Just a rainy day -open-

[Regulus Black]

It was Sunday afternoon and it was raining quite heavily. Regulus was walking up the stone steps that led to the Owlery. He wasn't in a hurry. All his homework for Monday was already done, and what else was there to do on a Sunday? All the older students were trying to sleep off their hangover, and the younger ones were, well, who cared about the younger ones? Regulus already hated being a fourth year. Being a fourth year only meant that you were one year away from being considered an 'older student'. Just one year away from respect.

Besides, hurrying while walking up those stone steps was never a good idea. He had slipped several times through the years, and it had hurt just as badly every time. The rain didn't really bother him anymore, because his clothes had gotten completely soaked on the way there, although it did make his robes feel very heavy. His shoes were muddy from walking on the grass a bit earlier, so he was being extra careful with the steps. He didn't really have reason to go to the Owlery; there wasn't even have a letter to send. He just wanted some company.

The inside of the Owlery was particularly full that day, just as he had expected. The owls usually stayed in when it was raining that badly. Now that the rain wasn't hitting him anymore he realized just how wet he was. He was shivering. This had not been a good idea. Next time he would definitely check what the weather was like outside before he went to visit Nicodemus. Nicodemus was his owl. He had been a gift from his parents when was eleven and had just received his letter from Hogwarts. Regulus liked visiting him, especially when he was feeling lonely.

Regulus knew exactly what his owl looked like, but he was always difficult to find when the Owlery was this full. But he had only been looking for him for a few seconds, before Nicodemus came flying towards him, landing on the arm Regulus was holding out for him. Smiling, Regulus stroked the owl's back. "I knew you would be happy to see me." Regulus mumbled. They stood like that for a few minutes, before Regulus suddenly heard footsteps. Someone was walking up the stairs.

He quickly spun around, almost losing control of his balance as he did, but managed to regain it, fortunately. He was not used to being disturbed while being up there. Now he would look weird to whoever was on their way, since he didn't even have a letter to send, and that he had been stupid enough to not bring an umbrella or something. Regulus wished he knew how to conjure things, so that he could get an envelope in his hand or something. Or if he could at least use his wand to dry his clothes, but he didn't know how.

The footsteps were getting louder, but Regulus suddenly realized how stupid it was to be so worried about not having a letter to send; he could always just pretend that he had already sent it. He began running towards the window to send Nicodemus away, and as he did so he forgot how wet and muddy his shoes were and how slippery this floor always was, so he slipped and fell on his back, yelling out loud out of surprise and hitting the ground hard. Nicodemus had been smart enough to fly up as this was happening, and then sat down on Regulus' chest, hooting loudly. Regulus heard as the person entered the Owlery, so he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

[tanith]

Most people hated rainy days but the rain was one of Tanith's favourite weathers. She liked the peace of the steady pitter-patter of the rain and she liked the smell it left behind on the grounds of Hogwarts. It was the sun and warmth that Tan disliked. Her rather pale skin always burned nastily in the sun and she was left looking like a lobster for weeks. One of Tanith's favourite pastimes at Hogwarts was walking in the rain in fact, especially when there was nothing else to do. Sundays were the perfect time for peaceful walks in the rain. Tanith usually got all her homework out of the way by Sundays, she abhorred drinking so she never had to wrestle a hangover like her other fellow Slytherins before monday morning class.

So this particular dreary day Tanith was lazing in the Common Room, feeling restless and she decided that a walk in the rain would be just the thing to kill some time. As it was the weekend, Tanith was wearing Muggle attire like a lot of the students at Hogwarts. It was easier than her school robes, particularly in the rain when the material would get heavy and drag along soaking wet. She threw her winter cloak over a pair of jeans and a jumper and made her way across the courtyard. Tanith covered her head with the Charm often used by Quidditch players in bad conditions, which kept something of a dry bubble over her head. She loved the rain but Tanith got sick easily, she'd always been rather weak as a child and seemed to have carried her unfortunate immune system into her teens.

