𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞 || 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 49

Thursday 15th April, 1977

For the next few days the marauders and I went into town nearly every day. It was a Muggle town, and there was always something new to explore every time we went there. There had also been a Muggle boy who seemed to flirt with me whenever we saw each other. The only reason we did see each other is because he ran the store Sirius and Remus get their cigarettes. My feelings about it were undecided at the moment, so I didn't do anything to return the sentiment.

I also went to Dorcas's house one day, and we agreed that Dorcas needed to have a sleepover at my house soon. I'd felt bad about going away, because as the full moon came closer and closer Remus had been doing worse and worse, but he'd told me not to worry about him and I didn't want to embarrass him by staying.

It was the day of the ball, and I found myself so nervous I was up at 6:00. With nothing better to do I went downstairs and waited until Effie woke up, where we made breakfast for everyone together.

"So, how are you feeling today?" my mother asked harmlessly.

"I'm fine," I said.

She glanced sideways at me. "Really? No nerves about seeing any potential... friends?"

She knew. She knew it was Regulus. How did she know? How did she find out? I sent her an accusing stare, but she pointedly ignored it, innocently chopping up some food. She probably heard about the engagement, I realised sourly. My mother was still a Pureblood even if she didn't share the same ideas as most of them, so of course she would have heard about Regulus Black getting engaged to Selena Rowle and would have been able to connect the dots herself.

And to think I'd thought I'd kept his identity a secret.

I shrugged my shoulders in answer and continued cooking until everyone had arrived in the kitchen. I noticed Remus, though sickly enough himself, was watching me rather closely, trying to see if I was okay about going to the ball or not. In turn he was also looking after Sirius who was getting more and more paranoid as every second passed about James, Monty, and I going to Malfoy Manor. He knew his family was going to be there, and while he was trying not to, it was obvious he was freaking out over it.

The day passed quickly in a blur, yet at the same time seemed to drag along at the slowest pace possible. When it was time to get ready for the ball I wasn't sure if I was excited or dreading it, and as we got ready to apparate there at five o'clock I was still undecided.

When we got there, the first thing I noticed were peacocks. They were scattered all across the lawn, letting their magnificent feathers show as they strutted back and forth across the garden. I stared at them, mouth agape; who was rich enough to own multiple peacocks? Why would anyone own peacocks even if they had the money to? It was the most bizarre thing, so bizarre in fact, that I forgot all about my dread and excitement of the event until it was too late.

We entered the ballroom, and as if drawn to each other, my eyes found Regulus's at the same time his found mine. It was like an electric shock going down my spine and I quickly blinked, looking away. He looked so good in that expensive tux of his, and I didn't trust myself not to stare, so I focused my attention on someone else.

Walburga Black.

For someone so beautiful, she had a very ugly heart. She was beautiful though, stunningly so, with silky ebony black hair put into a neat bun and ivory white skin with no blemishes in sight. She was wearing a beautiful gown that seemed to have silk cascading downwards like a waterfall. Not to mention the excellent posture she had, making her seem younger than she was.

Walburga Black was beautiful, but she was also deadly. The thoughts of what she'd done to Regulus and Sirius, two people that I held close to my heart, were present in my mind as I stared at her, and I couldn't help the way my eyes narrowed at the sight of her or the feeling of deep hatred that arose inside me as I continued looking at her.

"Bitch," James muttered, following my line of sight.

I couldn't agree more. "Right? Walburga? More like..."

"Vomit," James supplied helpfully.

We took one look at each other before bursting into laughter. That helped lighten the mood a bit though, and we spent the remainder of the night bitching about Walburga while I, unbeknownst to James, also tried to avoid Regulus to the best of my ability.

At one point I left James to go to the drinks table, which is where Regulus snuck up on me, appearing beside me out of nowhere.

"Can we talk?" he asked quietly, his voice alone making me feel so many things.

I didn't want to talk, yet at the same time I was desperate to.

I let him lead me out of the ballroom and into a nearby sitting room, all the while feeling my anxiety skyrocket. What would we talk about? Would it be good? Would it be bad? Would it leave me happy, or broken?

We stood in the sitting room, only a few meters between us yet it felt like a whole ocean. The silence between us wasn't very nice either.

"I hate this," Regulus said bitterly.

"Me too," I confessed. Regulus looked up at me, a bit of hope in his expression and I continued. "But I can't be with you when you're with her, Reg. It hurts too much."

Just like that the hope left his eyes and he was back to blank indifference, staring at me like I was a stranger. It hurt more than I was ready to admit, even after all this time without being with him. When he treated me like a stranger, it felt like I wasn't worth his hate. I wanted to be worth his hate, if it was all I could get, but I couldn't even get that.

Regulus left the room without another word, and I followed behind him miserably. As soon as Fleamont saw me he knew something went wrong and we left immediately.

I went to bed crying.

A/N:

enjoy the regulus content while u can, because he'll be going away for a few chapters 😔

also, i finished pre writing Mine!!! that means more updates more often!!! i won't publish all at once because that takes too much work, but i will update much more frequently.

i hope you enjoyed the chapter <3