(no subject)
Title: Mirrors and Mimicry
Author: Liliths_Requiem
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Emmeline Vance, Regulus Black, Professor Slughorn, Sirius Black
Pairings: Emmeline Vance/Regulus Black
Era: 1973-1979 (Emmeline/Regulus Years 1-6)
Word Count: 2282
Prompt: mission_insane Master Plots: 07. Underdog
Summary: The beginning of Emmeline and Regulus’ Relationship
Warnings: Dark Themes
Author Notes: This is part one of a series revolving around Emmeline and Regulus. It will detail most of their lives.
Emmeline Rosalie Vance was the eldest Vance child by seventeen minutes and thirty seconds. Her sister, Evangeline, died three months after their birth, leaving Emmeline to play big sister to three younger brothers: Edward, Ethan, and Ezra. The Vances were “Old Money,” with a bloodline dating back to Queen Maeve’s time and the money of some of her closest advisors still resting in their vaults. The Vance children were raised by the best tutors in the business, and Emmeline was fluent in English, French, Latin, and German by the time she entered Hogwarts. However, the Vance children were raised solely by their tutors and nannies, as their mother, a Slytherin, was a socialite and their father, also a Slytherin, was the owner of a billion-galleon enterprise in the cauldron business. In short, Emmeline was the ideal candidate for Slytherin when she arrived at Hogwarts, and so the Hat took all of three seconds to decide that Slytherin was exactly where she belonged.
Regulus Arcturus Black was the youngest Black child by two years and seventeen days. His brother, Sirius, was the golden child growing up; the heir to all the Blacks were and had. Together the two boys were placed on a pedestal, high above their three cousins: Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, the youngest of which was older than them by four years. The Blacks were also “Old Money,” although they were not quite as old as the Vances. Their money still had some shine to it, and Regulus’ bloodline had a few more dead-ends than Emmeline’s. To make up for their obvious failings there, the Blacks hired only the best tutors for their boys, and by the time Regulus was nine he was adept in algebra, logic, and Ancient Greek myths. However, his success could not outshine the shadow cast by Sirius’ sorting into Gryffindor, and Regulus was pulled from the shadows of being second-born and now considered brighter than his brother, even though Sirius was always the star that shone the brightest. Regulus was determined to outshine his brother one day, even if it burned him out, so the Hat knew the youngest Black was destined to follow his family instead of Sirius; the Hat knew the youngest Black was not yet ready to break free.
Emmeline was a prim and proper young lady, and so she was never late for anything and she always arrived exactly on time, even when she didn’t. Except for, apparently, her first train ride, for which she was horribly, impossibly late. She would have liked to blame Ezra, as the youngest Vance child had ardently refused to let Emmeline leave the house, but she knew it was her own fault. Regardless of the fact that she was late, Emmeline walked onto the platform without the slightest hint of urgency in her step and kissed her father goodbye-on both cheeks. She then boarded the train just as the last whistle blew and waved goodbye to her parents just as she had seen her mother do in the scrap book her grandmother kept by the fireplace.
The picturesque farewell was cut unpleasantly short by a trunk crashing into her at top speeds. She turned towards its direction to scold whatever rascal had attacked her when she came face to face with a young boy-or was it a girl-most likely her age. “I’m so sorry,” the boy immediately claimed, although he sounded anything but, he hadn’t even the decency to blush. “My inane older brother thought it would be quite humorous to coat my trunk with slipping potion so I couldn’t hold it right. Are you all right?” The slightest hint of worry made it into his voice and Emmeline tried not to laugh at the emotion. She steadied herself and pulled at her long honey-colored braid, making sure not a hair was out of place.
“I’m quite well, actually,” she assured him, allowing a cold smile, “Were you headed towards your brother? I don’t mean to pry; only I’ve nowhere to sit and no friends to sit with, even if I did.” It wasn’t that her parents hadn’t properly socialized her; it was simply that she wasn’t overly fond of any of the girls she had spent the first eleven years of her life with.
The boy in front of her answers the smile with one of his own, just as calculated and almost as cold. “I was actually headed towards my friends, Evan Rosier and Jasper Yaxley. I’m sure they would be quite happy to make your acquaintance Miss…” he allowed the end of the sentence to fall off, giving her the chance to give him her name.