Tanith casually strolled across the freezing cold courtyard, feeling refreshed by the biting wind and the cold rain and even indulging herself to splash in a few puddles seeing as nobody was around. Finally, she decided to talk a small detour to the Owlery. Her tawny owl Calliope had been injured in a storm whilst delivering a letter home some days before and Tanith decided to visit her seeing as she had nothing else to do. She hurried into the tall tower of the Owlery and shook herself from the cold and rain, waving her wand to remove the sheltering charm. She gripped the handrail on the spiral staircase quite tightly as she ascended the stairs, cringing as she almost lost her grip on the damp flagstones quite a few times. Dreading the thought of descending later on the slippery steps Tanith made her way to the top, but before she could look around for Calliope she was startled by a loud cry.

Tanith jumped a few inches in the air and spun around, staring wide eyed at a dark haired boy lying on the ground. Instinctively, Tanith approached and peered down at the boy who was lying in dripping wet robes on the Owlery floor. Now that she was up close Tanith recognised the boy as Regulus Black. She knew him as a boy in the year below her from around the Common Room but naturally most girls in her year knew him as the little brother of the infamously charming Sirius. Tanith however, didn't really care much for Sirius and his 'Marauder' mates, although she was mildly concerned for the possible broken bones of his brother. "Merlin! Are you alright? It's crazy weather eh..?" Tanith attempted a small smile down at Regulus but cautiously held back from holding out a hand to help him up. She didn't know him that well after all.

Outfit! www.polyvore.com/simple/set?id=15526860

[Regulus Black]

For a few seconds all Regulus could think about was the pain in the back of his head. His back hurt, too, but it was nothing in comparison. After all, the floor was made out of stone. Fortunately, his back had hit the floor first, so it had taken most of the blow. Regulus wanted to yell again; out of pain, annoyance and embarrassment, but he didn't. He still had no idea of who the person that had just entered was, because he had kept his eyes shut. Regulus just hoped it wasn't a Gryffindor, since a person from that house would rub it in his face and probably tell everyone.

Merlin! Are you alright? Raising his left hand to cover half his face, he let out a low groan. The person was obviously a girl, but he wasn't' sure if that was a good thing or not. He was also curious to know, whether she actually cared or if she just felt obligated to ask if he was okay. Even though he would much rather just lie there until the girl gave up and left, Regulus opened his eyes. Of course, he recognized her immediately. She was in his house, a year above him, and she was a Malfoy, he knew that much. His family got along well with the Malfoys.

She was smiling at him, but he was in too much pain and too embarrassed to smile back. Regulus hurried to stand up, which made him feel slightly dizzy, but nothing serious. "I'm fine." He said, still slightly confused by his lightheadedness. The Owlery floor was probably the most disgusting one around, and the whole backside of his robes was covered in owl filth. Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at his clothes. "Tergeo." He mumbled, before putting his wand back in his pocket.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad." Regulus said, nodding his head at the window to answer her question about the weather. "I'm sorry if I scared you." He said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand; it still hurt. She probably thinks I'm ridiculous... and an idiot he thought to himself. It felt weird that they had gone to school together for over three years now, and never really talked before this. He wasn't sure if he should introduce himself or not. Then again, maybe she just wanted to get out of there. Therefore, he decided to wait for her to say something.


((bleh... sorry it's kind of short/lame-ish... but it's all I had time for! Better than nothing, right? Lol))

[tanith]

Tanith may not have exactly been friends with Regulus but she was glad at least that he was saying he was fine. The sopping wet, dropping covered flagstones didn't look like the easiest surface to fall on, and Tanith wasn't the best at healing charms. Had Regulus broken a bone on his fall the best Tan could do was send her owl to the Hospital Wing and wait for the nurse to come fix him (probably for a long time judging by the usual length of her clumsy, lazy owl's journey). She let out a low whistle and smiled awkwardly, grateful that the hypothetical situation had been averted as he struggled to his feet. "What happened, slip on some feathers or something?" Tanith had asked it curiously, not meaning it to sound jeering, and she poked some of the stray feathers around the floor with her toe absentmindedly. Now that she was up here Tan remembered why she rarely sent letters home. Among other reasons, it was because the place was bloody disgusting.

