this is how we work [sky]

[regulus arcturus black]

It had been an early start for Regulus this morning, what with Quidditch practise starting to take a more regular presence in his routine after the team had been finalised. He had been very sore and achy before lunch, not exactly his idea of a perfect start to the weekend. Saturdays were for recuperating from the week gone by, lounging around the common room by a roaring fire with friends. If their had to be any demanding physical activity, Regulus preferred it to be during the week where there was already so much going on, an extra hours effort merely blended in with the rest. He had already showered and changed before grabbing a bite to eat, what was left on his to do list was merely a visit to the library to finish off any lingering homework assignments.

Reg's parents had been very proud of his results last year, commending him before going back to start his OWLs at Hogwarts. It had been one of the few positive notes of the summer, surrounded by anxiety and anger as his parents came to terms with the reality of Sirius's decision to leave the family home. It had been the final straw in a long string of disappointments and it seemed his parents were content with denying the existence of an older son to the wider wizarding community. Regulus was his families last chance at an heir they could be proud of and he didn't intend to be another disappointment. He wanted to restore integrity to his family name, hopefully such an act would give him favour with Lord Voldemort and his following.

He left the Great Hall after a light lunch with his bag swing lazily over his shoulder. His friends had tried to jeer him into heading out to the Quidditch pitch to throw insults at Gryffindor as they practised, an activity he usually jumped at the opportunity for. But he declined and instead chose the more nagging issue of getting a good school report at Christmas time. It wasn't a long trip to the Library, he sneered at some first year lions as they ran down the corridor, some bumping into him but the rest more focused on exploring the castle. Its an awe of amazement that he found wares off after a few weeks. Although the castle still had some tricks up its sleeves, few ever found them.

Regulus wandered into the Library to find it half empty; he sighed in annoyance as he didn't want the rest of his day to be consumed by work. He walked around before finding a small empty desk where he dropped his things, pulling out a small reading list for a potions assignment. He thought it would only take him about an hour if he could find everything he needed. Reg turned on his heel and headed to the potions section to track down the few books of dire importance to his homework, hoping they were all just waiting for him in the aisles.

[skylar roxanne winters]

Hogwarts was a strange place. The castle itself was much bigger than Beauxbatons and that had been enough to make Sky anxious. Now add in the fact that they were cornered off into houses, the staircases moved and the portraits talked and Sky was near having a nervous break down. She found a peace in the fact the Headmaster knew of her condition and had treated it as next to nothing. He had been able to speak about it whereas Sky was still yet to actually admit out loud what she actually was.

The first few days had gone by in a blur. Having been sorted into Gryffindor she had leaned that their key quality was apparently courage. Courage? Courage. Really? Sky wasn't exactly sure why the hat had put her here but apparently once they were sorted there was no way to change. Her common room was nice though. A cosy little room with a fire place. The fat lady was an interesting character along with their house ghost. The prefects all seemed eager to help. And yet all Skylar wanted was some peace. Just to be left alone to get things done rather have the welcome committee in her face.

So where was a better place to find peace than the library? If there was thing that she wanted it was to make her Dad proud by at least passing her OWLs. The library was one of the only places that Sky had accquainted herself with. Madame Pince the librarian barely noticed her and that was just how she liked it. As she walked down to her favourite place in the castle Sky kept her eyes down on the reading list that was in her hands. There were some potions text books that would help her out. She entered the library and made her way towards the back of the library where the shelves were stacked.

Sky huffed some air and her bangs flew upwards before settling back down on her forehead messily. She run her fingers across the spines of the books, pulling them out one by one. She worked through the list quickly before finding the last one on the list. Sky pulled it down, relieved, as it was the last copy. Her eyes flickered up to see someone else had entered the aisle. Sky pulled her brown eyes to the floor quickly and hugged the books close to her chest before mumbling, "Excuse me."

