Hogsmeade village was coated by a white layer of powdery snowflakes as the gates of the Hogwarts Castle opened, letting the students go to the village for the weekend. Regulus and Eleanor were going together because all of their friends had been going with their dates which left the two alone. 

They hadn't really thought of any place specific to go to, instead the two were just walking around, enjoying the cool weather. It was always pleasant to take a walk through the snowy cobblestoned streets of Hogsmeade.

Regulus had his hands in his pockets, his arm being held by Eleanor in a gentle grip while his dark hair ruffled in the cold wintery breeze.

"Honeydukes!" 

He felt a tug at his arm and was shaken out of his thoughts to see that Eleanor had pulled him towards the sweet shop. The delicious smell of hot chocolate and sugary candies struck him as they entered. 

Eleanor had gone straight to the counter with a bucketful of sweets and chocolates she had quickly collected from the display. A soft smile crept on his features to see her come back with a delighted look on her face as she showed him everything she had bought.

"Oh and I got these for you," she handed him a box of chocolate frogs, "late birthday present."

"It's almost been half an year since my birthday."

"Does it matter? No." She had placed the box into his hands nevertheless, "God knows you need some chocolate in your life, Reg, or else you will turn into a bitter little cardamom."

He controlled the urge to laugh, "what an interesting comparison."

They had almost walked through the entire village and then decided to go to The Three Broomsticks at last. The pub was full of students, including some of their friends as well so while Regulus ordered their drinks, Eleanor had gone to the table where Amber Fawley and Marcus Warrington sat.

The two Butterbeers arrived shortly after and Reg spotted an empty table, carrying both the glasses there as he waved to their friends and nodded Eleanor to come over as well.

"Amber is so happy," Eleanor took her seat and picked up her glass, "don't these two look really cute together?"

He hummed in reply, eyes stopping on her while she was looking over at their friends, a soft smile playing upon her lips.

"Reg," she turned towards him at last, "why are you still single?"

He choked on his drink at the abrupt question and her eyes widened.

"Oh hey, I didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have asked."

Regulus willed himself to be calm as he replied, "I haven't really thought about it. That's all."

"Really? But then of course if you had ever been interested in someone, I would have been the first to know, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "but I haven't had the time nor the motivation for it."

She shook her head, eyes glittering playfully, "oh come on... Look at you; Regulus Black who's an absolute catch, not having the time or motivation to be in a relationship."

His cheeks colored faintly, "come off it, Elle."

She leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper, "so you haven't even kissed someone?"

"You're my best friend, you know."

She looked rather shocked, "oh my God, so the answer is a no?"

He paused, eyes furtively looking around to see that they were not being hear, "I mean... I have thought about it sometimes, imagined it even. But not done it." 

"That's the strangest reply I've gotten from you so far," she remarked, eyes dancing in amusement, "you're always surprising me."

He shrugged, "what can I say? I'm limited edition."

That comment made her laugh and he found himself getting lost in the abrupt yet pure sound of it. But he was shaken out of his thoughts just as abruptly as she had laughed at his joke.

He felt a strange burning in his lower left arm, right at the place where the Dark Mark was engraved and just like that, all the thoughts he had had faded, replaced by worry. 

He knew when the Dark Mark burned like that, Lord Voldemort was probably calling all his followers to gather and if he didn't get back to the castle where disapparition could not be possible, he would automatically be teleported to wherever the Dark Lord was at the moment.

He didn't want to see him again, especially not right then.

"Are you alright? Hey..." Eleanor noticed that he had immediately gotten very detached, a look close to fear flickering in his blue eyes.

He had pulled his hand back from her as the burning intensified, "I'm sorry, Elle. Can we... Can we please go back?"

"Sure," she agreed, noticing that he definitely didn't look alright, "come on."

They walked back to the school, even though almost everyone was still in the village roaming around. Gradually, he felt the burning decrease and a sigh of relief escaped him. The halls were silent as they walked in, except for the far off sounds of the first and second year students having classes. 

But instead of going to the dungeons, Eleanor took a different route, leading him to the seventh floor.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," she replied vaguely, "I think you need some peace and quiet and I know just the place for it."