Deciding there wasn’t too much of a risk in that, Emmeline smiled at him and replied, “Vance. Emmeline Vance, actually. And you’re Regulus Black, aren’t you?” She knew all about the Black family, as her mother used to speak adamantly about Mrs. Black’s mental illness. It was quite the gossip in the Vance’s social circle, which was slightly higher than the ones the Blacks would be allowed to enter. The Rosiers and the Yaxleys tended to tread the line between those two classes, never quite good enough for the Vances but always just slightly too well off for the Blacks. Emmeline was sure her mother wouldn’t mind her associating with people so close to her in social standing, especially since Eliza Nott, whom was apparently the only girl her parents would allow her to befriend, was probably off ingratiating herself with the older classmates-especially the men.
Regulus visibly stiffened when she said her last name, but he nodded in response to the question. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Vance,” he replied, bowing low to show that he differed to her. “Would you allow me to escort you to our compartments?” The formality, the cold, calculating exactness, was enough to make her head spin, but Emmeline knew this was a dance she needed to perfect well and early. So she nodded her head and followed Regulus forward, away from the doors leading out of the train and towards the compartment that would lead to her future.
:::
“Was there something you wanted, Miss Vance?” Professor Slughorn asked the question on the second day of class, in between lecturing about the importance of safety during potions and the importance of working with a partner during potions. Emmeline had raised her hand ten minutes into class, but he had made her wait almost a full five minutes before he acknowledged her. Not that this affected Emmeline much, as she was used to waiting for her father, who was even more absent-minded when it came to his children.
“I wanted to know how different level of blood purity affects a person’s reactions to potions,” Emmeline asked, her voice void of all emotion but curiosity. Despite being a definite Slytherin, she placed high value on knowledge, especially when it came to sensitive subjects such as this. The question, obviously, made Slughorn sputter for a moment, as some adults were not yet ready to accept the fact that Grindelwald was gone and the muggles were safe-even if they were despicably dirty. Emmeline refused to take back the question, however, and looked at him impatiently, as if she hadn’t the time.
“I suppose not,” the Potions Professor finally said, not looking his students in the eyes. Regulus turned to her and gave a curt nod of approval, as if the question were something they really needed to learn. Maybe, in hindsight, they did, but at that moment, Emmeline had just been feeding her own curiosity.
:::
“Was there something you wanted, Regulus?” the older Black son asked the question tauntingly, as if it were a sword to be used in attack. It was their third year at Hogwarts, Sirius’ fifth, and Regulus seemed determined to prove himself worthy of the Black name, even if Sirius wasn’t. It was terribly amusing for Emmeline to watch, as she found Regulus interesting in so much as he tried in vain to show he was better than his brother in areas where he so obviously was not, so much so that he failed to excel in the areas where he could outshine his brother, such as Potions, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes. Furthermore, Emmeline had grown quite fond of Regulus over the past three years, going so far as to invite him to her family’s Winter Ball in December, if he were so inclined to go. She hadn’t received an answer yet, but she doubted the boy would pass up the opportunity to be in the crème de la crème of high society.
“Do you ever care that you’re breaking your mother’s heart?” the words were said softly, so as to not be overheard by Sirius’ friends standing not too far away, or the other Slytherins, including Rosier and Yaxley, standing within stunning distance. Emmeline was the only one standing close enough to hear, as neither Sirius nor Regulus thought she was a threat. They had no idea, really, that she was quite competent with her wand, but as neither brother looked intent on fighting, she allowed her grip on the rowan wood to relax.
Sirius did not sputter. He did not fumble for the words like a Seeker after a snitch. Instead, he looked past Regulus, towards where Lily Evans stood, and bared his teeth. “Like a dog,” Emmeline whispered, the words getting lost in the wind. Regulus’ next words were much more concrete, however, as he looked his brother in the eye and said, “I suppose not,” before turning his back and walking away.
Sirius and Regulus never spoke to each other while at Hogwarts again.
:::
“You are spectacular,” Regulus told her one night in fifth year, after she had given him half the bottle of wine her father allowed her to sneak into the school. They started out leaning against the far wall in his dorm room, with Rosier and Yaxley on either side, talking about mundane subjects like the next Ball they would be attending and what grades they thought they had gotten on their Transfiguration homework. Three hours later, and they were leaning against each other, with Yaxley snoring peacefully in her lap and Rosier sleeping fitfully at Regulus’ side, talking about life and where they belonged in it.
“What makes you say that?” Emmeline asked, happy to note that the stiffness and formality they were used to melted away when they were alone. She wound her hands through Regulus’ hair familiarly, loving how soft his locks were. “What makes you think I’m anything more than perfectly ordinary?”
