Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. e i g h t

Regulus did not like pining. He didn't like the idea of chasing after a girl, searching for a reason to talk to her. That was a crush, and Regulus Black did not like crushes. But the boy, unlike his brother, had his days, and unlike his brother, the youngest Black was not a socialite. He wasn't good at making friends and often found talking to other people strange. For some reason, though, he was thought to be funny and talkative. 

Regulus had never found those traits to be excessively useful until he met Liora Gaunt. The girl was such an introvert that it was hard to get words to sink into her thick skull, but for some reason, she seemed to be rather smart. He didn't know why he chose her as his friend-target, but it was what it was.

 Honestly, Regulus knew he needed new friends. He wasn't the boy with the most followers, often overshadowed by his older brother and his friends. Evan Rosier himself had even recommended him to find new friends, and to put a cap on it Evan was ignoring him. So of course, Regulus needed to talk to other people. And his potions partner seemed to be the best candidate, right?

The boy had nearly just turned away and gone to Divination when he spotted a familiar book; Hogwarts: A History. The book was clearly a library copy, leaving Regulus to be confused; every student had a copy of the classic book. He picked it up, deciding to return it to whoever it belonged to. Placing the book in his bag, he headed up the steps towards Divination.

 "Hello, class, we will be speaking about tea-leaf reading, also known as Tessomancy," the professor spoke. The students were given cups of tea which they swished around, then spooned out the tea, leaving only some tea leaves in the cup. Regulus sat opposite Evan, who seemed to be doing almost as well as he was. "What do you see?" Professor Sooth was quick to ask. 

Regulus peered into his teacup disdainfully, seeing little ugly clumps of tea leaves lying there. "A skull?" he asked. Actually, when you looked at it for a long time, it did look like a skull. Professor Sooth sighed, flipping to the page in the Divination textbook where tea-leaf readings were. She looked in his teacup to check, then nodded in approval. "Read up on the skull. Then, make a prediction for a person that you care dearly for." Regulus did as told, not batting an eye when the prediction of the skull meant 'danger in your path'. Everyone knew Divination was a scam anyway. 

He thought of someone he cared about, expecting it to be his parents or Evan. Instead, Sirius Black came to mind. Regulus shook his head softly as he thought of his older brother who had brought so much sorrow into their family, who had brought him so much pain. Sirius had in fact asked Regulus to go with him, but Regulus had refused. He was sure that the Potters wouldn't appreciate his presence, and he didn't want to leave behind his family. Fine, he would give his brother a reading. 

Adding water into his teacup, he swished it around until the leaves settled before removing the tea part. This time, it was most definitely a cross. "Trials and Suffering." Why did Regulus just have to predict the most terrible readings? He didn't know, but he hoped with all his heart that the predictions didn't come true. Deciding to give tessomancy one last go, he swished the tea around. He didn't know who this one was for; probably a friend.

 Draining the cup, he saw extremely clearly a falcon, and the center of its body held a cross. He sighed for whoever this prediction was for; Trials and Suffering as well as A Deadly Enemy? Deciding that dark predictions were for another day, Regulus tidied the tools that he used, marking the parchment paper with his readings. 

Evan leant over to look at his friend's predictions, noticing that only the prediction for himself was explicitly labelled. The other two were just 'Friend' and 'Person'.
"I hope I'm not any of your readings," Evan joked. The other boy nodded halfheartedly before cramming the assignment paper inside his bookbag. 

Luckily for the awkward atmosphere quickly filling the classroom, Divination was over, and so was school. Deciding to place his times in his dorm, Regulus tried to make his way towards the Slytherin common room when he passed his brother at the worst possible time. Both of them shot each other dirty looks, neither brother meaning it. Regulus disappeared into the dungeons, hiding out in his room for an unhealthy amount of time before going to find some entertainment. 

He didn't have to look very far; the moment he stepped out in the open, there were girls fawning over him; something that didn't happen very often unless Regulus had done something to his appearance. He smiled fakely before making a stupid excuse on how he had to find someone, grateful that it worked.

 He'd taken the library book with him, checking the most recent borrower; Liora Gaunt. Where would the girl be?He looked around before deciding to look for her later, maybe give it back to her the next day. He disappeared into the Slytherin Common room and moved towards the boys' dormitory, not noticing Liora Gaunt making her way down with her mother's diary into the common room. 

***
The diary was sealed. Liora had tried prying it open multiple ways; with an Alohamora charm, trying to cut it open, and she'd even considered going to someone to help. What Liora didn't understand was why the diary was sealed; it had been sent to her. Was it full of Dark Magic? She didn't know, but she wanted to find out what was in the diary by herself. That was why she decided to go down, sitting by the window and tapping the glass softly. 

One of the merfolk noticed her tapping, coming over to see what she wanted them to. Liora held up the book, causing the merman to point towards a piece of paper. Grabbing it, he began to make hand motions. A K... then an E... then was that a T? Liora drew the letter onto the piece of paper, but the merman shook his head. A Y? Oh, yes, a Key. She looked at his hands again, deciphering an R... then an I... D... D... then the merman swam away. Why? She turned to look behind her, prepared to yell at whoever was there. Regulus Black held a book over at her; her Hogwarts: a History.

"Um, thanks," Liora said softly. He nodded and disappeared again, leaving Liora at the window. She tapped the glass again, but to no avail. So, a key... but where was she going to find one?

She looked at the other word, the RIDD-, deciding to list out possibilities. "Riddance? Ridder? Riddle? Ridden?" she said out loud, writing down the words. She needed more, but her mother wasn't willing to help. So, who would?