Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. f i v e

DADA.

The class that had rotating professors usually wasn't a problem to Liora or Mirabel, but that round, it was terrible.

Firstly, partners. Unlike in other classes, this teacher insisted on picking out partners, and to make matters worse he placed Mirabel with Evan Rosier. The problem was that Mirabel was one of the students working on getting good OWLs, while Evan seemed to be content relying on his parents' trust fund.

Secondly, Liora was placed with Regulus, and not only was the boy hell-bent on calling her 'brickgirl', but he was also cocky and didn't pay much attention. So you could imagine Liora and Mirabel's reaction to the news; it wasn't pretty.

Elegance was key; Liora had learnt that from her mother when they were talking through letters. If you wanted to defeat your opponents, you had to be graceful.

"Expelliarmus," Liora whispered with her wand pointed at Regulus. To her shock, the spell worked, leaving the boy disarmed.

"Obscurio. Incarcarporus," Liora muttered, and Regulus was on the floor, tied up and blindfolded.

"Didn't know you liked that," He replied quietly, causing Liora to give him a swift kick in the shin. The teacher declared the duel over and Liora undid the ropes with magic, letting Regulus finish the rest.

"Thank you," he said and moved towards Rosier. Mirabel was also watching, clapping softly as Liora returned to her seat.

"That was so cool, but kinda weird too," Mirabel whispered to her. Liora hit her friend playfully as they watched the next duel happen.

***

With the weeks passing, Mirabel saw her best friend being paired with Regulus Black on the strange of occurrences; it was like the teachers wanted them to be together, but neither of them were having it. Neither one of them thought a bit of it, though, accepting the work and complaining with their friends on how they wanted to be paired with other people.

"Why were you tapping on the bricks?" Regulus asked Liora one day. They were working on a potion, and the question had lingered on his mind for some time. Liora glanced up at him questioningly.

"I don't know," She replied and added ingredients into the cauldron. He nodded cautiously and left it at that, and the pairing stayed silent as usual.

"I need curdled root," Liora muttered, holding out an open palm. Regulus sighed and handed it to her, and the potion simmered for a few more minutes before turning a pretty shade of red. Liora sighed and turned the heat off the cauldron, letting it cool as Professor Slughorn made his rounds. Finally, the man got to their potion.

"Ah! Of course, a perfect potion, to be expected from Mr Black!" He announced to the class. "And Miss Gaunt, of course," he added as an afterthought. He nodded and smiled before moving on to the next pair. Liora glowered at his retreating back; She and Regulus had done equal work, yet somehow he got all the credit.

When the class ended, Liora immediately made her way towards Mirabel before complaining rather loudly. Students passed them, giving them slightly strange looks before going off and about their day.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mirabel hissed as Liora dragged her into the corridor. "That's not allowed-"

"Mira. Try tapping your wand on the bricks, in any order," Liora pressed. "Just try it."

"Fine," her friend replied before tapping. To Mirabel's shock, the wall rearranged itself in a pretty way, but not an arch.

"So what was this for?" Mirabel asked with an eyebrow raised.