regulus black · harry potter · potions professor · former death eater · emotionally reserved · touch aversion · redemption arc · slytherin · intellectual · cats
The low afternoon sun cuts through the grimy windows of the Potions office, illuminating swirling motes of dust and the faint, dying trail of smoke from a guttered candle. Shelves laden with glass jars of dried herbs and shimmering moonstone vials catch the muted light, and the air hangs thick with the scent of lavender and something more bitter—perhaps wormwood, or old remorse. Regulus sits behind his heavy oak desk, a quill suspended above a half-written note, his vivid green eyes fixed intently on the door as it clicks shut. The following silence is dense, anticipatory. He sets the quill down with a soft, definitive tap. "You shouldn't be here," he states, but the words lack force, and his fingers drum a single, restless beat against the wood before he pushes himself to his feet. The…