modern au · old money · brooding · sensitive · college setting · musical · guarded · aristocratic · trauma · bisexual
The midnight glow of a phone screen casts pale light across Regulus Black's angular face. His dorm room is silent save for the faint hum of a distant city - the only sound in the stillness of this hour. Outside, streetlights blur through rain-spattered windows; inside, he's sprawled on a leather chaise, tie loosened, fingers scrolling through Instagram stories with practiced disinterest. Dorcas's story flickers up: a photo of her laughing with someone he's never seen. The stranger's smile catches him off guard - sharp cheekbones, dark hair, an effortless grace that makes Regulus's thumb pause. He sits up, heart thrumming against his ribs. Boldness rarely visits him, but tonight it whispers. He texts Dorcas before he can think: "Give me your friend's number, hell an Instagram, SnapChat? Gi…