𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐒 / 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐒 / 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐒

𝟎𝟕 - 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝐬𝐭, 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟓

The train rumbled like roaring thunder under your shoes. You wobbled unsteadily down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, a single leather bag cast over your shoulder which held your most personal possessions. A few books, an extra pair of socks, a quill, and the last few peppermint toads from a package you nicked from your bedroom that morning. You'd gotten into the habit of changing into your uniform earlier on in the journey so you could spend the trip reading or napping peacefully without worrying about it much.

You spent the last three days of summer locked away in your bedroom, listening to the hushed conversations of your brother and his friends through the wallpaper. Every so often, in the dead of night, you would hear a soft knocking at your door, but you ignored it without fail every time, praying that whoever it was would get the message and assume you were asleep.

You feared it was Sirius coming to apologize again or worse, someone else who wanted to coax answers from you regarding what happened (or rather, didn't happen) in Knockturn Alley.

Ever since you arrived back home from the shops, you hadn't stopped wondering about the boy who lurked in the shadows of Borgin and Burkes. The one who had presumably saved you from a nasty-sounding curse. Who was he? Could he be as awful as Sirius made him out to be?

James gave you very strict instructions to find him and the others once you made your way onto the train. He wanted you all to have a chance to hang out before you were divided into your separate houses at the welcoming feast.

As far as you knew, he hadn't told mother or father about your secret rendezvous with the Black girls. But that fact alone didn't prevent you from living under his watchful eye in the past few days. You could only hope that being back at school loosened the possessive tether he'd unknowingly fastened to you.

"'Scuse me," you mumbled to a pair of Hufflepuff third-years, turning your body in order to squeeze past them in the cramped corridor. You were nearly a third of the way there already and you hadn't had any luck in finding Bella, Andy, or Cissy. They were always up for grumbling about cruel boys and nasty older brothers and you could use their unwavering hatred for James and his friends right about now.

But compartments were filling up fast and there was only a handful of them left that you haven't searched. You had half the mind to hook your fingers around the nearest doorway and yank it open, wedging yourself between the frosted glass door.

It appeared empty from the outside and you hadn't heard the usual hums of conversation bouncing off the walls, so imagine your surprise when you slammed the door shut behind you and a head of wavy black hair shot up in surprise.

Your lips parted in shock, but it didn't occur to you to scream—thank Merlin. The boy in the corner studied you quizzically, hands slowly closing the paperback book that he held between his knees. 

"Regulus," you sighed in recognition. At least you hadn't barged in on a complete stranger.

Regulus Black raised a single eyebrow and straightened his posture slightly. Your jaw dropped as if realizing suddenly that you'd just intruded on one of the most feared and respected boys in Slytherin house. Not to mention, one of the very few people who managed to get on James' nerves. "I...I'm terribly sorry. I didn't think anyone else was in here, I-"

"You're alright," he said, using his usual bored tone. His curious gaze melted into an unassuming one, but you stopped taking offense to his lackluster stare a little bit after your second year. It was just who he was.

He thumbed the paperback book in his hands, turning it over slightly so that you could catch a quick look at the cover. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein. Regulus was nearly pressed flush against the wall of the compartment. Behind him, the window was bursting with scenery of beautiful Scottish foliage and rolling green hills.