Sirius bought a lot of new clothes for Regulus, including three pairs of pyjamas, as promised. Until now, Regulus had been wearing either Sirius' or Remus' old clothes. Still, Regulus scowled when he took each item out of the bag and scrunched his delicate little nose up like he'd caught a bad scent, thoroughly unimpressed.
"Why can't you go to Diagon Alley and get me proper clothes?" He demanded as they sat in the living room. The light outside was dying and evening was approaching rapidly.
"Why? Who're you trying to impress?" Sirius replied briskly. He was reclining lazily in an armchair with his long legs stretched out. Regulus cast him a sharp, irritated look and didn't bother replying.
Flora glanced over at him, busy with the fireplace. She'd decided it was finally cold enough to light the first fire of the Autumn season and was arranging coal and firewood inside the grate.
"Full moon tonight, isn't it?" She asked, sitting back on her heels and dusting off her hands.
"Mm, yeah," Sirius answered, nodding.
Flora frowned to herself and looked back the fireplace. The usual dread she felt when it came to full moons crept up her spine. She worried for her brother and now, increasingly, she had herself to worry about too. Sirius seemed aware of her fear and he sat forward, leaning towards her with an outstretched hand. He gave her shoulder a gentle, comforting squeeze.
"It's okay. The worst thing you have to deal with is him," he nodded his head in Regulus' gloomy direction. He was still fussing over his new clothes, but raised his eyes and glared at them before looking back down again sulkily.
Flora smiled a little, her cheeks flushing. She felt dismayed when Sirius withdrew his hand and sat back again.
"You're safe here," he added reassuringly.
"You're sure?"
"One hundred percent."
"And Remus is okay?" She asked.
"As fine as he can be," Sirius replied with a little shrug. "He runs around the Lake District these days. He's been okay the last few moons."
"I thought the Order people wanted him to spy on that pack. The Greyback one."
Sirius appeared less relaxed than he had a moment ago; he sat up a little more and pulled his legs in. "They do," he answered evasively, keeping his eyes down. He was fiddling with the fringe on a cushion. Regulus was watching and listening to the two of them closely, his eyes darting between them.
"And?" Flora prompted.
Sirius looked at her again and let out a heavy breath through his nose. He then rose from the armchair and got down on the floor in front of her, sitting cross-legged like a young child. He fixed his large dark eyes on Flora sternly.
"Listen, Remus doesn't want you to know too much. He knows you worry."
Flora blinked a couple of times. Her gaze momentarily wavered over Sirius's shoulder to Regulus sitting on the sofa, who was still watching them both intently. He looked even more of an outsider now that Sirius had moved closer to Flora.
"So, what's going on? Is he running with that pack?" She asked tentatively, quickly bringing her eyes back to Sirius.
"Infiltrating," Sirius corrected. His knees touched her knees. "He's not running with them, so to speak. Tonight will be the second time."
Flora's brow furrowed. "How was it the first time?"
"Fine," Sirius answered quickly. "Fine. They were glad to see him, actually. Treated him quite well."
He clearly had more to say, but didn't volunteer any forthcoming information. He just quirked a quick smile at Flora and then looked back at his dour little brother. Regulus looked away and fixed his gaze upon a stack of books in the corner.
Flora turned back to the fireplace and picked up the box of matches. She promptly lit one and threw it onto the kindling. She then stood up, dusting herself off a second time, and asked Sirius, "Are you staying for tea?"
"If you want me to," Sirius smiled. "What're you making?"
"Chicken," Flora said. She looked over at Regulus briefly. He was still reading the titles of her books on the shelf, paying no attention to her or Sirius.
"I'll stay," Sirius nodded. "Better than going home to an empty flat."
Regulus hardly said a word at dinner. Whether because his older brother was there to tell him off, or because he genuinely liked the food, he didn't insult her cooking this time. He ate everything, and even accepted a cup of tea and slice of cake from her with a begrudged mumble of thanks.
