The Darkest Hearts || REGULUS BLACK

Chapter Ten

In hindsight, bringing her friends along to the library so they could all do their homework together had not been one of Diana's brighter suggestions. Henrietta—the ever-dutiful prefect—was fine, but Gemma and Jackie were prone to bore easily, and that did not bode well for the library's other patrons.

"For the love of Merlin!"

Henrietta snapped her Charms book shut when the two troublemakers cracked up over yet another joke. Diana glanced up from her own work and watched Henrietta glower at the snickering duo.

"Are you trying to get us thrown out? This is a library, for heaven's sake! People are trying to work!"

"I think you need to shine your badge a little more, Ettie," Gemma teased. "'Prefect' looks a bit more like 'Pinhead' now..."

Jackie snorted loud enough that several Ravenclaws turned and glared at their table. Henrietta grimaced at them apologetically before turning on the two girls again.

"Well, if you're not going to work, can you at least spare the other people here?"

"When's the last time the four of us all hung out together?" Gemma objected. "You're always off doing prefect stuff, Jackie has Gobstones Club, and Diana's been too busy tutoring a snake."

Diana looked up from her Herbology diagram with a frown. "Oi. Be nice."

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just a git, then."

"You don't even know him."

"And I suppose you do?" She raised an eyebrow. "Grown chummy with him after spending so many hours locked in the dungeons together, have you?"

Now it was Diana's turn to roll her eyes. "Of course not."

"Going to start tutoring Nott next, are you? Have you already forgiven him for blasting a hole through your hand?"

"What's your problem?" Diana said, scrunching her brows.

Gemma flopped back in her chair. "Nothing."

There was clearly something bothering her friend, but Jackie perked up across the table just then. "Oi, speaking of..."

The four girls turned and spotted Regulus Black entering the library, his bag slung over his shoulder and for all the world looking like any other teenager spending their Thursday evening in the library. Diana's heart flipped, and she hoped there was nothing off about her expression. It had only been scant days since their talk in the Forbidden Forest, and neither of them had yet approached the other since. She told herself she was merely waiting for their tutoring session on Friday, but a part of her knew it was because she was anxious to suddenly face this new understanding between them head-on. She didn't know where to even start.

Gemma scoffed as Regulus settled at an empty table several rows from theirs. "First time in a while I've seen him without his little gang of blood worshippers around."

"Seriously, what has gotten into you?" Diana demanded. "He's been nothing but civil to me ever since our first session. Has he done something to you?"

Gemma's round face soured. "He's a Slytherin and a Black on top of that. I told you not to trust him."

"Who says I trust him?"

"That besotted expression of yours whenever he walks into the same room does all the talking for you."

Diana reeled. "What?" She turned to Henrietta and Jackie, outraged. "What is she talking about?"

"No idea," Jackie said quickly. "Leave me out of this."