[Chapter Thirty-Six]

Regulus was practically beside himself when it came to experiencing his first kiss and nothing brought him greater joy at the moment than sharing it with Éponine. Not to mention, there was nothing more flattering than having her kiss him first. He always had it played out in his mind that the boy was supposed to initiate the first kiss and all the other nonsense that had been passed down to him through words and observations, but what he experienced was so much better. It had been unexpected, instead of planned, still giving him the same sense of spontaneity that he had been looking for initially. However, it didn't end with either one of them getting kissed on their eyeball or with getting punched in the face.

That enough was a blessing in itself.

It was the way she kissed him too that set his heartbeat off track for a few moments. It was a simple kiss, but still, there was something behind it that left Regulus never wanting it to end. Over the last few months that they had been forced to get to know each other on a personal level by the order of their parents, Regulus never saw what had finally established itself as ever happening. In the beginning, he only expected to live a long life of misery, married to a woman that he didn't like. But instead, in the short time, Éponine became a person that was making a daily impact in his life.

Life wasn't meant to be perfect, but it could be filled with little perfect moments that one could treasure forever.

That was what Regulus had discovered once he had given Éponine a real chance in his eyes. All around him was an imperfect world, filled with moments of chaos and enough problems that made him want to pull his hair out in frustration. He had an imperfect family as much as they tried to put on the act that nothing was wrong. Even Regulus knew that he wasn't perfect nor was Éponine, but it was moments such as their first kiss or the time back where they were visiting the cliffside that showed him that there were perfect moments to be shared.

The kiss left him excited because Regulus could suddenly anticipate all the "firsts" that he and Éponine would experience together.

Of course, not everyone shared in the same excitement as Regulus did as Madam Pomfrey had caught the two in the act and clapped her hands together to get them to separate. It left them both red in the face brought on by pure embarrassment, but at the same time, not even the harshest scolding could get the smiles to fade from their faces. Éponine stole a glance in his direction and the blush on her cheeks was enough to die for at that moment, leaving Regulus to forget why they were in the Hospital Wing, to begin with.

Yet, they remained silent until Madam Pomfrey shooed them off, giving Regulus the clear for his nose and telling him to stay clear of walls. Rather than one of them leading the way out of the Hospital Wing, Regulus took it upon himself to hold Éponine's hand and the two of them walked hand in hand all the way back to the Slytherin dorm.

"Did I do it wrong?" Éponine's sudden question caught him off guard as they were walking down one of the corridors. "I hope I didn't-"

"What do you mean?" he asked with an incredulous expression on his face. It was one of the most amazing experiences of his life and she was doubting herself at the time? "Why would you think that, Épi?"

"Well," she began, bashfully looking down at the floor, " you haven't said anything since...the kiss, so I thought maybe it was because you didn't particularly care for it? I know I don't have much experience and maybe I should have remembered what Emmarentia told me to do. But I wasn't even thinking at the moment, I just went in for it and-"

Regulus stopped abruptly in the corridor, not allowing Éponine to downplay anything of what he had just experienced and considered to be one of the most memorable moments of his life. There had been nothing wrong with the kiss and the only reason why he didn't say anything was that he thought the term "wow" would not only come across as sounding foolish but be a downplay of how he truly felt at the time.

As he came to a halt, Éponine looked confused and slightly concerned as if he was about to confirm her fears that he didn't like the kiss. Yet, he was actually following what she said about not even thinking about it at the moment and just going in for it. To show her that he truly appreciated every second of their first kiss, he initiated the second, pulling her close to him in the corridor and just allowing everything to play out accordingly. It went much smoother than any of his previous attempts, leaving a little jolt of pride to race through his body.

The little squeak that emitted from Éponine nearly caused him to pull away as he had gotten her with the impromptu corridor kiss, but as he felt her hands hold the front of his shirt, he took it as a clear signal that she was fine.

Knowing that they risked getting caught if they remained kissing in the corridor, Regulus pulled away but wore a soft smile on his face. "I very much enjoyed the first kiss with you, Épi, just as much as I enjoyed the one we just shared now. And the craziest thing about it is, I think it only gets better from here on out."

That definitely seemed to do the trick of reassuring her as Éponine no longer looked nervous, but rather let out a small giggle before she covered her mouth and turned away. And hand in hand, the two finally made their way back to the Slytherin Common Room, where Regulus didn't let go of her hand until they reached the entrance of the girls' dorms.

They were just about to say goodnight to one another whenever they were interrupted by the voice of a third party, crashing in. Both teens looked over to see Severus Snape, sitting on one of the sofas, eyeing them with a suspicious look. They were waiting for him to speak but he said nothing else until Regulus turned back to Éponine.

"We'll meet in the morning for breakfast?" he asked with a hopeful look, only to see the smile return to her face as she nodded and wished him a good night. She kissed the side of his cheek lightly before shooting another look in Severus' direction and then carrying herself off to bed. Once she disappeared from view, Regulus turned to the older student, raising a brow in question.

"Is there something you want, Severus? Something I can help you with?"

For a moment, Severus didn't say anything, simply pushing his oiled black hair back that had fallen into his face. It did nothing to help him as all his hair pushed back, seemed to make the appearance of his nose much larger.

"Actually," he began in a slow drawl, " I was just talking to Avery and Mulciber in the dorms when I asked where you were, they claimed that you were in the Hospital Wing. Something wrong?"

"No," Regulus answered, "it was just an accident that's all, nothing major. What were you talking to Avery and Mulciber about?"