His good behaviour continued into the next day, and the day after that. More to the point, he stayed out of her way, ate his meals and didn't complain. His blatant hostility had been somewhat reassuring in some ways, because at least she knew where she stood with him; he still was hostile, that much was clear, but oddly silent and increasingly withdrawn. He wasn't even scowling at her so much. It put Flora on edge, unable to help but make her a little more wary than usual, particularly as she thought back to the conversation Sirius had had so openly with her while Regulus was present. How much he could be trusted, Flora daren't think about. She'd rather he was rude again.
On the third consecutive day of sullen silence, Flora was washing up in the kitchen when she noticed it was beginning to rain on the clean washing outside. It had been an unseasonably nice day, so she'd decided to do a big wash and hang everything to dry outside. It also gave her reason to briefly speak to Regulus to ask for his dirty washing; she'd tapped on his bedroom door and felt quite glad when he gave her his usual haughty glare and snapped back, "I don't want you handling my clothing."
"Fine then, smell like a sewer rat," she'd shrugged back. "The washing won't do itself."
He had relented in the end. Now it was beginning to rain and the clothes were rapidly getting wet. Flora cursed under her breath, dashed to the door, threw it open, and ran outside. In that moment, she paid little mind to the heavy stone she usually pushed in front of the door to hold it open; a small shove with her foot had presumably fixed the stone in place. But it hadn't. The heaviness of the old door slid the stone out of place and the door promptly slammed shut. Upon returning with a basketful of damp washing only two minutes later, Flora discovered she was locked out.
"Shit," she hissed. She started to hit the door with the flat of her palm. "Regulus! Regulus! Open the door!" she shouted. No response. She kept hitting the door, then kicked at it to make sure he could hear her.
"Regulus!"
"Don't tell me you've locked us out," Regulus' drawling voice materialised behind her.
Flora spun around in surprise, her eyes wide. "What are you doing outside?"
Her long dark hair was rendered pin-straight, sticking to her face as the rain came down faster. Regulus was almost equally sodden, especially now as he was forced to stop and stand on the spot; raindrops dripped off his long eyelashes and nose, and his hair was hanging across his eyes in loose damp curls. To Flora's irritation, he still looked ridiculously handsome. He was wearing a long woolen coat Sirius had bought him, and by all evidence it seemed to be the only piece of clothing he actually liked, especially now it was keeping him dry. Flora had only a short-sleeved dress and cardigan on.
"Why am I outside?" He retorted in a snarky voice, "Perhaps it's because the door is locked, you imbecile."
"No, I mean," Flora huffed impatiently, "You were inside! Why are you outside? I never said you could go outside!"
Regulus snorted softly. "Do you honestly think I would ask your permission to go outside?" He sneered. "I'll go whenever I bloody feel like it. I just went for a walk."
"You're supposed to tell me!" Flora said angrily, put the washing basket down.
"Am I supposed to tell you when I need to piss too?" He snapped back sarcastically. "I can go wherever and whenever I want. I don't need your permission."
Flora rubbed her face, wiping rain water across her eyes and smudging her mascara. "Oh, fuck," she muttered, "Fuck's sake!" She tried the door handle again, shaking it uselessly.
"You idiot. Move," he pushed her aside to try the door himself, first trying the thumb-latch handle and then shoving his full weight against the door.
"Well that won't do any good," Flora snapped, folding her arms across herself and shivering. "You probably only weigh half a stone."
"Fuck off," he glowered. He kicked the door but it remained resolutely locked. "Don't you have a spare key?"
"No, Remus lost it," she sighed in frustration. "How're we supposed to get inside? Can't you do any magic? This must be easy!"
"I can't do jackshit without my wand," Regulus snarled back vehemently. The cold and wet was now really starting to set in for both of them.
"Then what do we do?" Flora despaired. As she said this, she backed away from the doorstep and surveyed the cottage, looking upwards with her eyes half closed. The rain was plummeting down on them. She suddenly pointed up at her bedroom window, which was open. "Could one of us climb in through there?"
Regulus moved to where she was standing and looked up also. "I'm not climbing up there," he said at once, frowning at her. "Don't you have a broomstick or something?"
