Don't Tell Anyone About This | Regulus Black

Chapter Ten

"How can you not like coffee?" Edgar laughed, "I've never heard anyone say that before. Are you sure your tastebuds work properly?"

Nera rolled her eyes, "It tastes like actual soil. What's there to like?"
"I don't know! The soily taste?" He exclaimed, grinning broadly as he caused the girl beside him to giggle. As he chuckled, his red, curly hair fell down over his eyes and he needed to flick it to the side.

They sat next to each other on one of the stone benches in the corridor in the east wing of the castle. It was nice for Nera to spend time relaxing - a brief escape from the stress of her studies. And it was such fun. Even the short amount of time she'd spent getting to know Edgar, she couldn't understand how she'd ever been alright without having a friend before.

"I think you're the one who needs to get their tastebuds tested. Soil is not a desirable taste in anything." She folded her arms and shook her head.

"Oh," Edgar beamed, "You know I think you're lying. I think you secretly like coffee and you're just lying to me. That's the only possible explanation."
Nera tutted, "I think you've got a weird fixation on coffee. There are more important things in the world."

He shrugged and leant back against the wall, "We're students. I can't solve any of the great injustices in the world right this minute. My life revolves around studies, sleeping, and what I eat and drink. Studies and sleep are boring, whereas food and drink are important to me."

"Maybe you need a hobby." She cheekily suggested.

Edgar lightly chuckled and said, "I was thinking of trying out for the quidditch team actually. I probably won't make it on the team though."
"I never would have guessed you could be insecure about anything." Nera admitted.
"Yeah, well, I have to have some imperfections so I seem approachable. If I didn't, I'd just been too darn perfect." He laughed again and looked down to check his watch, "Oh, sorry, I've got to go see Flitwick about an essay I forgot to hand in. You don't mind if I dash off, do you?"

"No, of course." She shook her head, and then the two new friends base farewell to each other.

It was only a short while that Nera sat on the bench alone, before someone approached her. Originally, she'd been planning to head down to the library to do a bit of studying, but this was quickly forgotten.

"Stark, right?"

Nera lifted her head to see an instantly recognisable figure stood in front of her. She'd never actually spoken to Delilah Parkinson before, but there she stood, like she'd appeared out of thin air.
Nera felt a sudden wave of cool air course over her, causing her to shiver.

"Er, y-yeah." Nera nodded.
Delilah folded her arms and remained standing as she asked, "I saw you with Edgar Bones. You two buddies now? Do you have a crush on him?"

Delilah Parkinson was a beautiful girl, and she knew she was. The way she moved about the castle with an air of confidence that almost made her float, caused lots of students to stop dead in their tracks as they caught sight of her.
Whilst she could be, at times, manipulative and cruel (could you blame her after the environment she was raised in?), she was also undeniably clever. Delilah knew Nera was also a stunning girl, the only difference was that Nera didn't know this about herself.
That's why Nera's recent friendship with Edgar had rattled Delilah so much - she could barely hide the envy that was bubbling inside her.

"What?" Nera felt a heat rising to her cheeks even though she was quite certain she didn't fancy Edgar, "No. What?"
Delilah shrugged, "I just thought, given you're... Getting to know Edgar, you might want to know something about him."

The whole conversation was making Nera feel very on edge, and she was desperately looking for some way of escaping it. Nothing immediately presented itself, so she decided to press on with the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Okay..." Nera ignored her hesitation, "What do I need to know?"

"Well..." Delilah finally sat down beside Nera on the bench, flicked her long dark hair over her shoulder, and said in a hushed voice, "I'll do you a favour, girl to girl. Edgar is having you on."

Nera's face fell. "What do you mean?" Suddenly all of the girl's reason when out of the door and she wanted to know what Delilah knew.

Delilah glanced up and down the corridor, checking it was empty, before she leant in and whispered, "He made a bet with his friends that he could get you to fancy him. He's got until Christmas to do it. If he does he gets ten galleons. Then he'll ignore you again."

It took every ounce of energy for Nera to maintain her composure. She had to maintain her common sense. That was an insane accusation. That would also mean that either Edgar had lied about his mother being ill, or was using that to further his cruel prank. Both of those sounded highly unlikely.
But then... Nera knew his friends didn't like her. She knew other students looked down on her, so why should she suppose Edgar was any different?

No. Stop it. Nera could feel her insecurities getting the best of her. Edgar was a good person. He wouldn't do something like that. Would he?

Standing up again and straightening herself off, Delilah flashed a tiny smile and said one final thing. "I just thought I'd let you know." She concluded, "So it doesn't come as a big surprise. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if he was just using you to make me jealous. Everyone says he wants to get back together with me."
And with that, she swiftly turned on her heels and strode down the corridor.

Nera felt sick. She sat on the bench for a few more minutes, trying to decide what she was supposed to do. There was no reason she had to believe Delilah Parkinson. But she couldn't help a small part of herself believing Delilah anyway.

As she rose to her feet, Nera wondered if Regulus knew what Delilah had told her. He'd warned her against having anything to do with Edgar, so did he know about the prank?
Why would he want to let her know? Surely Regulus would revel in her public embarrassment. But, there was something else. For some reason, Regulus seemed to provide some validation to Delilah's claims. Nera found it a little more plausible that Regulus had, separately, hinted at the same situation.

At long last, Nera made her way towards the library. She still didn't know what she was going to do. It was mad. Over and over again, she had to remind herself that Edgar wouldn't be so cruel like that. She had to keep those swirling, malicious voices in her head at bay.

Once she'd located an empty table in the library and sat down at it, Nera was no closer to knowing how to feel or what to do. But it seemed like a bizarre omen as she rested her chin in her hand and gazed out across the room, looking all over the place, before her eyes locked with Regulus Black's.

Why did the universe work in such mysterious ways? It was almost like there was some sort of ineffable force that kept guiding them into each other's paths, even if it was just locking gazes across a bustling room.

Nera almost wanted to go over to him and tell him everything that had happened. She wanted to ask him about Delilah Parkinson and what he'd do if he were in Nera's position. She wanted to ask him if the rumours about his brother were true, and if Regulus was alright.
That was stupid, though.
She knew that Regulus loathed her, and she knew she was too good for him. He didn't deserve her niceness when he stood by and allowed his friends to be so cruel to her.

Anyway... That wasn't important. At least not now. What was important was what Nera was going to do with regards to Edgar Bones.