Shimmering beautiful (and when I break it's in a million pieces)

Shadows settle on the place you left

Nr. 12 Grimmauld Place. Sunday, July 18th, 1976 2:27 pm

Regulus stood in front of the mirror, smoothing down the fabric of his dark forest robes for the hundredth time, the green so dark it looked like black in some lighting. They were ridiculously expensive, even for their family, but it was necessary as this is going to be his first public outing as heir to the Most Ancient And Noble House Of Black and he needed to look his best.

He adjusted his cufflinks and reached into his pocket to touch his wand, resisting the urge to run his fingers through his meticulously styled hair, laying soft and unmoving on his head.

He glanced at his watch. Two more minutes and he had to go down to meet his parents. They were hosting the soirée in coordination with Cygnus and Druella Black to celebrate Regulus' new status and to have an early engagement celebration for Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. Of course, the real engagement party would be much bigger and extravagant, this one was rather small in pureblood measurements.

Regulus couldn't decide if he was glad or dismayed about it. On one hand, there weren't too many people and he could manage, on the other, the fact that there were merely 53 people present made the pressure so much worse, any move of his would be watched with sickening precision, any wrongdoing would be the talk of the entire pureblood society as they all anticipated his next move, waited to see if Walburga and Orion Black could produce a son worthy of being an heir.

He had begged his mother to give him the attendee list as early as she could and he spent the last two days torn between memorising each and every name on that list, compiling everything he knew about them and writing a letter to James Potter, inquiring about his brother's wellbeing. He was determined to write the letter after the soirée was over, a scrap of expensive parchment sitting neatly next to his quill on the desk, waiting to be used.

He touched his shaking hand to his wand again, the wood sliding comfortingly against his palm and adjusted his cufflinks, the neatly polished Black family crest shining, embedded in the silver. He glanced at his watch, precisely 2:30 and stepped out of his room, checking and rechecking that he had everything he needed on his person.

He went over his plan for the evening again. He had compiled his lineup for the night and how much time he would spend talking with each person, going over plans b and c in case something went wrong. The starched collar of his shit was stinging uncomfortably against his neck, the fabric suffocating with a disgusting stiff texture that made him slightly nauseous.

He hated everything about this outing, from the attendees to the shade of green of his robes. His only solace was that he was going to see Narcissa and Pandora as she was also expected to attend as Lucius' sister.

He wondered how many people had gotten the news of Sirius' disownment. They could all see it on their tapestries, after all, all pureblood families are somehow connected. They must've seen the new black spot where Sirius' face had been.

Regulus made his way down the stairs, forcing his hands to lay still against his sides. No more fidgeting. He's Regulus Arcturus Black, heir of The Most Ancient And Noble House Of Black. He is confident but not arrogant, tall but not towering, smart but not a know-it-all, outspoken but not idiotic, polite but not stuffy, handsome but not egocentric, the perfect balance of all of them.

It was impossible to achieve yet he will achieve it, he has no other choice.

He slipped into the empty living room, sitting down regally on a chair in the corner, the wood digging into his back.