regulus had not slept in days. it was no mere exaggeration, he could not recall the last occasion his head had rested upon his beloved pillow in the boys' dormitories. none dared to tell him that his pacing was aimless, out of fear that he would embed his copy of advanced potion making into their skull.

this sleepless plight was the handiwork of a beastly insect, a cicada that had no business being alive this season, let alone at a magic academy. it did not matter how it had breached the castle defenses, all that did matter is that the creature had become his arch nemesis.

worst of all, his passionate disdain was not shared by his dormmates. barty could slumber through a cornish pixie attack; while evan was in the bed of god knows who, since he and barty were on one of their breaks, evidently.

so here regulus was, sat on the edge of his luxurious yet estranged bed as he basked in the incessant whirring that was reverberating from some unknown corner of the room.

you found him thoroughly discomposed, inky curls looking like the manhandled childhood doll of a little girl who discovered that ink made the perfect hair dye. he was more pallid than usual, pale eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. still beautiful, of course, just in a more deranged manner.

when he saw you, he nearly hit the ceiling with how rapidly he rose to stumble over to you, not exactly in any mindset to care that you had come to lend notes to him.

"merlin's beard, your timing is impeccable." regulus lamented, clinging to your arm like a dying man seeking to confess to a sin. "i feared i was to lose my mind, i have not had a lick of sleep in four days."

despite your initial contemplations of escape, he drove on adamantly, pointing at the ceiling as he pinned you with a rather owlish gaze. "there is a hellspawn in this room. a bloody insect that has been sent by some dark power to prevent me from feeling any peace."

regulus' lashes fluttered at you, a warm exhale blessing your jaw. "you must assist me."