The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

LXXXII. The Fairman Affair

The Fairman-Yaxley wedding was quite a big deal. It was the marrying of two pure-blooded families, one of which was part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

Of course, it was no where near as big as the Malfoy-Black wedding. That had been the joining together of two of the oldest pure-blooded families in European history. However, it was still in the Daily Prophet.

Regulus awoke on the morning of 28 June with a bad feeling in his stomach. He brushed this off as his nerves for the wedding that day, and he forced himself out of bed. As much as Regulus would have liked to stay home and not attend what he could only think would be the most awkward wedding of his life, he knew that he needed to be there for Gillian.

He wondered briefly if Carson would actually show up. Would he sit with Regulus and Barty? Was Barty even coming? Regulus hadn't heard a definite yes from Barty yet. Of course, he said that he wanted to go, but he didn't know if his dad would allow it.

Barty's dad sounded like a real arsehole, Regulus did have to admit.

He dragged himself out of bed, and he got dressed into his dress robes. His mother had dragged him to Diagon Alley to get his dress robes hemmed the day before, seeing as how he had outgrown them by a considerable amount.

What his parents hadn't done yet, though, was cut Regulus's hair. He did have to admit, he quite liked having hair longer than what his parents usually preferred to keep it at. Although, he didn't like when it got really long - that's where he and Sirius differed. So, Regulus had taken to cutting his own hair every few weeks to keep it a likable length. So far, he had actually become quite good at it.

Regulus neatened his hair to the best of the abilities, made sure that his dress robes looked alright, and then stowed his wand into the pocket. Regulus absolutely, more than anything, despised wearing dress robes. However, he knew that his parents would get mad at him if he didn't. And, he really didn't fancy having the Cruciatus Curse used on him over a pair of stupid robes.

Though, with the Cruciatus that he had endured from Professor Wilson, he suspected that his father's Cruciatus would feel like a walk in the park.

When Regulus exited his bedroom and stepped onto the decrepit landing beyond, he paused. He knew that he should just continue on and make his way downstairs. However, he couldn't help but pause and look at the door which led into Sirius's bedroom.

Sirius and Regulus hadn't said a single word to one another since Regulus's night in the hospital wing. He hadn't minded this much when he was in school and had his other friends to distract him. However, now, he didn't have anyone or anything to distract him. Kreacher was being made very busy by Walburga and Orion - doing what, Regulus did not know. However, this left Regulus in a very lonely state.

Sirius wasn't the most ideal person to speak to, but he was there. Perhaps, if Regulus just knocked on his door, they could talk...

No, it was a bad idea. Sirius didn't want to talk to Regulus - he had made that very clear. So, Regulus composed himself, and he started across the landing.

The old and decaying wood creaked underneath every single one of Regulus's steps, sending unpleasant groans throughout the house.

Just as Regulus reached the top of the staircase and was about to begin his descent, he heard Sirius's door swing open behind him. Regulus turned around, and he watched as a very disheveled and exhausted looking Sirius Black joined him on the landing.

Sirius let out a deep yawn and stretched his arms up above his head, scratching the back of his head when he was finished with his stretch. He glanced around the landing with bleary eyes, pausing when he saw the state of Regulus.