Tuesday 25th November, 1976

I didn't talk to Regulus much after that. I tried avoiding him as much as I could, a complete switch to how it was a few days ago. Regulus, in turn, seemed determined to appear everywhere I went. It was infuriating.

He was infuriating.

Prefect duty last night had been mostly silent. Regulus had attempted to start a conversation once, but when I gave him short, one word answers his expression soured and he stayed silent the rest of the night.

I felt bad. I did. It was just so complicated, because I had these strange feelings that I didn't understand and needed to get rid of, and the only way I knew how was to run from them. Which in turn meant running from Regulus.

It was Wednesday, and the prank was coming up in a few days. I'd decided I would prank the marauders with Regulus, because the prank wasn't just about working with Regulus and the marauders certainly had it coming. So, if that meant I had to spend a bit more time with Regulus then so be it.

I was at breakfast, eating my cereal when both Remus and Sirius reached for the same piece of toast at the same time. They're hands brushed and Remus pulled away instantly, his face going red as he mumbled to Sirius that he could have it.

"No, no, Moony you take it," Sirius said firmly.

"Padfoot, it's fine, really," Remus muttered, embarrassed.

Sirius shook his head, eagerly taking the piece of toast and putting it on Remus's plate. "I insist. You take it."

Remus rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face as he started buttering his toast. Sirius looked on proudly and I sighed, annoyed at how oblivious they both were. I remembered the plan I'd formed weeks ago, the one I was going to do before Mulciber caught me. Now was the perfect time to put that plan into action. I remembered Regulus's words about it, how it needed some fixing up, but I figured it was good enough as it was.

"I'm gonna go to class early," I stated, getting up.

There was a chorus of 'okays' and 'see yous' as I left the Gryffindor table, heading to my first class, Defence Against the Dark Arts. I got there early, before the teacher, and put my plan into action. I cast spells on a desk, knowing that that desk was the one Sirius and Remus always sat on together. The aim was to get them into detention together, alone, and this would definitely do the trick.

I left the classroom and waited outside for the bell to ring. When it did, there was a flurry of activity as students filed into the classroom. As predicted, Sirius and Remus headed for their usual table and sat down.

There was a large exploding sound as glitter and confetti burst from their seats, raining down on the rest of the classroom. There were many wide eyes and open jaws as people stared at the scene, as well as many laughs. The Slytherin's in the classroom seemed to find it the funniest though, laughing and snickering with one another as they pointed at Sirius and Remus.

I glowered. That was definitely not the intended result, and I was about to get out of my chair when James, Lily, Marlene, Mary and multiple other Gryffindors all did, standing next to Remus and Sirius, the latter who was standing slightly in front of Remus, as if to shield him from the insults.

"That is enough!" our teacher barked. "I am sick of this class being interrupted by this rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. All of you-" the teacher pointed at the group of Slytherin's that had been making fun of Sirius and Remus. "-detention. And all of you- "he rounded on the Gryffindors that had come to Remus and Sirius's aid, my friends included. "-detention as well. Your two head of houses will be hearing about this, mark my words. Now, get back in your seats, all of you!"

Everyone did as the teacher ordered, sending dirty looks to the opposite house. I felt guilt as well as annoyance. Everyone got detention from a prank I did, which meant Sirius and Remus would not spend detention alone together and would not kiss or do anything else now that others would be there too. Especially when those others included Slytherins.

So, my plan failed, putting me in a bad mood for the rest of the class. When the bell rang, my mood had only worsened, and I made my way to Transfiguration muttering to myself. Regulus had been right. My prank had sucked.

I sat down on a desk as other students entered the room, Regulus Black included. I didn't look at him, eyes fixed firmly on my desk, so I was surprised when someone sat next to me and I looked up to find Regulus Black staring at me.

My throat went dry as I stared at him, eyes looking at everything from his eyes to his tie. It was loose, making my heartbeat wilder than it should have. I cleared my throat and looked away, earning an annoyed noise from Regulus.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you," I muttered.

Regulus snorted, as if I'd said something funny. I hadn't, which only made my already horrible mood worse.

"Yes you are," he said matter-of-factly.

