Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Out of her seven husbands there had only been one that Ms. Zabini had ever truly loved.
He had been a Slytherin, just like herself, two years younger than she had been and very, very handsome, even if in a boyish sort of way. Just like all of her other husbands, he had been a descendant of a very rich family- unlike any of the others though, his blood had been the purest of the pure.
He had black hair, and stormy gray eyes. His skin was pale, and his cheekbones regal. His name was Regulus Black, and he was the prettiest boy she had ever met.
The first time she actually met him in person, was a few months after her graduation- she had been working a job at the Three Broomsticks, trying to make some money to come around.
Contrary to the popular belief, Ms. Zabini hadn't always been rich. She had started out as the daughter of a good-for-nothing drunkard that spent all of her family's funds on firewhiskey. Ms. Zabini had known poverty, and she had known hunger pains, and she had promised herself she would never land in that bottomless hole again.
Back then, she had only just started to crawl out of it. She had been a young thing- barely a month older than 18, unsure of how life really worked. Oh, but she had been pretty. And she had known that.
Wizards of all ages and social statuses threw themselves at her, and she'd take what she could get. She would date them for a while, and when they grew boring or refused to buy her the stuff she asked for, she would dump them. She didn't date because she liked the people, but because she liked the money.
Money was her only friend, her only lover.
But then young Regulus Black had come along. Young, pretty Regulus Black.
He had been 16 yeas old the first time she saw hm, sitting with his friends at the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer and laughing about something she, as a barmaid, had not been privy to.
She had also been the one to serve them, and she didn't miss how his eyes followed her, how he threw her a cocky smirk when their eyes accidentally met. She was sure to get back at him with a coy smile, swinging her hips a little bit more than strictly necessary when she walked off.
He came back again, on the next Hogsmeade outing, and again and again, until he was practically a regular. His friends stopped coming with him at some point, and instead he'd sit at the bar and they'd flirt with each other for hours on end.
Oh yes, he was pretty.
It was no particular surprise to anybody, when one night they left the Three Broomsticks together. She lead him to her apartment, and that was the first time they slept together.
He was a gentle lover, and Ms. Zabini thinks that's the night she started to fall in love him.
She had seen the dark mark on his arm of course, but she had ignored it in favour of kissing those soft lips, in favour of feeling his fingers run through her long, dark hair and drive her crazy with need.
What he was and who he supported, was his own business.
It became both of their business soon enough though, because after a couple more of his visits to Hogsmeade, Regulus asked her if this meant that they were dating.
"I guess so." She had answered in between nips and kisses. She had been low on money anyway, and the rent wasn't going to pay itself.
However, that one time, was the time that she let the line between money and her desires get blurred- it wasn't so much about the money anymore, but the constant need to be with him, around him, to feel his skin against her own.
Ms. Zabini had fallen, and boy, had she fallen hard.
It wasn't long after that his sixth year ended, that the first changes started to show up. There were dark bags under his eyes, and he seemed tired, shaken, frail. The witch didn't know what to make of it, or what to do about it other than kiss him and offer him his much needed distraction.
As the summer progressed, it only got worse. He came to her apartment one night, disheveled and shaking from head to toe, a haunted look in his eyes as he asked, begged for her to let him in. She did, of course. Because what else could she do? She made them both a cup of warm tea, and sat up with him all night. He wouldn't tell her what had happened no matter how much she coaxed, but in hindsight, it wasn't hard to guess.
When morning came, the torture and murder of three muggleborns was announced in the papers, and Regulus couldn't bear to look her in the eye.
It was that morning, that the first seeds of hatred towards the Dark Lord were planted in Ms. Zabini's mind. She didn't speak about it, instead she watched from the sidelines and was there whenever Regulus needed her.
It was while she held him close one night, whispering sweet nothings in his ear to soothe his nightmares, rubbing his back comfortingly, that he told her he loved her for the first time.
Things got a bit better when he returned to Hogwarts, and was thus away from the Dark Lord's grasp and influence. Regulus finally seemed to fare a bit better. He took her out on dates, and they had fun, and those were some of the best days of her life.
They were both young, alive, and in love.
Over Christmas, Regulus insisted that she meet his parents.
She did, with some hesitation. He had bought her beautiful robes of silver and green- Ms. Zabini still has them, she thinks- they hang in her closet and though she never wears them, she can't bring herself to throw them away either.
Walburga and Orion Black welcomed her with open arms, she was a pureblood herself , and a Slytehrin to boot, though they had seemed dissatisfied to hear about her family's fall from grace. But Ms. Zabini was nothing if not eloquent, even in her younger years, and without any particular struggle, she had managed to win them over in a heartbeat.
(When she later got in trouble with her tenant, leaving her homeless for several months, it was Orion Black that offered her a place to stay.)
They didn't get married until after Regulus had finished school- both of them were young, too young to consider marriage yet (except for perhaps Walburga, who was of the belief that one was never too young to think about marriage), but there was war going on right under their feet... so if not then, when?
That's what ran through her mind when she kissed him passionately and said 'yes'.
Out of all her marriages, her first one was the most memorable. Maybe it was the fact that it was her first one, or maybe the fact that she was marrying Regulus- the guy, man, that she loved. Either way, even years later, it's her first marriage that makes her smile a melancholic smile. She doesn't care much about the others.
Just like that, Ms. Zabini became Mrs. Black.
Mrs. Black was happy with her life, she was rich, married to a man she loved, and, in short, had everything she could ever desire. She moved into Grimmauld Place, just like her parents-in-law wanted, and for a while, everything was fine.
Months passed, and the war raged on. People disappeared, mudbloods were killed. The Dark Lord grew stronger.
And then it all crumbled.
It started out with the Dark Lord requesting a house elf. Regulus, always one to impress, seized his chance. He offered up Kreacher, the Black family's house elf.
Despite his involvement with the Death Eaters, Regulus was never a cruel man. He treated house-elves nicely, for Merlin's sake. What kind of a wizard did that? He did cruel things under his reign, sure, but he was never evil. Mrs. Black always believed that.
So when the poor creature returned home half-dead, the man worried.
The next few weeks nobody saw much of Regulus Black, not even his wife, as he spent his time holed up in the Black family library. He spoke to her though, more than anyone, he confided her worries in her, told her his darkest secrets.
"I don't think the Dark Lord has the right idea anymore." He had said in a hushed tone, as they drank a cup of tea in the kitchen. His parents were out, and Kreacher was still healing, it was only the two of them. "Merlin, he's a psychopath."
Mrs. Black thought he was right.
He had said something about righting his wrongs, and that night, he spent the whole night with her, running his hands through her hair and sharing soft kisses, simply enjoying each other's company.
He told her he loved her for the last time. And he kissed her.
And then he was gone, and Regulus, her young pretty Regulus, who had turned into a man and whom she had loved with all of her heart, never came back again.
The Black family tapestry announced him dead, and unable to bear it, Mrs. Black eventually moved out to live on her own again.
Mrs. Black became Ms. Zabini again, and nine months later, a little baby boy was born.
Regulus Black was her first husband, and after his death, she received part of the family fortune- she could've stopped there, could've lived on her life without lifting a finger again because she had more than enough... but she didn't.
She remarried, six times, but never fell in love again. She raised her son by herself, and when Voldemort rose again, 14 years later, Ms. Zabini made damn sure to keep her son away from all of that.
AN: And so my Regulus Black addiction strikes again... when will I be stopped? Who knows. Please leave a review~