Flora scoffed, staring at him in disbelief. "A broomstick? Yeah, I keep one with my pointy hat and cauldron in the shed— no, I do not have a fucking broomstick."
"I meant your brother might," Regulus snapped back.
"He doesn't," Flora glared. "Remus doesn't like flying."
"Wait, there's a shed?"
Flora had come to the same realisation at that very moment and already turned on her heel, heading towards the side of the cottage. Regulus followed. There was a tall weather-worn gate he'd been through once before to access the garden behind the cottage, which was quite a lot larger than the front. He hadn't, however, noticed the little green shed off to the left. Flora rushed to it as quickly as she could, treading with trepidation because she was still only in her fluffy slippers.
"Maybe there's a ladder in here," she said as she pulled open the stiff door. The smell of oil, rust, dirt and musty air greeted their nostrils. Regulus stepped in more for shelter than for any intention of helping, grimacing at the cobwebs and mess that lay about them. He looked very out of place in his smart, expensive coat.
"I think the only thing we'll find in here is tetanus," he muttered.
Flora cast a disapproving look at him over her shoulder as she moved further into the shed. There was a ladder, but of course it was at the very back of the shed, partially hidden behind many heavy pieces of gardening equipment.
"I think I can get it…" Flora mumbled uncertainly, inching her way closer. She was about to lift her leg over the lawn mower when Regulus suddenly grabbed her by the waist and practically lifted her into the air. Flora yelped in surprise.
"Watch it!" He cried.
"What the hell are you playing at?!" Flora stumbled backward. She elbowed his ribs in alarm, momentarily thinking he was about to attack her. They both fell backwards against the doorframe, his hands still clasped firmly to her middle.
"Be careful," he hissed, quickly letting go of her and pointing at a very sharp, very rusty nail sticking out of a workbench. Flora's bare leg had been within millimetres of making contact with it.
"Oh," Flora blinked. She turned her leg slightly and hitched up her skirt a little to examine the scratch. Fortunately, a bloodless scratch was all it was due to Regulus' fast reaction. Regulus averted his eyes at once, his cheeks growing pink as if she were about to start undressing in front of him.
"You should watch where you're going," he muttered.
Flora looked at him when she had finished checking the scratch. Her expression was one of bemusement, but otherwise uncertain gratitude. "Thanks."
"Just… stay there," he said, stepping in front of her to resume the job of retrieving the ladder.
"I don't think we can get to it," Flora fretted. "There's too much stuff in the way."
As Regulus stepped over the lawnmower, he saw exactly what she meant. There were two old bikes, a stack of wooden pallets, numerous tins of paint, heavy toolboxes, broken furniture, and what looked like car parts all cluttered in a dangerous heap that would not be easy to overcome without magic to aid them. Worse still, the ladder looked to be broken.
Regulus sighed in irritation. "Alright, so what the hell do we do?"
"We could wait for Sirius and Remus," Flora reasoned weakly.
"Wait?" Regulus scowled. "And catch pneumonia?"
"We can shelter in here…" she trailed off, her confidence wavering further when she caught sight of a large spider sitting in a web across the window.
"And what, exactly, do we do in the meantime?" Regulus replied in irritation, following her gaze. "Sit here in the shitty shed all night and get eaten alive by spiders?"
"I don't know, okay?!" She finally snapped, feeling close to tears from her frustration and discomfort. She wrapped her arms around herself again, this time more tightly, shivering in her wet clothes. For a split second, Regulus considered giving her his coat, but she continued, "One of us needs to climb through the bedroom window, if nothing else."
"You're smaller," he said quickly.
"Can you lift me?"
Regulus very much hated this idea and it showed on his face with a grimace. Flora stared daggers back at him. "Jesus Christ, I'm not going to bite you. You just grabbed me a moment ago and you're still standing in one piece."
"Think I've got a bruise in my ribs from your elbow though," he countered.
"Yeah, well, I thought you were going to do something bad," she returned sternly.
Regulus blinked a few times in surprise. "Bad?"