Regulus hummed at the contact, not taking it for anything more than what it was. Ravenclaws looked in to things, analyzing an event until they’d taken away all of its magic. Regulus was a Slytherin, and rightfully so, and so all he considered this was a moment he would treasure forever, however long that may be. “Because I think you’re ordinarily perfect,” he replied, the Cheshire grin she loved so much adding flavor to the words, “But of course, you know that.”
Actually, she didn’t. Emmeline was never sure where she stood with Regulus, as sometimes he was as affectionate as a lamb and others he was as cold and standoffish as a dragon. She wanted to know why he couldn’t just tell her how he felt, but, of course, that wouldn’t be like him at all. It had taken half a bottle of wine to get the word “spectacular” out of him, what would it take to get him to tell her how he felt? “Of course,” she lied, keeping the sound of her voice just slightly higher than normal, instead of the squeak it originally wanted to come out as. Regulus smiled and settled his head on her shoulder, drifting off to sleep.
:::
“You are spectacular,” she told him at her Debutante Ball, where he was attending as her date. It was December of their sixth year, and her seventeenth birthday. Regulus looked at her and smiled, blushing just deeply enough for the red to ring his eyes. It was hard to get him to blush like that, especially now that Sirius had left the house last year. Emmeline relished in the few moments when he did.
“I think you’re being presumptuous,” Regulus replied, taking a bit of shrimp off the tray carried by a House-Elf that had just passed them, “I am quite far from spectacular. Spectacular is a word used for fireworks and stars and, well, spectacular things.” The rambling would have been amusing, had he been drunk, but he wasn’t, and so Emmeline wasn’t quite sure why her best friend wasn’t being more articulate.
“But you are a star,” she said, decidedly, as she watched him eat the shrimp, “Regulus is a star, isn’t he?” It took a moment, for Regulus to smile, because it always took a while for him to allow emotion. But once the smile hit his eyes, Emmeline knew it wasn’t going away. She smiled in response and went to say something else, but Regulus stopped her with a simple look in his eyes.
Swallowing hard, Emmeline looked at him expectantly. Regulus pushed back a strand of her blonde-brown hair and let his fingers linger along her jaw line. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her, certain that she would allow him to. Even still, she nodded her head and leaned in, giving him permission. The kiss hit her like a meteor shower and warmed her like the sun, and for the first time in his entire life, Regulus felt like he could shine brighter than his brother, brighter than anyone.
Author: Liliths_Requiem
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Emmeline Vance, Regulus Black, Professor Slughorn, Sirius Black
Pairings: Emmeline Vance/Regulus Black
Era: 1973-1979 (Emmeline/Regulus Years 1-6)
Word Count: 2282
Prompt: mission_insane Master Plots: 07. Underdog
Summary: The beginning of Emmeline and Regulus’ Relationship
Warnings: Dark Themes
Author Notes: This is part one of a series revolving around Emmeline and Regulus. It will detail most of their lives.
Emmeline Rosalie Vance was the eldest Vance child by seventeen minutes and thirty seconds. Her sister, Evangeline, died three months after their birth, leaving Emmeline to play big sister to three younger brothers: Edward, Ethan, and Ezra. The Vances were “Old Money,” with a bloodline dating back to Queen Maeve’s time and the money of some of her closest advisors still resting in their vaults. The Vance children were raised by the best tutors in the business, and Emmeline was fluent in English, French, Latin, and German by the time she entered Hogwarts. However, the Vance children were raised solely by their tutors and nannies, as their mother, a Slytherin, was a socialite and their father, also a Slytherin, was the owner of a billion-galleon enterprise in the cauldron business. In short, Emmeline was the ideal candidate for Slytherin when she arrived at Hogwarts, and so the Hat took all of three seconds to decide that Slytherin was exactly where she belonged.
Regulus Arcturus Black was the youngest Black child by two years and seventeen days. His brother, Sirius, was the golden child growing up; the heir to all the Blacks were and had. Together the two boys were placed on a pedestal, high above their three cousins: Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, the youngest of which was older than them by four years. The Blacks were also “Old Money,” although they were not quite as old as the Vances. Their money still had some shine to it, and Regulus’ bloodline had a few more dead-ends than Emmeline’s. To make up for their obvious failings there, the Blacks hired only the best tutors for their boys, and by the time Regulus was nine he was adept in algebra, logic, and Ancient Greek myths. However, his success could not outshine the shadow cast by Sirius’ sorting into Gryffindor, and Regulus was pulled from the shadows of being second-born and now considered brighter than his brother, even though Sirius was always the star that shone the brightest. Regulus was determined to outshine his brother one day, even if it burned him out, so the Hat knew the youngest Black was destined to follow his family instead of Sirius; the Hat knew the youngest Black was not yet ready to break free.
