What You Can't See
Carefully Planned

"I know what I'm doing."

"Sure you do."

"What could go wrong, Sirius?"

"Plenty," his older brother said. "You didn't understand anything I said about how you can't date a Muggle girl as a Death Eater, did you?"

"I did," Regulus said. "And I have it handled."

"Sure, you do."

Which he thought he did. Regulus certainly understood what his father said, or he thought he did. " I can 't fall in love with her because falling in love with her puts her in danger. I can't, though, just walk away, leaving her to wonder where I disappeared. " So he approached her, suggesting the date on his birthday, on the day he could erase her memories of him, " to keep her safe. "

Of course, there was the time between when he said the things he did and the day of the date, for which he rode the bus so he could continue to see his brother, not seeing any reason to give it up, mainly since being there meant she wouldn't suspect anything was amiss when it drew closer to him erasing her memory, after being a proper gentleman and giving her the promised date.

What he hadn't expected—

There were so many books she told him about, so many he wanted to check out, to talk to her about. There was also something about the sound of her voice, not to mention her brown hair and brown eyes, which were a bit darker than a hazel color, the more he looked.

And Sirius—

"This thing with the girl…."

"There isn't a thing, Sirius," he'd said, his mind set on the plan, one he'd in part passed by Orion, or at the very least he made clear that on his birthday, he could finally do magic without the underage restriction on him and the sooner he got what he needed to do done, the better.

"I'm sorry you must do this, my dear boy," his father said. "Are you sure you don't want my help? I'm not sure you quite understand what you're getting into."

"I do," Regulus said. "What could go wrong?"

"In getting close to her before you erase her memories?" his father said, a sigh there. "That is what you're doing?"

"Yes," Regulus said. "It's the proper thing to do, but I'm doing it under the context of the promised date because things will go easier that way."

"Maybe, or maybe no, my dear boy."

And, he didn't understand, even as things drew closer to his birthday, his brother giving him looks, making it clear he was worried about Regulus' interactions with the Muggle girl, that he was thinking of having James step in and help. Regulus glared. "Don't you dare! I know what I'm doing and am handling it, Sirius!"

Days passed, and with each day he rode the bus—he enjoyed the conversations more than he realized. And the day of the date—

Regulus felt his cheeks flush, along with the tips of his ears. And a thought crossed his mind, " She looks nice in normal Muggle clothes, but she looks nice dressed up like that. "

Which should have set off an alarm bell in his head as they headed to the movie, which was a new experience that Regulus knew his mother would flip her lid on if she knew. He found amusement in Olivia not picking out what she called the romance flick, even though they could, she'd noted, have a good plot line, mainly since this was, as he admitted, the first time seeing a movie, revealing just how sheltered he was.

"Hadn't really thought of it this way, but maybe when the war's over," Regulus thought. There wasn't the possibility of being together with her once he became a stranger to her again, but "Maybe Sirius and I can do this together. Like siblings do, or I think they do. He'd like it, I think."

Particularly since he enjoyed the movie, he also enjoyed the pizza, finding it quite tasty; another thing he thought of doing with Sirius, perhaps other Muggle things as well.

"Once the war is over," he thought, making sure to pull her friend Grace aside when he saw her at the pizza parlor to make sure her memories of him were gone so that there wouldn't be any way of Olivia remembering him.

And then they were walking, his hands jammed into his pocket, his eyes watching for a place they could just talk without anyone saying anything. That he wanted to answer her question from the other day about magic. "So, you're not wanting to get me alone for other reasons?"

Regulus frowned, watching her laugh. "What other reasons?"

"Yeah," Olivia said. "You actually don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Most boys do, but that's alright. It's not something a proper gentleman would do, anyways, particularly on a first date."

"Oh. Good," Regulus said, letting out a laugh. "Something tells me I don't want to know, particularly if it has anything to do with the rumors that went around the school regarding my older brother and, well, girls."

"Yeah," Olivia laughed. "That. It probably does."

