After the winter break, Ophelia came into school considering the idea of taking back Regulus as a friend. She had tried to fix things with James and Sirius over Christmas, too. She cleared things up with Sirius and ended the break on amicable terms, but she couldn't exactly say the same for James. 

Still, one of out the two was good enough for her at the moment. Especially when it was the one who has been constantly respectful and caring to her. Now all the amends she had left to make were Regulus Black. 

This was the one she was dreading the most for some reason. She was already in a forced proximity to him, and now the stubborn, spiteful Ophelia would have to admit she was wrong and take the boy back as a friend. 

The first day after winter break, Ophelia sat away from Regulus on the train same as she and Pandora did in September. But, Pandora sat with Xenophilius, not offending Ophelia. Instead of spending the ride with her best friend and Pandora's pale boyfriend, Ophelia spent the trip preparing what she would say to Regulus next time they spoke. 

She had her general ideas and a few remarks planned, but she had not practiced anything specific to say. Unlike her, of course. Ophelia was a planner who always wanted things to go right whenever she could make sure of it, but in this case, she didn't want things to go right. She wanted things to go how they were supposed to. She was going to say what she wanted to say, and let whatever greater forces there were in the world decide what should happen to the two of them. 

When the Hogwarts Express arrived at the school, Ophelia went to find Pandora, but only to say hello. She had warned that she wouldn't be staying for long. She had reparations to make, and it was urgent in her mind. 

As expected, Regulus came to find Ophelia as soon as he could. They both knew what he was there for. He wanted to apologise to her just as he had been doing the whole rest of the school year before the break. 

He called out her name, and she turned around to face him. He looked presentable, to say the least. Regulus towered over her with his signature soft and wavy dark hair. It was natural, yet neat, in a way that most would be envious of. He was wearing his uniform in a perfectly polite way, and even had his silver chain necklace placed over his Slytherin necktie. He was standing with his hands behind his back, in a way that Ophelia could tell meant he was nervous. He almost looked as if he were interviewing for a role as one of the school's prefects. 

She could tell that he was trying to make a good impression, and that actually helped Ophelia ease her nerves about the whole situation. 

She looked up and down at him, then sighed. She shook her head and made an expression that gestured for Regulus to speak first. 

"Ophelia, I know you're still mad at me, but could you please allow me just a few moments of your time so I can apologise? A meaningful apology, I promise." 

As instinctual as it was at that point for Ophelia to simply turn him down and shoo him away, she replied with an answer that wasn't just 'no'. 

"It's freezing and there's too many people around out here. Can we talk inside?" She proposed. 

He was slightly stunned to hear anything other than a rejection, and it took him a moment of shocked hesitation and stuttering to reply. 

"Yes, yes of course! Thank you." He let out a sigh that one could only assume was born of relief, and gazed into Ophelia's brown eyes for the first time in what felt like forever to him. 

"Give me ten minutes, and I'll meet you by the common room to speak in a more private setting. A more fitting setting."

"Yeah, I'll see you there."

She didn't know what else to say, so she nodded and went to make a round of the courtyard, hoping to say hello to some of her friends. Regulus, on the other hand, wasted no time of his own. He sped straight to the Slytherin common room and waited for Ophelia by the door. 

Precisely ten minutes later, Ophelia had arrived at the Slytherin common room to meet Regulus, just as she had said she would. The hallway was completely empty, and the sound of footsteps filled the entire corridor. Or at least that was how it seemed to the two of them, both anxious as ever for this conversation. 

"Okay, let's hear it." She said from several metres away from him, still making her way to the door. "Let's hear this meaningful apology of yours."

As soon as she stopped by the common room door next to him, Regulus started his apology. 

"Okay, I know I've made mistakes, I know that. I want to tell you that you leaving me has made me rethink everything I've ever done. I've hurt you before, and I never want to do it again. I know I've apologised to you a hundred times before, and that may only make this worse because we both know how many times I've messed up. But, I'm so sorry for everything, I promise that I'm truly sorry."

Though she had heard the word a million times before, and thought it meant nothing to her, his speech actually caused Ophelia to shed a tear. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, though. 

Was it the word that was finally getting to her? Was she just pitying him, or more realistically, pitying herself? Or was there something about this apology that just seemed so much more genuine than any other one he's ever given to her?

He noticed the emotion shown on Ophelia's face and through her body language. He didn't want to say anything, but it gave him an extra ounce of hope and he continued on with his speech.

"Please, Ophelia. I swear on the Black household itself that if I mess up again, you can leave me for dead, but right now I beg you to forgive me."

"Why?" She asked, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, though it didn't do anything to the rest of them still making their way to flowing out of her eyes.

"What?"

"Why should I accept your apology this time?" She asked, her voice a teary, broken harmony. "I mean, you can see why I'm having a hard time with this, right?"

"Yes, of course." He told her. "But, I'm truly sorry, I swear."

"For everything? For the cheating in Quidditch? For all the stupid pranks and the lies? For snogging me in year four and then never acknowledging it, never acknowledging me like that ever again?"

"I'm absolutely sorry, Ophelia." Regulus promised.

He didn't say anything about the fact that Ophelia didn't acknowledge that kiss either, but he thought about it. He really was sorry, though. 

"And you're sorry for everything I don't know about?"

Regulus winced at that last line. The thought of all the things he's done that Ophelia has no clue about sent a wave of cringes down his spine.

"You don't have to tell me everything right now." She assured him. "I just want to hear you say it. I want to look into your eyes as you say it."

"I'm sorry for everything. Everything you know about, and everything you don't yet." 

She did look into her eyes as he said it, just as she told him she would. The results were good. She could tell he was honest. She was ready to take him back.  

There was a pause as Regulus waited for Ophelia to say something, anything really. 

She inhaled, then looked up at Regulus anxiously awaiting a response, but not wanting to pressure her. They locked eyes and both felt the opia wash over them, as they looked into each other's glossy eyes and felt invasive to each other. 

"I can tell that you're really sorry, and I appreciate it. I've thought about it, and I think I may have acted too harshly towards you, and I want to say I'm sorry for that as well." Ophelia told Regulus. "So, I forgive you, and I want to be friends again, if you'll allow that."

His eyes lit up as Ophelia spoke and he realised that she was accepting his apology. His cheeks dropped along with his jaw as he tried to find the words to say what he wanted to.

"Really?" He asked. "We can go back to how it was before?"

"Eventually. And hopefully a little bit better."

"Oh, thank you so much, Lia. You have no idea how good that felt to finally hear."

"I think I have some idea." She told him. 

They both smiled at each other in relief, glad that they could be friends again after such a long time apart.

Ophelia stood on her toes as much as she could in her newly polished mary janes, and pulled Regulus down towards her as she planted an innocent kiss on his cheek. 

As she pulled away, Regulus pulled her back in for a hug. He had thought about a kiss, but didn't want to scare her off. He held her head gently against his upper chest, and they both felt a relieving sense of familiarity; like they were both exactly where they were meant to be. 

Then in a spur of the moment idea, Regulus picked Ophelia up by the waist and spun her around in the air. She let out a joyful squeal at first, but then she recognized the previous tone of the situation and politely told him to put her back down. 

"I don't know if we're quite at that level again yet." She laughed. 

"Sorry." Regulus told her. "I'm just really glad to have you back."