hop in! You can just ride with me." She pat the seat next to her with a bright smile that Regulus couldn't refuse. Euphemia told him to be nice anyway, so he hesitantly sat in the open seat in the car. He had only been in a car once before on the drive there, so how bad could a convertible be? Mairead then sped off as he buckled, holding tight to the seat belt that stretched across him. She let one hand steer, and one hand fly out of the window in a wave motion. Regulus just shifted in his seat and waited for the ride to be over. Riding a broomstick was way better than a car. They drove past fields with long grass and some lakes, finally reaching a proper paved road.

The paved road led to the small older town Regulus had driven through yesterday. He hadn't paid much attention to the coastal town then, but now he looked at all the small buildings that they passed. People were walking with their children, going into an ice cream parlor that was crowded due to the heat of the day. Regulus looked at what everyone wore, which was super odd. Why were they wearing half pants? He furrowed his brows and looked oddly at the muggle's attire. He currently wore a white billowy shirt and some dark slacks that were completely appropriate for a wizarding party. He looked to his side and looked at Mairead's clothing choices, which were jeans and a top that showed off her arms and collarbone. How could any person show off that much skin?

Mairead turned into one of the only parking lots in town, and unbuckled her seat belt. Regulus copied her, then they both walked out onto the blazing pavement. She clicked her car keys twice and then walked towards Dylan's with Regulus following quickly behind. He was basically at her heels all the way until they reached the store doors, where Mairead grabbed a basket and quickly walked down the shower supply aisle. She tossed her usual strawberry shampoo and strawberry body wash, then started to walk towards the food. She decided to start with the frozen food section to cool off in the blistering June heat.

"What's a hot dog?" A male voice asked from behind her. Mairead turned around to see Regulus holding a packet of hot dogs, looking at it like it was some sort of poison. Mairead just furrowed her brows and smiled at Regulus.

"You've never had a hot dog? I'll make you some when we get back to the line." She grabbed the packet from Regulus' hands and placed it in the cart, where there was days worth of frozen pizzas and breakfast foods, along with the shampoo and body wash. Regulus followed her with his own basket weighing heavily in his right hand. He seemed to have everything from food to clothes inside. She set the basket on the counter, where a man in his fifties stood with a gentle smile.

"Hey, Rich. Just this stuff today." Richard, the store clerk, gave her a cheeky smile. He looked behind Mairead to see the dark haired boy, with a nervous look on his face. He was practically hiding behind Mairead at that point.

"Hi, lassie. Who's the guy friend you've got there? Marie would go wild if you had yourself a boyfriend already! She's been trying to find blind dates for you all summer. Now I've got an excuse to tell her to lay off!" Rich laughed. Mairead and Regulus both went a shade of crimson and Mairead shook her head wildly.

"No, no, no, he's my new neighbor. Regulus, this is Rich. Rich, this is Regulus. Plus Marie shouldn't try to be so kind. I'm okay with living alone. And there's like ten guys in this town that aren't married." Rich pulled at his suspenders and gave a hearty laugh. His wife of thirty years, Marie, had practically raised Mairead as a second grandmother.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell Marie you said hello." Rich then finished bagging both Mairead and Regulus' groceries, sending them off with a smile. Mairead walked out of the store with two plastic bags hanging from her arms. She then walked to her car and shoved the bags in the backseat.

"I need to head over to the schoolhouse to check on my niece, if you'd like to come along." Mairead offered. Regulus nodded. He was super uncomfortable around all of those muggles, but he figured sticking with Mairead was easier than being alone around so many people. She walked across the street to see a red brick building with a sign that said 'Barna Elementary' on the front. Mairead walked into the building and quickly spoke with the principal, then handed Regulus a sticker.

"Just put it on your shirt. It's to protect the kids from strangers." They then walked side by side down the rows of classrooms. Mairead stopped by the last on the row, opening the door slowly. Kids then ran and yelled to Mairead, saying hello and giving hugs. The first girl to run over had the same sandy hair Mairead did, but instead of honey colored eyes, she had bright blue. The girl hugged tightly to Mairead's waist and shooed her classmates away.

"Hi, Auntie Rey!" The girl said. "Who's this?" The little girl pointed at Regulus.

"Hi, lovey. This is my new neighbor Regulus. He's just come into town with me for the day. Say hi, Holland." The little girl held out her hand to Regulus in a proper manner.

"Hi, I'm Holland. People call me Holly. It's nice to meet you, Mister Regulus." Regulus shook the little girl's hand with a smile. He had never met a little muggle that was so formal before. Holly then held onto his hand while Mairead talked to Holly's teacher. The teacher had a small frown on her face and Mairead's face mirrored it. He was shocked by the little girl's confident movements. He just let her squeeze onto his hand. He felt it was mutually comforting. Mairead then sat down and sighed, running a hand over her face. Whatever news she was receiving, it wasn't good. Holly then turned to Regulus with small doe eyes.

"Is Auntie Rey okay? She looks sad." The six year old pointed at her aunt, who was on the brink of tears. Regulus just wound an arm around Holly's shoulders and held on tight. Holly seemed to also be about to cry. Regulus then noticed the bruises on her arm and the cuts on her legs, and visible small scars that left a trail. He saw the same little boy he was in Holly. The scared, clingy little boy that just wanted to be comforted. Mairead wiped her face and walked over to Holly with a bright fake smile.

"Well, Holls, it's about time to go home. But this time, you're gonna stay the night with me!" Mairead gave some half-hearted jazz hands. "And after that, some friends are going to take you to one big house with other kids your age. It's going to be fun, yeah?" Holly nervously tucked herself against Regulus' side and nodded. Mairead mouthed 'Let's go' to Regulus, and the three all walked to the car and drove home in silence.

Later in the night, Holly was tucked into bed, the groceries put away, and Regulus and Mairead both had a glass of red wine. Mairead just stared off into space and sipped her wine slowly, not ready to tell Regulus about Holly.

"Is, erm, Holly okay?" He broke the silence.

"No." Mairead whispered.