Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, and the chapter title is from a Robert Frost poem. Again. I need to get more original.
The calm of heaven break
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ii. he says again, "good fences make good neighbors"
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Julius is remarkably good at getting them all lost.
"But I swear," He cries, "That my brother told me that this was a short cut to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom."
"I'm afraid that this is what we call a brotherly joke," Tavius says good-naturedly, shaking his head and making his blonde curls even more unruly.
"I'm afraid that this is what we call a gullible moron at work." Regulus, on the other hand, does not appreciate arriving late to all his classes. Neither did Ms. McGonagall.
Julius glares at him, and Ralph and Tavius give off nervous laughs.
"It's nothing to get worried over, I mean I'm sure that our Defense teacher will understand and-"Ralph begins.
"Oh look, Peeves!" Tavius interrupts, with a misplaced delight.
Regulus groans.
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They finally come straggling into class covered in water and things that Regulus really would rather not have specified.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a rather shriveled up old witch named Mrs. Ryers, doesn't notice though, and keeps on plowing through her lesson. Unfortunately there aren't enough free seats for them to sit all together, so Tavius and Julius make a quick beeline to the empty seat next to the pretty and Slytherin Emilia Zabini. After a vicious game of rock, paper, scissors Tavius wins and Julius reluctantly goes to sit next to the brooding Barty Crouch, Jr.
Mrs. Ryers still continues with the lesson.
There are only two seats left for Regulus and Ralph, one at the Slytherin end of the classroom and one at the Gryffindor end. Ralph gives him a small smile (like Sirius), shrugs his shoulder in defeat, and sacrifices himself.
Regulus is almost jealous.
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"Well now, let's put the spell in practice! Work with your partner and try not to harm yourselves," Mrs. Ryers says with a completely oblivious smile. Wow, she's more senile than Aunt Elladora, Regulus thinks with a slight smirk as he turns to face his partner.
He hadn't really given her much notice when he sat next to her, and now he isn't surprised as to why. She is tiny, far smaller than him which is no easy feat. She finishes scribbling down some notes and then turns to face him, short brown hair bobbing as she does so.
"Well, I believe that it is proper to start with introductions," she says, "So I'm Ophelia Nott."
She holds her hand out for him to shake, and he is rather shocked about how big it is in proportion to the rest of her. She bites her nails too, he notices. Mother would not approve.
"Regulus Black," he replies curtly, and shakes her hand very quickly.
"Oh! So your brother is the git! Mother was furious for days, but I thought that Theodore rather deserved it. Of course, you won't tell anyone that, will you? No, I don't think you will you have a trust-worthy look about you, and… Oh dear, I'm talking too much again. Mother always said that it would be the death of me the way I prattle on, but really I think she meant that it would be the death of her. I don't think that my talking has shown any negative health affects on me, do you?"
All Regulus could do is stare. She is barking mad, he thinks, borrowing one of Sirius' more commonly used phrases. What on earth did Sirius do to Theodore, anyway? He wonders, recognizing the name as one of the sixth year Slytherin prefects.
(And don't tell mum this, Reg, but me and James managed to get that stupid Slytherin prefect, Nott, locked up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom for a day until someone noticed. Course, we got a huge detention and I expect a howler from his mum soon, but it was worth it. Nobody spits on Sirius Black without receiving any consequences…)
He never asked Sirius as to why Nott spat on him.
He suddenly sees that Ophelia is looking at him curiously, and he realizes that he never answered her question. So he mumbles a bit about how she looks perfectly healthy to him, but she still doesn't quite get rid of that peculiar expression.
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Regulus is irritable throughout the rest of the lesson.
He isn't sure why.
Ophelia seems to notice, though, because she talks a good deal less as they start to practice. And, if Regulus is being honest with himself he would grasp that some of his annoyance had to do with her being better at the spell than he is.
Sirius always said that he was a bit of a sore loser.
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"Promise me that you will never, ever, let me talk you guys into finding a shortcut. I think I'd die if I had to spend another lesson sitting next to Barty Crouch," Julius says, shuddering for an added effect.
Tavius laughs, and gives Julius a broad smile. Julius, in turn, glares at him.
"What? I assure you, Emilia is a right old pain. Nothing at all compared to Barty, why she doesn't even grouch or mutter things under her breath. She's almost pleasant, however horrifying that is. And it gets worse, her dad isn't some-"
"Oh shut-up, Octy," Tavius' grin falters at that for a moment, but then comes back even brighter than before, "I don't exactly want to relive that painful experience."
"Come off it, now. I think Ralph had it far worse, don't you think?" Tavius says, inquisitively turning towards Ralph.
Ralph looks a bit taken back at Tavius addressing him.
"Oh um, it could've been worse I guess. My partner, I think her name was Jane, was actually pretty smart and nice…"
Tavius and Julius look at Ralph as if he had suddenly mutated into something both startling and unseemly. Like if he were that monstrous flobberworm that Sirius 'accidently' created when he was nine, and which he had thought would look most dapper in Cissy's old tutu.
Regulus never quite got over that.
"For a Gryffindor, of course," Ralph rapidly rectifies. Tavius seems to be satisfied at that answer, but Julius retains a suspicious look in his dark eyes.
"So how was that Nott girl?" Tavius asks Regulus, changing the subject.
"She was… interesting," Regulus says, figuring that was as diplomatic a word as any to describe her.
Tavius laughs again, saying "Yeah, Emilia did say that she was odd. Still, the Nott family is real influential…"
Good, you can make connections already, a small voice in Regulus' head says.
It disturbs him just a little.
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"Merlin's pants!" Regulus exclaims as he accidently runs into some student in his haste to make it to class in time. Julius, Tavius, and Ralph are behind him, having a bit more difficulty wrangling their way through the crowds.
The student turns around, looking very annoyed and then very surprised. Regulus looks the same.
The student is Sirius.
The two brothers look at each other awkwardly, having managed to successfully avoid each other since Regulus' sorting. Sirius seems to be on the verge of saying something, but can't quite bring himself to do it.
"I'm so-"Sirius finally begins, but a voice calling his name interrupts him. He looks at Regulus for a moment, his expression both soft and sad, and then runs to join his friend.
Regulus stays rooted to the spot. When Tavius finally makes it there (Ralph and Julius still struggling in the multitude), breathless and panting, he immediately notices something wrong with Regulus.
"Merlin, what's eating you?"
"Oh nothing… Well, should we get a move on? Something tells me that Ralph and Julius will be stuck there for quite awhile." He attempts to smile, but he thinks that even Tavius detects something detached in it.
Regulus has no idea that Sirius is doing the same thing to his friend too.
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At the next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Julius makes sure that they all arrive ridiculously early. Yet when Ophelia comes into the classroom only a couple of minutes later, she doesn't sit in any of the numerous empty tables but plops herself down in the empty seat next to Regulus.
Tavius tries to cover his chuckle, but subtlety is not his strong point. Luckily Ophelia appears not to observe that.
Regulus does, though, and gives Tavius a Julius worthy glare. He then turns to Ophelia and is about to tell her to bugger off and find her own table. In politer terms, of course.
Instead he says, "Do you know why No- Theodore spat on my brother?"
The smile she gives him is strange. He would almost call it knowing.
A/N: Well here's an update. I have to say that I'm surprised at a lot of stuff in this chapter, especially Tavius, Julius and Ralph. I don't know, I planned them out differently but I guess they rebelled. Anywho, I hope you liked this and please review and tell me what you thought!