For a minute there, I lost myself [Regulus]

[Deleted]

Tuesday nights were always the worst. Not just because Adelaide’s pile of homework from the first two days of the week classes was half as high as her bedpost, but also because it was guaranteed night patrol duty. She hadn’t been sure how she had finagled it, but for this term Tuesdays were her only permanent night patrols. Thursdays went by rotation so she didn’t always have to work them then. As much of a blessing as it had been, it was also a curse. Mainly due to the excessive amount of homework that conveniently had to be done by the following day. For a student who wasn’t a prefect and actually enjoyed doing their assignments, it wasn’t a bad thing. For those who were opposite, however, it was what could make or break a grade. Adelaide had still yet to get into a flow with Tuesdays. Even though she knew exactly what was going to happen week after week, she still suffered from lack of sleep, being late to classes because she needed to finish homework, late or incomplete assignments or a mixture of all three. She had often contemplated paying someone to do it but if her parents found out their money was going to another for work that she should have been doing, they would have been furious and cut off the extra funding for trips to Somerset. She just wished this could have happened last year when she was first appointed. Fifth year assignments were nowhere near as difficult as sixth’s. She could have quit being a prefect but that wasn’t an option in her mind. She was proud of the title that had been bestowed upon her. Her parents had even bought her a new wardrobe as congratulations. And Adelaide was not about to have her pretty dresses and cute tops taken away from her.

Still, being a prefect put her in such an awful mood sometimes. It was usually the times Adelaide was forced away from spending time with her friends to being alone for a few hours of slow-passing, uneventful time. To make things worse on this Tuesday, a group of her female housemates were staying up late to give each other manicures and pedicures. By the time she finished with her shift, they would already be in bed. She wasn’t a vain girl, but she was a girl. Girls loved getting pampered. And she really liked spa-nights. So it was with much sadness that she pulled herself up from the common room couch at fifteen til nine to go meet Headmistress LeGrand for her patrol assignment. Her friends were just starting to grab their various nail polish colors, files and other various grooming necessities for their girl night. Adelaide was thankful they had the decency to wait until she was leaving to start their fun. Sighing, she entered the tunnel leading to the barrels in a corridor outside of the kitchens. As she reached the end, she pushed opened the body of the middle one and squeezed her body through before shutting it behind her. From there, she followed the usual route to the main hall of the castle where the Headmistress always waited for the prefects and student heads to meet and give out the duties for the night. By the time she reached the small group of five, Headmistress LeGrand was just starting to distribute the patrols. When Adelaide’s name was reached, she had to suppress a groan once being assigned to the main floor corridors and Library. The main floor was always the worst one to get since Aurors were already stationed at the entrance doors into Galaxia. Anyone stupid enough to wander around these parts did so for the sole purpose of detention and losing house points.

Also assigned to the main floor was a nerdy looking Gryffindor boy who carried an inhaler. He looked to be better fit watching the kitchens as opposed to patrolling the cold and dark corridors of Hogwarts Galaxia. Either way, they both worked in shifts. One would take the corridors. The other would take the Library and Great Hall. Adelaide easily won the better out of the two by smiling at the boy who then proceeded to take two puffs from his inhaler. As the group disbanded and headed to their respected patrol spots, another sigh left her lips as she looked around. Where she start first? It didn’t take very long to decide on the Great Hall. The Library was the much bigger room out of the two and would take more time to walk through. She walked the few steps into the Great Hall and slowly began strolling up and down each row between the dining tables. As soon as she was finished with that, she headed up to the staff table and did a onceover there. “Nothing,” she said to herself, retreating back to the exit. “As to be expected.” Crossing her arms to her chest, Adelaide left the Great Hall and turned to the right towards the Library. She reached the doors and frustratingly jiggled at the old handle of the one on the left before the spooky creaking of the door echoed throughout the open space around her. Sliding in, she made sure the door remained open before turning around to begin the walk through the Library. She had heard a rumor that the doors magically locked from the outside if someone snuck in after hours. She definitely didn’t want to be here until the morning if that was the case.

The first five minutes went by and all Adelaide saw were two ghosts float by without any regard towards her. Everything in the library was in perfect order as the librarian had left it. It was when she turned a corner towards the towering bookshelves of the History of Magic section that a faint light off into the distance caught her eye. Puzzled, her eyes narrowed as she quietly began walking in the direction of the light. A few moments later, she found herself at a table noticeable only by the candlelight. A few books were scattered across the top and a chair was out from underneath the table as if whoever was sitting it had left in a hurry. Adelaide looked around but saw no one. Her eyes returned to the table and widened as she noticed the titles of two sinister-looking ones. “Dark Arts?” she said aloud, leaning closer to the table. Pushing a wavy strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes, she attempted to make out the exact words of the titles.

