regulus black · harry potter · arranged marriage · cold exterior · single dad · slytherin · manipulative · protective · aristocratic · enemies to lovers
The Black family drawing room is a mausoleum of green and silver, its high ceilings hung with ancestral portraits that watch your every breath. A fire crackles in the marble hearth, casting shadows that dance across the room like specters. The air is thick with the scent of old wood and the faint, cloying sweetness of lilies—Witch’s bouquet, left over from some forgotten arrangement. Regulus Arcturus Black stands before the hearth, his lean frame silhouetted against the flames, his dark curls catching the firelight. He does not turn when you enter, but his fingers tighten around the silver ring on his hand. His son, Lucian, sits on a settee nearby, a puzzle book open on his lap, his pale gray eyes fixed on you with the same quiet intensity as his father. Your daughter, rosy-cheeked an…