That night was a lonely winter night for Ariel Malfoy. It wasn't that late but as it was a week day, and a cold one, people would rather go to their bed early to enjoy the warmth under their blankets. But not Ariel. He decided to go to the common room sometime after curfew. Wrapped up in a warm blanket, he was sitting on the green-leather sofa facing the crackling fire. He loved the common room. He loved the atmosphere it gave off, he loved its aesthetics, and at this moment he really loved its calm and quietness. He was happy reading in solitude for a while until he realized something was missing. The blonde boy had been too used to nights spent with Regulus in the common room that it felt strange to be in this place without him now. He surely could go to bed but he would rather stay longer, waiting for Regulus to come back from his patrolling session.

Luckily for him, it didn't take too long and some minutes later, the raven-haired male entered the room, accompanied by his partner, Ivanna Flint.

"Oh finally, you're there. Come join me, I'm cold," he said in a fake, whining voice.

"Who? Me?" asked Ivanna Flint as she stopped in her tracks, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"No, not you. Ivanna, you know that I love you, but I don't want Silas to murder me," he told the girl with a gentle smile and a gentle look in his blue eyes.

The girl instantly calmed any ardor that could have risen in her before turning around to look at Regulus, who reflected no emotion, except boredom maybe. It seemed like he wasn't even listening. Ariel then addressed him a bright innocent smile, hoping he would persuade the younger boy with this.

"No," listlessly answered Regulus.

Ariel's smile faded away and turned into a pout. "Why would you be so mean with me Reggie?"

Regulus' expression stayed the same, looking bored, he just widened his eyes a little upon hearing the nickname only his cousins would use.

"Black, I'll let you deal with that," muttered suddenly Ivanna Flint, feeling uncomfortable before leaving to her room. Regulus didn't acknowledge her and stayed focused on Ariel who stared back at him.

Ariel's usual satisfied expression came back on his face, his scarlet lips turning up in a sly smirk while Regulus didn't look the slightest bit fazed.

"Come join me, I'm cold," he said again, in a much calmer and deeper voice, sounding more like himself.

Regulus' dark stare stayed fixed upon on him for a few seconds before he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Don't do that kind of things. At least not in front of others."

He sounded so serious and stern, but Ariel didn't look disturbed, and instead he replied innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop joking. You don't know Flint, she could say..." And he stopped, never finishing what he was planning to say, but Ariel had clearly understood him.

"Just come sit with me," finally spoke the blond boy after a while. He opened his blanket, inviting Regulus to take a seat next to him.

Feeling resigned, the young boy sighed and slowly walked up to him. He stared at Ariel who was smiling at him, and so he sat down and the blond boy instantly wrapped his arm along with the blanket around him. Regulus stayed a little tense, not used to such proximity.

"You don't feel cold at all," he murmured after a while.

"Really? But I definitely feel warmer when you're so close to me," whispered back Ariel, his deep voice so close to his ear that goosebumps ran down Regulus' spine. Ariel got a little closer, their bodies were brushing against each other and Regulus tensed up some more. "Relax..."

The blond boy took back the book he had been reading that was from the library and continued reading. Unconsciously, Regulus leaned his head forwards, just a little so he could read as well. And he slowly relaxed against Ariel's body, loving the feelings of warmth and protection he was offering.

After some time of both reading, maybe it had even been hours, they couldn't be sure, Regulus broke the silence.

"Are you interested in Quidditch?"

Ariel turned his head to face him and the younger boy was surprised by the proximity.

"Sometimes, yes," he replied with a shrug.

"You mean, when Slytherin plays?"

"Exactly."

"What do you do otherwise, when it's not Slytherin?"

"I go to the library."

"To study?"

"Hm... somehow. I just use the opportunity that nobody's there to grab some books on dark magic in the restricted section," casually replied Ariel, saying this as if it was the most common thing to do.

"Bring them to the common room next time. I'm interested in reading them too."

"You could also join me then. In the library," whispered Ariel, his voice so soft and his smirk so smooth.

Without realizing it Regulus' gaze glided down to his finely-curved lips for a second, but Ariel obviously didn't miss that. He noticed everything, always.

"Sure. That's a possibility," he replied, his voice as calm as ever. And Ariel loved how he managed to keep his composure, no matter how much he would openly flirt with him.

