Chapter Text
Chapter 25: It’s Time to Go
After their meeting with Professor Slughorn, Regulus and Leo didn’t hear anything more about Mulciber from the professors. It doesn’t seem like he has been punished for kidnapping Dorothea though, because he has only had one detention since they went to speak with their head of house. Since nothing seems to have come from the investigation, Regulus is planning on talking to his father over the summer. If the professors did find Mucliber guilty and his only punishment is detention, there is something wrong with the school’s priorities. It shouldn’t be possible that kidnapping and torturing a first year, because of her lineage, gets the same punishment as breaking curfew.
Regulus is jolted from his thoughts when Leo throws himself onto the couch beside him. “Hey, Reg? Can you help me figure something out? On our first night back after the holidays, it took me a while to fall asleep; when I finally did, my dreams were peppered with flashes of numerical sequences, interspersed with glowing orbs and various creatures I have never heard of. Could that mean anything?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. But it is interesting that the three electives you chose, not two days later, were divination, arithmancy, and care of magical creatures. Divination uses crystal balls which could be glowing orbs. Arithmancy is based on arithmetic, and care of magical creatures covers various creatures we are not familiar with. The Sight is extremely rare, so it is probably just a coincidence, but it is odd, nonetheless. Are you descended from any?”
“Not that I know of. We don’t know much about Mum’s ancestral line, except that her parents didn’t want to speak about it after leaving Lithuania. I... just in case, I will keep note of any dreams I have over the summer and see if any of them fit what occurs over the following weeks. What kinds of foresight are not related to crystal balls and prophecy?”
“From what I have heard and read, interpreting what people’s dreams say about their current psyche isn’t uncommon, but having the “Sight” in the form of prophetic dreams is almost unheard of. King Arthur’s sister, Morgana, is rumored to have had them, but no one knows for sure.”
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Once finals are upon them, Leo and Regulus go back to studying outside in the same spot as last year. The only downside is a few other students have discovered it, so it is not as peaceful as it once was. One would think that at a school with under 1000 students, over 150 rooms (across 7 stories), and at least 40 acres of land (excluding the lake), there would be more than enough space for students to study without overlapping, and yet they are not alone in their “secret” spot. Since they now know what to expect from finals, they aren’t as daunting as last year, and Regulus doesn’t lose as much sleep.
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Finals have concluded, and it is the last day of term. Regulus is sitting on Leo’s bed as he finishes packing. Regulus can’t decide if Mercury is enjoying Leo packing or not, because he is sitting in the middle of his trunk, on top of all of his clean clothes. Much to the cat's dismay, Regulus picks up Mercury so that Leo can put more of his things away before it is time to go to the ultimate feast of the year.
“What do you think of Evan’s girlfriend from Ravenclaw, Rory?” Leo asks. “I thought she was nice enough. Bizarre that she sees something in Rosier though, right?”
“Prewett? A good and powerful family, though her older sister, Molly, may have made some questionable choices. She's risking herself just by associating with Rosier . They may have good lineage, but the ones that are left are not particularly powerful or well-off. scoff . She’s worth much more than that. She’s a powerful witch that values knowledge and creativity. Completely wasted on a simpering, dimwitted, fool like Evan.”
“Sounds like you want her for yourself. Isn’t she a little old for you?” Leo replies glumly, “Hey, can you help me close my trunk? After that, I am ready to go down to the Great Hall if you are.”
“Sure. Wait, what? No, I don’t. I just... I... I noticed she was friends with Sirius. I thought, maybe, she could help cure his hatred of everything I am.”
“I’m sorry he’s so rude to you. You could always try reaching out to him.”
“No, he’s the one that has to fix this. He’s the one who abandoned me .”
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As they walk into the Great Hall, the first thing Regulus sees is all of the yellow banners hanging from every surface. Hufflepuff won the House Cup. Even though Regulus wishes Slytherin had won, he believes that Hufflepuff deserves the win this year, especially with what happened to Dorothea Stewart. Regulus looks up at the head table to see if he can spot the Quidditch cup and determine the winner. Even though he cannot make out the winner, he notices that Dumbledore is missing from the high table.
What kind of Headmaster is late to the final feast of the term? Regulus thinks to himself. It is at that moment that McGonagall stands and announces the final points of each house. Slytherin came in third with 425 points. Then the moment Regulus was most excited for; the winner of the quidditch cup.
“For the first time during my professorship, we have a tie for the quidditch cup. However, since we cannot give both teams the cup, and want to reward the teams that did well, Madam Hooch and I decided to consider sportsmanship and the number of wins in addition to the number of points earned from each game. After much deliberation…the winner of this year’s quidditch cup is Slytherin!”
Regulus turns to Leo in bewilderment. When he heard that they were factoring in sportsmanship this year, he thought that Mulciber had cost them the cup. Apparently, the other team had also done something to handicap themselves since Slytherin still won. Sometime during Slytherin’s celebration of winning the quidditch cup, the food appeared. Regulus fills his plate with all of his favorites and Leo does the same.
At breakfast the next morning, McGonagall, since Dumbledore is still unaccounted for, stands up and announces that the train has arrived to take everyone back to London. Regulus walks out of the castle laughing with his friends, trying to soak up as much joyfulness as possible before Walburga saps all the joy from the air. Hopefully, having his father home will help slightly.
“Reg, please promise me you will actually write to me this summer. I don’t want to lose touch with you. Even if all you have to write about are the Montrose Magpies' quidditch statistics. And keep me updated on what your dad says about the Dorothea situation.”
“Yes. Leo, I promise.” He says before they part ways to sit with their other friends. Leo to the Squid Squad and Regulus with some of his quidditch teammates, avoiding Mulciber and Evan like a plague.