Inferius | Regulus Black

Year Three

Regulus hated Potter. The two boys rarely spoke but he always saw he and Sirius laughing together. The way brothers were meant to. So, Regulus came to hate him. He watched them laugh, like the found family they were.

He felt dejected. Sirius had been quiet all summer. The lashings from their mother tended to have that effect, but this was different. All he had done was read muggle magazines and write letters to his stupid friends,

Regulus had been alone. He looked between Anthony and Barty who were talking about something stupid, but he still felt so alone. He stood up and left the great hall without a word of warning and left the great hall, trying to keep his breathing steady.

He was just another aspect of pure blood life that his brother hated wasn't he. It wasn't his fault that Sirius wanted to shove his rebellion in their parents' faces,

He pressed his back against a stone wall, unaware of when he'd started running, shutting his eyes and catching his breath,

Then he heard footsteps, running footsteps, "Why do people let me nap?" He heard a familiar Scottish accent exclaim, as she continued to tell herself off for almost missing dinner,

Then he heard her stop, and he realized it was because she could see part of his back,

"Alright there, Black?" She asked, and he heard her walk to the corner, and peek at him before looking away, leaning on the wall adjacent to his,

"I'm fine," said Regulus, sitting with his back against the wall,

"Right." She said, mimicking his actions, "If you don't tell me what it is that's bothering you I'm just going to sit here forever,"

That wouldn't be so bad. Thought Regulus, looking out the window at the Black lake,

"Or maybe I'll just list all the good things about you until you feel better," said Annabelle, and he almost smiled, "Okay, so number one. You have excellent hair."

"What?"

"Oh, yes, straight out of a commercial," said Annabelle, "Number two, gorgeous eyes, far prettier than your brother's,"

That made him feel nice,

"Number three, really bloody smart, like fucking hell, Black, you might be the smartest person I've ever met," said Annabelle, "Not saying much when you really think about it though,"

"Thanks." He said, glancing at her hand on the ground and then he furrowed his eyebrows, it was bandaged, "What happened to your hand?"

"And that brings us to number four, covertly caring." Said Annabelle, "That is called roller derby marks, my sister actually did that,"

"You've got a sister?" Said Regulus,

"Yep. Muggle. Tall. Straight hair. Perfect grades. And so fucking nice to everyone, perfect daughter," said Annabelle, as though irritated, "Sometimes I wish she'd fall off that high horse of hers and get trampled,"

Regulus let out a small amount of laughter and she placed her hand over his,

"You aren't alone." She said and he felt the fabric of the bandages over his hand before she stood up, clearing her throat,