Emmeline was a prim and proper young lady, and so she was never late for anything and she always arrived exactly on time, even when she didn’t. Except for, apparently, her first train ride, for which she was horribly, impossibly late. She would have liked to blame Ezra, as the youngest Vance child had ardently refused to let Emmeline leave the house, but she knew it was her own fault. Regardless of the fact that she was late, Emmeline walked onto the platform without the slightest hint of urgency in her step and kissed her father goodbye-on both cheeks. She then boarded the train just as the last whistle blew and waved goodbye to her parents just as she had seen her mother do in the scrap book her grandmother kept by the fireplace.
The picturesque farewell was cut unpleasantly short by a trunk crashing into her at top speeds. She turned towards its direction to scold whatever rascal had attacked her when she came face to face with a young boy-or was it a girl-most likely her age. “I’m so sorry,” the boy immediately claimed, although he sounded anything but, he hadn’t even the decency to blush. “My inane older brother thought it would be quite humorous to coat my trunk with slipping potion so I couldn’t hold it right. Are you all right?” The slightest hint of worry made it into his voice and Emmeline tried not to laugh at the emotion. She steadied herself and pulled at her long honey-colored braid, making sure not a hair was out of place.
“I’m quite well, actually,” she assured him, allowing a cold smile, “Were you headed towards your brother? I don’t mean to pry; only I’ve nowhere to sit and no friends to sit with, even if I did.” It wasn’t that her parents hadn’t properly socialized her; it was simply that she wasn’t overly fond of any of the girls she had spent the first eleven years of her life with.
The boy in front of her answers the smile with one of his own, just as calculated and almost as cold. “I was actually headed towards my friends, Evan Rosier and Jasper Yaxley. I’m sure they would be quite happy to make your acquaintance Miss…” he allowed the end of the sentence to fall off, giving her the chance to give him her name.
Deciding there wasn’t too much of a risk in that, Emmeline smiled at him and replied, “Vance. Emmeline Vance, actually. And you’re Regulus Black, aren’t you?” She knew all about the Black family, as her mother used to speak adamantly about Mrs. Black’s mental illness. It was quite the gossip in the Vance’s social circle, which was slightly higher than the ones the Blacks would be allowed to enter. The Rosiers and the Yaxleys tended to tread the line between those two classes, never quite good enough for the Vances but always just slightly too well off for the Blacks. Emmeline was sure her mother wouldn’t mind her associating with people so close to her in social standing, especially since Eliza Nott, whom was apparently the only girl her parents would allow her to befriend, was probably off ingratiating herself with the older classmates-especially the men.
Regulus visibly stiffened when she said her last name, but he nodded in response to the question. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Vance,” he replied, bowing low to show that he differed to her. “Would you allow me to escort you to our compartments?” The formality, the cold, calculating exactness, was enough to make her head spin, but Emmeline knew this was a dance she needed to perfect well and early. So she nodded her head and followed Regulus forward, away from the doors leading out of the train and towards the compartment that would lead to her future.
:::
“Was there something you wanted, Miss Vance?” Professor Slughorn asked the question on the second day of class, in between lecturing about the importance of safety during potions and the importance of working with a partner during potions. Emmeline had raised her hand ten minutes into class, but he had made her wait almost a full five minutes before he acknowledged her. Not that this affected Emmeline much, as she was used to waiting for her father, who was even more absent-minded when it came to his children.
“I wanted to know how different level of blood purity affects a person’s reactions to potions,” Emmeline asked, her voice void of all emotion but curiosity. Despite being a definite Slytherin, she placed high value on knowledge, especially when it came to sensitive subjects such as this. The question, obviously, made Slughorn sputter for a moment, as some adults were not yet ready to accept the fact that Grindelwald was gone and the muggles were safe-even if they were despicably dirty. Emmeline refused to take back the question, however, and looked at him impatiently, as if she hadn’t the time.
“I suppose not,” the Potions Professor finally said, not looking his students in the eyes. Regulus turned to her and gave a curt nod of approval, as if the question were something they really needed to learn. Maybe, in hindsight, they did, but at that moment, Emmeline had just been feeding her own curiosity.
