Best to You ✸ Regulus Black

000. Sun Bleached Cowboy

AUGUST

♱

          Black dress shirt, black trousers, black shoes, black hair. Regulus Black was sweating. Italy was in its prime heat. Mid August. 1977. Christ he was boiling. He had expected Italy to be hot, but not this hot. But as usual, his parents refused to let him strip down their reputation by wearing anything but smartwear. Business in Italy, was his parents reasoning to come here. What possible business could two death eaters have in small town Italy?

The town looked tired, run down. From what he could see there were only a few shops: a bakery, a supermarket, a butcher's, and a flower shop. Oh, and a thousand-year-old church. Fucking boring. Though it was late already and no one was around he could barely imagine this town getting much livelier during the day. There was only so much reading Regulus could do on this blasted 'holiday'. He didn't know why his parents were so insistent on making him tag along, he would much rather be in England enjoying his summer with his mates, getting fuck off drunk, and having meaningless nights with nameless girls. Now he was stuck in this town where he didn't speak the language, didn't know anyone, and didn't have any alcohol.

The hotel, though he hated to admit it, was rather charming. A stone exterior, plants wrapped around each corner, lamps lighting up the street.  Stone stairs lead down to the rather small but sweet pool and an old table and chairs on the opposite corner. Orange shutters on the windows matched the marigolds sitting on the front of the building. If he looked long enough, he reckoned he could have found it rather peaceful.

"Regulus, stop daydreaming, boy." Though his mother's cold voice managed to ruin any pleasurable thought of the hotel he could have conjured up. He quickened his pace as he entered the building and trailed behind his parents, a bag in his hand as apparently there were no house elves in this part of Italy. How very muggle of him, he almost grimaced in disgust.

The interior of the hotel was rather the opposite of its exterior: sleek modern chairs, red tiles, wooden shelves and cabinets, rounded chairs and triangle tables dotted around the rest of the lobby. Regulus could see a bar around the corner under an archway, a jukebox in the corner, and huge mirrors placed behind where a man was closing up. Soft orange lights illuminated the numerous bottles of alcohol and green stool chairs stood on the other side of the shining steel bar top. He ached to be sat there with a drink, to silence his mind.

He wiped a hand through his hair, trying to ignore the line of sweat that lingered on his forehead as he glanced up at the chandelier on the ceiling, the echoes of his shoes were loud against the stone brick floor, though a singular risen brick in his path almost caused him to trip up as his gaze lingered.

A snicker caught his attention. He finally took notice of the only person sitting in the lobby. A girl, around his age, sat on a green velvet sofa across from the front desk where his parents now stood with their heads high, disgust on their faces. The girl's eyes still lingered on The Shining in her ring-clad fingers and a cigarette hung from the other as she tapped the end out into an ashtray on the table in front of her. Though her eyes flickered up to him and she smirked, snickering again as she caught his eyes. Her hair was dark but not as dark as his, and her curls were loose, looser than his, more like waves. But they fell perfectly by her shoulders. A white dress flowed by her thighs, rising even higher as she crossed her legs. Under the table, he could spot the reddish cowboy boots she had on. Odd. She raised her dark eyebrows and nodded her head at him.

"Regulus!" He turned his head away from her as his mother called his name, already ascending up the stairs to their rooms. He hurried towards them, grabbing his own room key from the desk before trying to discreetly look back at the girl on the sofa one last time, only to find she wasn't there, but a flash of white and he caught a glimpse of her dark hair swaying behind her as she walked through the archway towards the bar.