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themightyflynnTitle: Safe ch. 17
Author:themightyflynn
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Regulus Black, Harry Potter, Katie Bell
Summary: Regulus has only ever known the cold and the wet. Or has he? When warmth comes back into his life, it triggers his memories.
Word Count: 1370
Warnings: Bit of bad language.
Notes: Read on Ao3
“No, Caradoc, you know you aren’t permitted to enter anyone else’s room without their permission.”
A strange tingle runs down my spine. The words were muffled by the closed door of my room, but it is clear that the speaker is near. Caradoc Dearborn. I remember him well. Tall and solidly built, he had been a Beater for Gryffindor a few years ahead of me at Hogwarts. A vague memory surfaces of seeing his name in a long list of Auror graduates the year I turned seventeen, but that is all I know about his life after school. It is curious that he is here of all places, though. Placing my utensils down on my plate, I offer Kreacher a small smile.
“Thank you, Kreacher. That was wonderful, as always.”
Standing from the table that the staff sets up for my lunch every day, I stretch my arms over my head. I have not been told the names of anyone else who has been pulled from the water, but I must assume that some of the names would be at least vaguely familiar. So many people ‘went missing’ during the war that it stands to reason that some of them would have ended as I did.
“I know some of these people, Healer.” Dearborn’s deep rumble of a voice feels almost as though it is vibrating through me. “Or, I knew them. Some were in school at the same time I was.”
“That doesn’t matter. You can’t just barge on into someone else’s room. You aren’t an Auror anymore and, even if you were, you still couldn’t without express permission.”
The voices fade a little as they clearly make their way down the hall outside my room. Stepping forward, I reach for the handle of the door, intending to take a quick look and see just where it is Dearborn has made off to, when a knock sounds and it opens on its own.
“Oh, shit! Sorry.”
A bright, blinding light hits me directly in the eyes, causing me to stumble backwards a few steps. With the dimness of the light in my room, I always forget that real lights have this effect on my eyes now. Shielding them with my hand, I blink rapidly. I jump when a hot hand grips my bicep and pushes me out of the light coming in from the hall.
“Harry?”
The only response I receive is a string of language so foul I cannot help but to smile, despite the watering of my eyes. The hand leaves my arm and I hear the sound of the door closing a couple of seconds later.
“I really didn’t mean to do that. Sorry.”
Blinking my eyes open, I stare at the vaguely Harry-shaped blob before me. “That is a rather inventive grasp of the English language you have.”
“What? Oh!” Reaching up, he scrubs a hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah. Ron’s brothers have had a bit of a bad influence over me, I guess.”
Ron. Harry has mentioned Ronald Weasley and his family on several occasions, but has never really gone into any detail as of yet. Considering we have been avoiding any mentions of various family members, I find this a little strange. Would it not make sense for him to mention his friends?
“You don’t say much about them. The Weasley family,” I add when Harry merely stares at me. “I have been told stories about when you were in school and several anecdotes about working together, but you don’t go into detail about them.”
Harry stares at me for a long time, long enough that I begin to fidget a little under his gaze. “You… You wouldn’t mind? I mean, I consider the Weasleys family, so I have no problem telling you about them, I just figured… Well, I figured you’d get bored.”
It is Harry’s turn to fidget as I pin him with a look. “Harry. I am stuck in this tiny room all day long. You, Healer Bell, and Alistair are the only people I have contact with. Any news of the outside world would be highly appreciated.”
“Oh!” The smile that lights Harry’s face shows all the enthusiasm of his true youth, rather than the almost haggard face he shows most of the time. “Oh, that’s brilliant. Well, you see…”
The next two hours consist of a detailed account of the Weasley family. Harry starts with Arthur, whom I only vaguely remember mentions of when I was a child. He was a cousin of mine, I believe, if memory serves. He is a cousin of mine, although how far removed, I do not recall. Molly Prewett is also someone I only have very vague memories of. Her brothers, however, were infamous in the Death Eater circles. I know for a fact that there were several people out to take them down. It does not come as a shock to discover that they succeeded in the end.
Harry stumbles a little over his description of two members of the Weasley family: Fred and Ginny. The explanation for Fred is understandable, as his death must have hit them all hard. While I did not get along with my own brother, I know loss. Ginny, however, Harry is a little vaguer about. When I question him about her, his cheeks tinge a bright pink.
“She, well… We…” He ducks his head, his cheeks burning. “Weusedtodate.”
