When this class was finished, they left each other without a word. They had already talked a lot for two people barely knowing each other who were both introverts on top of that. She returned to her common room with a smile on her face. Her roommates watched her come back with confusion written on their faces. Adena didn't spare them a glance as she went up to her bedroom to leave her bag and get rid of her robe, staying just in her uniform. She grabbed the book she had been reading for a few days and went back down, going to sit on a one of the beautiful blue velvet sofas decorating the place, right next to Jacob.

"Good evening," she just said in a polite manner as she started reading, trying to distract herself from the surprisingly enjoyable afternoon, but not wanting to at the same time.

"Adena... you look strangely in a good mood. At least way better than before," said Eugenia, a little dumbfounded.

"You always seem to come back to us with a lit-up mood these days, it's rather strange I must say," said Jacob this time, teasingly as always.

The brunette just rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, "I don't know what you're talking about, it was just Arithmancy."

"Didn't know this class was particularly exciting," scoffed Jacob.

Adena just tried to focus on her book but was once again interrupted.

"Hi Adena. I've been assigned as the new prefect by Flitwick. We have to patrol tonight; I hope it's fine with you..." started Noah, her housemate.

Noah Lee was always a quiet and shy guy most of the time. Except with his two best friends, Isaac and Jacob who were quite the contrary and seemed to be of a great help to the boy.

She turned to him with a smile and nodded, "It's fine, thank you for letting me know Noah."

She started reading again but she was definitely not in the mood anymore. The nightmares haven't stopped, and she was feeling nervous thinking about going back in the empty corridors of the castle at night with a boy she didn't know that well on top of that. She felt like she couldn't trust anyone anymore, not even the sweet Noah who was always eye-smiling at her every time she would be nice to him. Adena just tried to shake away the feeling of anxiouness growing in her stomach as she read her book.

Faster than she had wanted to, Adena found herself in the common room, one quarter to nine, waiting for Noah, her new partner as a prefect. The nervousness hadn't left her, and as always when she was nervous, she didn't eat a lot for dinner. She just tried to at least fill her stomach with pumpkin juice.

At ten to nine, Noah was finally there. "Sorry for being late, I didn't think you would be that early," he said with a sheepish smile while running a hand on the back of his neck.

"It's fine, I just didn't have anything to do," she replied with a reassuring smile as she made her way towards the exit already getting her wand out and whispering a small 'Lumos' .

Noah did the same, following her, since she knew better how to direct herself in the castle at night.

"You were the first person Flitwick asked to become prefect?"

"I think yeah. He didn't look in a panic, just asking me normally."

"You accepted right away?"

"Yes, it's not like it's such a hard duty anyway. But I don't think I'll be a very strict prefect..."

"It's okay, I'm not either," she chuckled, "I think only the older Slytherins abuse their position to give Gryffindors detention or just annoy them." 'Or Muggle-borns,' thought the young girl.

Most of the classmates she appreciated were pure bloods, except for Millie and Noah and some others, so she obviously considered them safe.

They fell silent after that small conversation, both were not that much of chatters, preferring the quiet unlike their comrades who were way more talkative. She appreciated the silence until she realized she was all alone with her thoughts again. The young Ravenclaw wanted to avoid at all costs the place where she had been attacked by the male she would forever loathed. For some reasons, she felt more nervous now, sensing as if she were observed or being approached. Without even noticing, she started panting a little, her pulse increasing at the same time.

As if feeling her sudden discomfort, Noah asked, worried, "Adena, you okay?"

Her throat felt a little dry when she murmured in response, "Yeah..."

She was glad he couldn't see her face as she was walking before him, she must have look frightened and he could have thought she had gone insane, since there was no reason to be afraid. Adena tried to convince herself of that fact, remembering the monster was far from there. But what if he had decided to sneak out? Or what if someone else was going to hurt her again, right here and now? Noah would be too scared to make a single move.