[regulus arcturus black]

Regulus was someone who liked to do things by the numbers, somewhat the opposite to his brother who was more creative and free spirited at heart. If Reg set out to do something, he had to do it in that time provided otherwise it would throw his whole day out of sync. It had happened before on numerous occasions with Quidditch practises cropping up at random times as the new captain tried to work out a schedule. Regulus had to jumble his own schedule around to match, hanging out with friends hadn't really suffered but his time spent cooped away in the library following up on personal interests or merely adding the extra paragraph to a homework assignment had. It had been rather infuriating, but luckily things seemed to be smoothing out.

Potions was a subject Reg enjoyed heavily, not only was the subject itself full of sinister applications and hidden tricks but the schools potions teacher, Professor Slughorn, was very fond of Regulus and as such, he felt like he had a bit of lenience down in the dungeons. Every little advantage all added up to glowing school reports and a leg up in his OWL studies. Not that he felt he needed any help in the first place, Reg was very competent in his studies and always performed above and beyond the expectations of his teachers and thus his parents. He often wondered if his immaculate grades somehow made up for the banishment of Sirius, even though he knew he wasn't responsible for it personally.

As Reg found the aisle he was looking for, he was surprised to find it occupied. Well, maybe not so much surprised as annoyed. A cute Gryffindor was clutching a selection of books close to her chest as she noticed him at the end of the book shelves. He ignored her shortly after, instead looking up at the books in search of any titles vital to his work. She moved forward and asked to get past Regulus, who was working his way along the stacks of books. He looked at her dismissivly and made no real motion or gesture for her to pass him as he merely brushed past her, a bit uncomfortably as one of the book corners in her hands jabbed his arm. He wasn't about to let some gossip about him being an ok guy get out around the school since he was courteous towards a Gryffindor, who knows what that would lead to. He carried on down the aisle hoping to find Complex Potions and Their Known Applications, the only book he really needed from the list.

[skylar roxanne winters]

There was no real acknowledgement from the boy and Sky could feel her cheeks tingle with what would have been blood. Funny how the feeling was still there even when the physical consequence was not. He was obviously busy considering her pushed past her. She felt the tension in her arms as the corner of the book caught him and she winced slightly and barely managed to mutter out an apology before quickly making her way to an empty table. Green and silver meant he was a Slytherin. But Sky couldn't remember what their key quality was meant to be. Loyalty? She wasn't too sure.

Having reached the table, Sky dumped the books and then sat herself down. She would spend most of the night here now. Later on she would make her way back to the dorm and tip toe into bed where she would just wait until she would go to classes the next day. Sky began to open up her books and pulled out her parchment and ink. Potions had never really been her strong point. The parchment in front of her was full of scribbles and ink blots. Sky gave a soft sigh. She would need to rewrite this essay but as long as she got the things she needed from the textbook now she could do that back in the dorm.

Dipping the quill into the ink Sky scanned the page of the book. She kept her finger on the page whilst her handwriting flew across the page. Even in the quiet of the library she could hear things. People breathing. Portraits talking and walking. And most of all the thumping of blood in veins. Not something that was bothering her too much this afternoon and she hoped it would stay that way. That was one of the hardest things about adapting and one of the things that scared her the most. She was thinking about this as she dipped her quill again and as Sky went to move the quill back to the paper she tipped the well. Sky gasped as she watched the ink cover Complex Potions and Their Known Applications. "No no no." Sky stood up from her chair and tried to blot the ink with her hands and then shook her head. She wiped her hands on her robes leaving a trail of teal stains down her robes.

[regulus arcturus black]

Before first joining the school, Regulus had dismissed house rivalries as mere school bravado that didn't really hold any water. However, when he saw his parents reaction to his older brother's sorting into Gryffindor, he started to rethink the gravity of the situation to the extent where he feared the repercussions of not being sorted correctly into Slytherin. Ambition was definitely a quality he displayed, always pushing for advancement. He was definitely cunning and resourceful, even if he only had the opportunity to show it at the most desperate of times. He didn't care much for not having enough academic drive to be placed in Ravenclaw or enough courage to be sorted into the pitiful Gryffindor. He had enough of each to satisfy his own needs and having being sorted into the house of Salazar Slytherin spoke volumes of Regulus's own beliefs.