:::
“Was there something you wanted, Regulus?” the older Black son asked the question tauntingly, as if it were a sword to be used in attack. It was their third year at Hogwarts, Sirius’ fifth, and Regulus seemed determined to prove himself worthy of the Black name, even if Sirius wasn’t. It was terribly amusing for Emmeline to watch, as she found Regulus interesting in so much as he tried in vain to show he was better than his brother in areas where he so obviously was not, so much so that he failed to excel in the areas where he could outshine his brother, such as Potions, Transfiguration, and Ancient Runes. Furthermore, Emmeline had grown quite fond of Regulus over the past three years, going so far as to invite him to her family’s Winter Ball in December, if he were so inclined to go. She hadn’t received an answer yet, but she doubted the boy would pass up the opportunity to be in the crème de la crème of high society.
“Do you ever care that you’re breaking your mother’s heart?” the words were said softly, so as to not be overheard by Sirius’ friends standing not too far away, or the other Slytherins, including Rosier and Yaxley, standing within stunning distance. Emmeline was the only one standing close enough to hear, as neither Sirius nor Regulus thought she was a threat. They had no idea, really, that she was quite competent with her wand, but as neither brother looked intent on fighting, she allowed her grip on the rowan wood to relax.
Sirius did not sputter. He did not fumble for the words like a Seeker after a snitch. Instead, he looked past Regulus, towards where Lily Evans stood, and bared his teeth. “Like a dog,” Emmeline whispered, the words getting lost in the wind. Regulus’ next words were much more concrete, however, as he looked his brother in the eye and said, “I suppose not,” before turning his back and walking away.
Sirius and Regulus never spoke to each other while at Hogwarts again.
:::
“You are spectacular,” Regulus told her one night in fifth year, after she had given him half the bottle of wine her father allowed her to sneak into the school. They started out leaning against the far wall in his dorm room, with Rosier and Yaxley on either side, talking about mundane subjects like the next Ball they would be attending and what grades they thought they had gotten on their Transfiguration homework. Three hours later, and they were leaning against each other, with Yaxley snoring peacefully in her lap and Rosier sleeping fitfully at Regulus’ side, talking about life and where they belonged in it.
“What makes you say that?” Emmeline asked, happy to note that the stiffness and formality they were used to melted away when they were alone. She wound her hands through Regulus’ hair familiarly, loving how soft his locks were. “What makes you think I’m anything more than perfectly ordinary?”
Regulus hummed at the contact, not taking it for anything more than what it was. Ravenclaws looked in to things, analyzing an event until they’d taken away all of its magic. Regulus was a Slytherin, and rightfully so, and so all he considered this was a moment he would treasure forever, however long that may be. “Because I think you’re ordinarily perfect,” he replied, the Cheshire grin she loved so much adding flavor to the words, “But of course, you know that.”
Actually, she didn’t. Emmeline was never sure where she stood with Regulus, as sometimes he was as affectionate as a lamb and others he was as cold and standoffish as a dragon. She wanted to know why he couldn’t just tell her how he felt, but, of course, that wouldn’t be like him at all. It had taken half a bottle of wine to get the word “spectacular” out of him, what would it take to get him to tell her how he felt? “Of course,” she lied, keeping the sound of her voice just slightly higher than normal, instead of the squeak it originally wanted to come out as. Regulus smiled and settled his head on her shoulder, drifting off to sleep.
:::
“You are spectacular,” she told him at her Debutante Ball, where he was attending as her date. It was December of their sixth year, and her seventeenth birthday. Regulus looked at her and smiled, blushing just deeply enough for the red to ring his eyes. It was hard to get him to blush like that, especially now that Sirius had left the house last year. Emmeline relished in the few moments when he did.
“I think you’re being presumptuous,” Regulus replied, taking a bit of shrimp off the tray carried by a House-Elf that had just passed them, “I am quite far from spectacular. Spectacular is a word used for fireworks and stars and, well, spectacular things.” The rambling would have been amusing, had he been drunk, but he wasn’t, and so Emmeline wasn’t quite sure why her best friend wasn’t being more articulate.
“But you are a star,” she said, decidedly, as she watched him eat the shrimp, “Regulus is a star, isn’t he?” It took a moment, for Regulus to smile, because it always took a while for him to allow emotion. But once the smile hit his eyes, Emmeline knew it wasn’t going away. She smiled in response and went to say something else, but Regulus stopped her with a simple look in his eyes.
Swallowing hard, Emmeline looked at him expectantly. Regulus pushed back a strand of her blonde-brown hair and let his fingers linger along her jaw line. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her, certain that she would allow him to. Even still, she nodded her head and leaned in, giving him permission. The kiss hit her like a meteor shower and warmed her like the sun, and for the first time in his entire life, Regulus felt like he could shine brighter than his brother, brighter than anyone.