The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

LXXX. Regulus's Big Birthday Bash

The next few weeks of school were uneventful. At least, they were uneventful compared to what Regulus and Francesco had gone through at the beginning of June.

The fifth and seventh years were all finished with their exams, so they didn't have anything to do in their classes. They would mostly just lounge about, the seventh years enjoying the last of their time at Hogwarts.

Gillian was among these students, and she was slowly becoming more and more down as the weeks passed. She didn't want to leave her friends - she didn't want to have to leave Barty and Regulus. And, more than anything, she really didn't want to have to marry Corban Yaxley.

She had received the letter the week before. It was her own wedding invitation - the wedding that was scheduled for 28 June, two days after her graduation. She had also received a small stack of the same invitation - her parents told her to invite who she liked. She gave one to Regulus, one to Barty, and she sent another one to Carson with a very long-winded letter about just how much she didn't want to marry Corban. In fact, there were a few spots on the letter where the ink had been smudged and paper was crinkled from the tears that had fallen onto it.

The day before graduation was 25 June - it was Regulus's birthday.

Regulus awoke that morning, feeling very tired. He hadn't slept very much the past few weeks - his sleep was always disturbed by those same, awful nightmares.

However, the night before his birthday hadn't been so bad. He had only woken up once, and then had a few hours of the best undisturbed sleep that he had ever had. So, at least his exhaustion was better than normal.

Though, when he woke up and stifled a yawn, the curtains which surrounded his bed were ripped open, and he felt a sudden weight on top of him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU TOSSER!" Barty shouted, and he jumped onto Regulus's bed.

Regulus grunted, and he pushed Barty off with a laugh. "Get off of me, you weirdo," he said.

Barty moved to sit on the end of Regulus's bed, a wide grin on his face. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" He shouted again.

Regulus sat up and stretched his hands up above his head. "Thanks," he said through a deep yawn.

"Get up, get up, get up!" Barty shouted, jumping out of the bed and shaking Regulus violently by the shoulders.

"Why do I have to get up so early? I still have a solid twenty minutes to lay down," Regulus complained.

"BECAUSE, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! Now come on, we have to go to breakfast. Last day of classes, remember?"

Regulus groaned and laid back down, rolling onto his stomach and pressing his face into the pillows. "What if I skipped them?"

Barty rolled his eyes and grabbed Regulus's arms, tugging him out of the bed. Regulus let out a short scream, and he fell onto the floor with a thud.

"On my birthday?" He asked, putting a hand on his heart and feigning offense.

Barty smirked, and he grabbed Regulus's arm to pull him up from the ground. "Come on, prat. We need to get ready."

Getting ready for school that day was a quiet affair. Regulus and Barty didn't talk much, and Evan and Theodore had already left. Regulus was still too tired to hold a conversation, and Barty looked like he was hiding something. However, Regulus didn't press, and the two of them left their dorm room at half past seven.

When they entered the Great Hall, Gillian stood from the table with a wide grin on her face. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY REGULUS!" She shouted, and several pairs of eyes turned towards Regulus.