They stopped in front of a blank wall and Eleanor walked multiple times in front of it, focusing hard until a door appeared within the wall, much to Reg's surprise.

"Wait, how did that happen?"

"I will explain later," she took his hand and pulled him inside the Room of Requirement and the door closed shortly afterwards.

They had stepped into a comfortable room, with cushions strewn around the floor, a single couch placed in the corner and a curtained bed at the back. A warm fire burnt in the hearth and the entire place spoke of comfort.

"Sit down," she made him sit down on the rug spread out on the floor, giving him some cushions so that he could be comfortable.

"What is this place?"

"The Room of Requirement. You can access it when you really need it and it can transform into any place you want."

"Oh..." He looked around again, "and who told you about it?"

"That doesn't matter," she shrugged off his question but before he could ask further, she added, "I don't know what happened to you back then but I thought this would be the perfect place to relax. So stop thinking about whatever is worrying you and just rest."

He closed his eyes, stretching out on the floor with his head resting back on a pillow. He looked absolutely exhausted as his eyes dropped shut, not realizing when Eleanor pushed away the pillow and gently pulled him towards her.

His head was in her lap, blue eyes fluttering open to look in marble green. His breath hitched in his throat seeing how closer she had gotten with her head bending down, her dark hair framing her face and her soft fingers lingering on his cheek.

"Elle..."

No sooner had her name escaped him, she bent down and pressed her lips upon his. He froze for a second as he had never felt that way before, sparks running up and down his spine and his whole body felt electrified by that touch. 

She had pulled apart but still hovered close enough for him to kiss again which he did, his hand reached up to hold her by the back of her head, pulling her closer.

The kiss that had started with just a light brush of her lips against his turned slightly more passionate and Regulus sat up, turning around to face her and captured her lips with his own again.

She kissed back with just as much passion, cupping his face in between her palms, trying to leave not even a little space in between that could separate them.

Her fingers lingered on his cheek, trailing down to the tightly buttoned up collar of his shirt that she loosened, playing with the green and silver tie that came off with an effortless tug.

Regulus broke off the kiss, pale cheeks shaded a deep crimson as if he had just realized what had happened in between them. "Elle, I..."

"If you dare say you're sorry, Reg, I will hex you."

He shook his head, "no, I meant... I didn't realize that I... You... We kissed..." Realization flickered across his stunned features, "did we really...? Oh..."

A light laugh poured forth from her, "I started it, silly. And yes, we kissed. Thrice. Funny you realized just now."

Silence washed over them as he realized that what he felt towards Eleanor wasn't one sided. She was right; she had started the kiss and he reciprocated it. And when he had kissed her, she hadn't objected, instead allowed him to go deeper, wanting it just as much as he had done so.

But he didn't want to ruin their already existing bond so he asked, "are you sure about this? It won't ruin our friendship, right?"

"Regulus Arcturus Black, we've been friends for so long. Why would anything ruin our friendship?" She asked, an eyebrow raised at him as she assessed his expressions.

His blue eyes connected with marble green again, seeing those irises dance in a mixture of amusement as she leaned closer, lips brushing against his briefly once again.

That once he noticed exactly how soft her cherry pink lips were against his own slightly rough ones, how effortlessly they fit together as if they were made for each other and how enthralling it felt to be able to have such an intimate connection with her.

She pulled apart, keeping mere centimeters between them, so close that he could sense her racing heartbeat and she could see him lose his breath when she bit her lip, waiting for him to say something.

He brought his hand up, thumb tracing the soft curve of her lips tenderly as he spoke, "alright then."

Her smile widened as she kissed his thumb, closing the gap between them when he retrieved his hand from her lips. The sparks he had felt electrifying him earlier grew far more intense as she molded her lips on his again, his hand on her waist pulling her even closer.

At that moment, he had long forgotten the burning in his arm as the beautiful witch in front of him held him under the spell of her intoxicating kisses, her mesmerizing laugh resonating around him. It was enough to make him completely forget about how worried he had gotten earlier when his Dark Mark had burned. 

But even though she had managed to distract him from what awaited him, she would not be able to stop what fate and his Dark Lord had in store for him.

***