It was worse for Regulus though. She was merely shoving the stuff around with her shoe, whereas it was all over his back. She cringed, her hand instinctively moving to the pocket of her cloak to find her wand. Despite being absent-minded with practical magic 'Tergeo' was a spell Tan knew well. She was usually the one covered in ink or mud or worse from her many clumsy tumbles, so it was easier for her not to laugh at Regulus. She quickly adjusted her face as one corner of her mouth twitched and she instead look slightly impressed at his good as new robes. On top of being able to guess how embarrassed Regulus was at the situation, Tanith also didn't know him very well. She doubted she'd make a good impression by laughing at him covered in owl droppings. Mind you, most people would. She could easily imagine the likes of Rita Skeeter capturing a picture of it for her nasty little gossip column. Regulus surprised her though, if she was being unconventional by not laughing, he was apologising which was supposedly unheard of for Slytherins. Blinking in slight surprise, Tanith smiled and shrugged.

"It's fine, I didn't mean to sneak up on you" Trying to dodge around the patchy, wet flagstones Tanith tiptoed to the more sheltered corner of the Owlery and pushed herself up to sit on the window-sill. "Er - you're Regulus right?" She smiled. Of course, Tan knew who he was, through various meetings at family parties and his obnoxious older brother sharing classes with her. But she'd never actually spoke to the younger boy, and she reasoned it might be creepy to seem so certain of who he was. "I'm Tan" She added awkwardly, searching about for Calliope among the countless Owls perched beside them.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus had begun brushing some of the dust off his clothes. When he had stood up, Nicodemus had flown back up to sit next to one of the other owls. But as soon as he noticed Regulus looking at him, he jumped up and landed on the arm the young Slytherin held out for him. The owl hooted happily, and Regulus rolled his eyes. Why did that animal have to be so cheerful? He'd rather not have to deal with his pet's need for attention right at that moment.

He did not look at her right away when she asked him how he had fallen. Did she want to know because she thought it was funny? As if he wasn't already feeling embarrassed enough. But when he turned his head back towards her he could tell that she wasn't enjoying his humiliation. It seemed as though she was just genuinely curious. He watched her kick a couple of feathers before he answered. "Yeah, feathers... among other things."

He hoped he had gotten everything off his back. Most cleaning spells weren't that difficult, but he hardly ever had the need for one, so he wasn't completely sure of how good he was at the one he had just used. Putting one hand behind his back, he decided he had done an okay job as he couldn't feel anything disgusting on his robes. And she hadn't laughed at any point during all of this; that was a relief.

As she moved towards the window-sill, he hurried to try and give Nicodemus a little shove, so that maybe he would fly away again. However, the owl seemed determined to stay right where it was; instead of leaving, it just hooted again. Regulus gave up, and turned his attention back to the Malfoy girl. "Yes, Regulus Black." He replied. As soon as she said her own name out loud, he realized he should have remembered it; not only did they go to school together, they also had to go to the same boring family parties.

He noticed her looking up towards the many owls. "Is one of them yours?" He asked out loud, his eyes now also searching the owls. "You're a fifth year, right?" Why so many questions, idiot? He thought to himself, not wanting to seem too eager. He had never really thought about it before, but after spending only a few minutes talking to her he had already noticed she was different than most Slytherins. This was something he found interesting.

[tanith]

Tanith gave a half-smile of sympathy as she noted Regulus was still picking the 'feathers, among other things' off her robes. "Owls eh?" She shrugged, "More trouble than they're worth - yours especially evidently" She felt herself chuckle slightly to see Regulus' over-enthusiastic pet peck at his shoulder. Her own owl was much less affectionate - Calliope was old and preferred to deliver mail at his own pace, and only visit his owner for copious amounts of owl treats. Regulus' owl was also much more graceful and elegant than her own. She'd never seen the attraction in the pets particularly, but she supposed that was because Calliope wasn't much to be admired. Cal, where Tanith was beanpole thin and clumsy, was fat and constantly banged into walls. She was actually quite jealous of his much more impressive owl, and, had she not felt so awkward in the new company, fished out some of her owl treats from the pocket of her jeans to feed him.

