Scrunching His Nose Up With Distaste At Sirius, Regulus Fought The Childish Urge To Find The Nearest

"Oh, if I were suddenly nice, assume that I've got some sort of terminal illness and I'll be gone within the week," he snorted with amusement, pulling a vial of powdered griffin claw from the shelf. "There's a difference between knowing, and hoping. Let a man cling to the only hope he has left for a bit of peace, Val."

“I think the moment that you are suddenly nice, we all know that something is up with you,” Val agreed with the young man standing in front of her. Regulus wasn’t known for his sunny display. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the next comment from him. “I’m sorry, that was me not being nice this time around. You should know by now that Diagon Alley is never busy.”

As an Unspeakable, Reg couldn't talk about his work with non-unspeakables, and there were spells he'd agreed to be placed on him in order to undertake such work. He found the intricacies of Caradoc's job fascinating, and loved asking about the nuances of what he'd broken through that day. "I wondered once if wizards had helped to create the Muggle parliament, so it's curious to know they may have created Stonehenge too. It's a shame these sorts of things aren't written down, I'd love to know where we've been involved and if we were working alongside muggles," he mused, gaze following Caradoc's hand. He reached up, fingertips brushing through his hair as he touched the same spot gingerly. "Did someone check your head once you were finished?"

"It's hot," Reg said pointlessly as Caradoc lifted the mug straight to his lips, and he rolled his eyes fondly. He left his own cup on the coffee table, needing to leave his hands free so he could dispel the nervous energy in his body by tapping his fingers against his knee. He'd spent most of the day trying to figure out exactly how to set everything out for Caradoc, now that the other man was in front of him he seemed to have forgotten everything he'd mentally rehearsed.

Frowning slightly, Reg bit down on his lip before he took a deep, steadying breath. "Before I start, I just want to...ugh, I just..." he stumbled over his words, before finally settling on what he wanted to say. "I know that us being together has already put you at some risk, because of my family...but what I want to tell you might put you at significant risk. Life-threatening risk. And you'll have to keep it incredibly secret while things play out, otherwise...well. So I guess this is me offering you a way out before I confess all my sins."

Caradoc brightened up a bit when asked about the job. He loved when people showed interest because he loved what he did. To him, curses were absolutely fascinating. “It was a curse on Stonehenge! Wizards must have had a hand in its initial creation. A colleague and I were sent out to deal with it, as there were reports of muggles being affected. It was a bit difficult, ‘cause I got knocked back into one of the stones at first—” he paused, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “—but we got it sorted out.”

He gladly took his cinnamon tea with a smile, grateful to be with Regulus, as he was so thoughtful in remembering his favorite drink. Not caring about it being hot, Caradoc sipped at it, letting the warmth flow down his throat. The slight burn reminded him that yes, Regulus did have something important to tell him.

Caradoc turned to face his boyfriend, leaning against the cushions and holding his tea with one hand. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said with a smile, not wanting Regulus to be nervous about it. Whatever it was, they’d handle it together.

REGULUS BLACK.

"I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret."

— Marauders Era

Regulus glanced back at Frank's basket again before plucking some ginger from the shelf and dropping it into the other man's basket. "I hear ginger's quite helpful for warding off sickness. Make her some teas or something," he offered, recalling from an advanced potions book he'd read a few years back. "Nothing like a screaming mandrake to ward off potential burglars," he said with a small smile, before the smile quickly vanished. "I think it might be too late to stop the passage of time...maybe I can study it though, at the ministry. See what I can do."

"It's gotta be a fake moustache...gotta commit, y'know. It can't be Regulus Black's shitty moustache. Maybe I should use a hair growth potion."

"Thanks," Frank said, sorting the ingredients to make sure he'd have enough for the few other things he had to pick up. "Now I'm definitely picking you up some other ingredients when I come back. I might plant a few for our apartment, they're good for security as well. Then I won't have to buy as many. Tell time to give you a break, you're too young for it to do so much damage."

He laughed before he could help himself, smothering his smile when the shopkeeper gave them both a confused look. "Well future Albert, it will be a pleasure to meet your mustachioed future self."

