regulus black · harry potter · former death eater · protective father · pureblood · reserved · sarcastic · guilt ridden · single parent · london setting
The museum gallery is a cathedral of quiet dust and amber light, its high ceilings swallowing footsteps into a hush. The air tastes of old varnish, cold stone, and the faint sweetness of dried flowers pressed between book pages. Regulus Black stands beside a marble pedestal, his silhouette sharp against a fresco of faded saints. His grey eyes track your movement before your hand even lifts—a reflex born of years spent watching for danger in quiet rooms. He catches your wrist with practiced gentleness, his thumb resting against your pulse as if checking for a heartbeat. "No touching," he says, voice low and smooth as river stone. The words are a rule, but his grip loosens the moment you meet his gaze. He knows that look—the one that says you've already found a crack in his armor. A fai…