I snapped my head towards him. "No I am not," I hissed.

I was, in fact, avoiding him, but we didn't talk about that.

"Why are you so insufferable?" Regulus groaned. "Why can't you just accept that I'm right-"

"Because you're not!"

"Yes, I am-"

"Mr Black, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall called, causing all the student's heads to swivel in our direction. "I will not have you bickering in my class again. Detention."

I scowled, slumping in my seat as McGonagall continued her lesson. My whole body stiffened when I felt Regulus lean closer to my, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered in it.

"Please don't dye my hair again."

A smile curved along my face against my will, one that Regulus spotted once he'd pulled away. I looked away from him, but Regulus didn't seem to mind. I spent the rest of the class trying to gather my bearings, my mind fixed firmly on how it felt to have Regulus so close to me.

. . .

Tuesday 25th November, 1976

Detention was crowded, to say the least. Regulus and I were both put in the same detention as the one James and the others were in. When we arrived, we realised why. The whole room was filled with Gryffindors on one side and Slytherins on the other. No other house was present, and from the looks of it, these Gryffindors and Slytherins were the ones that hated the opposite house the most.

"Welcome to detention," McGonagall said, one of two teachers that were overlooking detention today. The other one was Slughorn. "This detention is a social one between Slytherin and Gryffindor, as you've most likely realised. If you are here today, that is because you were given detention over something involving someone from the opposite house. Today's detention is an attempt to lessen the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Now please, get into a circle."

There were groans from both houses at McGonagall's words, but nonetheless everyone got into a circle. There was a catch though, the circle had to be Gryffindor, Slytherin Gryffindor, Slytherin and so on, so everyone was forced to sit next to someone of the opposite house.

I looked through the crowd, my eyes landing on Regulus who had already been manoeuvring his way over to me.

"I know you're still trying to avoid me, but I swear to Salazar if you force me to sit next to two insufferable Gryffindors I will kill you in your sleep," Regulus said when he reached me.

"One, I'm not avoiding you, and two, I thought I was insufferable," I said with a smirk.

Regulus rolled his eyes, grabbing my arm as he guided me into the circle next to him. "Let me rephrase that then. Two Gryffindors more insufferable than you."

I elbowed him in the side for his comment, but before he could retaliate one of his friends came over, Evan Rosier, I believed his name was.

"Thank god you found a Gryffindor," he said, "because I was not about to choose one myself."

Regulus snorted, shaking his head as his friend moved to stand beside me. I looked straight ahead, trying not to show how irritated I was from being referred to as if I wasn't right there. Then again, I would have most likely done the same thing.

When most people had gotton into the circle and there were only those too stubborn to choose where to go, my brother and Sirius among them, the teachers started assigning spots, and, because our luck is so great, Sirius was placed right next to Regulus. The tension in the air was heavy. More than half of the group's eyes were trained on Sirius and Regulus, as if waiting for a bomb to explode.

Regulus inched closer to me, if only to get away from Sirius, and I tried my best to seem unaffected, because I was. There was no reason for me to be affected, so obviously I wasn't. We were all told to sit down on the floor, which we did, and in turn tell the group our names and something we enjoyed.

All throughout the activity, whenever someone said something, Regulus would whisper funny things in my ear, things it took all of me not to laugh at. At one point I had to cover my mouth with my hand because of what he said.

Then the fight started. A Slytherin seventh year, Wilkes, decided that the thing he enjoyed was putting 'Mudbloods' in their place. Frank Longbottom, a Gryffindor seventh year, did not like that at all, and launched himself at him.

It was over pretty quickly, with McGonagall flicking her wand and both seventh years being thrown to opposite sides of the room. McGonagall was livid, though, a very scary sight, and told Slughorn to oversee the rest of detention as she dragged the two students out of the classroom.

Safe to say, Slughorn was not happy with that and looked through the list of activities to do in an attempt to find one that would allow him to slack off. He seemed to find one, or think of one, because his expression brightened as he looked back at us.

"For this activity, you will be forced to stay in this room together for two hours," he stated. "I will be on the outside of the door, and if any of you cause fights, I will know about it."

