Regulus watched from the back of the room as she pulled her hair back messily before tipping over the cauldron to check the boiling water. Unable to suppress his growing grin he dipped his head and also looked into his own potion. When he once again looked up he nearly laughed at the sickened expression on her face. He didn't blame her. The potions smelled like dung.
Shaking thoughts of her from his mind, he set to skinning the three rats he had been given. A gentle clearing of the throat caught his attention and he looked up into the sea green eyes of his mystery girl.
The instant she met his eyes met hers, all reason fled her. She smiled at the flicker of shock that crossed his face. It was the first real expression she'd ever seen from him.
"Hi, I'm Kaylyn Oyer," she said, offering her hand.
He looked down at her small offering and an odd sensation crept up his spine. A distant part of his brain screamed trouble. It told him that if he took her hand that there would be no turning back. While somewhere in the region of his chest told him to take her hand, and risk the fall.
"Regulus Black," he replied smoothly, taking her hand in his own calloused one.
Heat seemed to shoot up his arm and he nearly through her hand away from him. But the once burning flames turned into a soothing warm liquid making him feel almost light headed. Steeling himself from further foreign feelings, he released her and took a step back.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked coldly.
"I was just wondering if I could borrow some of your rat skins. I had been looking at the wrong page and shredded the fur instead," she said looking down at her hand oddly.
"Why don't you ask Slughorn for more rats?"
"Why should I when you obviously have extra?"
"Why not ask anyone else in this room?"
She searched his face for signs of humor only to find seriousness, so she replied with a shrug, "I wanted to ask you."
She stood her ground, as his eyes seemed to burn holes through her. They stood that way for a while before he finally picked up the bloody skins and handed them to her without a word. She backed away slowly not able to break the hold he had over her until finally she ran into something squishy.
"What are you doing all the way back here, Kaylyn?" Slughorn asked, double shin jiggling
"I was just leaving Professor," she choked before scrambling back to her table.
Regulus walked slowly towards the lake. He realized that he did a lot of walking. He didn't run nor skip. Never strolled nor sauntered. He just simply walked.
Looking down, he watched as his legs stretched out and carried him to his destination. His legs were the most capable things about him. His tongue could never turn his thoughts into words, his mind had too many twists and turns, his hands too clumsy, and he had no heart. But his legs… they were always there.
Brushing the hair from his forehead he turned his face into the wind. If he closed his eyes and imagined, it almost sounded like the ocean. He thought of the cold crispness of the breeze and the deep green water that splintered over a rocky shore.
The deep green color reminded him of something else. Someone else. Kaylyn. The way she had looked up at him with those sea green eyes as if he actually gave a damn.
Well she was wrong. He didn't care about anything or anyone. Not his mother, father, or brother. And he sure as hell didn't care about her. What ever she's thinking about doing was never going to happen. He'd make damn sure of that.
Picking up a rock from the gravely bank, he threw it out across the lake and watched as it broke the glassy surface. He had a strong feeling he would be breaking a lot more things in the future.