[Regulus Reinbach]

Restricted. Knowledge shouldn't be restricted, in a school of all places. There was supposed to be free exchange of thought and ideas that fostered learning. The enemy of learning was structure, lesson plans, class times, hours of operation. It was the latest that Regulus Reinbach had taken issue with this night. The library had closed hours ago, and yet there he sat in the center of the expansive room reading by candlelight. After all was it really his fault he'd been busy attending to other matters during the hours the crotchety old librarian managed to keep awake? He refused to be tied to anyone else's schedule. Luckily this was far from his first night being out past curfew.

Reg had been sneaking into this fortress of information since his first year and by this point he was an expert at not getting caught.Of course it was fairly simple to avoid capture with half the prefects too lazy or too scared to do a proper check of the place, a few of the more bookish ones even joined him on occasion. He loved that, tempting a good little prefect to indulge their thirst for knowledge at the sacrifice of their virtue. Tonight's reading list however, was not one he'd like to be caught with. He'd slipped into the restricted section and pulled a few of the more ominous looking texts. It was generally a good rule of thumb that when it came to dark arts texts you most certainly could judge a book by it's cover.

Regulus had daringly opted for a full table spread tonight; usually he opted for the safety of crouching in the aisles one book at a time. It made for easy concealment or escape if anyone came snooping. But that seemed unnecessary with the Slytherin sure to draw Gryfinndor’s wheezy Prefect, who would tug fruitlessly at the library doors a few times before resolving himself to the fact that no student could penetrate such a vicious lock. Honestly Regulus couldn’t understand how any Gryffindor expected their house to be taken seriously when that was the kind of person you entrusted with a position of power…minimal though those powers may be. Assured that he had nothing to fear, Reg shrugged off the expected tugging at the rusted handles, but the next sound, shocked him. It was the quiet –click- of the door coming open…followed by footsteps that echoed through the open space where he sat. Regulus darted off into the shadows, leaving his books behind.

Regulus watched from the darkness as a figure approached his table, female he was sure, and once she reached the glow of his reading light he could make out that she was a blond, seemed to be an attractive one at that. A quick run through his brain and he felt confident in his identification. Adelaide Saulnier, Hufflepuff prefect in his year. Regulus felt the tension in his shoulders ease, his grip loosened on the hilt of his wand. He really shouldn’t have been so jumpy, he was a skilled dueler and the library, particularly at this time of night would have given him a significant advantage if an altercation were to arise. He kept his movement silent, as he reproached the table.

“Terrible PR isn’t it?” he announced reaching a comfortable spot just a few feet behind the Hufflepuff girl. “Dark arts…that’s just asking for a negative image. But I suppose that’s the point isn’t it? It weeds out the weak to name a thing after something we’re born to fear. It’s the evolutionary equivalent of saying ‘Keep Out.’ Most people will blindly oblige without a second thought, but the select few who aren’t scared off by words, and social stigma we see a sign that says ‘keep out,’ and walk right in.” Regulus rattled off his musing casually, it was clearly something he’d thought about before, and he’d taken the liberty of getting comfortable during his monologue, his hands supporting his body as he leaned back against the table behind the one he had been using. He pushed off now and from the table and continued. “You're Adelaide, right?” Regulus asked switching subjects as he switched his tone from pensive and ominous to casual, almost though not quite, friendly. He’d already confirmed the girl’s identity and despite her being a do-goodey Hufflepuff Reg felt there was no danger of a write-up here. The Puffs were notorious for giving second chances. If all else failed he could throw on a sad face and get off with a warning, but hopefully the result wouldn’t be quite that routine.

[Deleted]

It’d be a lie to say that Adelaide wasn’t intrigued. It was obvious these books weren’t for ordinary student check out, nor part of any required reading from one of many subjects the school taught. The weathered condition of the titles as well as the heavy amount of dust that clung to the material could only mean one thing. They had been pulled from the restricted section. Stupidly, her eyes briefly ran the course of the table, looking for some sort of note that held permission from one of the Galaxia professors for check out. Of course she found none. Even if she had, the circumstances for whoever these books belonged to wouldn’t have been in their favor. Any permission granted for a restricted book had to have been used during library hours under the careful supervision of the school’s librarian. None of the odds were in the favor of this student. Adelaide looked up once more, turning her head to the left and then to the right, but still no sign of the rulebreaker. Her gaze averted back to the books. One of the titles was in a different language, but still looked as dark and mysterious as the others did. It was evident that all of these books were of the same subject. She had never before seen books like this and her curiosity to just take a tiny peek was starting to become overwhelming. Similar to the student, if she were caught looking at these she’d face punishment. However, hers would be much worse considering she was a student in a position of authority. Getting caught would be embarrassing to not only LeGrand, but Adelaide’s house once they found out. Without a doubt, her prefect badge would be taken as easily as it had been given to her.