My eyebrows shoot up towards my hairline. “Excuse me?”
Harry huffs out a breath. “Don’t make me say it again.”
I leave him to stew on it for a few more seconds. Watching as he squirms, I have to smile. When he glances up, a sheepish look on his face, I shake my head.
“You dated your best friend’s sister.”
“I get it, alright?” He stands, waving his hands through the air as he speaks rapidly. “I totally understand it. She is Ron’s sister. And I… we… Yeah, we did. For a year and a half, we did. In as many places as possible, really. And you know what? It was good! We were good. Ginny’s an amazing girl, but it just wasn’t going to go anywhere.”
Unable to help myself, I raise a hand to cover my smile. “You not only dated her, but you dumped her as well?”
“What? No!”
“So much for Gryffindor loyalty.”
“No! No, look, she dumped me. I swear!”
I can feel my smile widening. I am unsure how long I am going to be able to hide it from Harry, so I duck my head.
“The saviour of the wizarding world got dumped?”
Harry is silent for a few seconds. I keep my head down, afraid that he will see my smile.
“Are you laughing at me?”
There is a combination of disbelief and laughter to his voice. I risk glancing up just in time to see the realisation that, yes, I am laughing at him hit Harry. Indignation crosses his face a mere second before he bursts into laughter. The smile threatening to give me away finally breaks through and I join Harry in his mirth. What exactly it is I am laughing about, I do not know, but it has been so long since I had anything to laugh about that it feels really good. Doubling over, I wrap my arms around my stomach. This is how Healer Bell finds us.
“Well, gentlemen, it’s good to see the two of you getting along.”
I try to compose myself, I really do. It is difficult, however, when every time I glance up, Harry is smirking at me. Healer Bell waits us out, an amused glint in her eyes.
“My apologies, Healer Bell,” I manage after a while.
“Yeah, sorry, Katie. I just…” Harry’s hand goes to cover his mouth again as he huffs out another breath. “I haven’t had much to laugh about recently.”
“Perfectly fine, Harry. I do, however, have to ask you to leave now. It’s time for Mr. Black’s injections.”
With a brief handshake, Harry exits the room. I cannot help but think that his words to me a fortnight ago may have been correct once again: it is nice to have friends.
Author:
themightyflynnRating: PG-13
Characters: Regulus Black, Harry Potter, Katie Bell
Summary: Regulus has only ever known the cold and the wet. Or has he? When warmth comes back into his life, it triggers his memories.
Word Count: 1370
Warnings: Bit of bad language.
Notes: Read on Ao3
“No, Caradoc, you know you aren’t permitted to enter anyone else’s room without their permission.”
A strange tingle runs down my spine. The words were muffled by the closed door of my room, but it is clear that the speaker is near. Caradoc Dearborn. I remember him well. Tall and solidly built, he had been a Beater for Gryffindor a few years ahead of me at Hogwarts. A vague memory surfaces of seeing his name in a long list of Auror graduates the year I turned seventeen, but that is all I know about his life after school. It is curious that he is here of all places, though. Placing my utensils down on my plate, I offer Kreacher a small smile.
“Thank you, Kreacher. That was wonderful, as always.”
Standing from the table that the staff sets up for my lunch every day, I stretch my arms over my head. I have not been told the names of anyone else who has been pulled from the water, but I must assume that some of the names would be at least vaguely familiar. So many people ‘went missing’ during the war that it stands to reason that some of them would have ended as I did.
“I know some of these people, Healer.” Dearborn’s deep rumble of a voice feels almost as though it is vibrating through me. “Or, I knew them. Some were in school at the same time I was.”
“That doesn’t matter. You can’t just barge on into someone else’s room. You aren’t an Auror anymore and, even if you were, you still couldn’t without express permission.”
The voices fade a little as they clearly make their way down the hall outside my room. Stepping forward, I reach for the handle of the door, intending to take a quick look and see just where it is Dearborn has made off to, when a knock sounds and it opens on its own.
“Oh, shit! Sorry.”
A bright, blinding light hits me directly in the eyes, causing me to stumble backwards a few steps. With the dimness of the light in my room, I always forget that real lights have this effect on my eyes now. Shielding them with my hand, I blink rapidly. I jump when a hot hand grips my bicep and pushes me out of the light coming in from the hall.
“Harry?”
The only response I receive is a string of language so foul I cannot help but to smile, despite the watering of my eyes. The hand leaves my arm and I hear the sound of the door closing a couple of seconds later.
