till death do us part -regulus black (the blacks, vol. 1)

chapter 16 - christmas 1976

It was Christmas morning at 12 Grimmauld Place, and Regulus and Evangeline were laying in their bed. Evangeline's head was laying on Regulus' chest and Regulus' fingers were running through her hair while hers were drawing circles on Regulus' chest.

'I wish every morning could be like this...' Regulus sighed.

'Like this how, Reg?' Eva asked, not understanding what Regulus meant.

'Quiet, not having to fear for our lives or planning our next move,' Regulus answered. 'Don't you miss it? When your life was normal, I mean.'

Evangeline looked up at Regulus, her chin still on his chest, her hand caressing Regulus' right cheek. 'Never will I ever regret meeting you and jumping into this crazy ride with you.'

Regulus smiled down at Evangeline and kissed her forehead.

'What do you think your brother's doing right now?' Evangeline asked Regulus.

'He's probably with the Potter's and his little gang. I believe they're happy, sitting by the tree, unwrapping presents,' Regulus said.

'Do you think our Christmases will ever be like that?'

'When this whole craziness is over, maybe then. But right now we have duties to fulfil,' Regulus told the blonde girl, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

'I'm not looking forward to tonight,' Evangeline sighed. 'Being around all that makes me wanna barf,' she admitted.

'Me too,' Regulus admitted.

'What can happen if we don't go?' Eva asked.

'My mother will probably have our heads and feed our remains to the owls,' Regulus joked. 'She couldn't possibly hurt you; she adores you. You're the daughter she never had.'

'Do I have to dress up, too?' Evangeline whined.

'You have no other choice,' Regulus laughed at her childish pout, then kissed her. 'But first, I want to ravish you a little.'

The two broke apart when there was a knock on the door and Walburga Black barged in.

'Good morning, my dears!' the woman said happily, opening the curtains.

'Mother!' Regulus exclaimed, the couple pulling the covers to their necks. 'Please, next time wait until we say you can enter,' he added, sighing.

'Oh, dears, get dressed and come downstairs,' Walburga instructed the pair. 'Chop, chop!' she clapped her hands. 'Uncle Cygnus, auntie Druella, Cissa, Bella, and Rodolphus are coming by any minute.' And with that, the woman left the room, leaving the couple to get ready.

'Your mother's such a charming woman,' Evangeline sighed.

Regulus laughed, kissed Evangeline and then went to take a shower. Evangeline stayed in bed a little more, then got out, put on her black silk robe that Narcissa gifted to her earlier that week. She walked to her vanity table, sat down and studied herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers over the purple bruises on her neck.

'REGULUS, YOU BASTARD!' she yelled and Regulus walked out the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his torso.

'What is it?' he asked, putting his hands on Evangeline's shoulders then kissing her neck.

'Don't you dare leave another bruise on my neck, you hear me, Regulus Arcturus Black?!'

'Oh please, last night you were begging for them,' Regulus whispered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

'Go and get dressed, you brute. I have to fix the mess,' Evangeline said, pushing Regulus away.

Regulus laughed and walked to their closet. Evangeline scoffed and started putting make-up on the bruises and then on her face. While she was still getting ready, Regulus walked back into their bedroom, wearing a white button-up with a black vest, black dress pants and black dress shoes. Evangeline looked at him from the mirror and smirked.

'Are you trying to have me killed, Mr Black?' Evangeline joked.

'Not at all, future Mrs Black,' Regulus replied.

Evangeline stopped for a second. It was the first time Regulus himself referred to her as 'future Mrs Black'. Sure, she'd been referred to like that before by Walburga or many other pure-bloods, but hearing it from Regulus drove her insane.

'Evangeline Moira Black, has a nice ring to it,' Evangeline admitted.

'And pretty soon, an actual ring on that finger of yours,' Regulus confessed, which made Evangeline blush.

Evangeline stood up and went to their closet. She put on a nice black lace dress that hugged her curves perfectly and black heels. When she walked back in, Regulus stood up from the foot of the bed and walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and smirked.

'I'll make sure this dress comes off nicely tonight,' he teased.

Evangeline playfully slapped his chest and laughed. 'Stop it.'

'No,' he said, kissing her.

'We have to head downstairs, people are waiting for us,' Evangeline told Regulus, pulling away from him.

'Let them wait,' Regulus said, grabbing her hand. 'I want to have you all for myself for another minute.'

'No, Reg!' Evangeline stopped him. 'Now, come on, we have duties to fulfil.'

The couple walked down the stairs and into the living room of the Black's home. Everyone was there, waiting for them. Walburga and Druella stopped their chatting as the couple walked in. Druella observed the two, smiling and turning to her sister-in-law.

'She will make a good wife for Regulus one day,' Druella commented.

'That's what I'm hoping, Druella, dear,' Walburga agreed.

'Happy Christmas, everyone!' the couple said as they walked in. The two walked to the empty armchair next to the larger sofa and Regulus sat down on it, with Evangeline taking a seat on the arm of the armchair.

'Regulus, son, how was Hogwarts?' Cygnus asked the teenage boy.

'Hogwarts is Hogwarts, uncle Cygnus,' Regulus simply answered.

'How's that muggle school treating you Evangeline, dear? I bet it is exhausting to be around those filthy muggles for that long,' Druella asked Evangeline.

'It's awful to be around them, auntie Druella. But I manage to steer clear from them,' Evangeline lied. She was used to having to lie to Regulus' family, but she still hated it.

'Why don't you hire a tutor for the poor girl, Walburga?' Druella asked her sister-in-law.

'We tried convincing her, but she told us that we've already done so much for her,' Walburga answered.

'I bet it's horrible for you, Evy,' Bella told the girl. 'If one of them looks at you the wrong way, let me know. I'll Crucio them for you.'

'That's an awfully sweet thing, Bella, but I think I'll say pass. I do value my education after all,' Evangeline told the eldest Black sister.

'Oh, let the girl breathe, now, will you?' Narcissa intervened. 'Eva, dear, let's go and grab ourselves some wine,' Narcissa addressed the girl, who stood up with her and they went into the kitchen. Narcissa requested Kreacher to bring them a bottle of wine and two glasses, which he gladly gave to them. The two girls were sitting at the kitchen table, discussing.

'How are you and Lucius Malfoy doing?' Evangeline asked the older girl. 'Why isn't he here with you today?'

'He will be attending the ball tonight, but his parents insisted on having him spend Christmas morning with them since we are not properly engaged yet,' Narcissa answered, taking a sip of her wine. 'How are you and Reggie?'

'We're good,' Evangeline answered.

'Good as in 'it's okay' good, or good as in 'I would fuck him day and night and night and day' good?' Narcissa asked with a smirk.

'Cissa!' Evangeline exclaimed, her cheeks turning a rosy shade.

'What, it's a normal question,' Narcissa laughed. 'Just be careful, we don't need any mini you or mini-Regulus running around yet,' she added, winking.

'NARCISSA!'