The thoughts were running through her mind at light-speed, her panting increasing, clearly audible in the silence of the night. The brunette kept moving her wand up and down, from left to right, lighting up every corner of the corridor they were in. She felt like she was losing her mind, becoming completely paranoid, on the verge of crying. Her chest was burning in pain as her breathing made her feel like she was suffocating, and even drowning as the feeling became too overwhelming. Adena was too caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see a light approaching in the opposite direction, nor did she felt the presence of someone when her body turned around a corner, colliding with something hard. She gasped louder than the panting she had been letting out for the last short minutes that felt like an eternity for her. In a second, Adena's eyes which were widened in fear moved up to meet a confused pair of grey irises, just barely lit up by the light of his wand. She let out incoherent, strangled words as her throat just kept tightening every time she tried to take a breath. Her head was hurting. The young girl could barely make out the words that were said to her as she watched Regulus Black who was frowning down at her, looking worried now. He placed both hands on her arms as he slowly guided her in a sitting position. She didn't understand how her wobbling legs still had enough force to support her body.

Once she touched the floor she broke down in tears, not caring if Regulus or anyone was seeing her in that state, she just couldn't hold back. The panting wouldn't stop and she continued crying, her only way of expressing how unbearable it was. By her side, Regulus was sitting, looking at her, not knowing what to do or what to not. He wasn't sure of what kind of words to say in a situation like that. So, he just placed his arm around her shaking shoulders, his hand hesitantly rubbing her am in the most comforting way he could show. His second hand went to grab hers that was holding tightly onto her knee. Regulus didn't know if his actions were the best but after some minutes the young girl he was holding seemed to calm down. The closeness was good enough for her to put her forehead on his shoulder in a slow movement. The tears continued running down her red cheeks, even though she had calmed down. She was looking at the side of his face, slightly covered by his black curls. He was clearly avoiding her hazel orbs on purpose, but the Slytherin boy immediately looked at her when she whispered these words in a broken voice:

"I'm tired Regulus..."

It was the first she was calling him by his name, but she didn't seem to mind, neither did he. It sounded good to his ears. The proximity of their faces wasn't as awkward he thought it would be, he just felt comfortable under her soft stare. So, he just observed her with a sad gaze, his hand leaving hers to move the hair stuck on her cheek after she had cried so much before returning in her warm and tight grasp. The moment felt like an eternity, just the two of them looking into each other's eyes, seeking comfort in the other's soft gaze. He was glad she didn't have her glasses on as he could look in the depth of her orbs, glistening under the pale moonlight coming through the closest window. Neither he nor she had ever experienced a situation like that. But it felt like a rare moment they had to cherish.

"You should get back to your room..." he whispered, as if not wanting to break the strange moment of gentleness they were sharing.

She didn't say anything, just nodded in agreement without moving an inch, nonetheless. So, he made a move, thinking it was the best for her. He straightened up a little, not in a harsh movement so her head would stay on his shoulder for a few more seconds before she could lift it up. Her senses seemed to return to her, activating her body once again as she reached out her hand to grab her wand, just as he did the same. She had lost the warmth of his body, the warmth she had grown used to in some minutes.

He got up, she followed after him. Her limbs felt weak again and she was still shaking, Regulus knew it, so he didn't hesitate to hold her this time, encaging her in his soft embrace once again. He did it almost unconsciously this time, with his arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him for support. Not a word was exchanged on their way back to her common room. They were moving at a slow pace and Adena felt like she was a burden to him, once again. But he would never complain and still walked her back. And she felt safe.

Adena found sleep pretty fast considering the agitated night she had lived. But Regulus couldn't. He laid in his bed wide awake for a few hours, staring at the ceiling as the night kept repeating in his head. 'It's like we're bound to find each other in every possible situation,'  he thought before closing his eyes.

author's note : so adena's kinda struggling with anxiety yeah :( 

i hope i portrayed it well, i honestly wrote this based on my experience so i hoped i portray well the feelings of anxiety she felt

anyway i've thought a little about this and i believe adena's mbti istj and apparently regulus' actual mbti is intj but i don't think it totally fits for the regulus i imagined in this story. in this chapter we also see noah which i already mentioned before and i think his mbti might be infp. he's that kind of person, noah is really sweet. and btw i've edited the introduction because i found a photo that suits better how i imagine him!