"Forget it. Will you lift me up so I can climb through the window?"
"Suppose so. If I have to," he grumbled.
Flora took a steady breath to calm herself, then nodded. "Okay then. Come on."
They walked back to the front of the cottage. The rain had eased somewhat, but hadn't yet stopped completely. Flora looked up at her bedroom window and then looked at Regulus.
"It's not that high. I think I could climb in if I get on your shoulders."
Regulus sighed heavily, hating every moment of this. He had touched her once to prevent her from cutting herself on a rusty nail, but that had been pure instinct; now he was about to let her climb on his shoulders like a pair of circus monkeys.
"This is ridiculous," he said in exasperation, dipping down so she could climb on.
"Don't you dare drop me," she warned, kicking her muddy slippers off. She hooked her leg around him and pushed up quickly so she was sitting on his back. Regulus winced, as the pressure irritated his wounds. He had to grab her ankles to keep her balanced as she carefully eased herself up to finally stand on his shoulders. Her legs were shaking with nerves and she couldn't fully straighten her legs or remove her hands from his hair, which she was now gripping in her fists.
"You're going to drop me!" She wailed.
"No, I'm not!" He snapped back, wincing and gritting his teeth in annoyance as she grabbed his hair. He was also sure one of the scars on his shoulders had started to bleed again. "Just stand up and climb through the damn window."
"I can't!" She reached for the window ledge.
"Stop bending your legs and just reach up more!" He tried to look up to see what she was doing, but this only made her fret more; she quickly tucked her skirt between her legs.
"Don't look up my skirt, you little pervert!"
"I don't want to look at you at all," he snarled back, looking back at the wall he was almost nose-to-nose with. "Just grab the fucking window sill."
Flora took a breath, straightened her legs and pulled herself higher, so she was now waist-level with the window sill. Regulus felt the weight on his shoulders lessen and so he quickly pushed her up by the heels of her feet, inadvertently looking up just as she clambered through the window headfirst. She disappeared inside with a thud and a loud, "Ow!"
"Idiot," he grumbled to himself, scowling up at the window.
The rain began to beat down harder again. Regulus listened to it and watched it bounce off the leaves of a flowering plant while he waited to be let inside, with occurred a short moment later. The front door abruptly opened, shadowed by a furious-looking Flora. She looked ready to murder someone. Regulus slouched in, soaking wet and angry; Flora picked up the washing on the step and slammed the door loudly. They both regarded one another with a look of complete fury and dire resentment.
"You are not leaving this house without telling me next time," Flora said bitterly.
"Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do?" Regulus retorted, his anger boiling over. "This would never have happened if you hadn't locked us out."
"You're not supposed to leave!"
"I can do whatever I damn well please!"
"No!" Flora went on in a passionate rage. "I don't trust you! You stay here or I'll tell Sirius to take you back to London. I'm sick of the sight of your miserable face anyway!"
She didn't wait for him to argue back, though he'd been about to open his mouth. She was too cold, wet and upset to hear it. She stormed across the kitchen and made a beeline for the stairs as Regulus stared at her in disbelief and anger. She stomped up the stairs and into the bathroom, and a few seconds later the pipes in the walls groaned as she turned the taps on for a bath.
Regulus badly wanted to do the same. His muscles were aching and his scars were stinging from having her stand on his back and shoulders. But he knew he'd have to wait now, which he resented deeply, though he wasn't as soaked to the skin as Flora. He'd still had his coat on, which he now took off and hanged by the fireplace in the sitting room to dry off. Only his face and hair were sodden wet.
He fed more kindling to the fire and sat as close as he could for warmth, waiting and listening for Flora to finish in the bathroom. His initial anger eased as he sat alone watching the orange flames, but his annoyance did not. He hated her, but was annoyed that he couldn't hate her as much as he wanted to hate her. Something about her appealed to his deepest sensibilities, though Regulus told himself it was simply because she was pretty and stupidly helpless; it was her wide eyes, he considered, they gave her an air of innocence. She had the same trusting eyes as Remus.
