The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

CXX. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

The three Gryffindor boys reached their dorm room at around the same time that Regulus reached his. However, while Regulus was on a mission to fall asleep before any of his harmful thoughts could get just a bit too loud, Benjamin Stone was on a completely different one.

As soon as he entered the room, Benji walked over to his desk and dropped down. "I'm gonna kill him," he said, pulling a piece of parchment and a quill towards himself so quickly that the paper nearly fell off of the desk.

"Kill who?" Francesco asked, letting go of Deacon's hand and walking toward his trunk so that he could grab the pyjamas which were set on top of it.

"Christian," he scribbled the name at the same moment that he said it.

Francesco looked at Benji, pyjama top in hand and eyebrow raised. "Look, Benji, I'm not trying to sound rude or anything. But, can you really be this angry at him for breaking up with Regulus? I mean, you read the letter, he just wasn't into the relationship anymore. I think it's better that he did it now rather than waiting, right?"

"I'm not angry with him for breaking up with Regulus. You're right, it's better that he did it now instead of leading him on. But, I also read the part of the letter where he admitted to cheating on Regulus. And I am not going to sit here and not say anything with the knowledge that my cousin cheated on one of my friends." He was scribbling so fast that Francesco and Deacon weren't even sure the words would be legible. "If he was here I'd punch him in the face," he muttered.

"I'd leave that one to Regulus," Deacon said through a yawn, grabbing his jumper and changing from behind the cover of his bed which had the curtains shut. "Punching people is sort of his thing, isn't it?"

Benji shook his head, already having to flip the parchment over to write on the backside. "Regulus loves him, he wouldn't be able to punch him in the face. Which leaves it down to me, and I will certainly be doing that very thing the next time I see him."

Deacon walked over to Benji after he had finished changing and let out another yawn as he started to read the writing over his shoulder. "Can I add something?"

Benji nodded, finishing his very long admonishment and passing the quill to Deacon. Deacon's handwriting was much less messy, but it was much more effective in word choice. Francesco had come over by this point, too, leaning over and placing his chin on Deacon's shoulder as he read the words that he was putting down. "Those are some big words," he commented.

"I use big words when I'm angry," Deacon muttered back, grabbing a new sheet of parchment to continue his writing.

Francesco added something, as well. By the time the boys were done with their letter, it was three pages long, all of them covered in writing on both sides. They all added their names in the margins beside their writing so that Christian would know whose was whose, and they all signed the bottom. Benji folded them up and slipped them into an envelope, sealing it and tossing it onto his nightstand.

"We can send it off tomorrow morning," he said, the exhaustion clear in his voice.

Francesco and Deacon nodded their head in agreement. The three boys said goodnight to one another shortly after that, Benji telling his friends that he would see them in the morning. They both wished their friend goodnight and crawled into Francesco's bed, slipping themselves beneath the covers and curling up with one another.

Francesco was laying on his back, both arms wrapped around the boy who had his head rested on his chest. Deacon had his arms wrapped around Francesco's middle, cheek pressed into the fabric of his pyjama top. The two of them were silent for a long while, Deacon listening to the steady beating of Francesco's heart and Francesco feeling the softness of Deacon's hair as he twisted it through his fingers.