The quill spun in his fingers, but yet again, he'd written in one of his notebooks the words, "That Muggle girl my mother doesn't know about," mentally wishing his grandfather didn't bring him along with him to that Muggle bookshop, his mind still reeling and not understanding why the man did what he did.

He hated it, to be honest, although among the thoughts and songs about that girl, he'd written out other things, and he even managed to calm himself down since Sirius left. The door to his compartment opened. "If it's Barty..."

He wasn't given the chance to finish saying, "... in the mood to be clung to," when the giggles erupted and he saw neither of his cousins, either the ones-by-marriage or his whatever-removed one, the number of times removed fleeing his mind as he saw the girls. He choked out. "Can I help you?"

The girls simply stared, making him feel very uncomfortable, yet he quickly realized they were looking him up and down while he examined them, attempting to figure out something, anything, regarding their reason for being there, for speaking him when most others preferred ignoring him. The one thing he noticed—all three were in Slytherin.

"He's a bit small, isn't he?"

He shrunk back, feeling rather indignant regarding the comment, letting out a huff. "I know I'm smaller then the other men in my family, but do they have to bring that up?"

"Black?" a second girl asked. "Year and birthday."

"How is that any of..."

"Oh, come on," one of the girls said, sitting down on the seat next to him, but the closeness sent—

He hated being touched and pressed himself into the window area of the compartment even though she'd simply sat next to him, right next to him.

"It's just a question."

"July," Regulus muttered, his face flushing. "Of this year."

The girls giggled, hiding their laughter behind hands, gossiping very visibly over him while not hiding the words they said, as if—

"Of this year, he says," one of the girls giggled.

"I'd heard he was a bit slow, but this is hillarious."

Regulus shoved his notebook into his bag, closing it and stood, his face red as he attempted finding another compartment where there weren't any girls to make him feel uncomfortable, the feelings he felt—

"Sit."

"I—what?"

"I know Black are normally used to giving the commands, but..." The girl folded her arms. "I think given your demure personality, Mr. Black, that you should differ to us. Oh! Is that a prefect badge?"

Regulus reached up, swallowing, touching the silver and green pin. "It arrived in my letter this year, but there was no letter for Sirius, but this only made—she kept saying how much better I was, but I'm not."

"So he's at least a fifth year?"

"Yes," Regulus muttered. "O.W.L.s this year."

One of the girls reached out, pulling on his cheek. "How adorable you are! And so obedient. I'm sure you'll grow a bit before you graduate, more to be the size of Sirius."

"Aw. But I want him to remain smaller than..."

"What are you doing?"

Regulus' eyes rammed closed, his book bag pressed against his chest, fingers touching the cold metal of his perfect pen. He felt one of the girls hold onto his arm, squeezing while one, possibly the same, said, "Go away, Gryffindor."

"Yeah. How about you leave my cousin alone instead?"

"Why should..."

"My Aunt is a Black?" Adrian said more firmly. "But would you like me telling her that you're hassling her precious nephew, let alone what I tell her getting back to his mother?"

"We were just having fun!" one of the girls said as all three scampered out of the room.

The compartment door closed, and Regulus felt Adrian sit down next to him. "Hey. Regulus. Are you..."

The door slammed open. "Sirius, if you're picking on..."

"I'm bloody not Sirius!"

Then—

Evan started singing the song "Alouette" and slowly, Regulus calmed, his head lifting as the fingers of one hand twisted into his hair.

"Little lark, little lark," Regulus mumbled, lifting his head. "Save the lark."

"What?" Adrian said.

"Oh. The song?" Evan hummed. "I actually don't understand a lick of French, but someone taught me this when he was little and I think someone's being cruel to a lark?"

"What kind of song is that, to calm someone down?"

"Question is, what did you do to Regulus?"

"I didn't."

"He didn't," Regulus mumbled. "Girls are mean."

"Uh, what?"

"I'm not sure what was going on, but a bunch of girls from your house were—well, they cornered him."

"Don't like girls. They're mean," Regulus muttered, lifting his head as Barty stuck his head into the compartment door.

Barty grinned ear to ear. "But you like me?"

"Of course I like..."

"Out!" Evan said, pointing at the door, the color draining from his face. "Out of here, you lunatic, purposefully twisting words to suit your own purpose!"

"What are you talking about?" Adrian said. "Regulus likes all of us."

"Yes, I do," Regulus smiled, or tried to. He burried his head in his knees. "I feel drained, and I've still got prefect duty,"

"Die," Barty said. "Just die Prewett."

"It's your fault for trying to twist things in the first place," Evan said. "And I'd say you're even meaner than those girls?"

"Oh?" Regulus lifted his head. "What did Barty do this time."

