wicked | regulus black

chapter two

REGULUS

Despite being raised in the wizarding world and spending his entire life in their attire, Regulus Black hated wizarding robes. They were itchy - despite being of the highest quality - they were excessive, they were restrictive and they were not to Regulus' style. So yeah, he hated them. Yet there he was, dressed head to toe in all black wizarding robes, picking at a loose thread whilst he stood by the door to the drawing room, ignoring the dull ache in his left forearm as he nodded in greeting at a group of people he had no interest in talking to.

His parents had taken it upon themselves to host the Dark Lord and his followers to welcome the new marked Death Eaters. As Regulus himself had been marked only weeks before, Walburga and Orion Black wanted to establish themselves further into the Dark Lord's inner circle, offering their home to be a meeting point of sorts - much to Regulus' displeasure. They were just peacocking, trying to place themselves above everyone else because they got to host - the Dark Lord didn't care, as long as he had people pooling at his feet, he could be on Mars.

Regulus wasn't exactly sure when his belief system began to change, a Healer would say when his brother left two years prior, but Regulus would disagree; his beliefs have been changing and growing every year, just as he had been. It also helped that one of his closest friends was a half-blood. Dorcas Meadowes was a rare jewel and supported him in everything and anything.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

They'd met by chance in his first year and her second year. Sirius had made a joke about how Regulus was a snake, which now would roll off Regulus like no big deal but to little Regulus it stung - he'd always looked up to his brother, even after he'd been sorted in Gryffindor. 

Letting his little legs lead the way Regulus found himself in the back corner of the library, hidden from the watchful gaze of Madam Pince. Sighing a sigh, much too sad for a boy of his age, Regulus let his head hit the table, repeating the action until a book slid under his head preventing the hard blows.

"You know, repetitive head injuries can lead to brain damage. How can you expect to pass Transfiguration, if you've banged the knowledge of it out of your head?" A feminine voice called out from next to him.

"Did you know that people sitting in hidden corners, generally don't want company? So, if you don't mind, please let me bang my head against the table in peace." Regulus replied, not looking up to see who had joined him.

"Fine." The voice replied and when Regulus heard the chair scrape next to him, his shoulders relaxed. That was until he heard a thudding come from the table - this time it wasn't from him hitting his head. Looking up Regulus spotted a girl, banging her head on the table, just like he had been. Swiftly he moved into action, putting his head under her forehead, promptly stopping her motion.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Regulus cried out, in total disbelief at what he'd just witnessed.

"What? I wanted to see what the appeal was and I didn't want to get up and move alllllll the way to another dusty corner - only to have to come back to tell you my thoughts on the activity." The girl shrugged as if it were obvious. Regulus paused, knowing in that moment an olive branch was being extended, he could make a friend outside of familial ties, or ruin it all. With a brave sigh, he chose the former.

"And?" He asked tentatively.

"And... I think it's therapeutic to be honest. But I do think there are better ways to let out anger. Especially when the option of revenge is plausible. You're upset with your brother right?" The girl asked, before elaborating after noting Regulus taken aback. "I overheard his little snake comment. Followed you here, banged my head on a table and here we are." She grinned, a small gap between her front two teeth showing.

"Revenge?" Regulus asked, ignoring the fact someone had picked up on his sullen mood. "What do you have in mind?"

And from there a beautiful friendship built on trust and mutual respect was born. Oh, and the Gryffindor House all woke up with snakes in their beds the next morning. But they would never admit it was them.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Regulus' patience was wearing thin, nodding at the likes of Rodolphus and Rabastan LeStrange, accompanied by his cousin Bellatrix, The Malfoys, The Carrows and far too many others he didn't care about. His attention peaked when a family of three he wasn't expecting came up to meet him at the door.

"Ah, Master Black. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Elijah Reed, this is my wife Marigold Reed." A man with whitening hair and piercing blue eyes greet, pointing to a blonde, stunning woman standing next to him. She nodded her head in greeting. "And this is my daughter. I'm sure you've met at Hogwarts, after all you are in the same house and year." And with that, Elijah stepped to the side to reveal Lunaria smiling politely at the boy she had never spoken a word to.

Regulus felt his breath hitch as he took in the sight of Lunaria. She had grown since the last time he'd seen her - not in the vertical sense, no she was still small - but she was more mature, carrying an air of self-awareness he'd not been expecting. Her hair was curled and pinned in a pristine updo, Regulus assumed because it accentuated her decolletage, showing off her collarbones and just a hint of the valley between her breasts.

The dress she wore was a more casual version of what he'd expect to see at one of the pureblood Gala's, layers of green and black tulle made up the skirt that cinched in at the smallest point of her waist - which was so small Regulus thought fleetingly that he'd be about to hold her in one hand. She looked ethereal and Regulus wasn't sure what to do with that information, other than keep it locked somewhere hidden in his mind, he did not have the time to analyse the churning feeling in his stomach - the meeting was about to begin.

"Pleasure to meet you all officially. If you'd like to make your way through, we shall be starting shortly." Regulus directed politely, shaking Elijah's offered hand strongly. Lunaria hesitated walking through the door and Regulus suddenly felt the urge to know her innermost thoughts. After all, why would someone so seemingly innocent and pure come somewhere filled with such darkness? "Didn't expect to see you in attendance, Lunaria." Regulus mumbled to the girl.

"Well when the Dark Lord calls, his followers must answer." Lunaria replied with a bemused smile, looking up at Regulus and scanning his eyes as she played with the sleeve on her left forearm absentmindedly.

"Followers? As in you?" Regulus asked, shocked. In school Lunaria had pretty much kept to herself aside from another girl in Ravenclaw that he'd never learned the name of. Lunaria was never present at parties as far as he was aware nor at a lot of meal times. Yet here she was, signing her life away to a man with a goal of wiping out half the wizarding population.

"As of four days ago, yes. I assume that you, rubbing your left arm, means that you too are also a part of Red-Eye's fanclub?" Lunaria smirked, glancing from Regulus' left forearm back to his steely grey eyes.

"Red-Eye's Fan Club?" Regulus pressed, asking more questions despite knowing that they were needed in that meeting in minutes.

"You ask a lot of questions, Regulus. And we have a meeting to go to. Don't worry, I'll save you a seat." She winked before sweeping into the room and leaving him with a myriad of questions as well as the rumbling of feelings stirring in his stomach.