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Chapter Three
The next morning, Diana was still in a towering rage. Henrietta, Gemma, and Jackie all kept their distance from her as she washed and dressed for the day, her thoughts black at the reminder of Regulus Black and their tutoring session the night before.
She yanked a brush through her short brown waves and glared at her own reflection in the mirror, sorely wishing it was Black she could turn her acidic stare on. With every pull of her brush, she thought, Uppity, sneering Slytherin…Self-righteous, prejudiced, foul pure-blood…Oh, I can't wait to be rid of him for good. She wasn't one to back out of commitments so easily, but she knew she would never be able to get through to someone like Black. Might as well spare herself the trouble.
She was still stewing when she followed her friends out of their dormitory, through the common room, and up to the Great Hall for breakfast. She couldn't even enjoy the beautiful blue sky the enchanted ceiling depicted that day as she took her seat at the Hufflepuff table and immediately began piling scrambled eggs onto her plate. It wasn't until she was buttering her toast with a vigor that bordered on violence that Gemma cleared her throat.
"So…" she started warily, "I take it that it didn't go well last night?"
Diana had been so angry the night before that she'd gone straight to bed without a word to anyone. She snorted.
"He's cruel," she burst out, throwing down her toast and butter knife. "I've never met anyone so intent on being rude before! And whenever I tried to help, he called me half-blood, like it was some dirty word!"
Jackie scoffed. "I told you he was bad news, D."
"He's foul," Diana muttered, picking her toast back up. "Loathsome, malicious, smarmy, pompous, stuck-up pure-blood who thinks he's something special because he's a Black…"
As Diana continued her tirade, she didn't notice her friends' faces going white or their eyes latched onto something in horror until it was too late. By the time she cottoned on and turned around, Regulus Black had already been standing behind her for a full minute, listening to every nasty word that tumbled out of her mouth.
"Please," he drawled, "don't stop on my account. Do continue. I'm certain there are still many words in the dictionary you have yet to use."
Diana's jaw went slack. "I-I…er—"
Something on Black's face twitched—a flicker of amusement before it was gone. He smirked at her, but it was a cold, cutting thing.
"Walk with me," he said. An order. Not a question.
Diana stared, words unforthcoming. It wasn't until Gemma spoke up that she was broken from her stupor.
"Don't go with him, Diana," she said, glaring at Black. "There's no telling what a snake might do when it gets you alone."
Black raised a smooth eyebrow. "I assure you, Sutton, if I wanted to cause harm to your friend, I wouldn't declare my intentions so openly like this. It's just a walk."
In a daze, Diana forced herself to her feet.
"I'll be fine," she said, hoping that she wasn't lying. "Just…give me a minute."
She grabbed her bookbag, and Black led the way out of the Hall. Before she followed, she grabbed her toast and then hustled after him. His longer legs had carried him to the doors faster than she thought, so when she caught up to him outside in the entrance hall, she was slightly out of breath.
Black's lips quirked when he spotted the toast in her hand. Diana shifted, suddenly self-conscious, before she reminded herself that he was no better than her, despite what he seemed to think. Slightly encouraged by this thought, she lifted her chin a hair in defiance.
"Well?" she said when he didn't speak. She gestured her toast around the hall. "I'm not sure what you want from me. You got your point across plainly last night."
He leaned against the stone wall behind him. The sight surprised her a bit; she thought Black far too groomed to ever be caught doing something as casual as leaning.
"Still planning on telling Slughorn to find me a new tutor?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, frowning at her toast. "I was going to suggest Snape, since you seemed so keen on him before."
He grimaced. "I wouldn't say keen."
Diana looked up at him. He seemed so different compared to last night. Less wound up, more…civil. Unease gnawed at her belly, warning her that something was off, but she figured it was just a hunger pang. She took a bite of toast, chewing thoughtfully and debating what to say.
"So, what then?" she asked when she had swallowed. "What's all this about?"
Black shrugged. He looked impeccable, as ever; there wasn't a single wrinkle on his robes, and not a hair was out of place.
"Last night was…not who I usually am," he said slowly. Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief, but he either didn't notice or ignored her expression. "There are pressures on me you could not begin to understand, and I foolishly let them get to me when I should not have. My behavior was unbecoming of a Black heir."