It became clear that one of the books he was trying to find wasn't on the shelves, Regulus frowned in annoyance as he proceeded to collect up the remaining books he needed. Someone else evidently beat him to it, all the copies were gone. He had left it a few days after the assignment had been set to come to the Library and it seems he had been beaten to the punch by some over eager Ravenclaws. He checked a nearby book caddy in case a copy was waiting to be put away correctly but it was meagre pickings. Regulus looked up before looking behind him as if in thought. He knew who might have a copy.

He set off back to the collection of tables looking for the Gryffindor girl he had encountered earlier. She had evidently collected a book or two from the potions aisle. Perhaps she could be persuaded to lend him the book for an hour or so, his need was obviously greater. He had never seen the girl before which obviously meant she didn't have much of a social life. Regulus on the other hand had places to be this evening and couldn't be kept waiting by some lazy Gryffindor. Reg spotted her stood up beside a table and made his way over to her. Before her could even open his mouth he spotted the ink spillage on the table before her, more specifically covering the textbook he needed. ”Oh that’s just great!” he exclaimed in frustration as he scowled at the girl's incompetence. All the other copies were probably locked up in peoples dorm rooms whilst the only one left in the Library had been ruined.

[skylar roxanne winters]

Sky groaned. She really should learn to focus on one thing. She was rather useless when it came to multitasking. Elegance was something that had never came to Skylar. She had always been the bumbling, clumsy girl back in Beauxbatons and it looked like that reputation was about to follow her here. Sky dipped her head under the table and began to rummage in her bag. Where was her wand? Madame Pince was sure to notice her if she had wrecked on of the books. And if Madame Pince didn't notice she was sure someone else would when they went to use it. The sound of the crumpled paper and clanking glass from ink wells was echoing in her ears. That mixed with foot steps. However she didn't realise someone was coming to her until they spoke.

Skylar came out from under the table and banged the back of her head. "Ow." And with the ow came a curse in Italian. In her left hand she held her wand. The paper white palms of her hands were stained in blue. The lines of her hand stained deeper than the flesh. "Sorry." Sky said looking at the boy and then back to the book. She noticed that he was the same boy she had seen in the aisle earlier. The one that she had managed to knock with the book. "I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and then the next thing you know I knocked the ink over." Her accent pushed through with every word and Sky felt the tingling in her cheeks again.

Raising her wand Sky cleared up the mess and the ink began to bleed away from the pages in the book. "It's not perfect. There'll be a blue tinge but it's better than nothing. I mean you can hardly tell unless you put it into a certain light. But how many people hold books up to the light? There's just no need for that really. So yeah should be good as new. Sorry if I disturbed you." Oh Sky. Rambling was her thing. Sky was quiet until she opened her mouth and then it just wouldn't stop. Something twisted uncomfortably in her stomach and she glanced up at the boy and this time kept her gaze there.

[regulus arcturus black]

Regulus watched as the girl fumbled around under the table before he spoke. What could she possibly be looking for? Was Reg actually entertaining the possibility that this witch didn't keep her wand close to hand at all times? Potentially it was dependant on the guidance given by a young student's parents as to whether they kept their wands on their person at all times. Regulus had been given strict instructions to keep it tucked up his sleeve whenever he left the common room, but he imagined it had more to do with any enemies his parents had made over the years. As the girl re-emerged, Regulus shuddered along with the noticeable bang of her head hitting the underside of the table. He would have felt sorry for her if she hadn't messed up the book by spilling ink all over it!

What language was that? Italian? Definitely something exotic. Regulus himself had little experience with any language beyond English, but he couldn't imagine what the girl had just said was family friendly. It was interesting to Regulus, if only on an intellectual level. It wasn't often that you found foreign students within the walls of Hogwarts, he mused what could have brought her to over to Britain. Reg put a hand on his face as she tried to apologise, it was a messy situation indeed. "Well be more careful, these aren't your books to bumble around with." He snapped coldly, swapping his weight from one foot to the other was he waited impatiently for her to sort everything out.

