Erased from History

XLVII. Please don't hate me!

Charlie sat under a tree by the Black Lake, waiting for Regulus. He should be there soon. "Pssst. Over here.", a voice came from behind her. "Reg?", Charlie turned around, to stare right into Regulus' mouth (his teeth were as white as possible, probably a spell, and Charlie was astonished to say that he didn't even have a hint of foul breath). Her eyes crept upward to his eyes. 

"Am I supposed to admire your teeth, or...?", she asked. Regulus rolled his eyes: "No, silly-" he paused abruptly. "What?" 

"Nothing", he replied, "my mouth was ear level before you turned around. I was whispering in your ear!" "Oh yeah! Why?" "That shall remain a secret." Charlie sceptically raised an eyebrow: "That shall remain a secret? Are you kidding me?" 

"Uhh, no." Regulus' eyebrows furrowed. "Seriously?" "What? I'm going to tell you somewhere else!" "Yeah, but you speak like you were from the ninth century!" "What...?" Charlie shook her head: "Just forget it. So, secrets..."

 "Yes. But not here", Regulus responded. "So where?", Charlie asked. "Follow me." "Reg? Where are we going?", she asked again. "The Quidditch field", Regulus stated. "What are we doing there? I don't have my broom with me!" "Don't worry, you don't need it." "Oh", Charlie replied a bit disappointed.

When they reached the Quidditch field Regulus ordered Charlie to close her eyes. When she opened them again, he was standing there with a rather long package wrapped in beautiful paper with Bludgers, Quaffles and Snitches on it. "Go on, open it!" Charlie tore open the paper and opened the neatly sealed box. Under some wool for cushioning, lay a broomstick. And not just any broomstick. 

Charlie gasped: "A Comet 290! This is... wow! Oh Merlin, it's- but... how? I mean... wow, but, it's... it isn't even released yet! And they said, when it does, it will only be for professionals. I- how did you lay your hands on this?!" Regulus smiled warm heartedly: "Connections can be very helpful." "What connections?", Charlie asked bluntly.

"My father has a friend who happens to be the producer of Comet brooms. He always let's us buy them first. Well, they're not really friends. More like partners: He gets a good reputation for sometimes dining with us, and Father gets good deals." "Oh. Well, wanna race? I trust you have your broom, right?" "Of course! Accio my broom " Charlie had already turned around to kick off, tightly followed by Regulus. They did rolls and dives and all sort of maneuvers, until Charlie sped up higher, only to make a dive for the hoops and sit in it. Regulus zoomed towards her, laughing, and sat down next to her. "Like it?"

 "Like it? I love it!" Regulus smiled: "Great! That's what I hoped for! But, umm, could you do me the favour and not tell anyone who you got it from? Or, at least not, so that the whole school knows?" "Oh yeah. I bet your family wouldn't be to happy about it", Charlie said through gritted teeth, thinking of their fight.

"Reg?" "Yes?" "Did you- did you do it?" "Do what?" "Did you pick your side? You know, have you decided if you're going to stick with your family's beliefs?" "Oh, umm, I can't really-" Charlie cut him off: "Regulus. Hating people because of what they're parents were born with is... wrong. It's as horrible as actually being a death eater!" "Oh, yeah, about that..." 

"Yes?" "Please don't hate me!" Regulus blurted out and pulled up his sleeve quickly, his eyes closed. For a split second, Charlie didn't understand, but then realization crept up her face as she looked at the tattoo, that was more than a tattoo, that almost seemed alive.