The summons to the auror office was of little concern to Regulus, who would quite happily shift the blame of whatever Black artefact had been found causing trouble onto his father. Regulus was extremely careful when out on missions - removing any and all personal possessions that may identify him if left behind other than his wand. Whatever the aurors believed they had found would be nothing to do with him - in fact, he'd be surprised if this wasn't more of a box-ticking exercise by the aurors to try and prove to the ministry that they were investigating something. Rounding the corner towards the meeting room he had been summoned to, Regulus stopped dead in his tracks at the familiar mess of black hair in front of him. "Sirius. What are you....why are you here?" @siriusbpadfoot

Kingsley cast his eyes over Aurora with a surveying eye, and her nervousness was evident. He didn’t want to terrify the poor girl, but equally, he was not willing to send unprepared fighters out into the field only to have to knock on their loved one’s doors and deliver the news that unfortunately their daughter had died. Rolling his shoulders as he settled himself for a defensive fight, Kingsley watched her body language with interest. He felt her need to prove herself, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for her. Deflecting her charm with a lazy flick of his wand, Kingsley sent back his own disarming charm. “Disarm me any way you can – assume your opponent will defend with the intent to attack. Next time, I will defend with jinxes."

Aurora was slightly nervous meeting with Kingsley. There was an intimidation that seemed to linger in the air and this need to make a good impression. It was important to show him that she was capable of taking care of herself, so that he would tell Edgar it was fine sending her back out on missions. "I know better than showing up late." Not that she would anyway, being prompt was one of her traits. Her eyes widen when he asks her to disarm him, glancing around where she could feel the magic of the charms surrounding them. Her wand secure in her grasp. She raises her arm, her gaze fixating on his wand. "Expelliarmus." She speaks clearly and sternly, flicking her wrist in the direction of where he is holding his wand.

"I don't have cheese fondue nearly as often as I want to. Unfortunately I haven't convinced my five year old son that cheese fondue is delicious yet, so my recipes at home have shrunk down to kid friendly meals...which mostly means chicken nuggets," Fenrir said with a snort. "Grilled peaches and goats cheese sounds incredible. I feel like that would be good with some spice to cut through the sweetness of the peaches, some fresh chili on top perhaps. Yes, I'll owl it across to you later once my shift finishes. No point you trying to make an imitation, I don't mind sharing my recipe."

"It is one of my favorite cheeses. I always use it when I make fondue. Oh, goat's cheese is lovely, I prefer it paired with fruits or vegetables in a cold dish, rather than a main, if I'm honest. It is more of a summer cheese for me, I made a good salad with grilled peaches and goats cheese in my book that I've heard good reviews about from people that have tried it." Balsamic vinegar, leeks and goats cheese worked well together, she could see the recipe it come together in her head when he described it. "Really? Oh please, that would be lovely."

Since Sirius abandoned him, Regulus had felt his absence like a knife in his chest that he could never remove. It ached and it burned, but slowly over time the pain had dulled as time and distance stretched between them. It was ever present, but duller. Asking after Sirius when speaking to Andromeda had been the first time in a long time that he'd said his brother's name out loud, and that itself had shaken him. Seeing his brother in the flesh, cool and unbothered by his summons, threatened to rob Regulus of the very air in his lungs as that aching burn returned. "I'm sure they have their reasons," he said, eyeing the chair beside Sirius before he chose to remain stood stiffly. "You...you're no longer part of this family, the aurors should know to exclude you from this. Unless...it's not really to do with an heirloom at all," Regulus said, wondering if any of Sirius' perfectly good friends were aurors.

Sirius leaned back lazily in his chair, the perfect image of indifference as he crossed one ankle over the other. Despite his display of ease and disinterest, he was observant and watchful, curious what he was called he for and on alert in case it was all more than it seemed. He couldn't fathom what Black artefact would be drawn back to him, well aware his mother would do anything she could to stop him getting his hands on any Black heirlooms. He glanced behind him as the door opened, carefully hiding his surprise as his brother walked in the door. "The same reason you're here, I'd imagine. Though if you're here I'm not sure why they've asked me to come."

Kingsley had spent much of the day hunched over his desk, trying to finish off the paperwork that he had foolishly let build up. It was easy to throw himself into the field and then to come back to the floor and throw himself head first into the next case, but the office had processes and policies and 'if you don't file that paperwork, Shacklebolt, we're going to have issues'. Fuelled with coffee that he had recharmed to keep refilling itself, Kingsley had kept his head down and ignored the noise of the office as he made a firm dent in the piles of case work.

