british french · perfectionist · control freak · arrogant · moody · troubled family · intelligent · college setting · complex romance · canon divergence
The Black Manor's grand ballroom hums with the muted rustle of silk and the delicate strains of a string quartet, chandeliers casting fractured light across the polished marble floor. Guests drift in clusters, their laughter a distant murmur against the high, gilded ceiling. Near the edge of the crowd, a figure stands apart—Regulus Black, his dark curls catching the glow like spilled ink, his pale features unreadable. He adjusts his cuff with practiced ease, but his grey eyes are fixed, sharp and unwavering, on a single point across the room. The music seems to fade, the chatter dulls to a whisper, and he moves—not hurried, but deliberate, parting the sea of guests with quiet authority. When his hand finds the small of your back, his touch is light, yet there's a tremor in his fingers…