Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Thirty Four

"And then he added some powdered foxglove - which is nowhere on the list of ingredients. He didn't tell me, then as I was stirring it the whole thing exploded in my face!"

Regulus pursed his lips tightly, trying to stop from laughing as Esme held up the singed ends of her hair. He snorted, and quickly covered his mouth with a hand.

"I could have killed him. I can't believe the exams are in a couple of weeks and I've been partnered with an absolute moron." Esme grumbled.
Regulus grinned, "Well I'm very happy you've been paired with an absolute moron. Otherwise I would never have seen you covered in soot whilst I was prefecting."

"Yes, very funny." She muttered disapprovingly, "So, that's why I looked like that this morning."

They sat together in the far corner of the Great Hall, in the late afternoon whilst it was quite empty. It was proving to be quite difficult for Esme to avoid Dirk and Piper, considering they belonged to the same house. There had also been the particularly awkward situation of Esme moving seats in Transfiguration so she no longer sat next to Dirk. Regulus had begrudgingly agreed to swap with her, so he sat next to Dirk, and as Dirk wouldn't speak a word to the Slytherin boy, now the Transfiguration lessons were spent in complete silence.

Truthfully, Regulus was doing everything he could to keep Esme happy. He couldn't imagine the turmoil she was going through - not only was she about to become a Death Eater, she couldn't talk to her friends and her father was most likely a murderer. He knew it probably wasn't healthy for Esme to keep suppressing her feelings but if that's what she wanted to do, then Regulus would be there with her every step of the way.
Things had so quickly become so dark and twisted, they were both clinging into each other's company for their own sanity. They were each other's safety nets.

"Well you've cleaned up rather nice." He smiled warmly at her.
Esme rolled her eyes, "Right, thanks."

"What? Am I not allowed to say you look nice?" Regulus inquired, knowing full well this would wind the girl up.
"Shut up."

He smirked, "Shut up about the fact you look nice?"
"Regulus."
"I think your hair looks nice, even when it's singed at the ends."
"Regulus."
"And I like your face."

"Regulus Black." Esme warned, a smile growing on her face as a slight laugh escaped from her lips.
"Wow." He chuckled, "You really don't know how to take a compliment."
"What's the point? They're stupid." She shrugged, casting a straight expression across her features.

He leant towards her, "I beg to disagree. Can I not compliment you?"
She scoffed, tucking some loose curls behind his ear, "You're an idiot."

"Good attempt, but that doesn't really count as a compliment. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Regulus reciprocated by tucking some of Esme's hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, I hate you." She shook her head with a grin before briefly connecting their lips in a light kiss.

As Regulus leaned back, he replied, "Well, by all means keep hating me."
"I swear to-"

"Look who it is!"

Turning around, they both looked up to see the group of Slytherins boys. Ignatius led the way, a cheeky grin on his face as he sat down opposite his sister. Following closely behind were Mulciber, Rosier, and Selwyn.

"Avery! Long time no see!" Selwyn cackled, simultaneously hitting Rosier upside the head.
Regulus placed a hand on Esme's knee as she retorted, "Not long enough."

"Friendly as always, dear sister." Ignatius chuckled with a cheeky grin.
Rolling her eyes, she replied shortly, "Well I do try."

"Oh!" Rosier exclaimed suddenly, drawing all the group's attention, "You'll never guess who I got talking to last night: the hot Zabini girl."
"There's no point asking us to guess if you're just going to tell us straight away anyway!" Avery hit him in the arm.
Ignatius frowned, "You're completely lying."