Dark Corner of the Common Room

Pansy couldn't hide her smirk. "Of course, of course." She pulled out her wand and summoned the crate of froggies from her room, lowering them onto his lap. "Maybe I should ration them, so that you'll like me the best for longer."

Severus chuckled. "Nah. You'll always be my favorite BAMF!"

"Well I'm glad! Look, I gotta run. I can't be late to Arithmancy again. But I'll catch you around, alright? Party after prom, yeah!?" She hugged him and grabbed her school bag before she ran out.


[Sorry, gotta go.]

Regulus quietly slipped in, for the first time since the night before he'd overdosed. He hopes to go unnoticed and sits down with his head in his hands in a dark corner, trying to convince himself to brave his dormitory and face Gellert.

Faye walks in for the first time since the LAND OF NO SERVICE which isn't as depressing as overdosing, but we're sitting in a dark corner where Elise feels she had the right to confess Faye's lack of problems. She sees Regulus sitting and her back straightens, her entire body gone rigid. She fidgets and glances around the room for a quick, undetectable escape until she remembers that she told Regulus they could still be friends, but she didn't trust him with anything. Her front teeth gently grazed over her bottom lip as her gaze fell back upon him. It appeared he had been through a terrible experience. What the hell could have happened now? She takes a deep breath and gathers up as much courage as she possibly can as she walks over and sits beside him, "Err, hey, Reg..."

Regulus looks up at her sadly. "Hey, Faye," he said quietly, not sure what to say. "How're you?"

Faye doesn't know how to respond to that question, "I haven't...I haven't done much at all these past couple of days. If you must ask, I am quite boring..." She didn't want to share the conversation with Scorpius with Regulus. It would increase tension between the two and she wouldn't have that happening. She coughed to clear her throat, trying to buy her some time, "How - How are you?"

Regulus looked confused. "I would have figured you knew the answer to that," he replied, looking up at her sadly. "I... I'm sorry," he said softly, that feeling of shame returning as he recalled Faye's words the last time they'd spoken.

"What do you mean?" Faye replied. She quirked a brow, puzzled, and gave him another look over. Concern spread across her face slowly and she tilted her head, "You're - You're sorry? Sorry for...for what? Regulus, what the hell happened?"

Regulus looks even more confused than she does. "What do you mean- you don't know? But I know that- Viktor said he'd told Scorpius- surely he'd have told you," he replied, a sickening feeling in his stomach. "I... I thought you knew. I'm sorry, I would have told you myself, but I guess I just assumed he would have said something- I should stop rambling-" Regulus stared at the ground, feeling even worse knowing he had to tell her himself.

"No, I don't have any idea what you're about. If I did, I'd probably be showering you with worry right about now...I'm guessing that's what you expected..." Faye glanced down at her hands resting in her lap, attempting to put the pieces together. Scorpius knew?! He knew about what happened...except exactly what happened? "Well, we know that I don't know and we know that Scorpius didn't tell me. I think what's vital is what I don't know. Commonly known as, what the hell happened?"

Regulus hid his face again, unable to look at her in his shame. "I... I overdosed, Faye. A few days ago. Gellert abandoned me after... I was scared, and stupid, and I speedballed, and OD'd. Viktor found me, he got me help in time, so I'm okay, now, or I will be. I'm getting better. Viktor's helping me. We're together again," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry. You were right all along, and I was too damn stupid to know it."

Faye didn't know what to say. An overwhelming amount of guilt crashed over her because she felt somewhat responsible for what had happened. Maybe, if she had reached out more. Maybe, if she had been there for Regulus instead of criticizing his actions, he wouldn't have done these things to himself. She bit down on the inside of her cheek and tried to figure out how one normally responds to this news, "I'm so, so sorry, Regulus. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I should have been there for you. I knew it's what I needed - someone there, I mean - instead, I left you and told you we couldn't be the same friends we used to be. God, I am so stupid. I will kill Gellert. I don't care that he's, well, Gellert. I can't believe he did this to you. What am I saying? I did the same thing! I abandoned you too! Merlin, Regulus, I'm so sorry!" She flung her arms around Regulus because, in this moment, she honestly didn't give a fuck anymore, "Don't be sorry. I'm sorry."