Instead, Tanith rolled her eyes and pointed upwards towards the owls, pushing her hair from her eyes to spy out her useless pet, who was dozing rather precariously on the edge of one of the lower levels (typical). "That's mine" She muttered with cynicism that betrayed the slightest affection for her long-suffering owl. "Calliope. He's bloody useless, but I always forget to buy another. I don't send letters that often anyway so ..." Tanith trailed off, telling herself to shut up. She didn't even know Regulus and here she was berating the poor boy on her lack of correspondants. It was an unfortunate habit of hers - she oscillated between the two extremes, awkward silence or talking far too much. In fact she was rather glad when she asked if he was in fifth year, the questions shut her up at least, and she smiled a little at his inquisitiveness. "Er, yes, I'm in er.. Cissa and Sirius' year, you're related to them right?" She was trying to use people he knew to set him at east, but decided against telling him she disliked both of the aforementioned relatives. ".. OWL's coming up soon" She cringed, and shook her head quickly snorting at her own accidental joke. "Er - the exams I mean, not the animals.. You're fourth year?"

She was only being polite. Tan knew he was a fourth year - her mother and her friends were typical Pureblood busybodies who often talked about everyone and their children, she'd heard Regulus mentioned a few times, not to mention saw him at the boring parties she went to with her parents (and skulked moodily in the corners, usually). But he seemed pleasant enough, or at least being polite, although she felt slightly irritated by the fact that a fourth year was taller than her. Bloody delayed growth spurt. She smiled again in slight amusement, swinging her legs casually over the window seat. "'Regulus Black'" She repeated slightly teasingly. "Now I feel silly for introducing myself as 'Tan'.. perhaps I should use my surname too" She was just teasing obviously, she felt less awkward than usual and able to be at least polite and friendly to Regulus - after all theywere on their own. And she'd already seen him covered in owl poop.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus felt his arm was starting to get tired. The owl wasn't particularly heavy, but it had been sitting on his arm for a few minutes now, and it was beginning to have an effect on it. He looked back at Tanith as he heard her chuckle, and felt a small smile appear on his own lips. Yes, Nicodemus was a very enthusiastic owl, and very old yet. Regulus' parents had bought it for him just before his second year had started, so the owl was only a bit more than two years old.

Tanith raised had hand, pointing at one of the owls, and Regulus looked up to see, which one was hers. He couldn't help but smile again when he saw it; it wasn't often that you saw an overweight owl. "It looks..." Regulus paused, not quite sure of how to describe it. "Clean." He finally said, and then regretting it immediately. Clean? Well, what he really wanted to say was 'ancient', but he wasn't so sure Tanith would like that.

So he felt relieved when she began talking about it in a very dissatisfied way. Regulus just nodded while listening to her before she stopped kind of suddenly. "Well, at least it's not the type that won't ever leave you alone." He said with a glare at the owl on his arm. At that moment, he decided it was time for Nicodemus to leave, so he lowered his arm quickly, forcing the owl to fly up. Unfortunately, it chose Regulus' head as its next spot to land on. "No! Get off." He said in a determined way, placing both of his hands on the owl's sides and lifting it off his head.

While holding it, Regulus walked over to the other owls and placed Nicodemus on one of the lower perches. He avoided looking at Tanith for a few seconds, feeling embarrassed about what had just happened. Then he heard her mention his brother's name and turned around to face her again. "Yes, sort of..." He mumbled. "Sirius and I don't really talk that much anymore." Regulus was mad at himself for acting so awkward; it probably made her feel really uncomfortable, and he didn't want to scare her away.

But he actually managed to smile again (a real smile), as Tanith mentioned that her O.W.L.'s were coming up. They were the one thing he wasn't looking forward to next year. He nodded in response to her question about him being a fourth year. Normally, he would have felt embarrassed all over again at her teasing him for telling her his first and last name, but this time he didn't. There was something about her that was starting to affect him, make him feel more at ease. "No need." He began. "I know you're a Malfoy." Regulus finished before realizing that could sound slightly creepy. "Only because my family gets along with yours very well, and they've mentioned you a few times." He hurried to add, not sure if what he just said was any better.