"Perfect then, but next Saturday, I'll be watching you," he told him with a small smile. And his hand went up, to caress his soft cheek with a brush of knuckle.

Ariel stood up after this, leaving his blanket to Regulus, and obviously not missing the look of astonishment displayed on his face. And he enjoyed this expression way too much.

The day of the match Hufflepuff vs Slytherin arrived soon enough. Ariel cursed under his breath as he stepped out in the way-too-cold weather of March for his liking.

"Regulus!" he whined, calling out to the boy he was following. Regulus rolled his eyes in annoyance before turning around to look at him.

"What do you want?" he hissed.

"It's too cold..."

"You can surely make up a warming charm instead of complaining," replied the raven-haired male curtly.

"Sure I could, but you're so much warmer..." he whispered, this time with an amused grin.

Regulus said nothing, just stared at him right in the eye, noticing a rare glint of amusement in his irises, a sight much different from his usual cold blue kneeling stare. Ariel's hand rose up to lightly touch Regulus' cold cheek with the tip of his fingers, looking so deeply into his eyes. And the boy didn't complain, nor did he look surprised like the last time, he just maintained eye contact with his bold grey eyes.

"Black! Hurry up, we're waiting for you!" yelled the voice of Silas Flint coming from behind, where he was in the changing room.

Regulus did look shocked in that moment only. Ariel instantly detached himself from the boy, and put some distance between them so they would look like they were just chatting.

"Coming!" he said back before sighing, ignoring his pounding heart and both the surprise and excitation that came along. "See you later," he whispered to Ariel, with a grin barely noticeable.

"Play well Reggie! I'll bet on Slytherin's victory!"

Regulus threw him a glare because of the nickname before disappearing from sight and Ariel chuckled as he directed himself towards the bleachers to take a good seat.

Ariel enjoyed this match of Quidditch. He had always been a fan ever since he was a child but this match was definitely more enjoyable. Not only Slytherin had been very good during this game and had scored a lot, but Regulus too had been an amazing player. His skills, whether they were physical like right now or intellectual like he could have showered with the new things he had learned in class, never failed to impress Ariel.

"Are you here to warm me up?" asked the blond boy to the person who just sat at his side, not looking up from the book he was reading.

Regulus said nothing, making Ariel look up at him, staring straight into his eyes.

"No. I wanted to know how much you've won," just quietly replied the boy.

"Since we bet 20 Galleons with that Hufflepuff idiot, I earned 20 more."

"That's a lot."

"Indeed. But it's not like I need money, I could ask anything to Father and he would give it to me. But winning is quite a satisfaction," he casually said with a smirk.

And Regulus stayed quiet again, just looking at him without showing anything that was running through his mind until he spoke up again.

"Are you trying to win me?"

Ariel frowned, with his eyes showcasing a look of confusion. He was really dumbfounded by that question.

"What do you mean exactly?"

Regulus' grey eyes turned into a glare and he stood up from where he had been sitting for the past minutes with Ariel. And he just left him, without another word, confusing the blond boy even more, something he would rarely feel.

That night, Slytherin obviously threw a party to celebrate their victory. But Ariel didn't feel like enjoying it. Which was surprising, since he was usually in a good mood, and that he would happily join his housemates to enjoy a few drinks but not that night. He was just sitting on a sofa, alone, quietly sipping on his Firewhisky. Ever since his last discussion with Regulus, he had been quite in a gloomy mood. That didn't go unnoticed by the raven-haired boy and so once he finished talking to one of his teammates forcing him to have a drink as per usual, he went to sit next to the older boy.

Regulus stayed silent. He didn't look at Ariel, not even when this one turned his face to stare at him, his intense eyes boring into him. Ariel didn't make any attempt to start a conversation neither. He just drank, until finishing his glass. He was rather good at tolerating alcohol which was an advantage. Once he was done he stood up and started walking towards his bedroom, but not without glancing back at Regulus before so he could get the hint and follow him.

author's note: are you enjoying this? i loved writing this and i love re-reading this story personally haha...

do you use the playlist i made? i think it suits well the story and has great songs (it's still called yours - regulus black playlist on spotify btw, i put the link but i'm not sure you can copy it from your smartphone https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0mFeLQXCeLqUkq4tyVLayR?si=a7710ef029f8425f)