Nearly forty-five minutes later, Regulus went back into the kitchen and was trying to make himself a cup of tea when Flora came downstairs. Her hair was damp, but clean, and she was wearing soft pink pyjamas.
"How do you work this stupid thing?" Regulus muttered, holding up the kettle.
Flora glared and snatched it from his hands. "Leave it. You'll break it."
She went to fill it with water at the sink and then put it back down to heat up, then turned her attention to the sodden washing still sitting in the basket. She sighed and began to sort through it, hanging it up to dry over the fire guard in front of the ancient kitchen fireplace. A small, dying fire was lit in the grate. Regulus leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her. He didn't especially like the casual way she handled his boxers and put them on display next to her things, but he didn't object out of sheer mortification. He'd rather let her think he didn't care. Flora could feel his eyes on her and s he tried to ignore him, but he made her feel highly conscious of herself, aware now of every movement she made. She finally looked at him in annoyance.
"Would you stop that?" She snapped.
"Stop what?" He scowled.
"Staring!"
His eyes tracked over her face closely and then he looked aside, still glowering. "I'm making sure you don't ruin my things."
"Thought you didn't like your new clothes," she muttered, turning back to her work.
"Well it's all I have, so I may as well keep them nice."
"Mmm," was all she said in response, hardly listening anymore. The kettle finished boiling and she turned to the task of making tea.
"Why'd you think I was going to hurt you in the shed?" He asked suddenly.
"What?"
"You said you thought I was going to do something bad. Why?"
"I'm sure that's not a hard one to figure out," she replied snippily, pouring hot water into the two cups. "You're an ex-death eater and you've made it very clear you despise every bone in my body since you arrived. I was standing over sharp metal. If there was any moment to snuff my life out, it would've been there."
Regulus didn't reply for a moment, considering her words. "I wouldn't hurt you," he said finally, quietly, with his eyes averted downwards like a scolded child.
"And you've been weird the last few days," she added, looking at him warily.
"Weird?" He lifted his gaze.
"Well, weirder than usual," she corrected.
Regulus frowned. His evident confusion was enough to prompt Flora to continue as she stirred milk into their tea. "You haven't said one rude thing about my cooking the last few days, and you've even said thank you a couple of times."
Regulus snorted. A smirk pulled at his mouth as he regarded her. "Is that all?"
"And you've stayed out of my way."
"So, your logical conclusion was that I must be plotting your demise?"
"Must be," she sniffed. She pushed the cup of tea towards him across the countertop. "I just thought it was weird… the timing. It was after Sirius visited and told me what Remus was doing for the Order."
Regulus rolled his eyes. "Oh, Merlin. Really? I already knew about it. If you weren't paying attention, like I was, Sirius told you it was the second time he'd gone. Now if you can count, I haven't been here one week yet. So take a guess where I was the last full moon."
"Well I didn't know how long you were dossing with Sirius and Remus for!" She retorted defensively. "Or if they'd even have told you."
"Believe me, I've discovered a lot of things about them," he said meaningfully. "But that was one thing they told me. They also explained why you were locked up here prisoner in your own house."
Flora turned away moodily, suddenly feeling a little foolish. She supposed that made sense. She took her cup of tea and made her way into the sitting room with Regulus following.
"For someone who reads so many books, you're remarkably unperceptive," he said, sitting down in the armchair near the fire while Flora made herself comfortable on the sofa, glaring at him.
"Whatever. Can't be too careful," she grumbled, picking up Jane Austen again.
"Well, you haven't been so far," Regulus quipped back. "I apparently nearly murdered you in the shed and there was nothing to stop me dropping you from my shoulders earlier."
"You needed to get inside," Flora replied moodily.
"Not necessarily. I could run anytime I please."
"And get captured by your old mates? Good luck then."
Regulus sipped his tea. He still had a little irritating smirk on his lips, but Flora again chose to ignore him and promptly resumed her book. Regulus sifted through the newest copy of The Daily Prophet and the two of them lapsed into an oddly comfortable silence.