[tanith]

Tanith smirked at Regulus' attempt to describe her owl pleasantly, following his eyes up to watch her sleeping, useless animal. She appreciated the attempt, most others would have agreethat the only thing Calliope was useful for was for making quills out of. Regulus was a pleasant surprise for Tanith. She had never gone out of her way to talk to him before, even though at parties the adults tried to push the 'young people' together to socialise. She had always assumed that he would be as arrogant and irritating as his brother, or worse as snotty as Mrs. Black. But so far, she liked Regulus Black. If only for the fact that he seemed to match her in the awkwardness stakes. A sort of kindered spirit perhaps in their house, which was full of seemingly perfect, collected teenagers who never put a foot out of place, never mind slipped in owl dung. "No it's alright, you can tell the truth, Cal won't hear you he's practically deaf anyway. He's awful, but I feel a bit sorry for the poor old thing to be honest.." She smiled with brief affection at Calliope who was now hooting quietly in his sleep.

Drawing her eyes back down to the dark haired boy opposite, Tanith felt her smile widened and she snorted slightly with laughter as Regulus' owl jumped from his arm to sit on his head. She hadn't thought that he looked funny lying on the floor of the owlery, but this looked hilarious. She almost wished she'd brought her camera, but then again Regulus didn't know her well enough to know that Tanith lugged the camera almost everywhere with her because she loved taking photos. He might assume that she was merely being cruel and laughing at his misfortune. She grinned, watching Regulus forcibly remove his familiar and set him on one of the lower perches near Calliope and wandered over to get a closer look at the graceful creature without being too presumptious. Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, Tanith pulled out the last few owl treats of the packet she'd bought for Calliope and set them next to Nicodemus, who began pecking at them. She shrugged at Regulus, grinning sheepishly. "Hope you don't mind, I thought he should be rewarded for his enthusiasm. Plus I'm thinking of putting Calliope on a diet, he can barely get off the ground" She smirked slightly, placing her hand lightly on Nicodemus head and giving him a brief pet.

Now that she'd made the crossing to Regulus' side of the owlery, so to speak, Tanith felt a little awkward, especially as it seemed he was averting her eyes. She twiddled a strand of her hair around her finger awkwardly, wondering what she'd said that could have irritated him. Perhaps it had been too presumptous to feed his owl after all. She could never remember the lessons her mother tried to instil in her about social decorum. All the same Tan wasn't stupid, and she didn't press Regulus any more about Sirius after sensing his slightly guarded tone. She guessed it must have been a sensitive subject for him, and she didn't know whether or not it would make him feel better to tell him that she thought his brother was a bit of an idiot anyway. Instead, Tanith leant back against the wall, where there was a bench big enoug for two or three people - but resisted offering him a seat, after all he'd been here first and she didn't want to look like an over-presumptuous weirdo. His real smile at her comment about exams eased her awkward feeling slightly, and she relaxed, pulling her knees to her chest and smiled back, pulling a face when Regulus said his parents had mentioned her. "Oh dear, well I hope I can convince you none of it's true"

She was only half-joking of course. Regulus' parents could well have been praising her, but somehow Tan doubted it. Their families got on well but she knew that it was not often praise was extended over her personally.Lucius tended to overshadow her in that respect. And she had once heard two of her parents' friends, Mrs. Rosier and Ms. Mulciber, lamenting that she was an "odd child, almost a squib", and that they worried for her "poor parents". She hoped Mr. and Mrs. Black hadn't had similar conversations in front of Regulus. Gossip such as this was unfounded, and made her look stupid, and she didn't want to look stupid in front of him.

[Regulus Black]

Regulus was not exactly sure of what was going on with him that day. Tan's comment about her owl being almost deaf actually made him let out a small laugh, which almost never happened. He was acting a whole lot different than usual. He normally preferred being by himself, but right now he just felt it would be much nicer to stay there, in the owlery, even though he felt no need to hang out with his owl anymore. Regulus didn't feel Nicodemus deserved it, after all the trouble he had caused that day.

He had heard her laugh at him when the owl landed on his head, which had only made his face feel even hotter. But Regulus knew he wasn't blushing; the colour of his face almost never changed, which was something he actually appreciated a lot. However, he kept feeling more and more convinced that Tanith was not like other Slytherins. It didn't sound like she was laughing at him because she was enjoying his humiliation; that is what most other people in their house would have done.

She then walked over to stand next to him. He watched her hand Nicodemus a treat. The owl looked happy, and it looked straight at its owner while eating his treat as if to say 'I got away with it.' Regulus just rolled his eyes in return. "It's fine, though he really doesn't deserve it." He responded, smiling as the owl let out another one of its happy sounding hoots when it was patted on the head. "This one can't stay on the ground." He added with a smirk.

