Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

c h a p t e r. t w e n t y

"No, no, no, no, no..." Liora cracked an eye open, wondering who was making noise at that hour. The room was cold and the soft hum of the chilling charm Mirabel had placed on their room could be heard, so Liora tried to quietly sit up.

The room was dimly lit by a soft bluish-green glow from the window, the full moon lighting up the waters outside. Mirabel was lying on the bed opposite to Liora's, and as the light hit her face Liora could clearly see glossy tear tracks making their way down Mirabel's face. Turning away, she quietly got out of bed and thanked Merlin that she'd forgotten to change into sleepwear, as she was wearing a getup that was perfectly okay to go out with.

The door creaked open as Liora stepped out, not knowing why she was doing this as she escaped the common room and wandered into the castle. The shoes she wore made no noise as she walked, and quite quickly she was on the third floor. Glancing around to check for prefects, Liora made her way up the clock tower and sat cross-legged on the fourth-floor level, gazing dreamily at the sky as the night wind brushed against her face. The Clock Tower courtyard could also be seen, and the gears behind Liora were still, motionless.

She closed her eyes softly, feeling the comfort of darkness as she brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. It was a calm, peaceful feeling to be alone, and for a moment Liora pretended that her life was as perfect as the moment. She sat there for what seemed like hours, staring at the stars peacefully as her head rested on her knees until it was finally time to go.

Quietly heading down the stairs, Liora waited until the coast was clear before quickly walking back down the stairs to try and get back to the common room. Although it was just early morning, the stairs worked in full swing, and Liora was forced to grab onto the handrail tightly as it moved,  the stairs now leading to the upper floors instead of going directly to the dungeons. Not wanting to wait, she walked up the stairs quietly and found herself in front of the Astronomy tower.

The tower was quiet, although not as quiet as the Clock Tower where she preferred to sit, and Liora was sure no one would be up there as she walked up. Finally, she reached the top, where the large room was illuminated by the same moonlight that lit up the rest of the castle. By the balcony, there was a shadow and Liora didn't want to intrude, so she turned back to leave.

Unfortunately, she had already been spotted. The person already in the tower was a student, Liora noticed, and they were just sitting and staring at the stars. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-" She said as they turned towards her. The way they sat covered their face from her view, but she could get quite a good impression of their robes as the moonlight hit their back. Taking a wild guess, Liora voiced the first name that came to mind.

"Regulus?"

"Liora?"

She walked closer to him, wondering what he was doing.
"Do you want me to go?" She asked, realizing that he probably didn't want her there. He stayed silent for a moment, and she edged closer to the stairs. "It's fine," he said, exhaling. She nodded, sitting down close to the stairs as they both sat there quietly.
"Why did you come up here?" Regulus asked as he turned towards Liora. The girl was sitting there stiffly, unlike just half an hour ago when she was in the Clock tower. She looked up in confusion, relaxing a bit when she realized it was just him. "I didn't mean to. I have another place where I sit." He nodded in understanding; these places were secretive, and Regulus himself hadn't told Evan about his recent trips to the Astronomy tower.

Remembering his task, he guarded his eyes and asked his first request. "Don't... don't tell anyone about this, okay?" He asked, looking up at her. She nodded, but it wasn't giving him the reassurance he wanted.
"Promise?"
"Yes."

Another moment spent in silence, then another question, but this time it was her asking it.
"Why did you come up here?" Regulus froze; he didn't want to talk about it, and his eyes hardened as he thought about the thing that brought him up.
"I- I need some privacy. Go away." The words came out harshly and Regulus hated that it basically undermined his entire plan. A flicker of hurt passed over her face, then resignment.

"Okay." Regulus watched Liora walk away as he continued sitting in solitude, wondering if it was the wrong thing to do. His life was already in tatters, but he had to please the Dark Lord; it was the only thing working. His home life was just how he was a better son than Sirius, Evan wasn't talking to him that much anymore and it wasn't like Regulus had any other friends, and he had nothing else.

Deciding that late-night philosophy was for another day, Regulus made his way down and put on a stony face, quickly heading down the steps into the dungeons to sleep. The patrolling prefects were long gone, and there really was no worry, but Regulus stayed quiet just in case.

***

Regulus leant over a mirror holding a cold spoon to his undereyes, trying to get rid of the very visible dark eye bags. The bitter taste of coffee lined his mouth as he struggled to remove the imperfection; he couldn't look tired, even if he did feel tired. It just wasn't a good impression to look tired.
"Reg, are you okay?" Evan walked into the bathroom as he watched Regulus press a cold spoon on his eye for the tenth time. The sight of black eye bags was quite common, especially in their sixth year, but for some reason, Regulus seemed to hold a particular detesting to them.

"No," Regulus replied frustratedly. Sighing, Evan nodded and moved back towards the door. "Class starts soon, Reg, and if you want to get rid of your eyebags I suggest sleeping at night instead of thinking."
"I can't think by day, though!" Frustrated, Regulus let the spoon clatter onto the ceramic sink and turned to Evan. "I have a job to do, and that job is to stalk my classmate! How can I sleep when there's so much on my mind?"
"You could stop stalking," Evan offered. "Just be friends with the girl. You don't need to know every single thing she does every single day."
"But-"
"What the Dark Lord doesn't know won't kill him."