The Darkest Hearts || REGULUS BLACK

Chapter One

 Diana Fairchild's world was crumbling before her very eyes.

Perhaps that was too dramatic, but it did feel as if her life had screeched to an abrupt halt as she attempted to focus on what Professor Sprout was saying to her above the roaring in her ears.

"Now, I have spoken to Professor Slughorn already, and he agreed that you would be a suitable tutor for Mr. Black, as you are a fine potioneer—or so he told me," her Head of House babbled on, completely oblivious to the internal crisis her student was now facing. "Of course, your aptitude for Potions is commendable, but sometimes I do wish you had the same touch with my plants..."

Professor Sprout trailed off, no doubt lamenting all the plants Diana had managed to kill or cause to become gravely ill during her five-year tenure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had been apparent from the start that Diana was a threat unto Herbology itself, which had quickly solidified her ranking as an indoors person rather than an outdoors one. It was also probably why she excelled in all of her courses that had nothing to do with living things.

However, she realized too late that that would come back to haunt her in the form of Regulus Black needing a tutor—in Potions, of all things—when he was possibly the last person she would ever want to sit in an enclosed space with. Then again, there were a lot of Slytherins who were at the top of her list who were far worse than him, but that still didn't mean she had to like it.

"Professor Slughorn has already done the courtesy of writing up your schedule so you know when to meet with Mr. Black," Professor Sprout said, handing her a piece of parchment that she took with numb fingers, "along with which chapters to cover from your Potions book and times when the Potions classroom is available to use at your disposal."

How had her life come to this? Just a week ago she had returned to Hogwarts, fresh-faced and optimistic about her sixth year, and now here she was, being handed a death sentence to tutor Regulus Black. Couldn't it at least have been his brother? Though Sirius was a year above her and a Gryffindor, he was still attractive and charming, if not a little arrogant. But Regulus...

He was a Slytherin through and through, from what she knew about him (and that was very little—something she would like to keep that way). Cold, cunning, haughty—everything an aristocratic pure-blood should be. She vaguely wondered what he would think once he found out he was to be tutored by a Muggle-born, and quickly abandoned that thought before she could imagine any horrible scenarios.

Professor Sprout sighed, her wispy, straw-colored hair ruffling around her portly face. "I understand that this is not an ideal match, Miss Fairchild, but you were one of the top scorers on your Potions O.W.L. last year, and the only candidate available who had no competing obligations to work around. You'll do just fine." She smiled kindly at her. "Besides, tutoring looks very good on job applications!"

Diana forced her own smile in return, feeling like her face would split from the effort. "And how long do I need to tutor him for?"

"Well..." Professor Sprout faltered, shifting around some papers on her desk with dirt-caked fingernails. "That remains to be seen. Professor Slughorn will keep track of his progress as the term goes on, but once he is deemed ready enough for his N.E.W.T. exam, then you may be relieved of your duties."

Great, she thought. Maybe by then I'll have already drowned myself in the lake. Perhaps I can live with the giant squid in solitude and avoid this mess altogether.

But instead of voicing her thoughts aloud, Diana merely plastered a pleasant smile on her face. She could see no way of getting out of this without appealing to the headmaster, and she was sure that Professor Dumbledore would deny her refusal to teach Regulus Black, citing the same barmy rubbish he announced at the start of every new term: "Inter-House relationships, willingness to help others, blah, blah, blah." Yeah, right. As if the Houses would ever stop hating each other long enough to work together.