Just as he put the finishing notes on the final piece of paperwork, a welcome presence appeared right before his eyes and Kingsley shot his friend a small grin. "Long day? You look like shit, brother. Firewhiskey at Rosmerta's will sort you out. I've just finished up, just need to file these," he explained, tapping the pile of parchment with his wand. Watching as the pages shot away to be filed, Kings stood and reached for his jacket. "Let's get out of here, I'm tired of these four walls."

where: the ministry who: @battle-scvrs

It had been a long day and Edgar was finally returning to the Ministry after the nightmare he had gone through with the wizard he was sent out to. He tossed his robes on the back of his chair, slightly annoyed that there was still an hour left before he could officially leave.

Making his way through the floor, he noticed that Alastor was gone, but he did catch sight of Kingsley, weaving around a couple more desk before plopping down in the chair at the front of his friend's desk.

"I could really use a drink after work, tell me you are free to join me." Edgar glances over, not too worried that he interrupted his friend making a few notes on parchment.

Regulus had received Bellatrix's invitation to tea with a certain degree of dread. He cared for his cousin, he truly did, but it could not be denied that the eldest Black was intense. In his heart of hearts, Regulus knew she wanted the best for him...but the way in which she went about it exhausted him, and now as he grew ever more conflicted the last thing he needed was for his cousin to sit and pry, or to diminish his magical ability. Still, an invitation to Bellatrix's home was not one that could be ignored - and at the end of the day, Regulus desperately ached to make someone proud of him and he did care for his cousin, even if she mildly terrified him sometimes.

As soon as Regulus set foot on Lestrange soil, he took a moment to ensure that his mental walls of occlumency were firmly in place before he approached the parlour. He didn't trust Bellatrix not to quietly probe his mind as they shared tea, and he had too much to protect to risk her catching wind of his thoughts. He shot a tight smile back, crossing the room to take the offered seat.

"Afternoon, Bella," he reached for the cup of tea, letting the scolding heat of the cup centre him. "I avoid everyone, cousin. I wouldn't take it personally," he said, grateful for his historic grumpiness to fall back on. Whenever he visited Bella in her home, he was struck by how much she fit here as a proper pureblooded lady, and how meagre his small terraced house seemed in comparison. "Mm...your ability with the dark arts is second only to the Dark Lord himself, I know you could teach me better than Rabastan," he said, offering her some flattery in the hopes that it would soothe whatever was coming next. "It would be quite rude of me to abandon Rabastan's dutiful teaching when we have gotten this far...I was improving recently," he said, though he grimaced remembering the panic attack he'd experienced out on the field. Thank Merlin he was masked, and Rabastan hadn't seen the true panic he'd been experiencing. "Rabastan is a perfectly adequate tutor."

Starter for: Regulus Black @battle-scvrs Where: Bellatrix & Rodolphus's home (a smaller manor on the Lestrange Estate) When: lunchtime

It was hardly Bellatrix's style to be domesticated. Yet she'd invited her youngest cousin for tea, knowing it was his favourite beverage. She'd given him more than enough space by now, to the point where the physical distance was beginning to make her itch. She was an intensely emotional witch. Though calculating and meticulous when it mattered, she was driven by passion - and at present, her passion lay with ensuring that Regulus was well. She did care. It was a skewed, obsessive sort of adoration, but it was genuine nonetheless and she would stop at nothing to ensure his wellbeing.

Once he joined her in the parlour, she looked up over the top of a copy of the Daily Prophet, the headline boasting a particularly wonderful depiction of the Dark Mark floating over muggle London. Paused with momentarily shrewd study, her eyes glittered over his appearance. Then she neatly folded the paper and smiled, patting the seat next to her in invitation.

"Hello, cousin." Glancing sideways, she slid the paper onto the table and reached for the teapot, her length of raven hair obscuring her features before she looked back up with dark petulance. "I got bored of you avoiding me, so here we are." Handing him a cup of tea, she then poured one for herself and sat back. Crossing one leg over the other, she looked very much like 'lady of the manor'. It lasted all but a few seconds before her eyes narrowed. "Why must you spend so much time with Rabastan? You know I would teach you far more and take you further than he ever will." Was she jealous? Absolutely. Grateful? To her chagrin, also true. As much as she loathed to acknowledge, it was convenient that her brother-in-law had taken the boy under his wing. She'd been alarmed to hear about his little blip during a recently incident - freezing while being attacked, indeed. Rabastan had been diplomatic when updating her, but she was not an idiot. She saw that Rabastan was trying to keep secrets from her. It wouldn't do.