February 14th, 1979

Today is going to be insufferable.

The Great Hall was covered in heart and pink hearts, cupids, and glitter. It was almost sickening at seven in the morning. Couples are practically shagging in the corridors, not being able to keep their hands to themselves.

By the time that Emmeline and I get to Potions, I've given six detentions for unnecessary PDA in the hallway. It's not that hard to find a broom closet.

Evan and Regulus are already in their seats, talking in hushed voices.

I miss him.

"Hey, Vance, wanna be my valentine?" Evan asked loudly as soon as Emmeline sat down beside him.

Emmeline raised an eyebrow at him. "Wow, such a gentleman," She joked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Did you give a lot of detentions this morning?" Regulus asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, six for practically shagging in the corridor."

"Now that is the spirit," Evan chimed in. "Reggie gave out four detentions before eight."

Evan turned back around and began to shamelessly flirt with Emmeline, who turned down his advances while blushing furiously.

Regulus gave me a small smile as he got out his book and parchment to take notes.

The past two weeks have been odd. He's been making an effort with me, despite my rejection. Things are tense when it's just the two of us, but that's a given.

I miss him.

But I'm not just going to forgive him. For all I know it was an empty apology and he just wants a quick shag.

"Are you coming to the match this weekend?" Regulus asked.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I've got to see who we're going up against for the cup after we beat Ravenclaw in two weeks."

He smiled, "You've got a good point."

"I'm rooting for Hufflepuff though," I said, "Not Slytherin."

"I figured," Regulus replied.

- - - - -

February 17th, 1979

I leaned against the rail of the quidditch stands, looking down at the players on the pitch. Thomas and I got here early to save seats for our friends, which is how I ended up in the front row, sitting between Thomas and Maggie.

The match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff is about to start, and the stands are packed with students.

Since Sirius Black graduated last year, the commentating on the match has been boring because of the lack of bias and flirty comments.

"WELCOME TO THE SEMI-FINALS!" Rory Mitchell's, a seventh year Ravenclaw, voice echoes throughout the arena. "WE HAVE HUFFLEPUFF, WITH CAPTAIN MARIANA WATSON."

The crowd erupts into cheers as the Hufflepuff quidditch team walks to the center of the pitch.

"AGAINST SLYTHERIN, WITH CAPTAIN REGULUS BLACK."

The crowd cheers again and I catch sight of the Slytherin team meeting Hufflepuff in the middle of the pitch.

Madam Hooch says something probably along the lines of 'I want a fair game', Regulus and Mariana shake hands, and both teams mount their brooms.

The quaffle is thrown up.

"THE QUAFFLE HAS BEEN CAUGHT BY TALKALOT, SLYTHERIN IS IN POSSESSION."

I watch as Lucinda Talkalot weaves through the sky, quaffle clutched tightly.

"A BLUDGER IS HEADING FOR TALKALOT, OH-, IT'S BEEN BLOCKED BY ROSIER."

I glance over at Emmeline, who has a small smile on her face.

"SLYTHERIN SCORES, 10-0!"

As the game progresses, I can't help but feel my eyes gravitate towards a certain black-haired boy. He has a focused look on his face as he flies through the sky in search of the snitch.

"HARRIS IS IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE-, AND HE IS INTERCEPTED BY DOYLE. HUFFLEPUFF IS IN POSSESSION."

Dale Doyle, one of Hufflepuff's chasers, is flying through the sky, holding the quaffle tightly.

"A BLUDGER FROM ROSIER IS HEADING FOR DOYLE-, AND DOYLE DIVES, THE BLUDGER BARELY MISSING HIM."

He quickly moves out of the way, the bludger making his robes swish.

"AND HUFFLEPUFF SCORES, 60-40, SLYTHERIN IS IN THE LEAD."

The crowd erupts into praise as Hufflepuff scores again. By the looks of it, it is going to be a close game.

My gaze falls back onto Regulus. We're over thirty minutes into the game and the snitch has yet to be spotted by either seekers.

