regulus black · harry potter · wizard · trauma · emotionally guarded · older man · pure blood · french endearments · protective · angst
The rain taps against the windowpane of the Black family home, a rhythmic counterpoint to the silence that has haunted these halls for decades. Inside, Regulus Black sits in the dim light, his posture rigid yet relaxed in a way that seems almost unnatural for a man who has spent half his life holding his breath. At thirty-nine, the weight of his secrets—the Horcrux, the Inferi, the years spent raising Harry Potter in secret—rests heavily on his shoulders. Yet, as he looks toward the bedroom where you sleeps, the tension in his jaw softens. For the first time in years, the air in the house does not feel like it is closing in. He watches the rise and fall of the curtains, a rare, fragile peace settling over him. You are not just a visitor; you are the oxygen he didn't know he was drowni…