You Will Be Mortal Once More (Regulus Black Lives AU)

Chapter 4 ~ The Professor

Professor Black.

It was a name the Regulus had never thought he would be addressed as.

Sure, he had been at the top of his class in his years at Hogwarts, but that did not mean that he was qualified to teach anyone. His demeanor was cold and he was quick to snap. Regulus was never a mean-hearted person, on the contrary, it was the thing he struggled most with while he had been a death eater. But he was reserved and shut off, which brought forth that cold feeling. 

It took years for him to break these habits while teaching, and he would admit that he still was not perfect, but he was better. As good as he would get, maybe. He supposed he was at least lucky that being set as the Head of Slytherin and Potions Professor meant that this cold demeanor was rather expected. It was the type of thing the majority of Slytherins took up.

The house had always been secluded from the other three, pushed into the cold dungeons, and left to bond together. There was hate from both sides, Regulus would admit, but it was also clear that the other houses never gave Slytherins a chance. Hence why they were so cold, and why the blood purity mantra worked so well. Believing that they were better than everyone else so that they didn't have to associate, was easy than facing that the other houses simply did not like them. If there was one thing Slytherin's thrived off of, it was their own pride.

Unlike most, Regulus understood and recognized these things within his house, which was why all of his classes had mixed seating in hope of diminishing some of the segregation between houses.

His coldness was not the only thing that had caused him to struggle in his first couple of years. No, his age and appearance did as well.

Regulus had always been the runt of the Black family. Smaller than everyone, forever stuck with a babyface, and never taken seriously because of it. It irritated him to this day, but he knew that it was really out of his hands. It just became problematic when he would be mistaken for a student by his coworkers, or worst of all, have some of the older girls get a bit too ambitious. He had been blind to it until Professor Burbage had pointed it out in amusement. Now he was simply terrified of it and refused to acknowledge such actions from his students. 

Currently, the man was entering his tenth year of teaching which he had a feeling was a start to some difficult years. Why? For starters, it would be the year Harry Potter was arriving. The kid that Regulus was supposed to keep a close eye on and keep out of trouble which, if he was anything like his damned father, meant a lot of work. Joining the young Potter would also be Regulus' godson (yes, it was a surprise to him too, but Narcissa was very set on it) and second cousin, Draco Malfoy. As much as Regulus tried to like the kid, he was just too much like Lucius. The only reason Regulus had yet to give up on him was that he himself had been quite the pureblood brat. If Regulus could pull himself out of it all, maybe Draco could too. It would just take some time.

On this very day, it happened to be September 1st, which meant that the school year was about to commence and the students had likely already boarded the Hogwarts Express. Regulus made a usual habit of getting to Hogwarts early so that he could make sure everything was perfect before the students even arrived. A perfectionist, he was. 

Regulus took a small break from his madness, though, to sneak a cup of tea from the small room that the Professors had set up to be a lounge area. Usually, stealing tea was the only time Regulus visited the room besides meetings, but if there was someone else in there he would make some sort of small talk while he did so. 

He pushed open the door, entering the room and heading straight over to where the warm pot of tea always sat. Flitwick had enchanted it to always be warm and then every week it was another Professor's turn to chose the flavor. Minerva always got the first week, which meant that the tea was going to be Jasmine. 

Regulus was always incredibly aware of his surroundings, thanks to his experiences in the war, so he was quick to notice the woman sitting at one of the tables with a book in her hands.

She was someone Regulus did not recognize, with black braids tied up into a bun. Her clothing looked rather simple, a pale green sweater tucked into a midi length brown skirt. She even had some brown boots and green socks to match the ensemble. It was rather simple, but still looked put together on her. Not as formal as Regulus usually dressed, but not informal either. 

Speaking of which, the man was currently wearing black dress pants with a silky white button-up and dark green tie. He had a black formal robe that would go over it, but he had taken it off while he was cleaning up. His black curls were just about long enough to hand between his shoulders and chin, if not styled correctly, and he had them held in a messy bun at the nape of his neck with his wand keeping it in place. He wore a multitude of silver rings, and there was also a black and silver watch that hung loosely on his left wrist. It could be said that he knew how to dress, and he would openly say that he put a lot of effort into his appearance. To the Black family, appearances had been everything, after all.

Regulus reached to grab a pale white teacup and poured some tea for himself, his grey eyes focusing on the woman for a moment. She seemed to not even notice his gaze. 

"Good afternoon." Regulus greeted, his tone not giving much but being light enough to not be considered rude. 

The woman took a small moment to recognize that she was being spoken to, her brown eyes flitting around the room to find the culprit. 

"Oh! Hi there." She said quickly, gently closing the book she had been holding. 

Regulus gave a nod, taking his cup of tea in his hands. "Would you like one...?" He gestured to the teapot.

"No, thank you. I'm not much of a tea person I'm afraid... though I have had a bit too many cups of coffee this morning." She rose from her seat, to fully address the man in the room. "I'm Eleanor, by the way. Eleanor Williams. The new Astronomy Professor." 

"It's nice to meet you, Eleanor," Regulus replied, taking a sip of his tea before returning the favor. "I'm Regulus Black. Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin House." 

Her eyes lit up slightly at the name. "Like the star. It's the brightest in the Leo constellation, you know? Actually one of the brightest in the sky. Makes a fine name too, I suppose..." Eleanor gushed, trailing off slightly towards the end.

Regulus quirked a brow in amusement. "I did know that, yes. And it is exactly like the star. My father's side had a tradition of using the stars to name their children." It was one of the only traditions Regulus actually liked. He also had to say that if she was going to set her attention on his name, he was relieved that it was the first name instead of the last. The Black name was renown, but for all the wrong reasons.

"Really? That's so cool!" Eleanor held her book to her chest, wrapping her arms around her, her face falling slightly. "Sorry if I'm coming off as a bit much. It's just those first-day jitters... and a large amount of caffeine."

Regulus gave a small shake of his head. "Perfectly fine, do not worry." This woman had enough energy for the both of them, it seemed. 

Eleanor nodded, bouncing on her heels slightly as silence fell over the pair. Regulus would have just called the small talk there and excused himself, but Eleanor came up with another thing to say. 

"About what time do the students usually arrive? It's been so long since my years here..." 

From the looks of her, she had to be about Regulus' age, give or take a year or so. 

"Five. So-" He glanced at the watch he had one. "We have three hours left of silence. Cherish it." 

It was spoken dryly, and not quite meant as a joke, but the woman laughed anyways. Her laugh was brighter than anything Regulus could muster and echoed softly throughout the small room.

"Will do. Thank you, Regulus." She drummed her fingers lightly on her book. The title was not clear to Regulus, and despite his curiosity, he would not ask about it.

"It's no problem. I should probably get back to my classroom... still loads to prepare." This meant that he would spend his last couple of hours making sure the desks were in perfect order and that there was not a speck of dust to be seen.

"Yes, yes, of course! I will see you at dinner!" She gave a small wave of her hand to him.

Regulus nodded and walked off, keeping his tea held tight in his hands. An interesting woman, she was. Far too bright to get stuck teaching children all day, but that would likely make her good at it. Regulus was no seer, but he felt like he would be having many more conversations with the woman as the year progressed.