A/N: First two chapters generally suck...this story will get better, I promise...
Chapter III: Depth of Character
The following morning did not find Regulus in a much better mood than the previous night. He glanced at the alarm clock on the side table and found he could afford another fifteen minutes before dragging himself out for class.
Otto and Albus were still soundly in the land of the sandman, and as such, Regulus found it convenient to reconsider the events of the previous day and night in his mind.
He didn't know what quality of Andromeda it was that simultaneously caused him to alternatively despise and want her. Angering her for pure enjoyment was something he persisted at. Why? The answer admittedly eluded him.
Then there was her whole personality. She was always fired, passionate and seemingly, hated him. Yet, Regulus did wonder - if he was able to elicit a powerful reaction from her, how deeply did he influence her? He smiled to himself absently...she was, after all, unable to suppress her rage for him.
Then he reflected on himself a little bit. What had happened over the course of his Hogwarts career? Fooling around with Otto and Albus, his two best friends, pulling pranks, generally not putting much effort in schoolwork and living a life of overall ease was appealing and he loved it, but recently, he began to grow tired of it. A small part of him he wanted to suppress even advised against riling up Andromeda at every opportunity.
Yet the thought persisted. Why? Maybe it was him finally beginning to grow up and see the world in a different light. Since when had he been concerned about lights? He raised a whimsical eyebrow.
It did not make the least logical sense. Up until now, angering her sufficed perfectly, but suddenly, he was much more interested in her personality. Who was she? How did she think and feel? He was able to elicit a powerful reaction...why this sudden interest in her personality? Regulus was convinced he did not run that deep. Personalities, really? Had he perhaps turned emotional? Even worse, gay? God forbid...but he liked girls! Of course, he would kiss Andromeda right now if she was right there!
Wait, what?
He shot up in bed, his heart pounding. Wait a minute...
"What in the hell is wrong with you, mate?" Otto muttered from under the covers as he rolled over. "Relax, we still have five minutes..." and he dozed off again.
"Yeah, yeah..." Regulus breathed out. What was wrong with him?
Deciding to forsake the last five minutes of blissful ignorance, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up, shuffled in the direction of the bathroom.
Regulus had never experienced such a distressing morning, much less one courtesy of the gray matter between the ears. A shower...that would clear his mind and help him focus away from this nonsense...
That was the general intent at least, as he let the hot water wash over him. But the thoughts...
"Hey, Reg, you almost done in there? Hurry up!" Otto's voice suddenly brought him back down to earth. Shocked, he discovered he had been thinking about Andromeda's smile for the last ten minutes.
"Almost done, yeah!" he yelled back. Shutting off the water, he stepped out and grabbed a towel. No way was he going to lose dignity to his best friends by taking long girly showers!
Wrapping it around himself, he walked out purposely, only to come to face to face with Otto's surprised expression.
"Wow, mate, what's got your knickers in a twist? You look pissed off."
That remark took him by surprise. Him, angry?
"Why would I be pissed off?" With another jolt, Regulus realized he even sounded prissy...
"Relax, will you?" Otto told him. "You've been acting strange all morning."
Angry and acting strange? He was the same old Regulus!
"It's nothing," he said. "Come on, we'll be late."
"That would be your fault, mate."
Regulus rolled his eyes at Otto and went ahead to dress in his uniform.
**
Should he maintain a cold indifference towards Andromeda, or pretend their little exchange never took place and stay friendly? In both cases he could seem as if he had his pretentious knickers in a twist...what would a man in his place do?
Cold indifference. It was settled.
"Reg, you've been off all morning," Albus observed at breakfast. "You feeling alright?"
"Of course," Regulus replied without looking at him. His eyes were trained elsewhere...
"Don't bother," Otto said between bites. "He's been thinking about Andromeda this entire time."
Albus smiled. "Right, as if he has a chance with her."
Regulus discovered the words panged him ever so slightly. "Why not?" he asked rhetorically. "With a bit of taming, I can make her work."
"Must have slipped in the shower," Otto whispered mockingly to Albus. "This is Andromeda we're talking about, mate."
"I know," Regulus remained snappish. "Look, I don't know why I'm acting this way, alright? Don't make me feel worse."
"Keep your knickers on," Albus clapped him on the shoulder. "We're only joking around."
"Yeah, yeah," Regulus muttered by way of response.
"Look, Reg, she's only going to piss you off," Otto said. "Why do you need to waste your time? It's not worth it."
"And who is worth it, would you say?" Regulus challenged him.
"You know her friend, Jane?" Otto asked rhetorically. "She is just...damn!"
"I know, I know," Albus considered the matter. "What'd you think of Holly?"
"Holly?" Otto shifted his gaze. "Single, last I heard. You should stop doodling mistletoes on your parchment, mate. Go for it."
"How'd you know - "
"You don't give me enough credit," Otto cut across him with a smile.
**
History of Magic marked the opening of Monday morning and for the students that meant an extra two hours of sleep under the watchful eye of Professor Binns. Regulus always wondered why he just wouldn't die for good...
"Тоday's class will begin with a lecture on the French Warlock Convention of 1347, when it was decided what role the monarchy would have in the magical community and how that affected relations with England..."
Regulus tuned out right there and then. The girl that both infuriated and intrigued him was sitting one desk ahead on his left. How had he ended up so close to her? More importantly, how could he gain her attention?
Questions, questions...this was supposed to be easy. It was History of Magic no less!
Maybe a nap was in order. That should clear his head better than the shower earlier...