"Yeah. I don't want that kind of reputation, thank you very much. I never got what everyone was saying," Regulus laughed, "But I knew it was bad, particularly when I asked maman, and she threw a gasket. Sirius was so pissed at me for letting it slip as well."

"You did what?" Olivia said. "My older brothers would have killed me if I revealed their sex lives to our parents like that."

"Sex lives?"

"Just what you don't do if you're a proper gentleman."

"Not on a first date, at least, or ever," he said. "I'm learning, and I want to be a proper gentleman."

They came to a place in the park that Olivia picked so they could talk, and they sat on the bench. "So, you wanted to talk?"

"The answer to your question is, yes, magic is real," Regulus said. "And because this is my seventeenth birthday, I no longer have the trace tracking whether I do underage magic, particularly in front of someone who can't use magic."

"Oh. So you can show me?" Olivia asked. "Are you going to show me?"

Regulus took a deep breath, his throat tightening. " I don 't want to do this, but I must. "

"Regulus, why is it, after a date I know you enjoyed that made you smile—why is it you're suddenly so sad?" Olivia said.

"Because, after tonight," Regulus swallowed. "You're not going to have any memory of the date, let alone me?"

"Why?" Olivia chocked. "I thought you liked me? Is this because we can't be together? Because I can't do magic?"

"That," Regulus frowned. "If there wasn't a war." His eyes closed, not quite believing what he said, knowing how the Black family was, yet he knew he wouldn't care about getting blasted off the tapestry. "There is a war going on, and one of those sides likes killing people like you." He swallowed. "And the real truth…."

"The truth you don't want to tell me, obviously?"

"I thought, idiot I was, that side was making a world where I wouldn't have to hide who I am from people like you," Regulus said. "So I made the mistake of joining that side, which puts you in danger. I'm a literal danger to you."

"And what?" Olivia snapped. "Is the reason you're smiling now because you think that would make me hate you and thus make it easier for you to erase my memories?"

Regulus startled, turning his head, looking right at her.

"Because it doesn't," Olivia said. "Not when it's obvious you know it's a mistake. Not when I know you're erasing my memory of this, us, the memories of you that—I like you, Regulus, but this makes me like you even more."

His eyes closed, the smile fading from his face. His eyes were trembling. "I could mess up on the memory spell. It's not as if it's….."

"Foolproof?" She let out a sigh, taking her hand in his. "Question? After you erase my memories, are you going to forget me, the girl who noticed invisible you?"

"No," Regulus said. "My dad says," and then he swallowed. "Apparently, my grandfather introduced him to this Shakespeare writer, a Muggle writer."

"And?"

"He says our story is like Romeo and Juliet, but I don't want it to be one where you die," Regulus said. His eyes closed. "Bloody Merlin." He swallowed. "I bloody like you, and I don't want to forget."

"Even though it's going to hurt remembering these happy memories?"

Regulus nodded his head.

"Then," she squeezed his hand, wiping a tear away. "Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Do magic in front of me, so you can remember being able to show me. Do what you want, but also, let me give you your birthday gift before you do. Not that I'd planned one, but," Olivia said, closed. "I have one now. Something for you to remember. In this war that's going on. And if the war ends…."

"I'm hoping you'll have forgotten and found someone," Regulus said. "So you can be happy."

"Found someone," Olivia said, lightly hitting his shoulder. "Do you know how hard it was to find you in the first place? You're not easily replaceable, just to let you know."

"I, alright," Regulus nodded his head. He pulled out his wand with his left hand, and with his right, he covered the tip so only she could see before saying the spell to cast light. He watched the delight on her face as the tip of his wand lit up and smiled, making him smile.

And then—

At that moment, he understood what Sirius meant about the kiss on his cheek not being his first kiss, but when she pulled away, he swallowed. He closed his eyes and stepped away from her, erasing her memory, leaving her with a note reminding her to get on the bus to ensure she got home safely. And although she looked confused, he watched from a distance to ensure she got on safely.

And then, "I did the right thing, so why does this bloody hurt?"