Once upon a Midnight Dreary - Regulus Black

Chapter 17

"ℑ think that's enough for today," I said to my teammates once we got off our brooms. "To be continued during the holidays at my place. You're free to go now."

My announcement did not arouse any feelings of resentment. No one seemed to mind the notion of spending the winter break practicing Quidditch together. Perhaps it was because none of them considered it practicing. The four days we spent playing Quidditch each week were moments of freedom, comfort, fun and all gooeyness you could possibly imagine. While the other Captains were heavy-handed, and would scream until their faces turned red and they were trembling on the edge of a stroke, I went easy on my own team. They worked hard but without the pressure of having to do well, which usually resulted in that they did very well, anyway.

As everyone made for the locker room, I noticed Jiao blending into the shadows. Regulus and I waited until the team was off the field before we walked up to her. In the ill-lit Quidditch pitch, her face looked wan, her eyes swollen and red with weeping. Beside me, I felt Regulus tense with alert worry as he took in her weary features.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, his brow creased with concern.

"I just finished patrolling... I thought I'd come and watch you practice. I hope that's okay," Jiao answered almost apologetically. She gave us a feeble smile, eyes watering once more. "You played so well tonight."

A trembling sigh escaped her lips, and she looked off towards the castle. She shuddered once, but something told me it wasn't because of the cold and the rapidly falling snow.

"Cole kissed me," she suddenly blurted out, embarrassed and queasy as if she might throw up soon. She collapsed on to the bench and drew in a deep breath, her features twisting into an expression of utter despair. "We were patrolling the second floor, talking and joking around when all of a sudden he pointed out a mistletoe. It happened before I could do or say anything."

She had her head in her hands and was staring down at the ground. Regulus sat next to her, keeping his gaze fixed upon her.

"He confessed his feelings to me and said he's been having a crush on me for a long while now. He kept going on about how he would treat me well and never let me down," she continued in the same quavering voice.

"What happened next?" Regulus prodded after Jiao had paused and wouldn't speak for another minute or so.

"I rejected him. I told him I was sorry if he'd misunderstood me and that I only wanted to be with James." She blew up her hair falling across her forehead with her breath. "I asked him to talk solely about our Head Boy and Girl duties from now on... then I left, and I feel really horrible now."

He put his hand on her back and kept it there, careful and consoling.

"Do you want me to have a word with him?" he asked quietly, his question causing her to jolt and shake her head.

" That's not necessary. This is my fault. I should have put up clearer boundaries." She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears that had not yet spilled out.

"It's not your fault at all," Regulus protested. "I saw the two of you together many times before, and you never gave him any reason to think that he had a chance with you."

She sniffed a little, and he reached into the front pocket of his robes to take out a clean, blue handkerchief. She accepted it with a grateful smile and dabbed at her wet cheeks.

"You're generally too kind to people, but that doesn't mean that they should be encouraged to make any advances to you... not even under a stupid mistletoe," he added, disgruntled. "He knows you're with Potter. He's the one to blame, not you."