Arcane (Regulus Black)

thirteen

Everybody's greatest fear has something to do with themselves. Perhaps they'll never achieve their hopes and ambitions. Perhaps they will never find someone to love them. What terrified me the most was the idea of being useless. The fact that I had the power and the knowledge to help but I couldn't. My worst possible nightmare.

That started the morning of the ball rehearsal when the dance between regulus and I ended and he paced out of the room. He left me alone but I was not even distraught at that. I had a million questions in my head but not a single thing related to his charming comments to me. In all honesty, I was not sure what to feel. Disgusted? Repulsed? After all this was regulus black. Slytherin. Traitor. Betrayer.

But I thought about was that mark on his arm. I remembered Christmas and Sirius. I remember why my mother forced me out of my own home too. We were both traitors to our own so called family. Family. That really is one of life's grates blessings. A group that dreams laughs, plays and loves together, those whom you could always count on. Truthfully, I found that the moment the hat chose me for Gryffindor but my heart always felt half empty. As if something was missing.

Regulus.

"Are you sure you want to do it here?" I asked Sirius.

He looked around and shrugged, "of course why not?" he pulled his hair back as he sat down on the sofa. I followed.

"Excited for the ball?" I asked him.

"Of course I am" he smiled as he took my hand in his and pulled me closer. "Mostly to see lily reject James again but"

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows at him and he laughed. My head rested on his shoulders as I watched our fingers intertangled and untangled.

"Do you think Remus has got someone to go with?" he jolted away and pulled back. I looked up at him and saw his face had fallen.

"Sirius?" I called out. "Sirius?"

I waved my hand in front of his face and he snapped back.

"Yeah" he said with thar cheeky grin.

"Are you okay?" I asked him and he nodded. "If something was happening to you or happened to you, you would tell me right?" I asked him. He paused but nodded slowly.

Sometimes in life, home can be a person. Sirius was mine and I was his. We both reminded each other of our past which we had tried to forget but with my recent activities I held onto it for a little longer.

"Sirius did your parents ever treat you differently?" I asked him, with a more serious tone in hope he'd take it more seriously.

He frowned. "Well I'm here aren't I? Been here for years haven't I?"

"You know what I mean" I quietly responded. "At Christmas"

"Yes why are you asking Lizzy?" his face fell and he cut me off, "Did your parents ever?"

"No" I instantly responded, "it's just that..."

"Just what?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

I did not need to say it or mention it, he knew.

He grabbed my hand in his and sighed, "listen Lizzy, you do know you make the small moments special for me. Life's not always going to be full of heart throbbing thrills and non-stop adventure, but when it slows down. I know I can sit with you, speak with you, or hold you in these hands and still feel like I'm going 10000 miles an hour. With you. I want to do all these things with you." He sighed. "I know life has not always been fair. It's tough in all honesty. Our parents, they always felt well bounded to more traditional methods and well you know me-"