It soon became obvious that she had sensed his embarrassment and Regulus wanted to kick himself for it. Why could he never do anything right? But he always felt uncomfortable whenever someone mentioned his brother. People always felt the need to compare the two of them, and Regulus was sick of it. Sirius was a lot more popular than he was, and so everyone that met Regulus expected him to be just as confident and full of himself.

Tanith moved over to the bench and sat down, holding her knees to her chest, but he decided it would be best for him to remain standing. He wasn't sure how she would feel about him sitting down next to her, even though he kind of wanted to, mainly because his back was still aching from the fall. It was weird; now he was actually pretty glad that he had decided to stay, and not just hurried back to the castle out of embarrassment.

Oh dear, well I hope I can convince you none of it's true. This made him think about what he had actually heard his parents say about her. He had not been paying much attention to them, but his mother had said that she felt sorry for the Malfoys because of 'that strange girl'. He would have liked to think that they had been talking about Lucius, but that would have been too good to be true. "They just mentioned you as Lucius' cousin once or twice. Nothing serious." He told her. "Why would they say something bad about you?" He asked with a small smile, feeling curious.

[tanith]

Tanith smiled at Nicodemus as he hooted happily, glad that he hadn't tried to bite her fingers off, or that Regulus had thought she was strange for being so over-familiar with his familiar. He really was a beautiful creature, she noted, although his nature seemed very different to his owner. The owl was very extroverted, whereas Regulus seemed more like herself, slightly awkward, slightly quiet. Not that Tanith minded much. In fact it made her feel more relaxed, she was actually beginning to enjoy his company, although she wasn't sure whether or not that feeling was reciprocated quite yet. Tanith smirked across as the dark haired boy as he playfully reprimanded Nicodemus for not being able to stay on the ground, stroking the owl's head again with one finger. "Poor Nicodemus, how horrible your owner is to you, eh?" She feigned pity, smirking at the creature who hooted appreciatively. She was only joking naturally. Tan wanted to make Regulus laugh - it seemed unfair that she had been the only one finding his over-friendly owl perdicament early.

As she sat down on the ledge and began to relax, Tanith raised an eyebrow at Regulus and gave a lopsided smile as he divulged what his parents had said about her. Naturally she knew it wasn't true. Well, his parents might well have mentioned her as 'Lucius' Cousin' because that was often her unnofficial title, much to her distaste, just as she was certain Regulus grew tired of being referred to as 'Sirius' Little Brother'. But Tanith doubted that his parents had said 'nothing serious' about her. Still, Regulus clearly wanted to spare her the embarrassment of admitting this - and she appreciated that. That was nice. He was nice, sort of, as 'nice' as Slytherins go anyway. She shrugged, mirroring his smile. Evidently Regulus was curious. "Well, I don't know, most people think I'm sort of.. strange. I don't think I'm very 'bad' though.." She replied thoughtfully with a slight smirk, but didn't add anything very self-deprecating. The mood was light-hearted and she didn't want to spoil it by relating some of the more horrible opinions about her. Instead she smirked and decided to turn the question back on him.

"What about you Regulus? Would you say something bad about me?" She shifted on the bench to lean back and watch his expression, adding with faux-innocent curiosity. "Perhaps you think I'm 'strange' too" Again, Tanith was only kidding, she didn't want to put Regulus on the spot and make him feel too awkward, but she thought, or rather hoped, that Reg would realise she wasn't being horrible. She was relaxed almost completely now in his company after only a short time, which was a nice feeling, and now it was marginally less awkward (quite a feat, for Tan) she hoped the atmosphere would become more fun. She shifted up on the bench and gestured to the now free seat, noticing how he was twinging slightly and had touched his back briefly "You can sit down if you like" Tanith offered as casually as possible. "It's just that, your back must be aching from your er - fall" She smiled and shrugged, aware that he could embarrass her and decline her seat. Although she was fairly certain he wouldn't want to purposely embarrass her for no good reason, or at least she hoped not. She was having fun talking to him so far and didn't want to have to leave quite so soon.