Yet she couldn’t stop looking at it. Temptation was staring Adelaide in the face and she couldn’t resist the pull she felt coming from the one simply named Dark Arts. Biting down on her lower lip, her hand began to extend towards the cover. One little glance wouldn’t kill anybody. Plus, it wasn’t like a teacher or staff member was lurking around the room either. The padding of her index finger had just grazed the cover of the book when a voice broke the silence. “Terrible PR isn’t it?” She gasped, retracting her body back to an upright position as her head moved in the direction of the voice that had come from behind her. Adelaide’s bright blue eyes widened as she came face-to-face with the trouble maker. She knew his face. She had seen him around the school on several occasions, which wasn’t out of the ordinary considering that all of the students always had classes with the same years of different houses. Not to mention, they all populated the normal areas that students hung out before, during and after classes. He was a Slytherin, that much was obvious. It was rare for a member of any other house to have such a reading collection at their grasp. He was also handsome, which stood out for Adelaide considering her known interest in the opposite sex. Regulus. The name popped up in her mind out of nowhere. His name had been called, just like the others, in classes they had shared during attendance. His eyes seemed to show familiarity with her as well. Then again, LeGrand tried to make sure that the school knew the names and faces of its prefects and Head Boy and Girl. The two remained in silence as they looked at one another. She, unsure of what to say next, waited for him to say something.

“Dark arts…that’s just asking for a negative image.” Adelaide did nothing but listen as he finally spoke up. He continued, going on with a thorough explanation as to what he meant. When he finished, she simply nodded. Deep down, she agreed with everything he had said. After all, she hadn’t been afraid of the words that stood out to her. Interested, but not completely fearful. He had to have seen her hand going to open the cover of the one he had presumably been looking at before she entered the library. She wondered if everything he had been saying was about her, or if he was just thinking aloud. It wasn’t like she had a reputation of poking her nose in business where it didn’t belong. Sure, she liked gossip but she had never found herself in a position where she could get in lot of trouble over being nosy, like she could here. Adelaide was sure she looked stupid just standing there, but she had been taken completely off guard. “You’re Adelaide, right?” Again, a nod. This time, however, she had managed to spring up a bit of courage to actually say something. “And you’re Regulus. I’ve seen you around.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she found herself partaking in during situations like this. “What are you doing with all of these books?” she continued. “Is that why you’re in here after hours? To look at them?” The answer was obvious, but as a prefect, she needed to ask questions before deciding on a suitable punishment.

[Regulus Reinbach]

It was intoxicating. The feeling the young snake got watching the eyes of the badger caught off guard, mesmerized by the words that flicked from his silver tongue. The end of his speech didn't exactly leave much room for comment, not unless the girl adamantly opposed his words and simply let him speak out of politeness. Now presented with a clear chance to speak, lecture, interject or add to the conversation as she saw fit, the pretty blond merely bobbed her head in agreement. "And yet, here you are."

“And you’re Regulus. I’ve seen you around.”

Regulus could only smirk for a moment. He would have been rather hard to miss, sharing classes with the girl for 6 years, especially given that he wasn't exactly the quiet type in the classroom. "I’m your dreams no doubt,” Regulus stated matter of factly before his lips broke, once again, into that telltale smirk. It wouldn’t be the first time he entered the sleeping mind of his peers, but it would be the first time someone openly admitted to it. Usually it was second hand information or dreams of a more innocent nature. He dated a girl once, skilled in divination who’s dreams were almost always prophetic. She dreamed of him…it was never good news she delivered with the retelling of her vivid dreams. The relationship ended as punishment for a crime he never got the chance to commit.

“What makes you think they’re mine?” Regulus asked his tone light as the left side of his lip tugged upward. Of course they were his, and they both knew it. They also both knew, or should know at least, that Regulus had no intention of facing any repercussions for his action. “I don’t have any of the proper permissions or supervision,” he added clearly considering such things as permission, below him; Since when did one need permission to learn in a school? “Nor do you. So, perhaps we should just be a good little boy and girl and put these back on their shelves.” Regulus crossed to the books, stacking them in a jagged pile. Now was the time to see if that flicker of curiosity in the girl’s eyes could be turned into a flame. He had them all piled and scooped into his arms now, all except the one Adelaide first reached for. “We can forget this who incident never happened,” the words hissed coolly from his mouth. Forgetting was the last thing on his mind, but by bundling the incident as a whole Regulus hoped that, if Adelaide wasn’t tempted by the Dark Arts, she would still at least be tempted by him.