Evan frowned, then turned to Barty. "Hey, Barty. How about I give you a bone?"

"Huh? Really?"

"Go torture Sirius for Regulus."

"Okay!"

"Evan!" Regulus felt the color drain from his face as Adrian looked at him.

"Bloody. Should I even be associated with you?"

"As if Barty will be able to do anything against Sirius and his friends," Evan said, getting up to close the door. "But what it does do is get him out of our hair."

"I'm a prefect, you know." Regulus said. He let out a sigh. "Ugh. The meetings soon." He frowned. "I don't deserve this." He looked down at the badge. "Those girls—they talked about how small I was, asked for my year and birthday, got into my personal space as if they knew me."

"You're a prefect?" Evan said.

"Yes."

"And I can't go with you to the prefects' carriage to make sure they don't bother you again?"

"I'll go," Adrian sighed, pointing at his chest.

"Oh! You're a prefect as well. I'm glad there's someone I know."

"Moron. You know the sixth and seventh year prefect from our house, Regulus."

"I think he means from our year."

"No. I mean someone I know," Regulus said, looking at the pin. "I actually don't know the prefect in our house and try avoiding them lest I give them a headache. Oh, well, I knew Cissy and Lulu though."

"Lulu?"

"Lucius Malfoy." Evan rolled his eyes. "Regulus' highly detested nickname for him."

"Hillarious," Adrian said.

"Please don't encourage Regulus to give people nicknames. If we let him, he'd give them to complete strangers."

"I would not!"

"Correction," Evan sighed. "You'd think the strangers are no longer strangers from interacting with them only briefly, and if the ineraction is favorable, and you know their name, they get a nickname."

"That's not at all true."

"Is too."

"Yeah. You didn't know me and already gave me one, Regulus," Adrian said.

"No. You're family."

Evan sighed, shaking his head. "Those girls. Are they trying to make the Black family angry at them? You'd think given the recent events that..."

—silence—

Regulus frowned, then, "Hey? Evan? Why did you stop speaking?"

"Oh, nothing," Evan squeaked out, quite pale. "You need not worry your head about it. It's..."

"Don't treat Regulus like a child, even if sometimes he acts like one."

"Hey! Stop ganging up on me!" Regulus said.

"Regulus, you're the one who told me this summer you hated how childish your episodes made you."

"And he's coming off one, and I can't be there," Evan sighed. "Regulus, I'm touching your forehead now."

"Why?"

"Because," Evan said, then came the deep breath. "Yup. Feeverish because of the episode."

"I feel fine. You two are with me."

"He, uh?" Adrian took a deep breath. "Should be fine?"

"He just needs to keep his mouth shut."

"Oh! Wait. I know the Gryffindor prefect from Sirius' year. Lily and Lupin!" Regulus said.

"Stop rambling! If you have to, cover your mouth with your hand!" Adrian said.

Regulus did, while Evan frowned. Then he removed it. "But seriously..."

"Regulus!"

"Evan, stay with Regulus. I'll let the head girl and head boy know what's going on."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

"Aunt Walburga doesn't want this out."

"Well, Aunt Walburga can go get stuffed."

"Bloody Merlin, you didn't."

"Um, I'm not..."

"Don't bloody worry about it! Just worry about those girls!" Evan said. "Because now that you're heir, they've definitely taken an interest!"

Regulus felt the color drain from his face. "Wait. They, uh..." He sucked in his breath. "Like-like me? Because heir?"

"Yeah, that," Evan said. "Lucky you."

"Not lucky me! I don't want girls—not like that! And no pinching cheeks! No saying I'm adorable! No saying I'm small, bit small..." Regulus took a deep breath.

Evan sighed. "Adrian, stay with him while I go and get the head girl and head boy."

"But, they're going to question..."

"As if there's anyone better for the position in our house among the boys?"

"You?"

"Yeah, no," Evan said. "I don't think Slughorn was expecting you to become heir the same year he made you prefect and for you to completely lose it mentally when girls started paying you attention." Then he grinned. "Which ones were they so I can put frogs in their beds?"

"How? Boys can't..."

"I'll get a bloody first-year to help me is how," Evan said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Nobody picks on Regulus and gets away with it."

And then he left the compartment, slamming the door behind him.

"We should do a song about frogs?"

"Uh, no," Adrian said. He took a deep breath. "Girls will think frog prince?"

"Huh."

"And frog prince means fairy tale romance, right?"

"Huh?" Regulus waved his hands. "Romance. Absolutely no experience in that department! No romance songs."

"Yeah. I definitely got where you're experience with girls is Regulus. It's the complete opposite reaction as your brothers."

"Yes. No. I don't know!" Regulus slid down. "I'm going to close my eyes and calm down now."

"You do that."