Title: Least Expected: A Side Story
Author: We're Here and We're Queer
Rating: To be safe, M for Mature.
Disclaimer: We do NOT own Harry Potter. All rights to go J.K. Rowling.
Note: We named Lucius's father, Lucius Sr. because Abraxas was too weird. It sounded like a laxative's brand name. o.O
Stepping into the white and unadorned room, Regulus Black felt vaguely lost as he placed his bags on the twin sized bed that was inside. A pile of soft bed linen was presented at the head of the bed, gleaming vibrantly against the demure looking spring mattress. Glancing around, he took note that the windows were new, large and left without any curtains or blinds, allowing the neighbors a generous view of his new bedroom. In fact, the elderly couple nextdoor were sitting at their dining table for brunch, gawking at him. No doubt wondering who he was and where he was from. Regulus had never seen them before, that was for sure. He waved shyly, smiling at them weakly before setting to the task of going to retrieve his bedroom furniture from the moving truck. Help to, at the very least. Being only eleven years old had it's severe disadvantages. He ducked out of the way of two, behemoth moving men, frowning as they sneered at him. Deciding to get out of the way, he left the deserted hallway in search for his seldom gentle mom.
The livingroom was enormous, lavishly decorated in whites and golds, making it seem almost forbidden to him. The corner hutch displayed the expensive looking china plates and crystal glasses. Regulus paled as one of the movers knocked into it as he moved towards the stairs with his dresser.
"Mother?" He whispered, standing in front of her and staring shyly at the Malfoys, his hands fidgeting and playing with the hem of his shirt. He continued to stretch the material of his shirt, much to his mother's ire.
"Yes, Regulus? I hope it's important, I'm trying to talk to Celeste and Lucius, dear." Grabbing his hand, she pulled it away from his shirt with a firm, warning squeeze. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder, twisting in delicate curls. Her eyes, dark blue, stared cooly at him as she impatiently waited for him to continue.
"Why am I staying here? I..." Biting his lip, his brows creased as he looked back at the Malfoys quickly, turning to look at his mother again, a dust of pink on his cheeks.
His mother sighed tiredly. If Regulus didn't know better, he'd say the tone was bored and not very tolerant. "Regulus, my reasons are none of your concern, now go unpack," she ordered. She bit the inside of her cheek, going back to her previous discussion with Celeste and Lucius Sr.
Regulus bit his lip, eyes downcast as he muttered, "Okay..." Leaving the room, he headed for the stairs, watching out of the corner of his eye as the movers jested, tossing his stuff around. With a look of discountenance, he headed up the stairs slowly, staring at the floor as he went.
Unintentionally, he bumped into someone that happened to be coming down the stairs, and looked up, seeing lustrous blonde hair and chilling blue eyes. The handsome young man appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years of age, and less than pleased to see a mere child in his presence. Eyes widening, Regulus took a few footfalls back and recoiled, startled as the blonde reached his five-fingered appendage towards him. Feeling a gentle push of fingers through his hair, he opened his eyes and winced immediately after as the adolescent gripped his hair firmly by the roots. Being directed to the side, out of the blonde's way, he whimpered and clenched his eyes even when the grip was released.
Listening as the sounds of the occurrence ceased, he peeked through scarcely open eyelids to find he was once again all by his lonesome in the hall. Determined not to be caught in a similar situation, he all but flew into his bedroom, nearly tripping one of the men once he rammed into his legs. Squeezing by, Regulus hopped ontop of his dresser, he stared at the two of them, crossing his legs into a comfortable, if slightly effeminate, position and waited for them to leave. The two men glowered at him, one cursing children in existance, leaving to retrieve the other furniture.
Meanwhile, the occupants in the livingroom stared in bemused silence as Lucius Jr. joined them, seating himself on the furthest couch from them. He reguarded them all with a suspicious glance, crossing his arms. The four who occupied the livingroom sat in silence, each waiting for the other to start explaining some fact or another.
Finally, Lucius spoke up. "There was some kid in the hallway, what's he doing here?" Silently, he was wondering if the brat had somehow managed to get into his room. He'd find out later, but the kid was awefully meek. Just as he ran into Lucius, he flinched and backed away from him, standing rigidly still in the middle of the hall. His action towards the boy was more than likely uncalled for, but it was still effective. It got him out of the way, didn't it?
"Well, Lucius, sweetie." His mother started, using the pet name sweetie to distinguish him from his father. His father was luckier in the draw of straws, he figured. Hun was less saturine than sweetie. "His name's Regulus. You remember his mother, of course?"
Lucius stared with disinterest at the beautiful woman that was, no doubt, this Regulus kid's mother. Nodding, he turned to his own mother again with a inaudible murmur of impatience.
Celeste explained the situation circularly, still making it sound as though the Black family was wronged. The general story was that Mr. Black was an abusive alcoholic, and since Mrs. Black didn't want to leave him, she had to part with her two children. Also noticing the hostility towards the eldest son, Sirius, Lucius figured that, that was exactly the reason why Sirius was being shipped across the states. He knew that the only reason Regulus was still here was so that his mother could visit if she felt so inclined. He was apparently the more favorable of the two, even if that wasn't saying much.
