The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 18- Slytherin's Locket

Knowing that the Black's would disown their own son, did nothing to improve Sabrina's state of mind, or quieten her fears that they would discover her secret.
Regulus stayed true to his word and avoided his brother Sirius, when they returned to Hogwarts. They had both chosen different paths, meaning that they could no longer be brothers.
Sabrina too, avoided Sirius, since her place was at Regulus's side.
With their roles as Slytherin Prefects, they were not able to spend as much time studying, and Sabrina was terrified about failing her OWLs, even though she had never failed a class in her life.

So when Regulus's 16th birthday arrived the following summer, Sabrina couldn't focus on him, as she was scared aboutcgetting her results.
"Stop stressing" insisted Regulus.
"How can I? When the grades we get, dictate the rest of our lives" replied Sabrina.
"That's a bit dramatic. Besides, you're a good student, so I don't know what you're worrying about"
"Well I don't have much else in my life, other than my education, so I need my results to be good"
"They will be. But stop worrying. Our results don't come until next week, so try focusing on now, and not thinking about the future".

Sabrina sighed and nodded her head, returning her attention to the moment.
Her and the Black's were in one of the drawing rooms in the house, celebrating Regulus's 16th birthday.
He was born at the beginning of the holidays, and Sabrina was born near the end. Which Walburga thought was another sign that they were supposed to be together.

Regulus was sat on a comfy green chair in the centre of the room, surrounded by a mountain of presents, which he was slowly opening one by one.
"Open this one from us next" encouraged Walburga, as she handed him a small square shaped package.
Regulus tore off the silver wrapping paper, finding an elegant box underneath.
He then lifted off the lid, his mouth dropping when he saw what was inside.
Sabrina, who was stood next to him, leaned over his shoulder to see what was inside the box.

The box contained a strange looking ornate locket.
Sabrina thought it looked nice, but she knew that Regulus wasn't the locket wearing type, so she couldn't understand his reaction to the gift. Nor could she understand why his parents had given it to him.
"It's beautiful" admitted Regulus, as he placed his hand under the locket and removed it from the box.
"We thought that you'd like it. And we knew that you would recognise it straight away" replied Walburga.

"What makes this locket so special?" Asked Sabrina awkwardly, hoping that the answer wasn't obvious.
"We had this locket made especially for Regulus's birthday. It is based on Salazar Slytherin's famous locket, which has been lost for over 100 years. There are different versions of the locket in books, as no one can quite agree on what it looked like. But the jeweler did the best he could, and I think he did a magnificent job" admitted Walburga.
"It is incredible" replied Sabrina.

Regulus lifted the chain up and tied it around his neck, allowing the locket to hang down.
"It suits you, just like we knew it would" beamed Walburga.
"Thank you. It is a very kind gift" replied Regulus.
"You're welcome. No Mudblood would own such an item. But us pure-blood families have a taste for the finer things in life" boasted Walburga.
Sabrina gulped awkwardly, as she did not own fine things like the Blacks, nor did she have the wealth that they had. And trying to pretend like she did, was not an easy job.
She only had one such item, which her mother had kept from her old life, and handed down to her.

"Sabrina, why don't you give Regulus your present?" Suggested Orion.
Buying for Regulus was something that Sabrina hated doing, because she didn't really have any money to spend. And buying someone who has unlimited wealth, a gift, is no easy task.
Sabrina had always managed to give Regulus his presents when the two of them were alone. But she knew that this time she would not be so lucky. And she was terrified that Walburga and Orion were going to judge her for her choice of present.

She placed her hand inside her pocket and removed a small package wrapped in brown paper, which she then handed to Regulus.
"Sorry it's so small" apologised Sabrina.
"Anything from you is special" smiled Regulus, as he ripped off the paper, revealing a small vial inside.
Regulus looked at the gold liquid inside the vial, and raised an eyebrow, "What is inside?".
"Felix Felicis" revealed Sabrina.
Regulus's jaw dropped, "Really? This is Liquid Luck?".
"I mean, I hope so. It looks like it is supposed to, and Slughorn agreed that it was brewed correctly" informed Sabrina.

"You made this?" Questioned Regulus.
"Well, I didn't buy it from an apothecary if that's what you're asking. I think it would be quite hard actually to just find it lying on a shelf in a shop" answered Sabrina.
"But isn't it a really hard potion to make?" Quizzed Regulus.
"Yes, and the consequences are disastrous if you get it wrong, which is why I asked Slughorn to brew it with me. He was interested in seeing if I could do it, so he watched me carefully, and provided me with all the ingredients. However, since he didn't want a student running around with a whole cauldron of the stuff, he took the rest, leaving me with only that small vial. Enough for 12 hours of good luck he said".

"I can't accept this, if this is all you have" said Regulus.
"I made it for you, it's your birthday present. Besides, I don't think I really have any need for it" admitted Sabrina.
"Well, thank you, it's a wonderful gift"
"You're welcome. Oh, and Slughorn would like me to remind you that using Felix Felicis during sporting events, exams, or elections, are banned"
"Don't worry, I don't plan on breaking that rule"
"Good to know".