He stood over the girl, impatience growing with each passing second as she used her wand to try to clean everything up. When concluded she was finished, Regulus couldn't help but raise an unimpressed eyebrow. "You need this book more than me to stand any chance of getting some house points for your homework and that's the condition you want to leave it in?" Reg started, looking down at the book still tainted with ink. "Actually, don't bother trying to fix it any more. Even with the book you don't stand a chance at winning the house cup." He added dismissively. Reg was a strong believer in little details adding up, but no number of little boosts could put Gryffindor anywhere near the house cup. Slytherin was already in the lead. "I still need that book or Slughorn won't give me top marks." He clarified, looking down at it on the table.

[skylar roxanne winters]

How icy cold he was surprised her. Sky may not have been willingly open with people but she was a warm person and always willing to chat and help if someone required it. To come across so harsh and brash was something a little alien to her and also reminded her vaguely of her mother and the way she used to behave. Of course it had been very many years since they had spoken and Skylar had no intention of getting back in touch. "I know they aren't mine. It was an accident." Sky explained defensively. She wasn't stupid. She knew that many people used these books but she had not done it purposely.

Sky blinked at him a few times. This boy may as well have been speaking in another language. She ran a hand through her hair causing the last drops of wet ink to plaster themselves to the strands and streak across the pale skin of her face. "It's better than it was and you can still read it." Skylar explained. She couldn't see why he was making such a massive fuss. The book was fine and just looked a very light baby blue now. "What's the house cup?" Sky asked him with a furrow in her brow.

This was another new tradition. At Beauxbatons there had been no house cup because there had been no houses. Why couldn't things just be a little simpler here. Sky looked down at the book on the table and said, "You can take it after I've finished with it if you want. I need to finish up stuff for Slughorn." Then not to seem rude Sky added, "Or you can sit and work with me if you want."

[regulus arcturus black]

Regulus had adopted the Slytherin / Gryffindor rivalry with ease, something his brother found rather unsettling. It was only natural for Reg to avoid any interaction with his brother in the public corridors of Hogwarts, whilst at home he allowed himself to hide away in his room for a laugh on occasion. If the pair ever got caught, Sirius was to blame for being a bad influence on Regulus. His older brother never seemed to understand why things changed when they left for school. It was a simple answer really, what happens at home isn't under scrutiny from the wider wizarding community. Regulus was glad he had an outlet for his frustration in the form of putting others down around him.

Regulus chose not to reply as she continued to ramble out an apology, me was surprised someone so talkative hadn't come to his attention in his past four years at Hogwarts. The cherry on the cake so far came when the girl expressed confusion at the mention of the house cup. Regulus nearly choked with shock. How could she not know some of the fundamental traditions of the school? It was one of the best wizarding schools in the country, nay' the world, and this girl was spilling ink on its Library books and looking like a lost lamb at the mention of anything covered in Hogwarts, a History. ”Am I talking to a first year?” Regulus mused with confusion. The answer could indeed be a yes but Regulus doubted it given how she looked around his age.

The girl then suggested some sort of a compromise that theoretically should resolve the situation to a mutual satisfaction. Regulus however had other ideas. He hated the idea of being slowed down by the clumsy lion, what if she spilt ink over his belongings? She had managed to stain her own robes blue and added a questionably fashionable streak to her hair. ”Or, I could take the book for an hour then give it back to you so I finish on time and don't get slowed down by you?” Regulus offered in return, checking his watch as five minutes had already been wasted with the girl.

OOC: feels so weird and gut-wrenchingly wrong to be so snarky and evil!!

[skylar roxanne winters]

He seemed rather upset with the fact that she had no idea what the house cup was. Sky felt bad for offending him. She knew that Hogwarts was a rather old school that was steeped in tradition but it was hard to keep up. Merlin, it was only her first week here. So much was different from what she was used to. If there was ever a moment that she wanted to head back to Beauxbatons it was definitely now. Sometimes things were a little too overwhelming for her. "Well considering I've only just moved her, technically, yes. You are talking to a first year." Sky didn't really want to refer to herself as such but he would hopefully understand that unlike him, this was not her home.

The more that she was standing with this boy the more aggravated she was getting by him. What was his issue with her? She had barely spoken to him and yet here he was acting as if she was some massive thorn in his side. Skylar was usually a quiet and calm person but this was starting to get to her. She didn't owe him anything. Okay so he wanted the book and she had spilled some ink ut that was soon remedied and still that was not good enough for him. What was she meant to do?