Another ten minutes pass, and the score is 80-70, Slytherin still in the lead.

"IT LOOKS LIKE BLACK HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH!"

I stare back at Regulus. He's flying fast, Hufflepuff's seeker, Jane McDowell, is hot on his tail.

"NOW IT'S A RACE TO THE SNITCH! A BLUDGER IS HEADING STRAIGHT FOR BLACK-" Rory inhales sharply, his voice echoing through the arena.

A bludger clips Regulus's arm and he loses control of his broom, spiraling to the ground.

Someone slows down his descent, but there's only so much you can do from that height. I let out a gasp as his body hits the ground and remains unmoving.

"A TIME-OUT HAS BEEN CALLED, BLACK IS ON THE GROUND INJURED."

A few professors flood the pitch, bringing a stretcher. Evan lands quickly, going towards his best friend. I watched as Madam Hooch said something to him, and Evan angrily responded, moving his hands. He yelled something before taking back to the sky, an angry look on his face.

My breathing stopped as Regulus was put onto the stretcher and brought off of the pitch.

Slytherin's reserve seeker mounts his broom and flies into the sky.

"IT SEEMS AS THE MATCH WILL CONTINUE, GRAHAM FILLING IN FOR BLACK. HUFFLEPUFF IS IN POSSESSION."

Maggie taps my shoulder, "Hey, you okay?"

I shake my head, "No, I-, I've got to go. I'll catch up with you later."

Before anyone can respond, I push my way through the crowded stands and rush down the stairs.

- - - - -

Regulus Black

"Please-, I just want to make sure that he's okay!"

I slowly open my eyes to find myself in the Hospital Wing. The curtains have been drawn around my bed, midday light shining in through the window.

"Miss McKinnon, I'm afraid that I can't let you see him until he's awake."

I slowly sit up, groaning in pain.

There's footsteps and rustling before the curtain around my bed is flung open.

I see her visibly let out a sigh of relief, her eyes softening.

Madam Pomfrey moves around her, coming to my bedside.

"You took quite the tumble there, Mister Black. How are you feeling?"

I pulled my eyes away from Meredith's.

"Sore," I admit. "My shoulder hurts."

"Drink this," She says, pushing a vial in my hand. "You have a dislocated shoulder and a mild concussion."

I obeyed her orders and drank the sweet potion, setting the vial on the bedside table with my good arm. My right arm, where I was hit, is in a sling.

"The potion should kick in soon, I'll leave you two."

Madam Pomfrey leaves, closing the curtain behind her.

Meredith rushes over, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"God-, I thought that you died!" She exclaims. "You fell so fast, Reg."

I smile softly at her, ignoring the pain in my head and shoulder.

"I'm okay, I promise."

Meredith exhaled, "You fucking scared me."

"I'm okay, truly," I said, trying to ease her panicked state.

Meredith's eyes rake over my body looking for scratches and brushes before her eyes meet mine. "I thought that you were dead," She repeats, her voice sad.

"Aw, you care about me?" I joke.

Meredith looks like she wants to smack me upside the head, but refrains from doing so.

"Of course I do, you twat! More than you even know."

I grin at her, "Meredith, I'm okay."

Our eyes meet again, unspoken words being exchanged between us.

In one quick moment, her lips meet mine and she's kissing me. I kiss her back, my good hand gravitating to her cheek. She's kissing me tenderly, like she's afraid to hurt me.

Meredith pulls away, her cheeks flushed.

"Sorry, I just-, I saw you fall and all I could think about was everything between us," She stuttered. "I miss you, Reg."

I grinned at her. "Damn, if I knew this was all it was going to take to get you to forgive me, I would've fallen off my broom two weeks ago."

"You're an idiot," She said, smiling at me.

"Maybe I am."

She's kissing me again, her lips soft and warm against me.

"Oi, what're you doing here, McKinnon?" Someone exclaims.

Meredith practically jumps away from me, blushing furiously as Evan stares at us.

He glances between the two of us. "Ah, I'm glad to see you two finally made up."