Regulus was quite literally stunned, and it was a moment before he processed what was happening enough to hug her back. "No, Faye. You didn't do the same thing- you were still my friend, even if we- we weren't like we were. You, you still cared about me. You tried to protect me, but I just pushed you away. I could have- I should have listened to you, because I knew you cared, I just thought that he did too, but he, he-" Reg's voice breaks and he can't bring himself to say anymore, having already had to tell Viktor all of it. "I'm sorry Faye. I should have told you sooner- I just, I guess I thought you already knew. I just assumed you didn't want to speak to me- which I would understand. You have every right to hate me."

"I never would want that, Reg. I couldn't handle seeing you destroy yourself. You had become this person who was dependent on those drugs. You needed them to keep you happy and I couldn't...couldn't handle that. I wanted you to see that they weren't good for you. That they may get you happy for a little while, but it will never remain. I wanted you to see that having a tight-knit friendship and pushing forward, through everything, would help bring you back to happiness. You didn't see it. You went with the drugs and I couldn't handle that. So, I left. I shouldn't have left. Reg, I always cared about you. You are, and always will be, a friend of mine."

Regulus hugged her tightly and pulled away to look at her. "Faye, that- that means so much to me. I- you were always a good friend to me. I know you didn't agree with my decisions before, but now- I promise- I won't go down that path again, no matter what. Ever. I know better now, even if it took me forever to realize it. I'll be okay. Knowing that I have Viktor, and you, I know I'll get through this. I won't let either of you down."

"Reg, you have no idea how relieved I am to know that you won't go back to the drugs. I promise that I will do my best to stick by you and actually be there for you, instead of running off on tangents about my own problems. I am also ECSTATIC that you and Viktor are back together! I hope that nothing bad ever comes between you two again..." She pulled away and smiled, content with this conversation and having no idea what else to say.

Regulus smiled as well, his eyes alight as he thinks about Viktor. "Nothing will. I told him I'd never, ever hide anything from him again- and I know he'll be good to me, he always has been. It- it was hard, telling him everything, I won't lie. But it was worth it. He trusts me now, and he takes care of me. He didn't leave my side once these past few days; I don't know how I'd have made it through the worst of the withdrawal without him. Though, his friends are another matter- they keep trying to feed me- it's like they're trying to fatten me up like a pig before they roast me," he said wide eyed, thinking of Hermione and her scary man-eating hair.

"I, well, the pig roasting thing sounds awful, but I'm glad you made it through withdrawal alright. Most people tend to fall back into their old habits because they can't seem to handle all that...Thank Merlin you aren't one of those people," Faye looked relieved and resisted giving him the stern look. She swayed in her place on the couch, glancing back over at Reg, "It's good that you put everything out in the open. Viktor deserved to know everything that had happened...and you both can have a fresh start...that's good!"

Regulus nodded. "He's so wonderful to me, Faye. I want you to meet him, if you haven't already. He's perfect, in ever conceivable way. And I thought he'd be so angry at me, for some of the things I confessed, honestly- but he didn't seem to think they were my fault, even when they were. He blamed Gellert, instead of me, for what happened that led to all of this," he said, unsure what to make of that. "I just.. I'm grateful, Faye. For having people like him and you in my life."

Faye decided not to speak about the Gellert portion. She wasn't fit to talk about that because she didn't know the extent of Regulus and Gellert's relationship. She simply nodded and thought about what might've happened that Viktor blamed Gellert for. Instead, she moved past it and let him speak without interruption, "I'm here for you, Regulus, even though sometimes it may not seem like it. I'm happy that you're my friend. Extremely happy, I swear. I'm only sorry I wasn't there for you when you probably needed me most."

Regulus smiled at her. "You're a wonderful friend to me. I'm glad things are better between us now- I missed your company, you know," he said with a grin. "I just realized- I haven't even had the opportunity to mock you in months!"

"Oh, that sounds fantastic! I haven't had a perfectly good mocking in months...so much mocking neglect. It truly gets to you," she said, rolling her eyes, "Glad to have you back, Reg."

Regulus laughed and flashed her a smile reminiscent of his old one, back when they'd first met. "I'm glad to be back," he replied. "But I really should get going- I have stuff to take care of. I'll see you around!" Regulus walks up the stairs to his dormitory, feeling slightly better about it all after speaking to Faye.

Severus wanders down to the dark corner to chill and think naughty thoughts about Tony.