The Silent Place
The British Library

"Wow," Regulus swallowed, pushing the voice in his head to the back of his mind, the part of his self that held doubts regarding the things his parents told him. One hand tightened about the strap going over his shoulder as his bookbag hung at his side. "I was not expecting this."

He'd found the library using the instructions the Muggle woman gave him, yet he hadn't expected anything so massive. His gray eyes were wide, staring at the entrance gate with the words The British Library looming over him. The natural colors were also welcoming after listening to his mother and brother screaming at each other.

"I never expected anything this big," he said as a few Muggles walked passed him as if going to and from the library were normal. Regulus swallowed. "What are maman and père going to think? I shouldn't."

"First time visiting The British Library, love?"

Regulus was startled, turning his head to look at another female Muggle. He smiled, knowing he needed to be polite and that he shouldn't do anything that would draw attention to him. "Um, yes."

The woman nodded her head. "Then walk with me."

"Um, sure," Regulus said, swallowing, knowing he couldn't just say no. "Don't cause a scene among Muggles. Nothing that would draw attention to us, Regulus."

So, he followed the woman. Her dress reminded him of what the school librarian wore, minus the cape and in brown instead, but if there were anything his mother might say about the Muggle, she at least dressed decently. Her eyeglasses also reminded him of McGonagall's, all cat-like, yet he knew the Muggle couldn't change into a cat as his Transfiguration professor could. And her hair was tied into a bun, not a hair out of place.

"Maman would still find something to nitpick, even though she seems decent enough. That other Muggle as well." Regulus slapped the side of his head a couple of times.

"Oh. Yes. I can see how visiting for the first time can be overwhelming," the woman said, "But if you're here to study, this is the place."

Regulus swallowed, nodding his head as he looked at the vast plaza past the giant portico they walked under until they got to the main entrance. " Yes, I am here to study, but this isn 't where I'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to be at home studying. Regulus, what were you thinking. "

And unfortunately for him, or perhaps fortunately, the voice of his rebellious self decided to remain silent.

"Well, here we are," the woman said, smiling at him, reaching to open the door.

"Oh, no," Regulus said, hurrying to open the door for her, remembering what was expected of a young gentleman, that even his inferiors should be treated with respect. "Yet, are they? They've been nice to me and seem normal except for using magic."

And then—

His breath was taken the moment he followed her in, followed by him swallowing, his gray eyes widening at shelf after shelf. "Wow. I don't even know where to begin."

"You could ask one of the librarians," the woman said.

Regulus startled. "I'm kind of looking more of a place to study since the home's not very quiet." He bit the tip of his tongue lightly after those words left his mouth. " Shouldn 't have said that, Regulus. Shouldn't have. "

"That way. You'll find desks and tables over there," the woman said.

"Thank you," Regulus said, bowing slightly as he'd been taught to do.

"Aren't you the proper young gentleman," the woman said. "We don't see that much these days anymore."

Regulus' eyes blinked, the corners of his mouth twisting up before he headed to the desks and tables she'd mentioned, finding them to be no different than the ones in the school library, except for perhaps having no scribbles on the table tops that Pince would pass by and ask if they'd seen who did that before using a spell to wipe it clean.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sat down, carefully removing a text from his bag and setting it on the table before pulling out his parchment and writing tools, starting into one of the essays assigned for the summer. He lost track of time, the fresh air and now quiet environment resulting in the throbbing headache receding and allowing him to concentrate, but by the time he finished the essay, he looked up.

"That wasn't so bad," Regulus said aloud to himself, although there was a part of him screaming how wrong he was for breaking his mother's rules, for going to a Muggle place when he knew the family wouldn't want him to mingle. "Please don't tell me the rebellious side has taken the place of the behaving side," he thought to himself. His eyes closed. "Not having a headache for once, not worrying that my assignment will have issues because of that headache. That's a relief." His gray eyes open. "I don't want to go home."

He let out a sigh, packing his things up, thinking if he were gone too long, Walburga Black might realize something was amiss, as she was the one most likely to notice he'd done something he shouldn't, although the few times he had done something small in the past, nobody had noticed he'd done anything wrong, while in turn, everyone noticed every small thing Sirius did wrong.

"Sirius is the heir, so it makes sense." Regulus let out a sigh, heading out to the entrance, feeling better, less ill than before, and past the grand portico and carefully looked for the landmarks he'd noted on his way there to get back home. And there he was, standing in front of Grimmauld place instead of on the step, looking up, now afraid of his mother swooping out to scold him for stepping foot out of the house without her permission.

Nothing happened. Taking a deep breath, Regulus stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. He winced upon hearing Sirius and his mother still arguing, wondering if there had been a break to their arguing. He headed up the stairs and saw Sirius lounging in the drawing room on one of the sofas, feet on the furniture without a care in the world which seemed to be what Walburga was yelling at him next. He sighed, headed up the stairs, and stopped in front of his father's study.

Still, nothing, which made him feel a little bit of dismay as it seemed like Orion Black didn't have much time for anything but work, although, in the back of his head, Regulus wasn't sure why it bothered him, as he hated socializing. He headed up the stairs and set his bag on the desk, his lips pushing together.

He took a deep breath. "So, nothing went wrong. What could possibly go wrong with doing this again in the future if I need to do so?"