June 19th, 1980
The house was already starting to stink. The smell only got worse if you got closer to the kitchen. It reeked of an old bog in there and every time Regulus even thought of entering the kitchen, he had to plug his nose and take a deep breath. Once in a while, he would enter and find Pandora in there, casually stirring away at the cauldron over the fire where the smell was emanating and she'd laugh at him for being disgusted.
"I never said this was going to smell good." She said as he held his nose tight.
"Well, I've never had to brew polyjuice before. How was I supposed to know?" He said.
She shrugged.
Pandora had spent nearly everyday since the first day she showed up coming to check in on the potion, but she would often linger around a little longer even when Regulus knew she was done. He suspected that she wanted to check in on him too and make sure he was doing alright, but neither of them would ever say it out loud.
Ever since both of his parents had passed, no one ever seemed to stop by the house anymore. Bellatrix and Rodolphus never came for dinner anymore, Narcissa and Lucius never stopped by for tea, and Sirius was still too apprehensive about coming near the house at all. Some of the rooms in the house had become completely unused and Regulus was starting to wonder if living on his own in a house of its size was even necessary. It just felt too big, too empty, too alone. But that was not his concern for now. Not yet. At least Pandora stopped by, whether or not it was just for the potion, he didn't mind. He was sure he'd always enjoy having her company around.
It had crossed his mind too, that maybe he'd be safe to bring Kreacher back to the house seeing as how no one ever seemed to come by, but he was still thinking that over. There was always the off chance that someone could choose to surprise him.
"How much longer will this take to brew?" Regulus asked, still holding his nose. "At this rate, I'll have to tear down the house to its bone if I ever want to get rid of the smell."
"It's still got to brew another two and a half weeks." She replied, hanging the stirring rod back up above the cauldron.
Regulus let out a groan.
"Do you want my help or not, Reggie?"
"Of course I want your help. It just stinks."
Pandora rolled her eyes and smirked at him.
"You are such a baby." She said, "Oh and when the potion's brewed, I'll need some of your DNA. Like a hair or something."
"I could spit into it for you." Regulus grinned.
"You're disgusting."
"So is that potion."
He could see her try to fight back a smile as she let out a single laugh and rolled her eyes again, walking past him and to the stairs that led back out of the kitchen. He followed after her, leaving the potion to brew and they both fell into spots on different couches in the living room as the sun was beginning to set through the windows. He could still smell the potion lingering around them, but he wasn't sure if it was actually in the air or just remnants of it left on their clothes.
Pandora laid across the couch she was on, kicking her feet up over one armrest, making herself comfortable as if she were already at home. Regulus sat back on his couch, taking a moment before deciding to kick his own feet up as well.
"Do you think this will really work?" Regulus asked.
"Yes."
"Really?"
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Faith in Fear | A Regulus Black Story.
Fanfiction"Regulus didn't see him again until the holidays were over and his parents acted as if they had only ever had one son." Regulus Black has been told his entire life that he should be proud of who he is and the family he comes from, but with a rebelli...
