The first thing Regulus Black noticed about her was her eyes.

In Herbology, when Sprout was partnering them up for a project, he was annoyed that he would have to work with a Hufflepuff. He didn't even know who Olivia was. Maybe if the girl never found him, he would finish the project on his own. He wouldn't mind that. It was just taking a seed, identifying what it was, planting it, and letting it at least sprout.

But then he felt someone watching him. Staring at him were two of the warmest eyes he had ever seen. They were dark and warm and filled him with a feeling of comfort he hadn't felt in a long time.

His entire family had grey or light blue eyes; most purebloods did (he suspected it was a result of all the inbreeding and lack of variation in bloodlines). It was disturbing at least. So cold and dark and angry all the time.

Yet there was that girl, Olive or something like that, was smiling at him like he was the best person in the world. The only person who had ever looked at him like that before was Ursula.

"Hello, Regulus. I'm Olivia," she introduced herself.

"Congratulations . Did you get the seed?" he asked as he started flipping through his Herbology book.

"Yup. I've never seen this seed before in my life so I know it's not one of the muggle ones but it shares characteristics of the flower seeds I was looking at in the book so that is kind of where my thoughts are going and since it's not a big seed I think that it might be an actual flower and not a bush or something like that and since it is purplely-blue it might be one of those flowers that only opens up at night. What do you think?" She said in one breath.

"I think you talk too much," he muttered, not even looking up from his book.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Sometimes when I get nervous I talk too much and—"

"Seed please," he ignored her apology and held his hand out. He felt slight pressure on his hand and put the seed on the desk.

"ideas just flow and sometimes they don't really make sense at first but in the end they—"

"Please, stop."

"Sorry."

"Do you always speak so much?"

She laughed and he nearly looked up. "Oddly enough, I'm usually really quiet."

"Then act natural around me. Or better yet, stop speaking all together."

There was blessed silence for a moment. Regulus sighed in relief and went back to flipping through the book. He recognized the seed; he just needed to find the name.

But then a piece of parchment slid across the desk. Written in neat, concise handwriting was I can do that.

He looked up from his book and the only thing he saw in the boisterous classroom was a pair of mirthful brown eyes. Inadvertently, he felt the corners of his mouth turn up in the first genuine smile in what felt like forever.

The second time Regulus spoke to her, he could only remember her brown eyes.

"I still don't know what it is," she said as they went through yet another Herbology book.

"My mother planted one of these a few times. I wrote to her but I haven't received a response yet."

Olivia put her book down. "Your mother likes growing flowers?"

Regulus shook his head, "Not really."

"Then why did she grow one of these?"

"Decoration."

"She must like growing flowers if that is how she decorates your house."

"I guess."

Olivia giggled, "You don't speak much, do you?"

His response was to shrug which only increased her laughter. Regulus couldn't stop himself from smiling. "What about your mother? Does she grow flowers?"

He thought it was an innocent question but quickly realized something was wrong with the question when the smile disappeared from her face.

"I, um, I don't know if my mother grew flowers. She died when I was three months old."

That gave Regulus pause. While his mother was admittedly not going to win the mother of the year award, he still loved his mother. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

Her brown eyes seemed softer than he had ever seen them. Last time they had been glittering like a brown diamond. Now they more resembled melted chocolate.

"Am I?"

"Are you really sorry?" She clarified.

He suddenly became uncomfortable with the conversation, "No. No, I'm not." He said honestly.

She nodded, "I figured. Everyone's first reaction to finding out about my mom is that they are sorry. I don't understand why."

"Maybe it's because everyone else can't imagine growing up without their mother."

"Maybe. I don't know what I am missing. All I know is her name. I know nothing else about her."

"What was her name?" He asked. His genuine curiosity sent red flags up in his head. He heard his parent's voice scolding him for even looking at a mudblood. But at that moment, he didn't really care.

"Abigail Henley."

Henley. The name rang a bell in Regulus's head. He knew that name: it was a small pureblood family that had become extant only in the female line; the last male had died maybe fifteen years ago. He mentally tucked that information away and thought to look into it later. He didn't remember there being an Abigail in the family trees his mother made him study as a child.

"So what about your Regulus? Parents? Siblings? Did they, or do they, go to Hogwarts?"

He shrugged, "Both my parents are purebloods and were in Slytherin. For the most part, my entire family has been in Slytherin for generations. A few Ravenclaws but most of those married into the family. I have two older sibling, twins."

"Are they much older?" Olivia questioned. He was about to snap at the girl for being so nosy and intrusive. All any ever wanted to know was about his siblings and what everyone thought of the House placements for all three of them. But looking at her, she had pure, simply curiosity in her eyes,

"They are second years," he said, "and they're both in Gryffindor."

"Interesting."

That was the end of that.

He didn't know what compelled him to actually do all the research. Olivia was a mudblood – she wasn't worth his time. She was a lesser witch and shouldn't be allowed to sit in the same classes as him. Yet he still found himself, grabbing her elbow and yanking her into a deserted hallway two weeks later, shoving a stack of parchment into her hands.

"Her name was Abigail Louis Henley and she was born October 8th, 1931 to Alexandre and Clarissa Henley. She was their only child. She arrived at Hogwarts in 1942 and was sorted into Hufflepuff. I guess you're more like her than you know."

Olivia looked through the pieces of parchment Regulus had given her, trying to absorb all the information she possibly could on her mother. She pulled out an old black and white moving picture and gasped when she recognized her mother around the same age as her.

Regulus nodded, "I noticed the physical similarities as well. You look a great deal like each other."

"I never knew," Olivia said, reaching out with a finger to trace her mother's smiling face.

Continuing as if reporting a presentation for a class, Regulus said, "She graduated from here '49 and went to work at the Ministry in Muggle Relations. It was during that time she met your father. Their marriage five years after that was a bit to do in the Wizarding community since your mother was the last in a long line of purebloods. Your father likely never told you of your heritage because she didn't just die…she was murdered by other purebloods for betraying the family and marrying a muggle. I tried to find more information but the library here is limited so I apologi—"

He was cut off abruptly when she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Unsure of what to do, he awkwardly patted her back twice when he heard her sniffle.

"Thank you Regulus," she said with a teary eyes smile. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"It was nothing."

"No," she immediately contradicted him. "It is something. I'm just your herbology partner for a little project we have to do. We aren't in the same House and we've barely had five conversations. Yet you have given me the best gift anyone has ever given me. So no, this is not nothing."

He was silent. Perhaps in another world he would have admitted that he cared about the small girl in front of him. But his life leading up to that point practically forced him to respond, "I disagree."

She laughed despite her tears, "You would, you cold hearted Slytherin."

Despite the harsh words, there was a teasing quality leaving no room for offense to be taken. She held up the papers a little bit, "Now let me tell you something Regulus Black. This, these papers, tell me more about you than your very few words can tell."

"And what is that?"

Her brown eyes danced and leaned forward as if she was telling him the most wonderful secret, "That you are definitely not a cold hearted Slytherin."

And for the life of him, he couldn't think of an argument as she walked away from him. Everything he had been taught, everything he had been told his entire life told him that she was nothing. He was a superior breed of wizard; she didn't deserve magic. Halfblood or not. She was nothing.

Yet there was no denying it.

She was certainly something.