I return once again with another short story, this time featuring Hermione/Regulus. Once again, should there be an interest in seeing a continuation, I would be more than happy to write one out.
I'd like to thank you for reading this story, particularly given how long it has given since I last wrote properly. I have a lot of plans for things I'd like to write over the coming weeks (I've been writing/editing a longish post-war story I'll get around posting fairly soon), so rest assured this isn't the last you'll see of me.
This story was written for Entwinedlove in The Fairest of the Rare's Love Fest 2020 (#LF2020). The prompt was, 'Hermione/Regulus, Arranged Marriage'.
Hermione had known that her chances of choosing her own husband were dim ever since she had been a little girl. It wasn't that her parents were particularly strict—not at all—but as their sole daughter and single heir to their enormous fortune, who she was to marry in the changing times she lived in was a particularly important question.
Things had seemed to change when she had received her Hogwarts letter in September of nineteen seventy-one, declaring her a witch against any and all of the plans her parents had made concerning her education, but it hadn't lasted long. Muggleborn or not her family fortune, as it turned out, had proven to be a coveted prize for many of the ancient pureblood families of British Magical Society. Many of these families, despite their boasting of ancestries older than England itself, were as cash poor as the nobility of the nineteenth century. Their purported excellent magical lineage and numerous properties not translating in any way, shape, or form into equivalent or even liveable amounts of money.
It had been precisely because of this that her parents, upon her reaching her fifteenth year of age, had found themselves both contacting and being contacted by the families of schoolmates she had hardly ever exchanged a single word with. The affair—which hadn't been limited to Gryffindor alone—had seen her meeting with classmates of all Houses. First had been Aetius Travers, the Ravenclaw, along with Oeric Abbott. A very unhappy Frank Longbottom had been followed by Herbert Burke and Naevius Flint, who them themselves had been substituted by one Alden Avery and Rabastan Lestrange.
The meet-and-greet of potential suitors, which had been accompanied by a myriad of gifts of all shapes and sizes, had been all but never-ending since she had started her fifth year in Hogwarts. It didn't matter that her family was entirely composed of Muggles with no magical ancestry to speak of, or that she herself as a result was nothing better than a mudblood in their minds. The fact that the Grangers had a fortune both sizeable and liquid enough to put to shame the enormity of the families that composed the Sacred Twenty-Eight made all the difference; enough so that it was her parents that held most of the power in the undoubtedly strange series of meetings she had been forced to attend.
It was exactly this situation which had been the principle factor in deciding the very particular event she was to attend immediately upon her return for the Christmas holidays. The Black family had been in contact with her parents, and, despite the odd reputation which it sported even in pureblood circles, said contacts had gone well enough to merit her parents agreeing to attend a dinner event hosted by the eccentric family. The event's main purpose? To allow the now-heir of the Black family—Regulus Black—to meet.
The afternoon had begun with a fully guided tour of the townhouse in which the Blacks lived; the approach to which had involved the townhouse's seemingly amazing apparition within the otherwise normal street. The Blacks had received them with polite smiles her parents had mimicked throughout their tour of the slightly decrepit household. They had been taken through the property's entrance into an ornate foyer with views to its numerous upper floors. Its details, all set in polished wood and marble, showcasing craftsmanship of an excellent degree which had seen itself extended throughout its many rooms.
It had been one of the few things Hermione had been able to pay attention to as her parents and Orion and Walburga Black exchanged strange, polite conversation she couldn't manage to quite join. She hadn't been alone throughout the endeavour, however, with Regulus Black himself walking uncomfortably alongside her.
As the tour around the house continued, Hermione found herself glancing at her classmate discreetly. He had been silent almost entirely throughout the encounter so far, having only spoken to formally greet her parents and her, but had otherwise acted more formally and properly than many of the other boys she had been made to meet.
She knew exactly who he was, of course, though her knowledge of the strange, Slytherin boy was limited to their interactions in the many subjects they shared at Hogwarts. He was the younger brother of Sirius Black, who had graduated just that summer; a fact made obvious in their shared dark hair and slightly haughty look. Regulus was, however, palpably different from his brother. He was noticeably smaller and lighter—likely one of the factors which had contributed to his being a Slytherin seeker—and his eyes were paler than his brother's striking grey, with his skin following suit.
