The children in the park across the street were shrieking with laughter as they played together, running through the grass. Regulus watched them from the big bay window, with one ear listening out for his mother's light footsteps on the stairs. He wasn't supposed to watch them, and he certainly wasn't supposed to wish that he could join them on the swings and the slide and the fast roundabout. The punishment for actually sneaking out and playing didn't bear thinking about — he hadn't seen his brother for over a week after he'd been caught.
And yet, Regulus kept watching them.