“I really didn’t mean to do that. Sorry.”
Blinking my eyes open, I stare at the vaguely Harry-shaped blob before me. “That is a rather inventive grasp of the English language you have.”
“What? Oh!” Reaching up, he scrubs a hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah. Ron’s brothers have had a bit of a bad influence over me, I guess.”
Ron. Harry has mentioned Ronald Weasley and his family on several occasions, but has never really gone into any detail as of yet. Considering we have been avoiding any mentions of various family members, I find this a little strange. Would it not make sense for him to mention his friends?
“You don’t say much about them. The Weasley family,” I add when Harry merely stares at me. “I have been told stories about when you were in school and several anecdotes about working together, but you don’t go into detail about them.”
Harry stares at me for a long time, long enough that I begin to fidget a little under his gaze. “You… You wouldn’t mind? I mean, I consider the Weasleys family, so I have no problem telling you about them, I just figured… Well, I figured you’d get bored.”
It is Harry’s turn to fidget as I pin him with a look. “Harry. I am stuck in this tiny room all day long. You, Healer Bell, and Alistair are the only people I have contact with. Any news of the outside world would be highly appreciated.”
“Oh!” The smile that lights Harry’s face shows all the enthusiasm of his true youth, rather than the almost haggard face he shows most of the time. “Oh, that’s brilliant. Well, you see…”
The next two hours consist of a detailed account of the Weasley family. Harry starts with Arthur, whom I only vaguely remember mentions of when I was a child. He was a cousin of mine, I believe, if memory serves. He is a cousin of mine, although how far removed, I do not recall. Molly Prewett is also someone I only have very vague memories of. Her brothers, however, were infamous in the Death Eater circles. I know for a fact that there were several people out to take them down. It does not come as a shock to discover that they succeeded in the end.
Harry stumbles a little over his description of two members of the Weasley family: Fred and Ginny. The explanation for Fred is understandable, as his death must have hit them all hard. While I did not get along with my own brother, I know loss. Ginny, however, Harry is a little vaguer about. When I question him about her, his cheeks tinge a bright pink.
“She, well… We…” He ducks his head, his cheeks burning. “Weusedtodate.”
My eyebrows shoot up towards my hairline. “Excuse me?”
Harry huffs out a breath. “Don’t make me say it again.”
I leave him to stew on it for a few more seconds. Watching as he squirms, I have to smile. When he glances up, a sheepish look on his face, I shake my head.
“You dated your best friend’s sister.”
“I get it, alright?” He stands, waving his hands through the air as he speaks rapidly. “I totally understand it. She is Ron’s sister. And I… we… Yeah, we did. For a year and a half, we did. In as many places as possible, really. And you know what? It was good! We were good. Ginny’s an amazing girl, but it just wasn’t going to go anywhere.”
Unable to help myself, I raise a hand to cover my smile. “You not only dated her, but you dumped her as well?”
“What? No!”
“So much for Gryffindor loyalty.”
“No! No, look, she dumped me. I swear!”
I can feel my smile widening. I am unsure how long I am going to be able to hide it from Harry, so I duck my head.
“The saviour of the wizarding world got dumped?”
Harry is silent for a few seconds. I keep my head down, afraid that he will see my smile.
“Are you laughing at me?”
There is a combination of disbelief and laughter to his voice. I risk glancing up just in time to see the realisation that, yes, I am laughing at him hit Harry. Indignation crosses his face a mere second before he bursts into laughter. The smile threatening to give me away finally breaks through and I join Harry in his mirth. What exactly it is I am laughing about, I do not know, but it has been so long since I had anything to laugh about that it feels really good. Doubling over, I wrap my arms around my stomach. This is how Healer Bell finds us.
“Well, gentlemen, it’s good to see the two of you getting along.”
I try to compose myself, I really do. It is difficult, however, when every time I glance up, Harry is smirking at me. Healer Bell waits us out, an amused glint in her eyes.
“My apologies, Healer Bell,” I manage after a while.
“Yeah, sorry, Katie. I just…” Harry’s hand goes to cover his mouth again as he huffs out another breath. “I haven’t had much to laugh about recently.”
“Perfectly fine, Harry. I do, however, have to ask you to leave now. It’s time for Mr. Black’s injections.”
With a brief handshake, Harry exits the room. I cannot help but think that his words to me a fortnight ago may have been correct once again: it is nice to have friends.
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