I stared at the teacher incredulously. Did he really think that locking Slytherins and Gryffindors that hated each other alone together in a room without adult supervision was a good idea? It was obvious that he had just made it up on the spot, and that he would be in his office doing whatever he wanted rather than outside the door.

Even so, no one could very well tell him what a bad idea it was, so he trotted off out the door, locking it behind him. Instantly, the circle was broken as the Slytherins moved to one side of the room and Gryffindors to the other. I followed my Gryffindor peers, feeling almost reluctant to leave Regulus.

We stayed in our sides of the classroom for a while, joking with our respective houses and sending dirty looks to the opposite one, until James and Sirius seemed to get bored. That was never good. James clapped his hands, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Who's up for a game?" he asked. All the Gryffindors cheered, but the Slytherins remained silent, glaring at James.

"What, scared are you?" Sirius jeered.

"A game sounds great," one of the Slytherin's said maliciously.

In the end, everyone joined the game as we sat in a circle once again, this time with Gryffindor on one side and Slytherin on the other. The game ended up being truth or dare. There were funny, passive aggressive truth and dares, and there always seemed to be a Slytherin asking a Gryffindor or vice versa.

"Potter," Evan Rosier asked with a smirk. "Truth or dare?"

"Obviously a dare-" my brother started, only to be interrupted by Rosier.

"I wasn't talking to you, Potter."

Instantly, everyone's eyes were on me, waiting for my answer. "Dare."

Whispers circulated around the circle, some of them helpful suggestions, others bets on if I would back out or not. I wouldn't, obviously, but it was cute to see they thought there was a chance I would.

Evan sent a smirk in Regulus's direction before speaking and I immediately regretted my decision. Why did he do that? And why did Regulus looked so angry at it as he stared daggers through the side of his friend's head?

"I dare you to kiss Regulus."

Instantly, there was an uproar. All the dares so far had been low-key, and never involved a Slytherin and a Gryffindor together. Many were just shocked, waiting to see what was going to happen. I myself felt frozen to the spot, my heart beating so fast inside my chest I was afraid it was just going to stop all together. Remus and Lily had smirks on their faces, which could only mean that Remus also believed I fancied Regulus. Great. James and Sirius were the worst though, shouting insults and telling them that I would never lower my standards enough to-

"Fine," I said simply, causing most of the room to fall silent instantly.

"Y/n you can't-"

I glared at my brother, and he fell silent. I was not about to back out of this dare. I was a Gryffindor, and Gryffindor's didn't back out of dares. I got up and started walking to the opposite end of the circle where Regulus sat. My throat closed up as I got closer, and closer, and closer to him until I was standing above him.

I kneeled down in front of him, a festival of nerves in my stomach. I searched his eyes, trying to find any sign or message that he didn't want to do this. Finding none, I took a deep breath and leaned forward, my eyes fluttering closed as finally, my lips pressed against his.

At first, Regulus seemed frozen, his lips stiff against my own, and I nearly pulled back until his lips started moving. It was like heaven, only better. His lips were soft. So, so, so soft. I savoured the feeling of his mouth on mine, of his mouth moving across mine like my lips were the only thing he'd ever desired. When I felt his tongue brush briefly across my lips, a very embarrassing noise threatened to tumble out of my mouth, forcing me to pull away.

I stared at Regulus, feeling breathless as we made eye-contact. I felt my body buzz, yearning to be close to him again. My breath hitched. My eyes widened. No. No. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true, and yet, as I stared at him, I came to a frightening, world shattering realisation.

I liked Regulus Black.

A/N:

OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING! ITS HAPPENING! EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!

Y/N FINALLY REALISED HER FEELINGS FOR REGULUS!!!!

(took her long enough)

literally so happy i can't even!! honestly though, for a girl who had a perfect representation of love from her parents she had a pretty thick skull when it came to her own love life

also, the detention thing with the teachers leaving. yes, i know that would not happen in real life, but guess what? i don't care. it needed to happen for the plot and if ur upset about it, please feel free to go back to y/n being infuriatingly oblivious to her feelings

and yes, a triple update 😌