Regulus was invited to sit with Severus as he made his way over and sat on the sofa that was remained opposite to where the other was sitting. Severus obviously meant business that evening as he didn't hesitate any longer once they were both seated. He leant forward and only spoke in a voice barely above a whisper despite the fact that they were the only two in the Common Room at the time.

It was a discussion of the Dark Lord as Severus went on to disclose, the wizard that was gaining power and followers with every passing day. Regulus had heard about him, there wasn't a witch or wizard that hadn't at that point in time. Even one of his older cousins, Bellatrix, had joined the following, deeming herself as a true treasure among the Black family members. But Regulus couldn't figure out why Severus was bringing up the Dark Lord at that very moment. It was risky to discuss dark magic, to begin with, not to mention, it wasn't like it was condoned by the Ministry or the teachings of the school to follow such a wizard with a reputation.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Regulus asked. "What does this have to do with me?"

"If you can prove yourself worthy of following him, you may also join him," Severus implied, leaving Regulus with a bewildered look.

"But I've only entered my fifth year!" he countered swiftly. What Dark Lord was going to recruit teenagers to join him?

"Your talent has been spoken to him already, along with several others," Severus continued, " you already stand a better chance with your cousin, Bellatrix as one of his most devoted followers."

Regulus found himself in a cloud of confusion for more reasons than one at the offer of joining as one of the Dark Lord's followers. One, how was he supposed to prove himself to begin with? He was only a fifth year as he had already told Severus and when it came to his talents, Regulus really didn't think that the Dark Lord was looking for quidditch skills so what was he really after? What talents? And why was Severus the one coming to him of all people making the offer?

If memory served him correctly, Severus had been best friends with a muggle-born by the name of Lily Evans up until the previous year, when they seemed to have a falling out. But nonetheless, he had been friends with her and Regulus was surprised by the turn-around rate that Severus was willing to offer up recruitment to the Dark Lord that didn't like Muggle-borns, enough that it was rumoured that he murdered them or wanted to see them killed.

"I'm afraid I'm confused," Regulus admitted, " I don't see as to why you are so set on recruiting others. You were friends with a-"

"There is no need to mention it!" Severus snapped. "Obviously that friendship no longer exists, you can thank your brother and his friends for that! But perhaps I should be the one to thank me, pushing me in the appropriate direction."

There was a bitterness that dripped from his tongue like venom, leaving Regulus to push himself back a bit into the cushion of the sofa, especially the way Severus' eyes lit up with anger just mentioning Sirius as " your brother." However, it was not the only time Sirius was going to be brought up in conversation that evening.

"It seems your brother has been caught up with the likes of blood-traitors and mudbloods alike," Severus continued, leaving Regulus to stare at him. It was one thing for Regulus to take harsh jabs at his brother, but no one else was going to get away with it.

"That's none of your business," Regulus told him, " matters of the Black family are reserved for just family members."

"But it is your business and I highly doubt you would want to see your brother come to any harm, correct?"

"What are you talking about?! What harm?"

As much as Regulus and Sirius continued to butt heads since Sirius left the Black household in a manner of running away, to Regulus that was still his older brother and he wasn't sure if he could ever let that go. Even if no one in the household spoke of him, even if his face had been burned off the tapestry, Regulus couldn't let it go that Sirius would always be his big brother. There was still a connection between the two that neither one of them seemed able to let go of fully. No matter what horrible things they said to one another while in passing, Sirius was still trying to protect Regulus and Regulus was still trying to get Sirius to come home.

However, Severus brought up the discussion that there was a war on the horizon, which made sense with the recruiting that was taking place under the Dark Lord. Those that opposed the Dark Lord and his views would obviously be the enemy and Regulus could see where Severus was going with the conversation, Sirius would more than likely be on the opposing side, leaving him as one of the enemies. Severus spoke of little mercy unless one had enough loyalty to the Dark Lord perhaps in order to spare a life.

To Regulus, it meant that if he proved himself to be worthy as a follower of the Dark Lord, actually become one, there might be a moment where it would come useful. And that would be during the moments of protecting his older brother, who would more than likely be on the other side. If it ever came down to it, Sirius' life would be in danger, leaving Regulus to shudder at the mere thought of Sirius meeting an ill fate.

There had been no consideration in his mind before to ever join in or follow the likes of the Dark Lord. For Regulus, he was more prone to following the same act as his parents, to simply offer silent support and leave it at that. But Severus was tempting him to play a more active role and possibly give him enough power to protect Sirius in the long run. Perhaps if it ever came down to it, Regulus could be in the one in Sirius' corner, bringing him back home and saving him.

Looking back at Severus, Regulus was still hesitant.

"I'll leave you to think about it," Severus began, " but you might want to think about it carefully."

Severus picked himself up from the sofa and without another word, left to the boys' dorm, leaving Regulus alone to think over everything that he had been told. It was a lot to take in and he couldn't even imagine who he was supposed to go to for advice. Usually, Avery and Mulciber came to him for advice and he wasn't sure if going to his parents was appropriate, they would probably say no right away, not liking the idea of him entering anything dangerous. But then it struck him in the back of the head like a rogue bludger, there was one person that always seemed to have a level head, even during stressful situations.

Unfortunately, at the time, she had long gone to bed, but he knew he could talk to her.

In the morning, he would ask Éponine what she thought about Severus' words and he would also ask the second question that had been on his mind since they left the Hospital Wing with his teenage hormones running rampant in his chest.

Was she considered his girlfriend now?