Lucius abruptly left the room, already weary from his mother constant jabbering. Stopping at the door of his room, he rested his pale hand on the door handle and glanced sideways towards the guest room that was now occupied by the brat, Regulus. Intrigued, yet still annoyed, Lucius twisted the handle of the door open and stepped into his bedroom. He had just been outside with friends, playing a small round of soccer. Toby had to leave for piano practice, and as he left, all the competition went with him. Calling it a day, Julian left with a succinct goodbye and jogged on his merry way.
Upon arriving, Lucius then entered the house and found the boy. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to take a quick shower to wash all his exersion off. Snatching a pair of clean, scented clothing, he left the room again and frowned in dismay as the child stood in his way. Again. With an irritated growl, he shoved past the small boy and headed to the bathroom at the end of the hall. He failed to notice as green eyes watched him carefully.
Inside the bathroom, Lucius turned on the hot water and waited for it to heat up. Staring in the mirror, the tall teen pulled his hair out from the confinds of its ponytail, having put it up earlier to keep it out of his face. His shirt came off next, the fabric slowly peeling away from his moist skin. Cold blue eyes stared back in the mirror once the shirt was off, his hair tossled. Scowling, Lucius ran a hand through his hair, the strands falling back into line. His shorts were next, joining the pile of clothes that had formed behind the door. Walking over to the shower, Lucius stretched his arms and neck, working out the kinks before stepping into the water. His muscles instantly relaxed as the hot water sprayed over his body, blue eyes closing, a sigh of contentment escaping his lips. It was too bad these moments never lasted.
Massaging shampoo onto his scalp, he rinsed out and conditioned the fine, damp locks carefully. If he left the conditioner in for too long, he'd have a greasy effect instead of a shiny one. Finally ready to cleanse the rest of himself, he smothered his skin with soap pressing his fingers firmly into taught muscle to work out the knots. Exhaling softly, he closed his eyes and jumped when a thump sounded against the wall.
Is he moving his furniture? Lucius wondered, his brows crinkling in wonderment as he continued to scrub himself clean. Another loud noise sounded and he huffed a very aggitated sigh.
"I knew this wouldn't last." Lucius turned the water off and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel to dry himself off. He slowly passed the soft towel over his limbs, hoping the thumping would stop. It didn't though. In the time it took him to dry off and get his clean clothes on, there had been at least six more loud thumps, not including the lesser sounds. With a slightly annoyed sigh, Lucius grabbed his clothes and stormed from the bathroom, tossing them into the hamper in his room before heading to Regulus' room. "Do you have to make so much damn noise?" he snapped harshly.
"I-I'm too small." Regulus whispered, turning away from Lucius's gaze. "I can't move the furniture any more quietly."
Scrutinizing the room, Lucius took in the rather nice looking black furniture that contrasted completely with the stark white walls. Taking in the bulky size of the furniture, and the very petite size of Regulus, he could hardly believe the boy could even move anything an inch, let alone a couple feet.
"Why didn't you ask the movers for help?" Lucius inquired, his tone not in the least more gentle. Regulus flinched again, and the action only surved to infuriate Lucius even more.
"They... they don't like me."
As if it's any wonder why, Lucius thought with a wry smirk. Staring at the pitiful boy, he mused on his own charitability and whether he should help him out, or not. Finally, Lucius concluded that if he didn't help, he'd get another earful from his mother.
"Don't look at me like that, you brat, tell me where you want it." He barked at Regulus. He smirked as Regulus jumped. Lucius stared, surprised at the color of Regulus's eyes but not commenting on it. It could have just been a trick of the light. Nobody could get eyes that particular shade of green.
"W-would you...help me?" Regulus asked shyly, deverting his gaze to the ground. "I-I need the dresser against the wall...and..." Lucius rolled his eyes, giving an irritated sigh. He pushed past Regulus and went over to the rather large dresser. He wondered what a boy as small as Regulus would need with a dresser the size of a small horse, but said nothing, and began pushing the dresser towards the wall Regulus was pointing to.
Regulus watched silently, biting the inside of his lip. He already felt like he was intruding, and then to have Lucius move his stuff made him feel like a burden. Going over to the dresser, he helped the older boy push the dresser against the wall, hearing the two pieces connect with a dull thud.
Amused, Lucius had to glance away to gain some composure. The kid had attempted to help him, but didn't exactly do much. Curently, he was babbling something about where he'd like the furniture. Lucius didn't care about his opinion, he'd put the stuff where he'd want, anyways.
Jumping, Lucius frowned at the startling shreak from Mrs. Black. Regulus too jumped, mumbling an appology to Lucius and scurrying out of the room. Looking around, Lucius rubbed his hands on his jeans and smirked. Regulus would be out of luck if he didn't like Lucius's planned arrangement.
TBC
We realize that this chapter is short, but it's mostly an introductory to the story. The next chapter will more than likely be a lot longer. Also, like our original Least Expected story, we'll be doing a time jump to when the characters are older. Please, please review! Stick around, this is going to be a cute and very wild story.