"Why do quidditch matches always take place in the worst weather?" Esme yelled over the roaring wind and howling rain. Water lashed down from the black, swirling clouds above, viciously striking their red cheeks.

"See the Ravenclaw Seeker anywhere?" Piper called out, one hand cupping round her mouth and the other feebly attempting to hold her hood up.

Esme had completely abandoned her coat at this point, as her limp, wet hair clung to the sides of her face. It was so dark they could barely make out a single player in the air - let alone identify who was who.

"I can't see anyone!" Esme complained, though she could barely hear her own words, "Can you see Regulus?"

Piper scoffed, wiping droplets of rain off her brow (though they were in immediately replaced by more cold water), "Forget about the Slytherins; we're here for Ravenclaw!"

"If we can't see the players, how do we know when this is over?" Esme cried, but her words were drowned by a sudden clap of thunder.

Almost as if it couldn't get any worse, the crowd fell silent for a moment.

But only for a moment.

Then Esme felt her blood run cold as all of the stands shook - the students shrieking with horror.

"Wh-what's going on?" Esme gripped onto Piper's arm. She had a bad, very bad, terrible feeling.

Piper gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth as she pointed out towards the pitch, "There!"

She had to squint to see, but when she did, Esme felt sick.

There was a figure, wrapped in dark robes, tumbling through the air towards the ground. Somehow, the player was still gripping onto their broom. Gasps and cries shook the stands as the vicious wind seemed to knock the falling player about like a rag doll.

"Is that a Ravenclaw player?" Esme shouted, "Is it our Seeker?"

Then... The announcement.

"The Ravenclaw Seeker has caught the snitch! There they are flying in now!" The commentator's voice boomed around the stadium.

"Piper-Piper!" Esme grasped tightly onto the girl beside her. They were so high up and at the back of the stands, they couldn't see what was happening down on the ground as the falling player vanished out of sight.

Regulus Black could not possibly have been having a worse day.

Once he'd woken up in the Hospital Wing, but before his eyes had even fully opened, Esme was already yelling at him.

"I can't believe you!" Esme snapped, "If you dare get hurt out there, I'll kill you!"

"Yeah... That seems fair." Regulus grumbled with a croaky voice as he struggled to sit up in his bed. Upon opening his eyes, he was temporarily blinded by the bright lights of the Hospital Wing.

Esme folded her arms and pursed her lips, "Lie back down."

"What?"

"Madam Pomfrey will go mad."

"What?"

"She told me not to let you sit up."

"So you'd tell on me?"

"Absolutely."

He let out a long, extended sigh as he slumped back down in his seat. Regulus didn't really have much of a memory of the match after the bludger had smashed into his side and knocked him off his broom.

Thankfully though, he couldn't feel a thing.

Regulus' eyes shot open as he pushed himself up again, "I can't feel my body." He panicked, patting over his chest and stomach.

"Do you think you lost a kidney or something?" Esme sat down in the chair beside the bed, "Madam Pomfrey gave you some numbing potion when you first came in. You were kind of mumbling nonsense at the time."

"What... Er, what happened?" He held his hands over his eyes and sank back down in the bed.

She sighed softly, "Well... Apparently you were chasing the little gold thing and then one of the Bludgers knocked you off your broom. You... fell through the air and Madam Hooch had to cast a charm to catch you."

Regulus groaned again and adjusted his position, finally feeling a searing pain from the bruise that was growing across his abdomen.

"You held onto your broom the whole time. That was pretty impressive." Esme added with a small smile, "Although... It is completely broken now."

"Amazing." He muttered, finally uncovering his eyes and looking over at Esme.

"Your hair is wet." He pointed out.

Esme shook her head, "My boyfriend, the genius."

"Why is your hair wet?" Regulus asked, furrowing his eyebrows into a frown.

She sighed again, "Do you not remember the weather during the match? There's not a hood in the world that could protect someone from that rain."

"How long ago was the match? What time is it?" Regulus gasped, "What day is it?"

"Stop panicking." Esme hit him in the arm.

He leant back from her, "I'm not sure you're meant to hit the patient."

"Patient? You're an idiot."

Regulus chuckled lightly and reached to take ahold of her hand, "Seriously, though, what time is it? Have I missed dinner?"

