The Hobgoblins (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Whispers of What

Whispers followed him.

Curiosity—prying into the private lives of others didn't seem to matter to the other students at Hogwarts when they sensed some juicy gossip. Not knowing a secret often led to those gossiping imagining up something far worse than reality, yet for once, the whispers wondering what kind of trouble heir Black got into this time paled in comparison to the truth.

"Sirius almost got another student killed, and in the process almost got one, no two of his friends killed."

Knowing the truth left Regulus with a nauseous stomach with no recourse in relieving his stress, yet there was that buzzing feeling of anxiety in his ears as he thought of—

"Sirius isn't."

—isn't—

"Isn't the person I admired."

Regulus attempted to keep his head down more than usual, feeling that an apt response to finding out one's brother almost killed someone because the constantly escalating pranks got to that point.

"I'd noticed. Noticed things were getting out of hand."

Regulus felt the back of a hand pat against his cheek, then turned his head to look at his cousin Evan, who said, "It's not like you to be distracted like this."

"Ah! Mr. Black?" Professor Slughorn called out. "And Mr. Prewett. Would the two of you mind switching potion partners today so I might talk to the two of you after class?"

Evan frowned, speaking in a low voice. "What is this all about?"

Regulus' eyes blinked, his head turning to see his other cousin-by-marriage arrive at their potion table, or the potion table Regulus usually used with Evan. Evan glared at him before heading to the other table, shaking his head, yet it sank in.

"What is this all about?" And then, "Did you?"

"What?" A red eyebrow shot up.

"Sirius?"

There came a frown, then a shake of the head before his Prewett cousin started into the assigned portion for the day.

Regulus frowned. "Addy?"

"What?"

"Do you..."

"No. What did you call me?"

"Addy," Regulus repeated, frowning.

His cousin let out a curse. "Addy? My name's Adrian, not Addy."

"Yes, Addy," Regulus insisted, feeling frustrated. "You're Addy."

"I never told you," Adrian let out a sigh. "Look. I never said you could call me that, so stop acting so familiar."

"Don't you mean familial?"

Adrian's head jolted up, his eyes—

Regulus looked away.

"Familial?"

"As in family."

"We're not family."

"Yes, we are."

"How?"

"Aunt Lu and Uncle Iggy," Regulus said, not looking up, trying to instead focus on the potion, frowning as he did so.

"Aunt..." Adrian sighed. "She's your aunt, he's my uncle."

"Yes. Cousins-by-marriage."

"Does that term even exist?" Adrian asked.

"Yes," Regulus said, nodding his head.

"I wasn't looking for an answer, Black."