Diana took another bite, waiting for an apology. He simply stared at her with impenetrable grey eyes, as if waiting on her to say something. Well, he would be waiting a long time. She was a tenacious Hufflepuff, as he would soon learn.
When the minutes dragged on, his face slipped back into the scowl he had worn last night. "Well?"
She finished off her toast and wiped her hands to dispel any crumbs. He watched her, impatient. Finally, she looked back to him.
"I don't know what you want me to say."
His eye twitched. "I explained my behavior and why I acted the way I did. What part did you not understand?"
"Oh, I understood," she said. She didn't know what was making her so bold this morning. Perhaps she had been possessed by the spirit of some long-dead Gryffindor. "I'm just still waiting on an apology."
His face darkened. "I don't make apologies."
"Especially to little half-bloods like me?"
He glanced away, his jaw tightening. She could see his teeth grinding behind his smooth bronze cheek, the muscles jumping and rippling under his skin. He took a deep breath before turning back to her.
"I did not mean to say that," he said quietly.
"You mean you didn't expect it to slip out like that."
"I have beliefs just as you do," he said.
"Prejudice, you mean."
He shoved off the wall, clearly perturbed now. "And here I thought Gryffindors were the stubborn pig-heads of the lot. Clearly, I was mistaken."
Diana gave him an unimpressed look. "Clearly."
Without waiting for an answer, she walked away, heading for the marble staircase and her first class of the day. She could feel Regulus Black's eyes on her back the whole way, but she ignored him.
He would have to try harder than that if he wanted her forgiveness.
"Why does Black look like he wants to crack open your skull and eat your brains?"
Diana's nose wrinkled at Gemma's question as Henrietta and Jackie let out collective "eeewww's". Gemma took her seat next to Diana in Charms while Henrietta and Jackie sat at the table behind them, though they leaned forward to hear better.
Professor Flitwick's class was their first for the day, and unfortunately, they had to share it with the Slytherins. Black had slinked in not too long after Diana had left him in the entrance hall, but since she sat at the front of the room and he the back, she'd kept her back to him while she waited for their lesson to start.
"Because I don't think he's used to anyone telling him no," said Diana drily. She didn't bother keeping her voice down, though her friends shot furtive looks to the Slytherins sitting behind them.
"What did he say?" asked Jackie eagerly.
"Some tosh about not meaning to act the way he did. But he didn't even apologize for his behavior. He just expected me to forgive him."
Henrietta drummed her fingernails on her desk. "Hmm," was all she said, but before Diana could ask, Professor Flitwick walked into the classroom.
"Morning, morning!" he chirped, waddling to his desk. "How is everyone doing today? Excited for the weekend?"
There was some half-hearted muttering around the room as the tiny professor sat at his desk, a large stack of books beneath him so he could peer out to the class. He tutted at their unenthusiastic response, but otherwise made no comment.
"All right, then, if you'll take out your copies of Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6 and turn to page two hundred and fourteen.…Wands away, I'm afraid, today is not a practical lesson…yes, good….Now, today we'll be learning about the Fidelius Charm and the complex binding magic used in the spell…"
Diana paid close attention to Flitwick's squeaky voice as he went over the properties of the highly advanced Charm. She loved learning about magic, no matter the subject. Henrietta liked to joke that Diana should have been in Ravenclaw because of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but Diana thought that was rubbish—wanting to learn was not strictly a quality for Ravenclaws only. And with the abundance of magic, Diana felt as if she could study it forever and still not come anywhere close to learning it all.
By the end of the lesson, her hand had cramped around her quill after taking so many notes, and her parchment glistened entirely with black ink. She'd had to cram words into the margins as she'd run out of room halfway through the lesson, and she let the paper dry for a minute as everyone packed up around her.
She stood up and shouldered her bag, turning to her friends. To her surprise, Regulus Black had already exited the classroom. She frowned; she'd been half-expecting him to try again with some bogus excuse about his behavior, but maybe he decided the effort wouldn't be worth it.
Henrietta followed her gaze. "You look almost disappointed, D."
Diana gave her a strange look as they filed out into the corridor after bidding Professor Flitwick a good day. "What do you mean?"
Henrietta shrugged, twirling a blonde curl around her finger. "Well, you like your challenges."
Diana traded a confused look with Gemma and Jackie. "Meaning what?"
"We have Slughorn next," was all she said. "Are you still going to tell him you're done with Black?"
