Regulus - December 1966
It was a couple of days before his birthday; he had turned five that year. Regulus didn’t really remember much about that Christmas. It was a cold and joyless one—much like every other Christmas. No cozy atmosphere, the excitement of opening presents or spending time with the family. Of course, Regulus didn’t know at the time that there even existed other ways to spend the holidays than fancy family dinners.
“Again!” his mother ordered for what felt like the millionth time.
Regulus flinched at the sound of her shrill voice but said nothing as he played the piece from the beginning. His small fingers danced across the keys of the piano as fast as they could until they inevitably hit the wrong note again.
Regulus nervously played with a loose thread on the cuff of his shirt, not daring to look up as he waited for his mother’s order. This had been going on for the past hour or so. Regulus had been growing more and more tired as the opening notes of Beethoven’s Für Elise echoed throughout the room over and over again. On any other day Walburga would’ve slapped him across the face and sent him to do his other lessons, but not this time. With the entire family gathering for Christmas, his mother wanted to show off her children’s exceptional talents which unfortunately for Regulus meant there was no room for mistakes. Not a single one.
To Regulus’ relief, his mother didn’t make him go again. “Stupid boy.” Walburga muttered before summoning Kreacher.
“How can Kreacher help, mistress?” the old elf asked after apparating in the room.
“Keep an eye on him. Make sure he keeps practicing until he perfects it.” She commanded. “And if he doesn’t comply, I will deal with him.” she added in a dangerous tone before leaving Regulus alone with the house elf.
Regulus looked anxiously at Kreacher, then back at the piano. He knew that the elf couldn’t technically force him to practice but he would surely tell his mother. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of what would happen if it came to that. So Regulus took a deep breath and started playing again.
With the looming presence of his mother gone, Regulus found it was easier to focus but he was still tired and his attempts at playing the song got more and more sloppy as minutes stretched into hours.
Regulus messed up once again and he was ready to start over when a voice interrupted him.
“Reggie?”
Regulus looked over to the door where he saw his brother’s head poking in curiously.
“Mistress has ordered that master Regulus practices until perfection without any disturbances.” Kreacher said. “Master Sirius is to leave immediately.”
Sirius scoffed. “Perfection. As if that’s even possible.” he said and pushed the door open.
“Kreacher ought to tell mistress that master Sirius is misbehaving.” the house elf threatened.
“Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”
Seeing as he couldn’t do anything to change Sirius’ mind, Kreacher apparated out of the room, muttering under his breath something about “punishment” and “disobedience”.
No sooner had the house elf left than Sirius’ face split into a smile. “I made you these. Thought you might be hungry.” he said and revealed two sandwiches he had been hiding behind his back the whole time, Regulus realised.
Regulus gratefully accepted them, his stomach growling in agreement.
“You’ve been here for almost three hours.” Sirius said after Regulus finished eating.
Regulus looked down. “I can’t get Für Elise right.” he mumbled shamefully.
“It’s ok. Here. I’ll teach you.” his brother replied and scooted closer to Regulus on the bench so he was seated at the middle of the piano.
There was a beat of silence but then Sirius started playing a perfect rendering of the piece Regulus had spent hours practicing to no avail. His tempo was perfect—neither rushing or dragging and he hadn't fumbled a single note. After he finished, Regulus couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy and anger. How was Sirius so perfect at everything? But just as quickly as it had come, the feeling was gone the moment Regulus looked at his brother. He was smiling but it wasn’t a boastful smile, it was a simple, sweet, adoring smile that Sirius would give him whenever they spent time together.
“Now, what part do you need help with?”
Regulus hesitated at first. What if he messed up the first notes? But it was Sirius after all. He wasn’t scared to mess up in front of Sirius.
They sat there for a long time. Whenever Regulus would mess up, Sirius would be patient with him. (“Don’t get discouraged, just take it slowly. If you can play it slowly, you can play it at normal tempo too.”) Eventually, Regulus could play the entire song without messing up. It wasn’t nearly as perfect as the way his brother played it but Sirius said it sounded brilliant. So maybe, if it was good enough for Sirius, it was good enough for his mother.
Although he hadn't mentioned it, Regulus could tell Sirius was anxious about it as well. Why hadn’t their mother come? Surely Kreacher would’ve told her by then.
The sound of heels clicking down the hallway pulled Regulus out of his thoughts. Sirius scrambled off of the piano bench and hid under one of the many coffee tables in the room. From where he was sitting, Regulus could still see his brother’s anxious expression as they waited for the door to open. He just hoped his mother couldn’t see it too.
She opened the door and stopped at the threshold, scanning the room. Regulus held his breath as her narrowed eyes passed over Sirius’ hiding place and breathed a sigh of relief when her gaze didn’t stop on the coffee table.
Seemingly satisfied with her scan of the room, she stepped closer to him and Regulus waited for her to mention the prior incident with Kreacher.
“Let’s hear it, then.” she said instead.
Regulus threw a worried glance at his brother, still hidden under the table. Sirius just smiled reassuringly and gave him a thumbs up. Regulus smiled back and felt the worry seep out of him as he closed his eyes and began to play. Instead of his mother, he imagined Sirius sitting next to him, guiding and helping him, just as he had been doing a few minutes prior.
After he finished, he kept looking down at the keys, not daring to meet his mother or Sirius’ eye.
“Hmph. You’re free to go.” was all his mother said and turned around, the sound of her heels fading as she walked away.
When he reckoned that Walburga was far enough, Sirius scurried from under the table and enveloped Regulus in a big hug. “You did it! You did it!” he shouted as he jumped up and down, making Regulus dizzy.
I couldn’t have done it without you. Regulus thought after they broke apart, smiling at his brother.