"That wasn't an option I gave you." Skylar said in a sickly sweet voice. "You'll be welcome to the book once I've finished with it." Sky then went to sit back down. She wasn't really looking to make enemies at this school. She hadn't really had any at her last but this boy, whoever he was, just got the better of her very quickly.

[regulus arcturus black]

Regulus tapped his foot a bit, he usually twitched or fiddled with something when he was mulling things over. It was highly possible he had caught her on a bad day and she was too flustered to think straight but he highly doubted that. He had forgotten about his things a few tables away, it was more important for him to get his hands on the book right now and he was sure his fellow students were good natured enough to leave it well enough alone given the large number of free tables still available.

She was a new student? Regulus had been right to have a funny feeling about the foreign accent. Surely someone who'd have lived in the United Kingdom would have conformed a bit to the local dialect from living here long enough to be a few years into Hogwarts. It was a first for Regulus to have met anyone who had joined the school beyond first year. In all honesty, he didn't know what to do. He felt sorry for intruding on the girl, she hadn't grown up with the usual bickering between houses. Reg had definitely caught her off guard. ”Seriously? A new student?” He asked, as if not believing her. In reality he just waned some more time to think.

He contemplated taking the book off the table, seeing what the girl would do in response. But any action that he started would be looked on unfavourably by the librarian, lurking close by in the aisles no doubt. No, it seemed any forceful conflict would merely land him in detention, especially if this girl had additional protection of being new to the school. ”You're right, it wasn't an option I gave you. Is this you demonstrative the bravery of your house?” Regulus asked with an eyebrow raised inquisitively. He knew he was provoking some sort of a response, in truth he wanted to see what she would do next.

[skylar roxanne winters]

Was it really that hard to believe she was a new student? Did the accent not give her away? Was he really that oblivious to the people around him? Hogwarts was not a particularly large school. There were a good deal of students in each year but certainly no where near as big as some of the others that existed. Perhaps this boy was just too caught up in himself to realise that people were moving around him all the time. "I transferred from Beauxbatons. This is my fifth year." Skylar cleared it all up for him. She would really need to brush up on everything so that she could shake the new student stigma.

A few students who were occupying other tables were now looking up and glancing at them. Whispers behind hands. Sky caught the words, 'Black'. Black was a name she had heard. There was a Sirius in Gryffindor. A lot of the girls spoke about him. Was this Black related to that one? "Well there had to be a reason I was placed in Gryffindor." Sky told him. She then turned away and began to collect her things off the desk. She shoved them into her bag and then closed the book before picking it up off the desk.

"Sometimes being polite can get you what you want in life. You might do well to remember that. Until then, I think I'll be needing this book for quite some time." He had been rather unpleasant to her and Skylar wanted to win this stupid little spat they were having. Although if SKy could see herself she probably would have groaned. She looked more like a muggle punk than some dignified and intelligent witch winning an argument. All she wanted was some peace and yet he had made it impossible. Was there no where in the castle where she could just work and keep to her own thoughts?

[regulus arcturus black]

Things were starting to make more sense to Regulus, mainly the fact why the girl was on her own where most would be grouped together giggling away about boys like himself in the corridors of the school. Her being so new meant she didn't have many friends and thus was forced to be secluded in the Library like how he had found her today. At a different time in his life, Reg might have been more charitable towards her, but with heads starting to turn and a few murmurs floating around within earshot he had to stand his ground. "Had I known we were getting a transfer student, I would have brushed up on my French." Regulus mused with a coy grin, adding: "But evidently I would have been wasting my time" With a dismissive hand wave he drew attention to his woes of losing out. All in mockery of course, if the patronising tone hadn't been enough of a hint. The girl was attractive, he wasn't denying that, but Regulus knew he was the heart throb of half his year and his looks hadn't done much to win this girl over.

