this is long overdue :) first meeting as requested by @vernelli @violettewautelet <3 thank you all for reading!
*
Regulus heard the commotion before he saw anyone turn around the corner of the corridor.
"Ow, ow, ow! Remus, I'm fine!"
The voice was unfamiliar, and it struck him that it must've been a half-blood, or a muggle-born. He would've known them if they were a pureblood—his parents had introduced him to all of them already. Part of him was extremely glad that it wasn't one of the kids he'd grown up with—or, worse, his brother, who'd become increasingly distant after being sorted into Gryffindor last year.
"Reia, it's your first day! How could you be so clumsy?" An older voice sighed, and a brunette boy—dragging a smaller, dark-haired girl boy her robe sleeve—turned the corner.
It was weird—considering the first years had just been sorted, Regulus hadn't expected anyone to sneak out of the Great Hall like he had. He'd only done it to escape the prying eyes of his older brother's friends, and the Slytherins at the who were too eager to hear what the younger of the Black brothers had to say about Sirius' sorting.
"It's a sprain, nothing a bit of ice can't fix. Let go!"
Regulus watched curiously as the girl finally tore her sleeve out of the boy's grip and huffed, "You know, I don't need you to take care of me all the time."
"You don't even know any charms yet." Remus huffed exasperatedly. "Would you at least let me help you?"
The girl's face curled into a frown and she scowled, "You're only a year older than me. I don't trust your magic, anyway."
Regulus shrunk into the dip in the wall he was hiding in as he heard the sound of students beginning to file out of the hall. The girl shooed her brother off and said, "Go back to your friends, Remus."
"Don't do anything dumb," Remus sighed, stepping back—just as a hoard of students came into view and he disappeared into the crowd of red and gold.
Once the other students were gone, Regulus breathed a sigh of relief—the last thing he would've wanted would've been to be seen by Narcissa, or Josie. They were nice enough but he didn't want to talk at the moment.
It had been too long since he'd seen Sirius, and finally meeting eyes with him after over a year was too strange, and made Regulus more upset than he would've liked to admit.
It was only when he cast his gaze around the—what he thought was—empty corridor that he realised the girl from earlier was still there—nursing her ankle against the wall opposite to the one Regulus was leaning against.
She hadn't seen him yet, and he hesitated before calling out, "Hey."
The girl startled, her eyes wide as she cried out, "Merlin! What—,"
"It's just me." Regulus said quietly, though his voice seemed much louder due to the echo of the stone walls, "Are you okay?" He stood up, and finally she caught sight of him.
She sagged in relief, "I thought you were a ghost or something."
"There's a ghost in one of the bathrooms," Regulus told her matter-of-factly, "so you should get used to them. Ghosts, I mean."
"Who are you?"
"Regulus," He responded, surveying her uniform until he realised she was a Slytherin too, "What's your name?"
"Reia," She said, hissing as she tried to move and stand, "Um...will you help me?" She reached up to grab his shoulders and got to her feet, leaning lots of her weight on him.
Regulus wondered what happened to her, but he didn't ask, for fear that she would be upset. Not that she seemed to be—with the way she was muttering curses about 'Remus' under her breath. Regulus asked her if she could walk, and they began to limp towards the Slytherin Common Room.
"Are you a first year, too?" She said, once she ran out of bad words to mutter about the boy who seemed to be her brother, from what Regulus could make out of her swearing.
"Yeah," He said, "I know lots about the school though," He continued with a bit of pride, "My mother told me everything I need to know."
"My brother wouldn't stop going on about Hogwarts when he came back for Christmas last year," Reia said, rolling her eyes. "He's one year older than me and he thinks he knows everything. Wouldn't stop telling me about all the magic he's been learning."
Regulus laughed, "Does it live up to your expectations?"
Reia sighed, admitting, "Yeah, I guess it's kind of cool."
They fell into a silence until they finally reached the common room. To be completely honest, Regulus had no idea how to get in, so it was a lucky coincidence that Josie Nott emerged from the room just as they arrived.
She recognised him immediately, eyes lighting up, "Regulus! Who's this?" She glanced at Reia, who was wincing and leaning on his shoulder.
"Reia," Regulus said, "She's in Slytherin, too."
Regulus had never seen Josie so excited as she exclaimed, "Oh, you're the one in my dorm! Reia Lupin, right?"
Reia, suddenly seeming energised, said, "Yeah!"
The three of them hopped into the Common Room together, and Regulus watched as Josie dragged Reia to the Girl's Dorms.
He was left feeling strangely alone, despite the senior students lounging on the couches by the fire.
If anything, he was glad she was the first friend he made here.
He hoped they would be friends for a long time.
YOU ARE READING
RISE OF THE FALL | R.B.
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] REIA LUPIN IS A SLYTHERIN. But her House does not define her. * Her name fell from his lips; the sweet, smooth sound carried away by the wind. But she did not turn to him. She stared, into the distance, her eyes stormy as she said, "The...
