Regulus Black sat up in bed in the early hours of the morning, as the first signs of the spring sun were climbing into the sky. The bedroom was icy cold and he cupped a warm mug of tea in both of his hands as he stared out of the window at the side of the room.

A groan sounded from beside him and the sheets moved slightly as a figure underneath slowly stirred.

"W-what time is it?" A groggy voice asked.

He replied, "About seven."

"Merlin!" She exclaimed, much more awake now as she threw the covers off her face and lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling, "This is what I get for not enchanting the curtains to stay closed."

"You were an early bird yourself once." Regulus pointed out as he looked down at Esme and combed back some of the hair out of her eyes.

She sighed, "Yeah, that was in Hogwarts when getting up early was the only way I could get some peace and quiet."

He offered, "I can close the curtains if you want to get back to sleep?" And he took another sip of his tea.

"No, it's alright." Esme shuffled across the bed so she could place a hand on his knee and rest her head in his lap. "I didn't notice you wake up in the night." She spoke softly.

"I only did once." Regulus replied, "So I'm making progress. Less of the jumping awake covered in cold sweat kind of nightmares."

Esme rubbed her thumb in small circles on his knee as she reminded him, "I've already told you, I wish you'd wake me up if that happens and I'm still asleep."

He exhaled, blowing his cold breath across the top of his drink, "They're just nightmares. I'll figure it out. There's nothing you can do."

"Well..." Esme sat up now, wiped her tired eyes, and planted a kiss on the boy's jaw before she continued, "What would make you feel better?"

He glanced over at her, and upon making eye contact, Esme sighed.

"Yeah... I still want to do that." He said.

"But," She grumbled, "You do know why it's a bad idea, don't you? You get that it's dangerous?"

Regulus nodded solemnly, "I know, I do. She's ill though and... And I've got to see her."

Esme didn't want to say what she thought. She didn't want to confess she assumed Walburga was lying about her sudden decline in health. She didn't want to tell that to Regulus.

So she kept quiet.

"I'm only going if you'll come with me." He placed a hand over hers.

If Regulus really wanted to see his parents again, then Esme had to go - if only to protect him.

"Fine, alright." She gave in, "But this better perk you up."

"It will." He smiled, "Thank you."

"Yeah, well..." Esme leant up to give him a kiss, "I'm only doing this for you."

But Esme had a plan.

"Listen to this, and promise you'll do exactly as I say."

Regulus, at this point later in the day, had gone out for a walk around to local park to clear his head.

This had given Esme some much needed time to set some preparations in place.

"You do realise we're not toddlers, right?" Piper asked as she glanced over at Sirius who sat beside her. They were both situated on the sofa as Esme stood in front of them.

Esme retorted, "I wouldn't be so sure about him."

"Don't interrupt the Wicked Witch of the East - she'll turn us into flying monkeys." Sirius mumbled to Piper beside him.

She snickered, "West."

"What?"

"You mean the Wicked Witch of the West. The one of the East got crushed under Dorothy's house." She explained.

Sirius shrugged, "What are you? A Wizard of Oz dictionary?"

"You mean encyclopaedia." Esme pointed out.

"Merlin, I don't like you Ravenclaws," He grumbled, "All of you are so pedantic."

Esme rolled her eyes and planted her hands on her hips, "Back to what we were meant to be talking about..."

"Right, yes. Priorities." Piper nodded.

"All I need from you two is to sit here and patiently watch the clock." She instructed, "Just sit here, and wait for Regulus and I to come back. If we're not back by six, then something bad has happened."

Piper and Sirius glanced at each other. "Do you think you really need both of here to do that? To wait until six o'clock?" He questioned.

"Yes, because you might fall asleep." Esme stated, "And I'd rather my safety didn't depend on your nap schedule."

Sirius hummed, "Yeah... If I were you, I wouldn't rely on me."

"Right..." Piper frowned, "So you want us to sit here while you and Regulus go and visit his parents. And if it gets to six o'clock and you haven't come back, we panic?"

"Precisely." Esme nodded in confirmation.

She laughed nervously, "Sounds like a lovely day." And then she glanced over at the boy beside her.

"I won't ask you out again." Sirius mumbled to her.

"Well, now that's sorted." Esme clapped her hands in front of her, "I'll leave you guys here."

"Wait, hold up." Sirius stood up, "I know my parents, and I don't trust them one bit. You've got to have a bad feeling about going to see them."

She agreed, "I do."

Piper suggested, "Well we should come with you. We'll keep our distance and be right nearby in case anything goes wrong."

"No " Esme shook her head, "Let's not do that."

Sirius pursed his lips and grimaced before finally saying, "As much as I don't want to see my parents, and would like to stay as far away from them as physically possible, Piper has a point. It could be good to have backup, but I'm not volunteering for that."

"That's fine." Esme replied, "Because we're not having backup. That's what I'm going for. Just stay here."

"But-"

"No." She interrupted Piper.

"But if something happened, I would be there. Surely it's better to be prepared." Piper pleaded.

"What are you going to do? Flirt with Walburga Black? No." She shook her head, "Just stay here. Keep him company. He's started cooking and now makes us all breakfast every morning and, quite frankly, it's a bit weird."

Sirius gasped.

"Don't be dramatic."

"Well don't break my heart then."

Esme rolled her eyes.

Piper was not best pleased as she argued, "Do you not think you're being unreasonable? I'm only going to help you out."

"But you're not going though." Esme hit back, "You are not going."

"You can't boss me around!" The older girl exclaimed, rising to her feet.

Esme scoffed, "Oh, please, don't make this about you."

"Well it is, isn't it?"

"Are you joking?" She laughed bitterly, "No! This is not about you because you're not going to be there!"

"Can't you see I'm just trying to help you?" Piper continued to argue.

But Esme couldn't stop herself. She had to keep retorting and the words were slipping past her lips before she could realise what she was saying.

Part of her just wanted to confess to Piper that she was trying to protect her - that if anything bad were to happen, Esme would only want herself to be in harm's way and nobody else.

But, unfortunately, the stronger part of her just kept spitting out harsh words, anything to desperately convince Piper to stay away.

"Just stay put, alright? I can handle it. I don't need you."

-

a/n

short chapter, sorry

and, probably last authors note for a while as the next few chapters are intense and i'd rather leave them on their own...

but i'm toying around with the idea of making another regulus story after this one (different oc so it's not connected to this book)

i'd quite like to write about a regulus with a slightly different personality to this one, so if you'd like another regulus story in the future, let me know?