unphased, and he nods. "Alright," he answers, and places his hand in hers.

As Jo pulls him up off of the ground, she is shocked by the way his fingers feel against hers. They are long, brushing the edge of her wrist, and ice cold like his expression, like his demeanor, sending goosebumps up her arm. Jo thinks about how cold his hands are long after they leave her skin. It lingers on her for hours. Jo watches as he pulls his hand away, and curls his fingers tightly into a fist, pressed hard into the side of his leg.

Jo gives him a tight smile. "Alright."

She takes the first steps, but he is quick to match her pace. She looks down as he walks by her side, thinking about his tears and his mother and the scars.

"Tell me about your holiday," Regulus says suddenly as the two of them turn a corner, Jo leading him towards the courtyard.

"It was nice," Jo tells him with a slight nod, hands in the pockets of her pajama pants. "A nice break."

"Glad to hear it," Regulus says.

Jo doesn't bother trying to bite her tongue, she doesn't even think to. Jo just speaks, words falling freely. "Sirius talked about you, a little."

She turns to watch his expression, watching him take her words. He keeps his eyes trained straight ahead of him, back straight and arms hanging loosely by his side. Jo can still see the remains of tears on his face. "And what did he have to say?"

"That you're not half-bad," she smiles.

Regulus snickers. "I think that might be the nicest thing he's ever said about me."

Jo shrugs. "Sounded like he misses you."

There is a beat of silence and Regulus turns towards Jo, looks down at her and asks, "Can we talk about something else?"
"Like what?" Jo questions.

"Anything," Regulus answers. "Tell me something about you."

That puts a twisted smile on Jo's face, and she thinks of the last time someone asked that question. "You know more about me than I do about you," she tells him.

"There's not much to know," Regulus says, almost bitterly, and Jo feels as if it's almost a challenge.

"I doubt that" she counters as they pass slumbering portraits and empty classrooms.

"Well, what do you know about me?"

Jo looks down at her feet. "I know you're good at Potions," she tells him, "I know you're the best Seeker in the school. I know you got me the necklace for Christmas. Thank you, by the way."

Jo can swear there is a blush across his pale cheeks, one that she almost misses in the dark shadows of the hall. "Just felt like you deserved it," he tells her.

The chain feels heavier around her neck all of a sudden. "I feel bad that I didn't get you anything."

Regulus kicks at the ground, hands in his pockets, a smile twisting on his face, and he says, "I don't need anything. I'm just glad I have someone to walk with now."