November 27th, 1978

My Monday was already off to a bad start. I woke up late, my hair wouldn't cooperate in the slightest, I forgot my sweater so potions class, which I was also late too, was freezing.

When I rushed into class ten minutes late, Professor Slughorn didn't bat an eye, but Regulus smirked at my frazzled state.

"You look like shit, you know," Regulus whispered.

I bumped my knee harshly against him. "Shut up, I woke up late," I muttered through clenched teeth.

I survived the freezing cold dungeons only to be met with a bright red color bomb as I walked into the Gryffindor common room during lunch.

"We're so sorry!" Harrison Watts, a third year, exclaimed.

Jack Boyd, also a third year, stared at me with wide eyes. "It was an accident! We were trying to get Gracie, not you!"

I blinked through the red powder that was covering my entire body, trying my best to not hex the two of them into oblivion. "Detention, tonight," I announced, "And if I catch you doing that again, I won't hesitate to tell McGonagall."

They both nodded quickly before rushing away, apologizing again.

I missed lunch because I had to shower off the red powder that coated my entire body. Thankfully, I remembered my sweater as I went to my last few classes of the day.

My day hadn't gotten any worse, yet, but I had a feeling that it would.

Regulus fucking Black is waiting for me outside the Great Hall like usual. Most days I wouldn't actually mind him, but today is not the day.

"Let's go already," I said, brushing right past him.

Regulus caught up to me, falling into step with me. "Yikes, bad day?" He teased.

"Yes, please don't make it any worse, otherwise I might very well throw you into the Black Lake," I answered. "I hope you know how to swim."

We were in charge of the second floor today, to we took the main staircase up to the second floor corridor.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Regulus staring at me. His black hair was longer than it had been at the start of the year, soft curls forming at the end. His green-grey eyes bore into me, his jawline angled as he stared at me.

I smacked him in the bicep, "Stop staring at me, Black."

"You're hot when you're angry, McKinnon," Regulus admitted.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Of course you would get turned on by people being mean to you."

Regulus smirked and we fell silent as we turned down a smaller corridor.

A ghoulish noise broke through the silence as we got further down the corridor. Regulus and I exchanged a look as we ventured towards the noise. It got louder as we continued down the corridor, and we eventually located the source.

I pushed open the door to the girls' lavatory, Regulus on my heels as I stepped into the abandoned bathroom. It was the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom ever. A row of chipped sinks sat nestled beneath a cracked, dirty mirror. The room was dim, the candles burning low, and the whole room felt damp. The wooden doors to the stalls were slivering and flaking.

"Does no one ever use this?" Regulus asked, looking around the bathroom.

I shook my head, "No, most people just use it to smoke or hook up."

"I didn't know that," Regulus admitted.

The ghoulish moaning started again, getting louder until the culprit was hovering above the sinks. Moaning Myrtle floated above the sinks, the mirror showing nothing but Regulus and my reflections as she hovered in front of it.

"Oh-, I was hoping I'd get visitors," Myrtle said, her voice high.

Regulus raised an eyebrow at her, obviously unaware that Moaning Myrtle even existed.

"We're on patrol and we heard your pouting," I explained, "Myrtle, can you please keep it down?"

Myrtle crossed her transparent arms in front of her 'body'. "And here I was thinking you two were just another pair of lovebirds."

"We are not," Regulus announced, almost embarrassingly quick.

"Hm," Myrtle pouted, "The only people who come in here late at night are here for other reasons."

I frowned at Myrtle, "Please keep it down, you'll wake the entire castle."

Myrtle flew higher, circling the ceiling. She whined dramatically as Regulus stared at her dramatics.

"We're leaving," I said, turning on my heel as Myrtle flew into a cubicle to sulk.

Regulus trailed behind me, "Uh-, bye."

When we returned to the main corridor, Myrtle had stopped her dramatics, and the castle was silent once again.

"Who the fuck was that?" Regulus asked.

I furrowed my brows at him. "That's Moaning Myrtle, haven't you heard of her?"

"No," He answered, "I don't hang around the girls' lavatories."

I scoffed, "Well I would hope so. Myrtle died in that bathroom like fifty years ago, so now she haunts it and sulks around."

"Oh," Regulus replied, "I'd never heard of her before."

We turned down a more secluded corridor, passing the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

I continued walking down the corridor, my shoes clicking against the stone floor. "I figured, not many people do."

Regulus laughed quietly, and I turned around to look at him.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

Regulus chuckled, "That she thought we were together."

"You're just jealous, Black," I said.

Regulus shook his head, laughing.

"Well now you're just being rude," I joked.

I looked at my watch to see that our patrol would be over soon, and I could finally go to bed and not think about this awful day ever again. As much as I hate to say it, I didn't mind Regulus's company.

There were so many nooks and crannies in the castle, especially once you got higher up, that it was impossible to search the entire floor during a single patrol.

I leaned against the wall, Regulus stopping to stand a few feet in front of me.

"Trying to get away from me already?" Regulus teased, gesturing towards my watch.

I gave him the side eye, trying to hide my smile. "No, just checking the time," I admitted, "You're actually bearable tonight."

"Seems like someone's starting to warm up to me."

"Watch it, Black," I retorted.

Regulus stepped towards me, placing his hand to the left of my head and leaning against it.

We were only a foot away from each other now, and the temperature seemed to increase drastically.

"You're a prick, you know that?" I said, letting my crossed arms drop to my side.

Regulus stared at me, a small smirk on his lips. "I can't help it, you're fun to mess with."

I gave him an annoyed look, "One of these days, I'm going to strangle you."

"Is that a promise?" Regulus grinned.

I began to roll my eyes at Regulus, but he quickly closed the small amount of distance between us and pressed his lips against mine.

Even more surprisingly, I kissed him back.

He was propped against the wall with one hand, the other one gripping my face. My hand fell to his waist as his body curved against mine.

Regulus kissed me hard, and I kissed him harder.

When we finally broke apart for air, Regulus turned on his heel, leaving me with the ghost of his touch. He didn't say anything as he started walking back the way that we had come. I fixed my hair, following after him.

We walked in silence back to the Great Hall. When we got there, Regulus stopped walking to look at me.

"Goodnight, Meredith," He said coolly, before disappearing to the dungeons.