"That's the plan, yes." But now Diana was uncertain. It seemed like Henrietta was inferring that Diana was giving up—which she was, but for good reason. She didn't want to work with a bigot like Black.
Diana stayed silent as they walked from the third floor to the dungeons. She couldn't work with Black. She refused. Just because he'd sought her out and made excuses for his behavior didn't mean she had to forgive him.
Gemma and Jackie parted ways with Diana and Henrietta in the entrance hall, the two girls heading for their Care of Magical Creatures class while Diana and Henrietta went to Potions. Hesitant, Diana turned to Henrietta again as they descended the stairs to the dungeons.
"I'm still confused," she said. "Ettie, what did you mean that I like my challenges?"
Henrietta stopped on the stair in front of Diana, forcing the two witches to stand on the staircase together, the stone walls pressing in on either side of them.
"Remember our third year, when Flitwick told us we'd get full marks on our next exam if we could produce a full-fledged Cheering Charm on him?" she asked. Diana nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "You stayed up for two nights straight to get the spell right. You wanted to be the first one to succeed. And you were. Flitwick didn't stop smiling for an entire day and you got the marks."
"What about it?"
Henrietta cast an exasperated look down the stairs. "Look, D, all I'm saying that I've never seen you back out of something difficult before."
"There's a difference between a challenging person and one that's openly bigoted," said Diana harshly.
"I agree," Henrietta said, "but hear me out for a second. Do you really think you should back out on Black and alienate him further? Or do you think it would be better if you exposed him to a different viewpoint than the one that he's been raised with all his life and that's perpetuated by a number of his House?"
Diana put a hand on her hip, frowning down at her friend. "You want me to try to change his entire worldview, Ettie? That's mental." She shook her head. "I'm his Potions tutor, not his therapist."
Henrietta put up her hands in defense. "I'm not saying it will work. I just think you're throwing away an opportunity to help someone." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "The world's getting darker out there, Diana. It's scary. But how are we supposed to be united if we keep pushing away those on the other side?" She gazed at Diana, beseeching. "The least we can do is try to help. Sometimes all people need is a friend."
"I didn't realize you were Helga Hufflepuff reincarnated," Diana said. Henrietta grinned, shrugging, but Diana chewed on her bottom lip, thoughtful. Henrietta had a point. Loyalty, kindness, a helping hand—those were all traits of her House. Hufflepuff welcomed anyone, regardless of talent, beliefs, or blood status. How could she preach those very things if she did not practice them herself?
"All right," she said at last. "I'll give Black another chance. But only one." She held up a hand as a smug grin spread across Henrietta's face. "If he messes up again, that's it. And I'm not going to be his friend. I'm just going to help him."
"Fine," Henrietta said happily, and she led the way to Slughorn's classroom, her pin curls bouncing with every step.
Diana found Regulus Black in the library later that evening.
Despite the two sharing a number of lessons together, Diana hadn't dared approach him with so many of his Housemates around. She wanted their conversation to be private, but she could also admit that the Slytherins intimidated her a bit.
He sat at one of the oak study tables, his back to the rest of the room while he faced one of the lattice-paned windows of the castle. Outside, the sky was an inky blue that oozed gold, the setting sun hovering, suspended in the air, like a portal between worlds. The dying light bled across the pages of the book that Black read and the hand that pinned it down, illuminating it like bronze as she sat down across from him.
He didn't look up. "You never told Slughorn to find me another tutor."
Diana clasped her hands together on the table, her elbows resting on the edge. "No."
"Why not?"
"Madness. Stupidity. Take your pick."
His lips curled upward. "I assume I still have to apologize?"
"You're an ass, but I won't ask it of you," she said. "Not yet, anyway."
He finally looked up at her, something like a question lingering in his gaze. "Not yet?"
She pulled out a piece of parchment, folded it horizontally, and gave it to him. "Read these chapters before each session and come prepared to learn and collaborate." She fixed him with a challenging stare. "I'm going to get what I want from this as much as you."
"Very well." He slipped the paper into his bag. "Anything else?"
She shrugged. "Don't be late." She stood up and pushed in her chair again. Black just watched her, his expression unfathomable. "Have a good night, Black."
"Same to you, Fairchild."
She didn't look back, but a slight smile tugged at her lips all the same.
Far from friendly, but it's a start, eh?
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