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When Hermione Granger appeared out of nowhere at the beginning of his sixth year, Regulus Black did the right thing and didn’t glance at her once as she made her way towards the Sorting Hat.
When said girl got sorted in Gryffindor, he found yet another reason to ignore her, despite being paired together by Professor Slughorn in Potions.
When Regulus found out she was a ward of the Potters, he tried his best to hate her and sneer at her whenever she laughed with Sirius and his friends.
When she started to sit across him at the library, he forced a scowl on his face and left, soon after calling her a mudblood.
When Hermione got attacked by his aunt and her right arm shared the same slur like her left one, he ignored the way his stomach dropped and his hands shook.
When he saw her smile at him, despite being tortured by his aunt just a few weeks ago, he felt the urge to ask for forgiveness.
When she sat across him at the library, he let her.
When she walked in the room with McLaggen’s hand on her waist, he tried to stop the glare he sent the boy.
He tried telling himself he was doing the right thing, yet he didn’t know what happened when slender, warm latched around his wrist and dragged him into an abandoned classroom. He turned around and saw her, his breath caught at how gorgeous she looked.
She wished him a happy birthday. He blinked, wondering if he had walked in on a dream, instead.
So, when she stood on her tiptoes and held a necklace, he felt himself nod. He let her get close, so close that he could feel her warm breath fan against his collarbones, while she put the gift around his neck and stood back.
A beaming smile, she told him to hold the ruby jewel and think of how much he wished he was somewhere safe. His lips twitched at the strange request.
Weirdly enough, he did the stupid thing and nodded, letting her walk away instead of questioning her or burning the gift right then and there.
He did the stupid thing when his mother asked him to meet the Dark Lord. He did the stupid thing when he refused to take the Dark Mark, thinking about her. He did the stupid thing when he had a wand pointed at him, and Regulus held the jewel without thinking of the consequences.
He felt a tug at his navel and before he knew it, he was standing in front of his brother and his friends at Potter Manor. He ignored the screaming and concerned looks, instead he did the stupid thing and asked for the only person he could think of. “Where’s Granger?”
Potter blinked, probably unsure of why he even cared of where his ‘sister’ was. After what felt like an eternity, Lupin stood forward and frowned at him, confusion etched on his face. “Hermione was right here, but she disappeared right when you came.”
That’s when he remembered her wearing a matching necklace. He cursed under his breath, “Stupid fucking girl.”
His brother narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, before getting interrupted by Potter. “Do you know where my sister is? What did you fucking do to her?”
“Listen here Potter. This is not the time, but if you must know, I did nothing to her. Your sister gave me this damn necklace for no reason and I had no idea she’d be stupid enough to make another one for herself that would—“ he let out a shaky breath, “get her to Grimmauld.”
He clenched his hands and explained everything before anyone could interrupt him. His mind was reeling, and he could feel his heart in his throat. He needed to get to her. He needed to make sure the Dark Lord wasn’t standing in front of her like he was with him, just a few minutes ago.
He did the stupid thing, and he asked the lot of idiots to take him to Dumbledore and the Order.
When he realized that he wasn’t the only one doing stupid things, he let his stomach drop. He watched the Headmaster explain to everyone that he let a sixteen year old girl find and destroy fucking horcruxes of a Dark Lord that hunted her kind, and that now she must kill him.
Him and the bloody Order thought it was completely acceptable for her to face one of the most powerful wizards alone.
When Peter bloody Pettigrew stood forward and said that You-Know-Who had been wanting to kill Hermione for a while now, a tense silence washed over the room. Dumbledore looked at him and said, “We know and she is aware of that, too.”
Then, hell broke loose. Sirius pulled the coward’s sleeve up, stared at the Dark Mark and the trio knocked him at once.
When plans of rescuing Hermione started being made, he disapparated to Grimmauld in an instant. His head pounded from holding back a breakdown. He looked at the door in front of him, as the rest of the Order apparated next to him with a crack .
No one could go inside due to the wards.
His stomach churned in swirls of anger and panic, and he yelled, “What the fuck are we waiting for then?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Your lass will be alright. She’s a tough one.”
He didn’t bother to deny that she was not his, or ask how the stranger even knew that she was tough. His chest broke under the pressure of wondering what must be taking place inside.
When he heard a pop and saw a house elf hold Hermione’s hand, he did what felt right. His legs started to move on their own and before he knew, she was in his arms.
Her eyes fluttered open and whispered, “He’s dead.” Her eyes shut close once again and everything became a blur. He remembered picking her up and screaming for a healer - for anyone to wake her up before— before it was too late!
When they all waited for the Healer to come out of the room, he heard Potter ask the elf what had happened. In a trembling voice, the creature said that Hermione had asked him to come for her and apparate her to wherever James would be.
When the elf was summoned, he told everyone in the room of how quickly things had progressed at Grimmauld. How Voldemort had laid dead and Bellatrix had begun her torture in the grief of her Lord.
Regulus let out a shaky breath, running a slow hand over his face. He didn’t notice Potter sitting next to him until the Gryffindor cleared his throat. He looked at the older guy, eyes swollen red and wet streaks running down his face.
“She talked about you,” he began, his voice hoarse. “She said that you were really smart and that it wasn’t your fault for anything. She was quick to defend you whenever Sirius talked shit in front of her. I don’t know how close you two were—fuck I feel like I know nothing .”
“Still, I think you should know that if you like her or whatever, you need to accept her for who she is. She is a muggleborn and she’s also as much of a Potter as I am. If I ever hear you call her a mudblood or blood traitor, you won’t be able to utter even just one word again.” With that, he walked away, and Regulus was left speechless.
When word spread about her defeating Voldemort, a party was arranged by the Order to thank her for what they should’ve done instead of her. He watched her walk in with a surprised smile on her face, taking his breath away.
She looked so bloody delicate, as if she hadn’t escaped death more than once during the entire year.
When her gaze paused on him, he was the one to approach her and grab her wrist this time. He took her to an empty room and asked her why she did it.
She just smiled at him and said that it was the right thing to do for the right people.
When he saw her lips part to drink from her glass, he grabbed it and put it down somewhere on the desk behind her. Before she could question what he was doing, he cupped her face and kissed her.
He soon realized that this was the best thing to do.