Beyond that, she couldn't say she knew him well at all. He was polite and studious, at least from what she had seen of him, and tended to spend time studying at the library not too far from her preferred spot. He had never addressed her in class beyond mandatory group work and tended to spend time with the Slytherin gang Evan Rosier, Snape, and Avery, and Mulciber had belonged to. A fact which likely pointed to the same political ideals spouted by the other boys.
Hermione found herself startled away from her introspective mood as Orion and Walburga Black, and her parents came to a stop outside of the georgian dining room. Feeling startled, she observed silently as Walburga smiled tensely at Regulus.
"Regulus, dear, why don't you show Hermione the tapestry room?" Walburga asked, smiling tensely. "Your father would like to show Mr. Granger his study, and Mrs Granger has expressed an interest in the seeing the library."
"Of course, mother," the Slytherin boy said drily. Turning towards her, he nodded politely and gestured towards his left. "If you would like to follow me."
Hermione followed after Regulus as he walked back to the foyer. His pace only slowed down once they had begun to climb the ornate central staircase, but his demeanour remained mostly the same.
"I'm sorry about this," her classmate said suddenly, voice low and modulated. "My parents were insistent in organising a meeting and I only just heard about it after I returned."
"Don't worry about it," Hermione replied, startled. "I've had to go along a number of events like these before. This isn't really any different."
The dark-haired boy nodded slowly. "I didn't think Muggles partook in things like these," he said, frowning.
"Not many, but sometimes they do," she said tentatively. "Didn't you know your parents were looking into an arranged marriage for you?"
Regulus shook his head. "Not really, but it's not a surprise."
Hermione made a noise of assent and followed him as they began to climb up the townhouse's central staircase into the first floor. Silently, she walked after her classmate as they entered a long hallway, absentmindedly noting the decorations of the rooms around them.
"I don't think we've ever really talked before," she finally said, attempting to engage the silent boy in conversation. They hadn't—Regulus hadn't ever engaged in the same behaviour his friends had. "Though I can remember seeing you in almost all of my classes save for herbology."
"We haven't," Regulus replied. "I dropped it in sixth year."
"How come? It's not my favourite, but it's still interesting."
"I didn't particularly enjoy it."
"Which one do you enjoy the most, then?"
Regulus' lips quirked up. "Ancient runes," he said, "and transfiguration." Turning to glance towards her, he regarded her curiously. "What about yours?"
"Arithmancy," Hermione replied quickly. "It's nothing like divination or many of the other subjects. I can't think of another class I enjoy quite as much."
Regulus nodded but didn't offer a reply. Instead he stopped in front of a drawing room and opened its door. "The tapestry room," he said as they entered, gesturing at the walls of the drawing room. "All of my family is depicted here."
"Oh," Hermione said, looking around her.
It was a beautiful room, if slightly decadent. Large windows overlooked the street in front of the house, and a large fireplace was flanked by two ornate glass-fronted cabinets. The single most eye-catching element of the room, however, was the tapestry spanning across an entire wall. A vivid green, it depicted a huge, sprawling tree which sprawled on and on sideways, with a myriad of images of witches and wizards depicted across its branches. A few faces and names were burnt out, but at a first glance Hermione couldn't have said exactly who.
"It's a lot of wizards," she said after a few moments had passed. "Where does your family appear?"
Regulus looked down, slightly uncomfortable. "There," he said, pointing towards the other end of the wall. "It's where my parents, brother, and I—well, where me and my parents are."
Hermione's eyes darted to Regulus'. "Not your brother?" she asked curiously.
The Slytherin flattened his lips and shook his head minutely. "Not anymore," he said succinctly.
Swallowing uncomfortably, Hermione fixed her eyes on the huge tapestry. Though she was sure she could recognise a number of names, if not surnames, she wasn't sure who any of these witches and wizards really were. Slowly, she was left with the same sense of discomfort she had had to bear ever since her parents had started to take her to the events magical families had invited them to upon turning fifteen. Though luxuriously decadent and oddly similar to the muggle high society her parents belonged to, she didn't feel comfortable in the sprawling manors and townhouses she had been shown. Not like she did at Hogwarts or within her own home.
