Title: Of Pureblood Parties and Avoiding Your Future Fiancée

Main character: Regulus Black

Summary: It's a yet another pureblood part, this one organised for the sake of New Years Eve, and Regulus Black has to suffer trough it. Avoiding stalkerish girls while under the influence of alcohol is definitely not easy.

I had loads of fun writing this, probably because I'm so used to writing angst, but I'm not so sure how it turned out...Oh, I know! Why don't you review it and let me know?

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The air in the Malfoy manor ball room (An another pureblood party. Oh, joy,) was already getting a bit stuffy, giving a teenage Regulus Black a headache. He set his glass on a nearby table and glanced around the room quickly to make sure no one was looking at him (You could never be too sure with that monstrous girl always stalking him. Or the old…no, ancient people trying to talk to him about his future and politics,) before he headed for the staircase that led down to the mansion entrance. He descended down all the forty four -yes, he counted- stairs safely before almost tripping over his own foot when he arrived to the doors. Maybe pouring that firewhiskey into his pumpkin juice wasn't such a good idea…

He caught himself on the handle and opened the door quietly before exiting the manor with a grin. Some peace and quiet at last. The grin slipped off his face when the cold wind hit him in the face, though. Bringing his coat with him would have been rather useful. But there was no way Regulus would go back inside to get it, not while there was a chance that his mother would see him and drag him to the table where she sat, so he just gripped the light shirt he was wearing tighter around him and made peace with the fact that he'll most likely get hypothermia.

Oh, who is she, you might wonder? If you asked Regulus this question, he'd answer with 'The Devil's spawn'. Well, in his head, at least. Out loud, he'd say that it as his oh-so-lovely fiancée. Or future fiancée, to be more accurate. Aranged marriages are a nightmare, aren't they?

Her name was Blythe Avery and truth to be told, she was quite good-looking. Long, blond hair, a thin, but handsome face with big, black eyes. However, it was her behaviour that troubled Regulus. The girl was creepy, there was no denying it. When she first met Regulus, quite a long time ago, she has developed an unhealthy obsession for him. Wherever he went, he felt her unnerving stare following him, so he took a liking in simply avoiding her. Not a very easy thing, what with his parents trying to get him to talk to her whenever they saw the chance, what with her stalking him non-stop.

Regulus looked around the front yard of the manor, trying to find a somewhat secluded place where he could hide from the wind, which was starting to blow harder now, but the sound of the doors opening behind him made him stop. It was the too familiar dreamy voice that made him start internally cursing his life, though.

"Hello, Regulus. I saw you sneaking out and I thought you might be cold, so I brought you your coat." Huh. Maybe the girl was good for at least something.

"I wasn't sneaking out, I was merely going for a walk," Regulus quickly replied when he turned around to face Blythe. Her dark eyes once again met his grey ones. Did she ever even blink?

"Oh, of course," she said and offered him his coat. He accepted it with a small nod. "It's not like you were avoiding me or something like that," her laugh almost made him cringe. It was creepy (at least it suited her) and reminded Regulus of a mad scientist cackling after he found a way to kill everyone and everything on the world, like in those muggle cartoons (He grew up with Sirius, he had to know some things).

"Erm, no, of course not. Why would I ever do that?" Regulus responded, shifting from one foot to another.

"You know," she started with a smile. "It's New Years Eve."

"Yes, I believe that's the whole purpose of this party."

"No, I mean, it's almost New Year. Midnight is in less than a minute," she said, her smile growing wider and wider. Regulus narrowed his eyes at her suspicously, she was up to something. Like she knew something he didn't. "And you know that tradition? To kiss someone when the clock strikes midnight."

His eyes slowly widened and he glanced towards the manor. Could he make a run for it? At the moment, it sounded like a good idea.

"Oh, uhm, that tradition?" He questioned as he started itching towards the manor. "Well, yes, yes I have heard of it…Have you heard of a tradition in Belarus? They, uhm, they set piles of corn and a rooster in front of each unmarried woman and then whoever's pile does the bird approach first, that woman is believed to get married first," Regulus didn't pay too much attention to what he was saying or to how stupid he sounded, he was just cursing the fact that every centimeter he got closer to the door resulted in Blythe following him. "And in Denmark they throw pottery at each other's door."

"Hm…Well, I think I like mine the most, I'd like to try it," was the only respond Blythe gave him.

"No, no, you still haven't heard it all. In some countries, they have these bonfires and they set fire to all kind of things. Maybe you should try that," and set fire to yourself or something.

Regulus almost cringed as they heard the countdown start in the manor.

10.

Blythe's smile once again grew wider.

9.

She took one step closer to him and he took one step backwards.

8.

"I like you."

"I know."

7.

"And we're supposed to get married in a year or two."

"I know."

6.

"So we're bound to kiss sooner or later."

"I beg to differ."

5.

"So what's wrong with now?"

"So what's wrong with never?"

4.

"What if it's nice?"

"What if it's not?"

3.

Before Regulus knew what was happening, Blythe crossed the one step between them and pressed her lips against his.

2.

She leaned back with a grin on his face and Regulus only raised an eyebrow at her, an annoyed expression on his face.

1.

"Tehnically, you kissed me three seconds between midnight, not on midnight."

"Oh, that's right." And she kissed him once again as cheers erupted from the manor. "Thank you for reminding me," she said with an another grin and skipped -yes, skipped- off towards the door, leaving Regulus with an urge to bang his head against the wall and curse his own stupidity.

Though after he though about it for a second, the conclusion that it wasn't even really bad crossed his mind, but it didn't make him feel a lot better.

With a sigh, he trained his gaze on the dark sky. Maybe next year would be better.