"You've been here a couple of hours." She explained with a roll of her eyes, "Madam Pomfrey won't want me to stay much longer and she won't let you leave until tomorrow, though."

Regulus winced as he sat up again, "Tomorrow?"

"I'll bring you some roast potatoes." Esme offered, immediately lifting the boy's spirits.

"Yes... That's why I love you." Regulus grinned.

"Thanks for that." She muttered bitterly under her breath.

Regulus lay on his back again and look up at the ceiling, "You haven't been waiting here the whole time, have you?"

"Well I went back to the dormitory to change into a dry jumper." Esme explained, "But pretty much, yes."

She added, "Dirk, Piper, and Levi were here earlier. They left when the Slytherins came. They were here for about ten minutes."

"Thanks for staying." He smiled.

"Of course." Esme smiled back, "Oh, and I brought this for you." She reached down under her chair to pull out a pile of clothes which she promptly threw at him.

"What is this?" Regulus pulled apart the fabrics to look at them, "Are these socks?"

Esme pursed her lips and scratched the top of her head before replying, "Well... I thought you wouldn't want to spend the night in your quidditch gear. So, I brought you a change of clothes... Though... I should point out they are my clothes so... It might be a bit of a tight fit."

Regulus held up the t-shirt to his own body and let out a laugh, "I'm slightly embarrassed that this might fit me perfectly."

"The socks are Ignatius'. They're clean, don't worry. I imagine it gets cold in here at night so that's why... They're there, I guess. I don't know. I had two hours to kill here." She shrugged slightly.

Regulus took Esme's hand and entwined their fingers, "Very thoughtful." He mused.

"I try sometimes." She replied.

He picked up the pair of fluffy green socks and looked at them, letting out a laugh. Never had he thought Esme would be so soft.

"Your hair is a mess." She pointed out, using her spare hand to comb through his curls and push them out of his eyes.

He squeezed her hand gently and asked, "Were you worried?"

"About your hair being a mess?"

"What? No." Regulus shook his head and laughed airily, "Were you worried I got hurt?"

Esme scoffed, "Obviously. I watched you fall like a hundred feet. Bloody lucky we're wizards, I'll say."

"Wouldn't have wanted to be a muggle making that fall." Regulus nodded.

"To be fair, a muggle wouldn't have been on a broom in the first place." She thought, "Though, if you do anything like that in the future, I'll never speak to you again."

"Seems reasonable. I'm involved in a tragic accident and I get the blame." Regulus tutted.

She nodded, "Damn right. So you better not fall off your broom again."

"Normally..." He grinned, "You might be grateful that I'm relatively uninjured."

"Reg, I've had paper cuts that hurt more."

Regulus dropped Esme's hand and lifted up the left side of his shirt to inspect the bruise across his stomach. It had spread across almost half of his front and was now turning an almost blue shade.

"You're right, that Bludger barely tapped me." He lowered his top down again to cover the markings.

"You are okay though? Really?" Esme asked, her eyes full of sincere concern.

Regulus nodded, turning back to look up at her, "I'm fine. Great, really. Shame I cost Slytherin the match, though."

"If any of the Slytherins give you grief, I'll hex them." She smiled sweetly at him.

Regulus grinned up at her, and then something occurred to him. Something he'd been meaning to ask for some time, but the right moment had never really arrived.

"Esme..." He began slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something."

Slowly, she leant back in her seat and narrowed her eyes at the boy, "That's technically possible, yes."

"Given we've... Been more than friends for nearly a year..." Regulus took a deep breath, "What do you think about going on a first official date?"

Esme lowered her head, "Regulus, you're nice and all but I really just see you as a friend. Well, I say friend, I really mean acquaintance."

"Don't do that you'll scare me." Regulus swatted a hand against her arm.

Esme looked up at him again, laughing as she finally replied, "You're an idiot, Regulus Black. Of course I'll go on a date with you. If you tell anyone though, I'll kill you."

"I'm glad we're at the stage in our relationship where you threaten to kill me so often." Regulus sighed with relief, lowering his head back down onto the pillow and casting his gaze up to the ceiling.

Esme tilted her head to the side and smiled, "I say it with love, of course."