Chapter Text
“You think so, Dora?” Regulus smiled a bit. He crossed his arms and held his chin up higher. This was new for him. He used to up his chin to show power or respect or to put on a show for his parents, but this? His shoulders were squared, his posture perfect. His legs lightly took form of the fifth position in ballet even.
But Dorcas came up behind him before Pandora could say anything, tackling regulus onto the couch and having her way with his hair. “The fucking audacity!” She screeched with a bright smile.
Pandora was too busy giving Evan a nasty look for stealing her style of pale blond hair (they looked almost identical with their dark skin and pale hair now).
“The audacity for what?!” Regulus laughed a bit, trying to shake off Dorcas.
“To look better than me, duh.” She snided.
Barty finally woke up when Evan accidentally threw a pillow on his face. No one was surprised that Barty had died his hair highlights of green, but the most shocking thing was how good he looks while wearing it.
Regulus chuckled and settled beside Dorcas as the twins and Barty settled around the common room, enjoying the early Saturday sun in its prime. Not too warm and just chilly enough.
“Reg, your hair! Its gone blue…” Dorcas faked mourning the loss of his jet black hair as he just shook his head.
“C’mon, talk about my hair too!” Barty whined and shook his curls. “I dyed it green. Talk about house loyalty.”
Slow conversation unfolded amongst themselves as first and second years started waking up around them. It was an unspoken rule in the slytherin dungeons that Saturday mornings were used for slow work and or no work at all; just like how Thursday evenings were occupied with chess matches where everyone gambled. Exclusive among the house.
“C’mon now, we better hurry for breakfast.” Dorcas sighed. She was a year older than them, and had been positioned prefect. Pandora accompanied her to the girls’ dorm to fix their clothes and hair and Evan retreated to take a shower.
“Regulus,” Barty groaned from across the coffee table, drawing out the ‘s’. “Reg. Reggie. Regulus. Arcturus. Arcturus black.” He continues, elbows rested on the table as he laid his head flat against them.
“Bartemius.” Regulus said. Barty made a gagging sound at hearing his full name and Regulus laughed softly. “Bartemius, Bartemius.” He said again.
“Fine, okay. I surrender.” Barty rolled his eyes. “You look happier,”
Regulus’ gaze dropped down onto his hands and didnt fathom looking up. “Yeah whatever. Say that after another month and then I’ll believe you.”
The academic year was almost to an end, meaning that he would have to go back to grimmauld place. Meaning that he would have to meet his mother. She would have known by the time he showed up their. The monstrosity he conjured into his hair. She would have him shave his head. Or have been cursed. Or worse yet she would do something that had much more impact.
Or she may come in within a week and have him finish his year early. He was already doing seventh year studies.
“Why a month, make it a week.” Regulus said defeatedly.
Barty groaned out loud. “Oh no no no no” he yelled out the last ‘no’. “You can’t muddle up now with your stupid depressive episodes or whatever you call it. You dyed you fucking hair last night and you’re supposed to feel invincible. And I’ll damn myself if I don’t get you out of your own head by the time sun sets,” he span out and stood up, pointing his finger along with each sentence he said. “And you,” he pointed at Regulus. “Have no say in it.”
Regulus deadpanned him with a blank stare and dropped back on the couch, letting his head hang back on the cushions.
Barty yelled to the other three that they were going to breakfast early and started pulling Regulus by the arm. “Come on now, you’ve got a whole school to surprise to death,”
Regulus kept his head down and walked beside Barty. Students surrounding them hushed out their surprise by smiling at regulus, although he couldnt see them, he could definitely hear them. It was a no school day, meaning that students wore whatever they’d like apart from their uniforms and robes. Matilda, his partner in potions smiled brightly at him and he smiled back at her.
“Liking girls now are we?” Barty smirked at Matilda, but kept talking to regulus. Matilda proceeded to flip him off the same time he stuck his tongue out at her. “What happened with potter?”
Now regulus couldnt help the defeated smile that genuinely made him look brighter. “I’m not here to impress potter,” he muttered, staring across the hall at James who sided with Lily in a banter amongst the other girls. Regulus felt his heart sink a little. Just then, a zap of cold air flushed into his ears, making his brain go all fuzzy and he muffled a shriek. Evan stood at the entrance with Pandora who was bent over with laughter. Regulus knew it was a beginning of a prank.
Happening rarely, these five students of Slytherin have a prank war almost monthly. An unspoken permission to start only if one was a bit more daring than the rest. Now, Evan and regulus and Barty were a bit daring last night, weren’t they? So evan took the liberty of a charm that imitates a mini blizzard in Regulus’ ear.
Regulus dropped his head and muttered, casting a listening charm. “Evan, Its Saturday morning and literally everyone is here.” He said. Barty too busy trying to balance a whole hard boiled egg on a dessert spoon.
“So twice as fun then?” Regulus could hear the glee in his voice.
Regulus shook his head, “tarantellagra.” He whispered and almost fell back with laughter at the surpised look o Evan’s face once he started dancing at the entrance of the great hall. Arms whipping here and there, slapping glasses off a poor fourth year and smacking the books out of the hands of a really irritated seventh year.
Pandora knew that this meant a full on war if Regulus decided to do something this challenging. “Aqua Erecto!” She yelled and a thin but strong jet of water drenched Regulus like a water gun and he ducked behind Barty. Students were laughing from their seats and the ravenclaws’ looked up from their teas and books and the gryffindors seedmed quiet. The hufflepuffs seemed sober for the moment and slytherins were liveliest of them all.
Barty tried to wrangle out of Regulus’ grip, turning and twisting his body to make regulus get off of him, but he stuck to Barty like a cat.
“Barty!” Regulus yelled with laughter and ran away from both Dorcas who was charging with Pandora, yelling sorry to each unfortunate student in his way, and he felt extraordinary.
But in the midst of casting a leg locking charm, Regulus bumped headfirst to someone tall and fell over on the gryffindor seats. “Sirius! Your hair’s Blue!” the person under him chuckled out and suddenly froze over. “Regulus?” Remus muttered.
“Oh,” regulus felt his face heat up in embarrassment and stumbled over his limbs to get away from Remus. “Sorry, terribly sorry.”
“Regulus?” Sirius spoke from behind him, hair tied together with a wand and faded hickies near his neck. Regulus could see the purity of the smile that Sirius wore and thought if he looked like his brother while he was laughing. Regulus remembers when they were young and innocent and they spent afternoon strolls escaping from their nannies to play in the creek that ran in the forest near their house. He used to look into the pale glistining water, the sputtering folds and waves making the two brothers look absolutely identical.
“Your hair” It’s wicked!” Sirius exclained and regulus was brought back. Sirius held out a hand and regulus stopped looking at him directly. Everyone; the students, Lily, Marlene, Barty, Pandora, James… was staring at him. He suddenly realised he was still holding onto remus’s arm from when he stood up and immediately dropped it. The taller boy’s hand dropped like there was no life to it.
Sirius approached him with a smile, the same look he gives regulus when he wants to know if he has permission to hug him, or touch him. To know if touch is okay. He looks at his hands and then at Regulus’, before walking towards him.
Regulus just shook his head, trying to find a pair of safe eyes in the crowd--before they locked onto both Pandora and Barty. He just walked away briskly, trying not to mind the tears that stung on his eyelashes. He never liked his eyelashes. They were too long and thick, meaning they bunched up easily with contact with water and stuck at odd angles. It made his eye twitch.
He just walked away steadily till he reached the entrance, then his knees began to wobble and his stomach felt like a weight in his gut. He heard a thick pair of boots following him and he knew that it was Barty.