Was this little spot of resistance proof of her overwhelming quality of bravery? Regulus doubted it, clutching onto a library book was hardly comparable to the feats achieved by Godric Gryffindor. However, would she ever get the chance to prove herself to such a degree that would satisfy Regulus's curiosity? "That doesn't mean you belong there." Regulus jabbed with a cool tone. "The hat lets you chose, subconsciously you probably wanted a warm welcome and the hat threw you at the most accepting house here" He finished with a spat, the thought of the Weasley family churned his stomach having heard many a tale from his parents and seeing Arthur and Bilius around the school.

Being polite? What was the girl thinking giving him a lecture? "Politeness can only get you so far." Regulus said, taking a step forward towards the girl who had finished packing up her things and now clutched the library book close. "But today I think is a lesson that life isn't always so fair." He finished, reaching out and plucking the book out of her hands. He pondered if the girl would run to a teacher or look around for help. Regulus didn't usually stoop to taking candy from a baby but with so many people around and already talking about the pair, he had to make a stand for the sake of his family.

[skylar roxanne winters]

Out of the corner of her eye she could see people craning their necks. The librarian couldn't be here otherwise she would have tossed them both out by now. Sky rolled her eyes at him. "I speak Italian." she informed him. "So indeed you would have been wasting your time." Yes, she knew French but her mother tongue was italian. Hence there was another reason she was not so keen to talk to people. Skylar was more than likely to trip over English words and make mistakes. She felt much more comfortable speaking in another language. There were a few girls who seemed to be having a keen eye on Regulus and Sky could only imagine the amount of weight he held within the school. Looks were what drove everyone to start with.

Sky began to chew on her lip as he told her she may not belong there. Belong in Gryffindor? Merlin she wasn't sure belonged in the school. Or even in the school. But Sky was certainly not going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing that. No way. "Well I would rather be there than where you are." Sky bit back at him. Okay, so Gryffindors could be a little in your face but it beat having someone as cold as death around you all the time. 'Funny thought when you're a walking corpse.' She quickly shook that thought away. Now was not the time to have a crisis over her existence.

The was a anger burning in Sky that she was truly trying to push away. If anything her father had always taught her that being polite paid off and there was no need to get worked up and yet this boy had just kept pushing. She hadn't even done anything wrong! Before she knew it the book had left her grasp and was in his hands. And before she could fully comprehend what she was about to do and stop herself Sky leaned forward and sunk her teeth into his hand. She felt the teeth break skin much easier than anyone else would and the coppery taste of specks of blood entered her mouth. Sky pulled away quickly and took some steps back.

Her mind raced and she could feel her mouth salivating. She needed to get out of there quick. She needed to get lost and get away from people. Biting someone was never something she'd have contemplated doing. Now she would have to learn that it was her defence mechanism. That she was what she was and that was what happened...

[regulus arcturus black]

Italian? Regulus patted himself on the back somewhat at being right at the first hint of her foreign tongue. It was now merely a question of how much he could push his luck with a bit of patronising wit. ”Interesting then for you to go to a French school? Did you learn anything?” he asked in jest, noting the obvious language barrier given how the girl was yet to confirm she spoke French. He was almost certain that she did and he was now merely trying to wind her up. Poor girl, if she had just chosen a less public place then maybe she would have gotten off a littler easier with him.

Regulus was a strong believer in the sorting hat's reasoning for placing people in houses. Everyone had a mix of qualities which made them who they were and it was merely a question of which ones shone brighter than others that determined where they went. As much as he might tease, this girl was with the lions for a reason and he was unnerved until he found out why. Maybe their was more to this girl than met the eye. ”So you would choose failure over success so easily.” Regulus mused as he looked down at the girl, it was simply a fact in his opinion that the more successful families had their children sorted into Slytherin, thus leading them onto a successful life later on.

What happened next was unexpected to say the least. Regulus had expected a response yes, but nothing like what he got in return for what he saw as harmless bullying. He felt a searing pain in his hand before his eyes had processed what was happening and yet out a yell of anguish. He dropped the book and pulled his hand back as he felt the girls bite loosen, instinctively grabbing it with his free hand to protect it from further harm. There was a lot more blood than he had expected from a bite, how often did biting someone break the skin? ”What in the hell!?” Was about all he could manage to snarl at the girl, his mind still recuperating and unable to string anything more witty together.