Stars and Mist | Regulus Black

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

Liora knew what she was doing was wrong. She knew what she was doing was fruitless. She knew what she was doing was never going to work. 
So why did she say yes? 
Liora sat there wondering herself- why did she agree? She could've easily said no, got this over and done with, as she had no obligation to this. Sheer curiosity led her to that decision, and even rethinking it Liora knew she made the right choice. 

"Miss Gaunt, sleeping during class! Detention at 6:00 tonight!" 

Liora jolted awake and stared defiantly into the Ancient Runes professor's eyes. She had not been sleeping, just resting her head on a pile of textbooks. From the look on the professor's face, it was clear that arguing would not get her anywhere, so she rolled her eyes and glanced back up on the board. There were some assignments, and Liora lazily completed them with a flick of her wand. She attended her classes that day as normal, mentally complaining to herself on why falling asleep wasn't her fault- the professor had to make his class more interesting. 

That night, Liora stalked grudgingly towards the gates, knowing that she would have to outside when it was raining. Sure enough, Filch stood by the gates with a vengeful sneer on his face. 
"You will collect a list of Potions ingredients today. Here," he said, cramming a sheet of paper into her hand. "You'll just have to wait for our other participant." 

Liora sighed, skimming through the list and glancing outside once in a while as she waited for the other person. Hearing footsteps, Liora didn't bother to look up- she didn't care who it was, just wanting to get the task over with. 
"Apologies, Filch," The other person said in a small voice. "I was late." 
"You were," he replied nastily. "Now get going." 

The pair walked nervously into the forest, Liora holding the lantern and list whilst the other person walked alongside her, scouring the bushes. 
"Can I see the list?" her companion said. "Just to check." 
Liora handed her the list, letting her read and watching the companion's eyes widen in shock. For once, Liora could see a small glimpse of her companion's face beneath their dark cloak- dark eye-bags, light blue eyes, and nothing else. Deciding not to voice anything of it, Liora got back to work on the list. They quickly found some flowers, placing them gently into a bag. Liora's companion walked ahead, coming back with two other plants on the list. 
"Three more plants," Her companion whispered, and for once Liora could recognize it. Before, the person's voice was muffled by their hood and obviously spoken in a different way, but now...
she just sounded scared. 

"Have you been avoiding me?" Liora asked accusingly, scowling at her companion.  

Mirabel Greengrass clenched her jaw, trying to hide the emotion that had unwillingly slipped out of her voice. It wasn't the time or the place to talk about matters, and she knew that. She shook her head and glanced back down at the list in Liora's hand, pointing in the direction they had to go. 

Liora glanced at Mirabel carefully, opening her mouth to talk before closing it harshly as both girls heard footsteps. They glanced at each other before running quietly towards a more cramped area of the woods, casting a disillusionment charm to cloak them. Holding their breath, they stared intently at the clearing as another shadow appeared before them, wand in hand.

They waited. They waited so long that they weren't sure whether it was just a trick of the light or a scarecrow, and they wondered. Beside her, Liora could hear Mirabel's erratic breathing, and she hoped that the other person couldn't hear, that he wasn't dangerous. She herself was frozen with fear, waiting for something to happen as the shadow waited with them. Until finally, someone showed up, and the two in the clearing started talking. The words proved something dark, something Liora hadn't wanted to believe. 

"The Dark Lord is not pleased." 

***

What was cold? 

Marble. Glass. Ice. Snow. Winter. Voldemort. 

Regulus sometimes wondered why the esteemed leader of the Death Eaters was so cold and unflinching- even the coldest of hearts would have some remorse over the dead bodies scattered in his wake, right? It felt like the man had never had any feeling in his life, only having ambition. He'd seen his cousin near the Dark Lord; Bellatrix was doting and admiring towards him, but the Dark Lord brushed it off like it was nothing- like it wasn't like his most loyal follower loved him like no other. 

The Dark Lord might've even seen Bellatrix as disposable. 

Regulus twisted the metal ring on his bookbag experimentally, the cool feeling of silver brushing against his fingertips. A quill and inkpot lay before him, and rolls of parchment sat untouched, waiting for some form of writing to bestow upon them. 

Too bad, Regulus thought as he dipped the quill into the ink and started drawing a map, one that he knew by heart. Continents formed under his hand, tidy lettering finding it's home near details of mountains and trees. Schools formed too; Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang in Europe, Uagadou in Africa, Ilvermony and Castelobruxo in North and South America, and finally, Koldovstoretz and Mahoutokoro in Asia; more precisely, Russia and Japan. 

His hand hovered over the shape of Shandong, China, wondering if the rumors of the school - no, they called it a college- there were real. True to the rumors, there was a small island where the College was said to be, a ring-like campus with a central courtyard and five protruding towers signifying the 5 main Chinese dialects. Deciding to go along with it, Regulus placed the quill on the paper and began to draw what he thought this speculated college-school was like. If this one was real, how many hidden establishments over the world didn't make it into what the world considered the '11 Schools of Magic'? 

And, Regulus wondered, how was life over in the other, more low-profile schools where there was no war over their heads?