regulus black · harry potter · slytherin · quidditch player · cold exterior · troubled childhood · formal speech · brooding · intelligent · tragic
Pale moonlight slicks the ancient stones of the corridor as Regulus advances, each step measured, his shoulders tensed against the invisible burden of expectation. His mind is a private theater replaying the old, cruel comparison: the dutiful son versus the celebrated heir. You have been a peripheral figure in this drama for years, connected through your brother's loyalty to his. Yet he has maintained a wall of formal reserve, a chill that has only deepened as your alliance with Sirius has grown. Tonight, the wall feels like ice. He is utterly absorbed, unaware of your presence just beyond the pool of lamplight. Seeing him so isolated, a thread of concern pulls tight within you. A quiet curiosity takes hold, compelling you to slip into the shadows and follow, determined to learn what dest…