Binns did not care in the slightest what his students did, as long as they kept quiet and to themselves. As such, Regulus put his head down on his arms and drifted off. Just before he passed out, he glimpsed Andromeda jotting down another useless fact...
Catching up on sleep - always nice; he merely dozed on and off in that comfortable balance between being awake and asleep. That is, he enjoyed it, until he thought something resembling a paper ball hit him on the head, and in the next second, Otto's elbow nudged him painfully in the side.
"What!" he hissed.
"You got a message, mate," Otto scribbled on his parchment to avoid attracting Binns' attention.
Regulus looked down at his desk, and saw the crumpled parchment. "Who threw it?"
"Is there a problem there, gentlemen?" came Binns' wheezy voice.
"Not at all, professor," Otto was quick to reply, while Regulus nodded vigorously in affirmation.
"Andromeda threw it," he whispered. "You were out for at least twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes? Couldn't have been that already...he was hoping for two hours.
"Why did she do it?"
"Damned if I know," Otto shrugged. "Ask her after class. But she did keep looking at you."
Nothing less than a thrill ran through Regulus. Was she interested?!
This had to be the most exciting History of Magic class he could recall. Quietly unfurling the parchment, he smoothed it out in front of him.
Hey dork. Still waiting for that revenge of yours.
A.P.
If looks could kill, he would burn a hole through the desk. Not only had Andromeda gotten under his skin, but now she was mocking him on top of it! And he was most definitely not a dork!
The coolest, most suave wizard in the entire school - a dork. The nerve of her...cool indifference, he reminded himself.
Taking out his quill, he contemplated a response momentarily.
Watch your back, Potter.
P.S. You're pathetic. Use some magic next time you try to pass pointless notes around...
R.M.
He applied the Disillusion Charm to the parchment, and levitated it in her direction. Binns droned on and did not notice any of it.
The sudden appearance of the parchment in front of her startled Andromeda and she jumped slightly.
"Everything alright, Ms. Rotter?" the ghostly professor inquired.
"Yes, sir, quite," she regained her composure.
"Very well," Professor Binns continued on.
She looked down at the parchment and Regulus watched her reaction as her eyes rapidly moved across the words he had written. Andromeda seemed to feel her eyes on his back, and turned around - her eyes caught his, but he held her gaze. His imagination may have fooled him, but he thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes; regardless, she recovered in the next perceptible moment, and gave him one of those smiles...
"And that sums up class!" Binns' voice rang through the classroom, startling any unsuspecting and dozing students. "See you Wednesday."
"Bloody hell, you can't even sleep in this class in peace anymore," Albus muttered as he rose and swung the bag over his shoulder.
Regulus was about to reply when he stepped out in the aisle between the two rows of desks and Andromeda purposefully bumped into his shoulder on her way out with Jane and Holly. "I'll see you around, dork."
He stayed quiet and only followed her out with his eyes. "Most definitely," he said almost to himself.
"What was that, mate," Albus came up to his side. "You won't allow a girl to push you around, are you?"
"I never intended on it," Regulus told him. "I think I have a plan, but I need to talk it over with you two first."
"For sure," Otto said. "Just say where and when."
"Dorms, tonight," Regulus' eyes were still trained on the doorway. "We can use the privacy."
For the rest of the day, the three friends shared classes, whose timing varied from that of Andromeda and her friends. He was able to concentrate slightly better, though thoughts of her still haunted him and something inside him burned to reach parity with her once again...
**
Regulus urged Albus and Otto to eat dinner quickly that night. He was anxious to go back to their dormitory and tell them of his ideas. The girls weren't too far away, but by previous agreement, neither was to pay them noticeable attention. Promptly ending their meals, they arose and left, leaving more than one questioning glance behind them.
"Alright," Regulus began after he had ensured the door was locked and proofed for eavesdroppers. "I have a decision."
"Let's hear it," Albus prompted him as he sprawled out on one of the armchairs in the room.
"I'm going to make Andromeda fall in love with me," Regulus stated with conviction.
A moment of stunned silence followed this declaration and immediately afterward, Otto let out a hearty laugh. "You! Andromeda! Are you out of your mind?!"
"What is so unbelievable about it?" Regulus looked squarely at his friend.
"Well, there is you and there is her. One, she is light years above you, second, you never stop clashing, and lastly, you just do not stand a chance with her. No matter if you're one of the most popular people in the school."
"You don't think I can charm her?"
"Definitely not," Albus echoed Otto. "I can't imagine it ever working out, much less ending in a hellstorm."
"Well, thanks for the support, guys," Regulus rejoined sarcastically. "Now for part two, as to how I'm going to achieve this."
Otto had a grin on his face. It seemed he was humouring his best friend's impossible fancies purely for amusement and the sake of their friendship. "Enlighten us."
"If you only took me seriously," Regulus fixed him with the same cold stare. "I'm going to maintain a dynamic that nothing has changed between us. I hate her guts, she hates mine, and that's that. Behind the scenes, however, I'll draw her in. Drop a hint here and there, treat her differently in some situations...I'll make her feel something is different. Hopefully she'll respond in like."
"You seem to be staking much of this on chance," Albus observed. "That's not even a plan."
"You're right," Regulus turned to his other best friend. "But she's her own independent person. I can't control her. All I can do is influence the variables in my favour and hope it works."
Even Otto's expression changed. "Mate, that's the smartest thing you've said all day."
A/N: We'll get to see what Andromeda thinks about all of this...
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