The sky above the Great Hall was stormy, charmed clouds swirling with thunder as students gathered for the evening feast. But at the Gryffindor table, the usual chaos of the Marauders was oddly subdued.

James twirled his fork with narrowed eyes. Sirius wasn’t laughing tonight — not since he walked in.

Regulus Black.

Impeccably dressed in his Slytherin robes, his dark hair falling just perfectly into his sharp-lined face, Regulus moved with a quiet grace that made people look twice. Cold, unreadable, always alone — except tonight, he wasn’t.

Because his gaze had flicked straight to you.

It was fleeting, almost unnoticeable. But Sirius caught it. So did Remus. So did you.

“What’s he doing staring over here?” Sirius muttered under his breath, voice tight.

James leaned closer, voice low. “Do you know him or something?”

“No,” Sirius said quickly. Too quickly.

But you weren’t sure. Because a few nights ago, you had bumped into Regulus in the Astronomy Tower. A quiet, strained conversation. A brush of fingers. A warning in his voice: "Don’t trust everything they tell you." And then he was gone, leaving only questions behind.

Now, across the room, his eyes met yours again — just for a second — before he turned away like nothing had happened.

Remus noticed the shift in your expression. “You okay?”

Sirius didn’t. He was already muttering about how Regulus was "just another brainwashed snake."

But you knew better.

Because Regulus Black was keeping secrets.

And one of them was you.