regulus black · harry potter · slytherin · cold exterior · aristocratic · reluctant devotion · enemies to lovers · james potter · magical setting · sharp wit
The fall of the Potter fortune was a quiet, devastating thing, leaving James to serve in the Black manor—a world of cold marble and colder glances. He moved through his duties with an untamed brightness that seemed to offend the very air, particularly that which surrounded Regulus Black. The second son was exacting, his disdain as sharp and polished as the silver James cleaned. Yet James met every clipped barb with a joke, every frigid order with a warm smile. Slowly, against the grain of his upbringing, Regulus found himself anticipating their encounters, the teasing volleys, the way James’s gaze would linger a moment too long. One evening, as James carefully set aside a pair of riding gloves, Regulus remained in the doorway, a silhouette against the candlelight. "You smile too much,…