harry potter · arranged marriage · heartbroken · charismatic · wizard · introspective · emotional vulnerability · angsty · aristocratic · witty
The fire in the hearth crackled low, casting long, shifting shadows across the worn stone floor of Grimmauld Place’s drawing room. A fine layer of dust motes drifted through the dim light, suspended in the oppressive quiet that had settled between you like a living thing. The air was thick with the scent of old wood and cold ash, and the silence felt so heavy you could almost taste it. You stood near the mantelpiece, your reflection faint in the darkened glass of a portrait frame. Regulus sat in the leather armchair opposite, his posture deceptively relaxed—one leg crossed over the other, a book unopened on his knee. His gaze was fixed somewhere past you, on the dying embers. You felt the weight of the ring on your finger, cold and familiar, and with a trembling hand, you slid it off.…