"Why were your parents interested in meeting mine?" she finally asked, biting her lip. "I know why other important pureblood families were interested in presenting their sons as suitors, but your family's reputation—."
"My family…" Regulus began, only to sigh deeply. "I don't think their intentions are any different from others. We may be an ancient line, but economically—. Well, besides the Malfoy's not many pureblood families are both asset and cash rich."
"Still, there has to be more. I can't imagine your parents are happy with mine. I know what Sirius said about them at Hogwarts."
Regulus clenched his teeth. "My brother never understood my family," he said irately. "After he joined Gryffindor he never bothered to spend time with us."
A flash of anger coursed through Hermione. "Sirius' behaviour in Gryffindor was overbearing most of the time," she bit back, "but some the things he said—."
"My brother's a blood traitor," Regulus spat. "The only reason I even need to go through an arranged marriage is because of the mess he left behind. Do you think I want to take any part in this? My parents—."
Regulus snapped his mouth shut and squeezed his eyes shut. Besides him, Hermione clenched her jaw. A few minutes went by in silence, with the two of them not quite knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry," the Slytherin said. "You have nothing to do with any of this, I shouldn't bring you into it."
Hermione looked at her classmate curiously. "What happened, if it's okay to ask?"
"It's a long story. My parents and brother have never seen eye to eye, and in recent years… Well, how he was at Hogwarts didn't quite help. It'd be hard to explain."
The intended 'to someone who isn't a pureblood' at the end of the sentence was all but clear, but Hermione pressed on regardless. She think she could understand part of what must have likely happened, in truth, though she could hardly imagine the hidden personal horrors lurking within the story.
"I can understand," she finally said. "The last part, I mean. Sirius was always friendly, but a bit—."
"—Overbearing?" Regulus finished for her. "He always has been. Count yourself lucky you aren't a Slytherin or he'd have been worse."
Hermione nodded silently. "Lily always complained about it," she finally said, "especially when she still was friends with Snape." Swallowing again she met Regulus' eyes and, really looking at him, balled a fist. "Look," she said heavily, "Neither of us wants this. We've never talked to each other and your friends have been nothing but cruel to me."
Regulus flinched imperceptibly. When it became clear he wasn't going to say anything to disprove her words, she gathered courage and continued.
"I wish I didn't have to put up with this and that I could avoid my parents' intentions about my marriage completely. I wish that the wizarding world wasn't immersed in the middle of a war dedicated to hurt people like me," she said, her tone of voice turning passionate. Ignoring the way Regulus flinched again, she pressed on, not wanting to leave any of her thoughts unsaid. "However, none of that means this has to be unpleasant."
"What do you mean?" Regulus asked, confusion evident in his voice. "We've never talked before. There's no point to any of this but what our parents want. Mine, money; and yours…"
Hermione shook her head. "Even so. Both my parents have been fixated on the idea of partnering with a magical family on a business venture, and from what I could garner about the letters our families have exchanged, yours has so far seemed the most agreeable to them," she said forcibly. "Maybe I'll be able to avoid an arranged marriage, maybe not, but my parents at least care enough to allow me to choose what suitor I like the most."
Swallowing again, Hermione thought back to what she knew about the Slytherin before her. There was nothing to be lost by being honest; at least not when it came to the single other student who seemed to enjoy studying magic as much as she did. She didn't know him beyond what she had seen in the distance at all, but if Sirius' odds comments about his attitude to their House-elf were to be believed, he had to at least be somewhat different.
Hermione breathed in deeply and offered her hand. "We have never talked before or had much to do with each other, but I know you are quiet, studious, and nothing like the majority of the other students I've seen at Hogwarts. So please, if we could at least try to start on the right foot?"
Hermione felt herself deflate as Regulus stared at her silently and was about to offer an apology when the Slytherin instead took her hand. "Very well," he finally said, clearly uncomfortable.
Smiling, Hermione shook his hand. "Perfect," she said. "It is a pleasure to properly meet you then, Regulus." A pause, then. "Did you know ancient runes also ranks amongst my favourite subjects?"