Once upon a Midnight Dreary - Regulus Black

Chapter 10

"𝔇id you see me dance, Lexi?" Isabella dropped down by my side. She was flushed after her waltz, her eyes full of excitement.

Distracted, I gave a quick nod, but my attention was unwaveringly on Regulus. He was standing in the ballroom into which opened the dining hall where I was sitting at the table. He was now talking to his aunt and uncle, his gaze fixed upon them, but I knew he was aware of my staring.

I had been stealing glances at him all night, looking for the perfect opportunity to talk to him, but he wouldn't provide me with any. The seating cards Isabella and her mother had made forced us to sit together at supper, with only Isabella separating us. Even though we would be so close to each other, he wouldn't acknowledge me all evening. His distant attitude reminded me of the long weeks of silent treatment after Easter break. He had ignored me for a full month without giving me any explanation as to why he would suddenly act as if I were invisible. Now he was doing the same thing, though this time he had the right to be upset with me after all the nasty things I had told him earlier today.

"You're especially downcast tonight," Isabella prodded and put her hand on my arm. I pulled away from her, but she clutched me again, her fingers curling around the sleeve of my shirt. "Maybe I could cheer you up."

"You know what would cheer me up?" I asked in an odd dull tone that sounded more like Theodore's voice rather than my own. "I'd really like it if you could finally leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to deal with you too."

"Don't be so grumpy. It doesn't fit you at all." She drew closer to me so her knee touched mine and her shoulder rubbed against my arm, clouds of perfume lingering around her. "Leave sulking to your best friend instead. You're much better at smiling than pouting so much."

With the Greengrass family's two house-elves industriously at work and the people far away from the dinner table, no one seemed to be paying any attention to us. Everyone was already in the spacious ballroom, drinking champagne and small talking with each other. This was just another party, albeit a rather selective one with merely a handful of guests.

Overhead, the lights were dimmed. It was almost dark outside, the dying sunset hiding behind the blocks of apartments surrounding the Greengrass family's flat. Their home was in one of the most sumptuous quarters of London, its interior tastefully furnished and rather sizeable for four people. Isabella had a younger brother who also attended Beauxbatons. He only ever came home for the holidays just like she used to do before graduating last year.

I had been here plenty of times in the past. The same lavish rooms opened off vintage-decorated hallways and passages, some grand and luxurious like the ballroom itself, others small and intimate much like Isabella's bedroom. All these chambers were empty of life, just like these people gathered here tonight were void of purpose and vitality. Isabella was the same shallow lassie as she always has been, and her parents were just as businesslike as I had remembered them. Eager to marry their daughter off to the youngest heir of the Black family, it was evident that they only wanted to rise in the ranks of the pureblood hierarchy.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" Isabella continued probing me. I was a short hair away from snapping at her the way I had snapped at Regulus today, my nerves too frazzled to keep calm. "Did your shopping not go well? I knew I should have kept you company. I would have made the whole experience much more entertaining for you."

"Entertain someone else instead. How about that?"

She pressed closer still, and she tilted her head so she could look at me. I shook her off, frustration, guilt and anxiety bubbling up in me yet again as I watched Regulus join Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. He stood with his back turned to me, his posture stiff. I could no longer see his expression, but I figured that it was equally tense.