Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Forty Nine

It was only the first of December and already the Great Hall was in the midst of being decorated for Christmas.

The hall was lit with thousands of candles floating midair, and above them, the ceiling's enchantment showed a dark red sunset as the night was setting in.
It was still a couple of hours until dinner, and Professor Flitwick and Mcgonagall were hurrying to decorate all twelve of the Christmas trees which lined the walls of the room.

"Can I have one of these?" Piper pointed to the small pile of chocolates frogs that had accumulated on the table they were sat at.

"Woah! If she gets one can I have one too?" Ignatius exclaimed sharply, already reaching across the table to take a packet.

Esme sighed, "Yeah, whatever."

"Why are you being all mopey?" Levi asked, from where he sat on top of the table with his feet resting on the bench Esme sat on.
"I'm not." She replied shortly.

"We pale in comparison to Reg's company." Piper mused with a giggle as she turned over the collectible card in her hand to read the back of it.
"Shush." Esme responded.

"So much for a happy birthday, huh?" Ignatius mumbled whilst his mouth was full of chocolate.

It was Esmerelda's birthday. Her seventeenth, to be exact.
She had never particularly been one for birthdays. To say she hated them would be a step too far - Esme just found them somewhat pointless.
Her parents had never placed great emphasis on large birthday celebrations and, despite the fact that she was very vocal and argumentative, Esme didn't like to be the centre of attention.

Regulus Black and Dirk Cresswell were returning from their time prefecting that afternoon when, unusually, a conversation struck up.

The two of them weren't exactly friends.
Dirk didn't like or trust the Slytherin boy, and Regulus knew that so he compensated by keeping his distance.
However, this was proving harder now they were essentially part of the same friendship group.

"Did you get Esme a birthday present?" Regulus asked, somewhat sheepishly and completely aware that he might be making a fool of himself.

They were walking down the empty corridor together and it felt as though Regulus' question had shattered the icy atmosphere.

Dirk looked down at the floor, "Yes. Why?"
Regulus hadn't quite planned on the conversation going so long.

"Right." He replied, "What did you get?"
"Some sugar quills. The girl is impossible to buy for." Dirk shook his head.

"Oh." Regulus hummed, digging his hands deep into his pockets.

Frowning, Dirk turned to the boy, "What?"
"Nothing."
"Something's wrong. What?"
"Nothing, really."

Finally, Dirk came to a standstill and this caused Regulus to stop walking and turn to face him.
"What is it?" Dirk asked.

Regulus pursed his lips, knowing full well this might only make Dirk dislike him more. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes." Dirk replied.

"Esme doesn't like sugar quills - too sweet."

Dirk groaned, holding his head in his hands, "Are you joking?"
"No."
"Merlin! She's impossible." He complained.

"I know." Regulus chuckled with a small smile.

Sometimes Dirk would get irritated by the fact that Regulus was just accepted with open arms wherever he went - nobody questioned where his loyalties lay.
Then, there was also a small part of him, buried deep, that was thankful for Regulus. The Slytherin boy had this calmness about him that allowed him to easily make people feel better. Dirk appreciated that Regulus made Piper laugh, and he always had Esme's back.