high adventure! → regulus black

[6] falling (not so) slowly

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WHEN STELLA AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING, she was briefly reminded of mornings at the Lancasters', where the smells of coffee and baked goods drifted up the stairs from the coffee shop and into her bedroom. She sat up from the air mattress and saw Sirius in the kitchen, a pot of coffee brewing and bacon frying on the stove. Regulus didn't appear to be awake yet, or else he was laying in the room, actually taking their advice on staying in bed for a faster recovery.

"I thought Lily said you couldn't cook," said Stella once she stood up, walking into the kitchen. Sirius glanced over his shoulder, flashed her a grin, and turned back to the stove.

"I can't, but I do make a mean breakfast. Pancakes are already done, and I'm almost done with this. Feel free to help yourself." Stella, having not had a proper meal (unless you counted the diner their first night, which she didn't) since before her departure, took him up on that, and quickly began to load the plate he had set out for her.
"You're handling all of this quite well. I always imagined Muggles freaking out if they ever found out about magic."

"Oh trust me, I did," said Stella, sitting down at the table with her filled plate.
"Ask your brother, I didn't exactly handle it calmly. Reckon the only reason I didn't completely freak out was the whole life or death thing."

"If it's any consolation, you could be stuck with worse than my idiot brother." Turning the stove off, he threw some pancakes and bacon on a plate of his own, grabbed a mug of coffee, and sat down across from her at the table.

"I don't know how he was when you knew him, but he's better now."

"Oh I know...but don't tell him I said that, will you? I may think he's truly reforming, but that doesn't mean we can just go back to being brothers like nothing happened."

"He, er, he must have been pretty bad once upon a time..." Sirius snorted.

"That's an understatement. He was so bloody set on his ways, just like our parents. I never thought he'd be in my flat with a Muggle girl looking to take down Voldemort for good."

"Why are there wizards out there who hate us Muggles so much?" asked Stella in a small voice, her shining blue eyes focused on her plate.
"I mean, I don't think we're half bad, we just don't have magic."

"There are many pure-bloods who think magic should be kept in all-magical bloodlines. They think half-bloods are beneath them, muggle-borns are scum, and Muggles are even less...they're dead wrong, though. Lily's a muggle-born, and she's the best witch I've ever met."

"So if they hate muggle-borns, what...what do they plan for Muggles?"

"Don't worry about it, they'll never win," said Sirius quickly but comfortingly.
"And they won't get to you, either, especially with Regulus by your side. He may be a total git, but he cares about you a great deal, and from what I can tell, he'd do anything to protect you." Hesitantly, Stella met his gaze, smiling softly at the wizard.

"Talking about me, are you?" teased Regulus as he entered the room, and Stella's cheeks turned a violent shade of red. Sirius, who noticed that, shot her an amused sort of look, then turned to his brother.

"As a matter of fact, we were. You should be in bed."

"Yet here I am." Slowly, and with immense pain, he lowered himself into a kitchen chair.