The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

CXIX. You and I

Regulus Black awoke on the morning of 5 June, 1976 with uncertainty coursing through his veins; he wasn't sure where he stood with Sirius.

After all, the night before, he had said something that could have very well ruined everything that the two of them had worked so hard for. But, even then, he didn't regret it. Perhaps he would regret it if he received official confirmation that it had been the breaking point in what little of a relationship that they had left. But, right at that moment, he didn't regret it.

He had told Sirius what he wanted to tell him; he had told him what he needed to tell him. Regulus did not like Severus Snape by any means, but he still felt that what James Potter had done and what Sirius Black had allowed to happen was complete overkill. After all, putting his pants on display for the entire student body was quite dramatic, in Regulus's opinion. And he had expressed those opinions to the very person who they went against.

So, when he woke up, he was uncertain. To add to the negative feelings that Regulus Black had already started his day with, he felt more tired than he had been when he fell asleep.

He pulled the blankets up to his chin and balled the extra fabric of the sleeves of his baggy jumper into his fists, curling himself into a ball to reserve more warmth. The Slytherin dormitories had a tendency to be much colder than anywhere else in the castle - one of the main downsides to Regulus's house.

As he laid there, the inability to fall back asleep overwhelming him, the line between actual exhaustion and the lack of motivation to get out of bed became blurred. With this blur, Regulus knew that dangerous thoughts were just beyond the horizon. So, he centralized every bit of strength that he could scrape together and forced himself out of bed.

The rug beneath him was warm in contrast to the cold temperature of the room. Regulus planted his feet firmly on it as he reached his hands up above his head and let out a deep yawn, stretching the muscles in his back simultaneously. The dorm room was empty aside from him, and he assumed that the other three were already at breakfast.

Regulus put on a pair of simple black trousers, keeping on the jumper that he had been wearing. After all, it was a Saturday, so he could get away with wearing whatever he wanted.

The Great Hall was buzzing when he arrived. Almost every single seat was full which certainly made it difficult for Regulus in his quest to sit alone. Though at least Phoebe was sitting with Lottie Burton and Wyatt was sitting with the Quidditch team. It wasn't that Regulus didn't want to sit with his friends, it was just that... ok, he didn't want to sit with his friends. However, it wasn't because of who they were or anything like that, it was solely because Regulus wanted to be alone.

He looked at Sirius several times during breakfast. His brother was laughing with the marauders - something that Regulus was unexpectedly grateful to see. After all, he had seen what Sirius looked like without his friends, and he knew that he never wanted to see him like that again. So, seeing him happy again was quite a relief.

After breakfast, Regulus had nothing to do. Of course, he could go lock himself up in the common room or his dormitory, but he had spent enough time doing that. However, he also didn't want to go to the library. He didn't have a tutoring session with Gwen that day. He also didn't fancy being around too many people so that sorted out the Gryffindor boys.

What else was there to do?

Sirius Black, it seemed, had decided for him.

Regulus had just crossed the threshold into the entrance hall when an arm was draped around his shoulders. The sudden pressure caught him off guard, and he scrambled to get away from whoever it was.