The Darkest Hearts || REGULUS BLACK

Chapter Thirteen

Diana smoothed down the folds of her robes and was increasingly grateful that she had chosen a darker color, for she was certain that her palms would have left behind streaks of sweat otherwise. She turned and twisted her head over her shoulder to check her hair once again in the floor-length mirror in their dormitory. Behind her, Henrietta sighed.

"Di, you look fine," she said. She lay on her stomach on her bed, a pillow propped under her elbows and a worn paperback novel in her hands. She smiled. "Like I told you the first dozen times already."

"My hair's never been this long before," Diana grumbled, flicking an errant piece that almost brushed her shoulder. She had pinned half of it behind her head, letting a few loose curls rest against her cheeks, but she already missed the weight and comfort of her wand. Currently, it rested on her outer thigh, beneath her robes, encased in a leather holster Jackie had lent her. "I haven't had time to cut it this term."

"It's lovely," Henrietta assured, idly turning a page. She cast Diana a sly look. "I thought you said you were only making a brief appearance, anyway? Why all the fuss?"

Diana tugged on her sleeves. They were sheer, more gauze than fabric, and though they weren't revealing, she still felt vulnerable. "It's Slughorn. Who knows who he'll invite to this thing? I might have a career fall into my lap at any moment tonight."

Henrietta hummed and turned another page. She said nothing else, leaving Diana to fidget for a few minutes more before she decided it was time to leave. As she stepped over the threshold, her hand moved automatically to her cloak pocket where she kept Regulus's ring, only for her fingers to close over empty air.

Oh, that's right, she thought. I'm not wearing my school robes.

She'd carelessly left the ring on her bedside table when she changed, and her eyes darted to Henrietta to see if the other girl had noticed it, but she was still engrossed in her novel. Diana wavered before she crossed to her bedside.

"Necklace," she said hastily when Henrietta glanced up. Henrietta simply shrugged and went back to reading.

Diana opened the small jewelry case she'd brought with her to Hogwarts and rifled through it. She found a discarded necklace toward the bottom, a pale green dragonfly pendant on a simple silver chain. Silently apologizing to her mother, she removed the dragonfly pendant and set it back in the case. She took Regulus's ring and slid the band through the chain, where it hung like a fathomless black teardrop. After securing the clasp around her neck, she tucked the chain beneath the neckline of her robes. The ring was heavier than she thought it would be, but its solid presence pressed into her chest, offering a strange sort of comfort.

"Have a good night," Diana said and bolted from the dormitory without waiting for Henrietta's answer. It was only a ring, she thought, but she acted as if she were doing something illegal.

Honestly. Pull yourself together.

Heads turned in her direction when she entered the common room before looking away in disinterest. The younger students seemed curious about her dress robes while some of the older ones tried to conceal their jealousy. She avoided their stares, her face flushed. Slughorn's exclusive "Slug Club", as he called it, was notorious for only allowing select individuals within its ranks. Most students who received invitations from the Potions professor were either exceptionally skilled witches or wizards, or often, a family member of a distinguished relative or noble house, like the Blacks. Slughorn had only taken notice of Diana's Potions prowess the year before, and she remembered the ugly looks she'd received when the professor had given her an invitation in front of her whole class. This would only be her second time attending one of his parties, and after an older girl rolled her eyes and scoffed at Diana, she debated making it her last.