A day after Regulus had finished his exams, Severus' N.E.W.T.s were set to begin. The tests began quite early in the morning, so Regulus got up to wish his boyfriend good luck.

"Morning, Sev," he yawned sleepily as he descended from the staircase. He wore his pajamas still, for he intended to go back to sleep after seeing Severus.

In spite of his nerves, Severus cracked a smile at the sight of Regulus yawning and wearing his Christmas pajamas still. "Good morning," he replied, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Let's sit," Regulus suggested, plopping down on the couch and patting the space next to him. "You'll do fine," the smaller boy soothed as he rested his head on Severus' chest.

"I don't know." The older boy was trying his hardest to keep up his façade of calm, but Regulus saw right through it. "Look, Sev. You've been studying for months now. You know all of the material. You're smart, probably the smartest in the school. You've got this, don't worry about it so much or you'll make yourself ill," the smaller Slytherin soothed. He patted Severus' arm to calm him; Regulus was relieved when it worked and Severus relaxed.

He smiled slightly and leaned in to Regulus, pressing his lips to his boyfriend's nose. "Thanks," he murmured before rising to his feet; other seventh-years were beginning to exit the common room, heading for their exams.

Immediately, a nervous look layered with forced confidence masked Severus' face. To another, it would look as though he were calm, but Regulus had spent too much time watching and loving the boy to be fooled.

"Well," Severus' voice cut through his thoughts, "here I go."

"Good luck! You'll do bloody amazing," Regulus vowed, standing on his tiptoes to kiss Severus. His boyfriend seemed to be growing taller each day, shooting up towards the sky and leaving Regulus feeling tiny and stranded on the ground.

Severus smiled weakly before turning his back and stalking quickly out of the common room. After he left, Regulus sighed and sunk back into the couch, pressing his face onto a cushion. He could feel trouble coming; it was rising in his bones.

Regulus let his fingers skim the surface of the Great Lake, watching the Giant Squid as it basked in the sun a great distance away. It was another perfect day, with a bright blue sky, big puffy clouds, and intense sun. Regulus enjoyed the feel of the sun's rays soaking into his skin, causing it to feel burning hot and unusually tight on his bones. He was beginning to enjoy his alone time.

In a way, he mused, the N.E.W.T.s were a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Severus was so busy he barely got to see the boy; mealtimes and the occasional study session were the most Regulus could get nowadays without getting snapped at for distracting the older boy. It was quite frustrating at times to have such a kissable person that was too busy to kiss.

On the other hand, Regulus had quite a bit of free time to do whatever he wanted. He took walks around the castle, went to the library, even got to talk to the ghosts uninterrupted (the ghosts disturbed Severus for some reason). As an added bonus, Rosier was too busy to harass him.

The redhead had taken to tripping Regulus in the halls, making disgusting and crude comments, and trying to curse the boy. Regulus had been to the hospital wing too many times to count in the past few weeks, all incidents caused by Rosier. Madam Pomfrey was under the impression that he was either extremely clumsy or a victim of abuse.

Not too far from, Regulus rolled his eyes before stretching out in the grass. He was in his essence right now, just basking in the sun. He tugged at his curls with a frown. His hair was beginning to bother him; it was growing much too long, and he felt that it did not suit his face. He contemplated cutting it, but realized how angry his parents would be. For some reason, they refused to let him cut his hair unless it was a trim.

"Damn, I've got to buy Bella's wedding gift," he groaned aloud to himself, smacking his forehead. Bellatrix's wedding was in two weeks, and he still had not bought her a present. He decided to buy it on their last trip of the year to Hogsmeade, which was coming up this Saturday.

He checked his watch. He had been sitting by the lake for nearly three hours. Severus' exams should be done for the night, I'll go see him, he decided, rising slowly and walking up to the castle.

Severus swore he was going to murder Regulus. Just pull his hair out and then sew his lips shut. Maybe then he'd be less annoying.

"What did you just say?" the Black boy was asking in a voice of forced calm.

Severus glared back at him, sallow face bright with anger and annoyance.

"I said that you absolutely cannot fly on your own, ever, Black," he sighed. He and Regulus had been having this conversation for over half an hour, and it was beginning to itch on Severus' nerves. He had studying to do; he couldn't waste time with Regulus' nonsense.

"You're so wrong it's not even funny," Regulus snapped, and Severus growled lightly in the back of his throat. He was losing patience fast, and he still had to review his Astronomy notes.

"Stop being stupid, how on earth are you going to fly?"

"Magic, dummy. Wingardium Leviosa, maybe."

Severus stared at Regulus for a long time.

"I think you've just completely lost your mind," he finally stated.

Regulus huffed and crossed his arms before a sweet smile came to his face. Severus was instantly wary; sudden smiles were always suspicious with Regulus.

"You're right, Severus. Of course I can't fly. But you can," Regulus said sweetly, batting his eyelashes. Severus opened his mouth to protest, but Regulus had already drawn his wand.

"Levicorpus," he heard his boyfriend whisper before he felt a jerking sensation in his ankle that lifted him into the air and hung him upside-down. Blood immediately began to travel to his head, reddening his face and causing a swelling feeling that made Severus feel as though his body were about to burst into confetti. The pressure settling around his ankle was painful as well, as though a hand were grabbing him tightly. But the anger was the worst part.

"Did you just use my spell against me?" he tried to sound as menacing as possible, considering that he was hanging in the air by his ankle. Unfortunately, Regulus was not fazed. "Yup," he nodded nonchalantly, staring at Severus with mild interest.

Severus' head felt to be swelling like a balloon; were it not for Regulus' wand lying still between his fingers he would've sworn that the younger boy had put a swelling charm on him as well.

"Your face is very purple," Regulus noted. "Put me down!" Severus yelled. He was relieved when the pressure on his ankle loosened, and he sunk down to the ground. Breathing heavily, the half-blood could have sworn that he felt the blood leaving his head and traveling down to his toes. Severus sighed in relief.

Regulus' face was suddenly inches from his own, an impish smile spread across the younger boy's lips. He leaned down and kissed Severus lightly, then pulled away.

"What was all that about?" Severus asked quietly.

"To get your attention," Regulus whispered cheekily, and he leaned in to kiss Severus once more.

I'm sorry, that one was short AND lame, but it's kind of a filler chapter.

Wow, it's been awhile! I'm very sorry, you all! School has been so crazy, in both good ways and bad ways... But there have been some great parts : )

I think this is one of the last chapters for this part of the story, then there's the next story hopefully! I'll see you all soon, and thanks for all the reviews, favs, and views! They mean a lot to me, even when I don't reply to them. : )