origami. . . REGULUS BLACK

seventeen.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A Blooming Garden
June 7th, 1979.

     Mallory did not feel happy nor sad when she woke up this morning. She felt nothing. The sky was awfully grey for a summer morning and she felt a pinch in her chest as her feet hit the ground. Not much had happened since she had begged Regulus to not go by himself in that cave. They had decided to listen to Albus Dumbledore and wait for the weather to get better.

Regulus, on the other hand, had been procrastinating most of the time. His mother hadn't asked much of him, too caught up in her work—whatever that was. Kreacher had gotten better, after Regulus had tended to him. He could not stop thinking about Mallory, even if he tried hard. The way she had begged him to come with him, the way she whispered his nickname as if she owned it or the way he had kissed her in that library.

He could not get enough and he found that overly scary.

"Regulus," the screeching voice of his mother echoed through Grimmauld Place as he rose from his chair, headed downstairs and went immediately to her office. "Have you and Mallory talked about further plans?"

"Such as?" He asked with a frown.

"Well," she kissed her top teeth, linking her hands together. "Perhaps, getting married, dear."

The words made Regulus sweat a bit as he had not expected such a hurry coming from his mother. Mallory and him were aware that it could go as far as getting married but they had never talked about it. He recalled very well that it took years for Narcissa and Lucius to seal their fates.

"You see," she continued, seeing he was not answering. "Your father and I cannot wait for Mallory to join the family. She will make a lovely addition indeed. Besides, you are coming of age to have children."

"Am I?"

"Surely. It is very important that you secure our line and may Mallory bore you a son," she whispered, offering a smile.

He didn't think he had seen his mother smile that much before. All she had to say was her name and she would smile until her cheeks hurt too much. At least, he was not the only one who had been completely charmed by Mallory Abbott.

After a moment of debating, he decided to head outside to clear his head and perhaps he would knock on her door, and speak. As he watched the sky, it was awfully grey, almost as if a storm was coming and he felt uneasy. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed his shoulder pulling him back as his eyes widened in shock.

"What is this?" He exclaimed loudly.

"Thank Merlin, you are here," Regulus could have sworn it was Edgar Bones. "We've been looking for someone familiar for hours."

"Edgar?"

"Oh, great," he smiled rapidly. "He remembers me," he notified Samira and his eyes drifted towards her, then the bump. "Have you seen Mallory?"

"No, not yet."

Something in Edgar's voice made Regulus frown. He sounded so scared, confused and perhaps a bit sad? And Samira looked panicked.

"What happened?"

"Just—just lead us to her, will you, Reg?" Edgar pleaded.

Despite being concerned, he led them to the flat. After all, they seemed to be completely all over the place. So, Regulus led them to her. When they finally reached the flat, Edgar and Samira seemed too nervous to knock so he did it. Mallory frowned at their sight, letting them in. Regulus did his best to ignore the way her eyes gazed at him as he walked to the armchair where Pen slept peacefully.